17th Bathurst Meeting-International Meeting of Carbonate Sedimentologists, Naples, Italy - 5-7 September 2023

The distribution and architecture of base-of-slope resedimented gravity flow carbonates can be challenging to understand due to the various and complex depositional processes involved. In order to identify the triggering mechanism of gravity flow development, whether it is due to normal sediment export processes, slope destabilization, or tectonic-induced re-sedimentation processes, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the carbonate sediment composition. This analysis include an examination of detailed analysis of carbonate sediment composition, in terms of facies, spatial distribution and depositional architecture of these deposits. The Apulia Carbonate Platform (ACP) is a wide Mesozoic-Cenozoic isolated carbonate domains of the Tethyan Ocean that, during the Eocene, it went through an uplift and subaerial exposure causing regional unconformity, gravitational collapses, and massive deposition of slope and base-of-slope resedimented carbonates. These deposits, which are impressively exposed in the Gargano Promontory, consist of a basal mega-breccia (Grottone Megabreccia) and breccias with bioclastic turbidites (Peschici Formation), along with micritic limestones and pelagic marlstone. These deposits represent the basinward exportation of loose sediments from the Cretaceous and Eocene margins. Previous studies of these systems still leave many questions unanswered about the control factors that affect their depositional architecture and transport mechanisms acted on them. Thus, a detailed lithofacies map of the area was created to deeply characterize the facies and spatial distribution of these base-of-slope deposits in order to provide answers to these open questions and improve our scientific knowledge about these systems. Additionally, these studies can aid in the exploration of subsurface analogues by identifying and characterizing important oil and gas reservoirs, as submarine fans or aprons represent significant oil and gas reservoirs worldwide.