F. Balsamo

• PhD
• Researcher at University of Parma

Faults zones play a key role on groundwater flow, conditioning both local and regional pathways. They impact groundwater flow in different ways depending on host rock lithology, 3D architecture and internal structure. Despite fault zones in carbonates are widely studied, their impact on groundwater flow is still difficult to predict. In this study,...

The Transantarctic Mountains form the longest and highest extensional mountain range on Earth, marking the boundary between the Antarctic craton and the Mesozoic‐Cenozoic rifted Ross Sea lithosphere. During the Cenozoic, deep offshore troughs, such as the Terror Rift, developed at the front of the Transantarctic Mountains in response to transtensio...

Fault-related diagenesis critically influences the petrophysical and mechanical properties of fault zones, affecting fluid circulation and seismicity in the upper crust. Questions remain about the composition of the mineralizing fluids and the role of fault architecture in controlling the distribution of hydrothermal silicification. This study addr...

Hypogene karst and caves have a global distribution but represent only a minor proportion of accessible caves. The recognition of hypogene caves is important across multiple fields as they are commonly associated with metal or hydrocarbon deposits of economic significance. As uplift brings hypogene caves towards the surface, several competing meteo...

This work aims to understand the tectonic framework that influenced and controlled the karstification processes along a shallow water carbonate sequence. Both multi-scale and multi-disciplinary approaches are presented in this work to unveil the interaction between the structural network and the karstification events. In this manner, seismic, satel...

Basin-scale dolomitization of carbonate sequences occurs over long time spans and results from diagenesis, burial, and tectonically driven fluid fluxes. Depicting the different geological processes producing dolomitized carbonate sequences requires combining accurate field, petrographic, and geochemical analyses. Here, we investigate the dolomitiza...

Fault damage zones, composed of sub-seismic deformation structures, are difficult to detect using seismic data. Still, they can be related to fault throw, which is widely measured in the subsurface. This research employs a multiscale approach that integrates outcrop studies with seismic reflection data to investigate the attributes of fault damage...

Focusing on the late Miocene succession stratigraphic successions including the evaporite deposits from the Messinian salinity crisis (MSC) of the Adriatic foreland basin, a revision of available boreholes and seismic data allowed us to recognize the presence of reservoirs and seals systems that can be considered of potential interest for the stora...

Fracture stratigraphy study for a subsurface sedimentary rock sequence can be a challenging and demanding task. Typically, the data obtained from seismic and well-logs are heavily impacted by resolution issues and are difficult to interconnect. In this work, we document and extract fracture properties (orientation, density, intensity, etc.) from a...

This study investigates hydrothermal silicification along rift border faults in the Cretaceous Rio do Peixe Basin, Brazil, through field geology, petrography, mineralogy, and fluid inclusion microthermometry. We distinguish three main structural-diagenetic domains: (1) a non-silicified fault damage zone, (2) a silicified damage zone composed of def...

Fractures are the most common result of rock brittle failure in the Earth’s crust. Their presence, distribution, orientation, and interconnection are some of the main parameters that control rock’s mechanical characteristics and fluid flow. The arrangement of fractures on outcrop analogues is critical in predicting rock mass integrity and subsur...

Zones of advanced argillic alteration with general low permeability (i.e., lithocaps) are common place in the shallow parts of porphyry and epithermal ore deposits and active geothermal systems. The study of structural control on alteration distributions is of paramount importance for exploitation purposes as it really influences the caprock effici...

Particle size is an essential tool in many research areas spanning from Earth Sciences, Engineering, Material Sciences, Soil Sciences and Pharmacology, among others. Over the last decades, several techniques and methodologies have been developed to calculate particle size distributions on different sample types (i.e., cohesive versus loose), spanni...

The presence and distribution of pores in natural stones affect their durability and aesthetic value, especially when exposed to weathering agents like salt crystallization and freeze–thaw cycles. In this study, a multi-analytical approach was used to analyse the pore structure of twelve carbonate rocks, including different types of limestone and t...

Analyzing the factors that affect the fault damage zone parameters and the impact of deformation on host rock permeability is fundamental for predicting the fluid flow behavior in subsurface reservoirs. This study combines 3D seismic data with field-based structural and petrophysical analyses to determine the influence of a basinboundary fault geom...

The presence and distribution of pores in natural stones affect their durability and aesthetic value, especially when exposed to weathering agents like salt crystallization and freeze-thaw cycles. In this study, a multi-analytical approach was used to analyse the pore structure of twelve carbonate rocks, including different types of limestone and t...

Carbonate reservoirs are often affected by fractures and karst features that increase rock permeability. An accurate characterization of reservoir architecture, fracture attributes and distribution of karst features are critical to modeling carbonate reservoirs, predicting flow behavior and estimating geofluids recoveries. In this contribution, we...

Earthquake cycle consists of alternating transient coseismic slip and long-lasting interseismic periods, covering a wide range of slip rates. Unveiling the deformational signature of earthquake cycles in major seismogenic fault systems is an essential component of seismic hazard evaluation. Here, we present a study combining field and microstructur...

Keywords: coseismic breccia CO 2 decompression earthquake gas expansion dolostone South Matese, Apennines, is a hydrothermally and seismically active extensional area characterized by CO 2 outgassing and Mw ≤ 7.1 earthquakes. There, meters-sized pockets of incohesive pulverized dolostone are hosted within Mesozoic carbonates at the hanging wall of...

Urban areas exercise numerous and strong pressures on water bodies, implying that different external anthropogenic factors also stress groundwater. Sewerage networks play an important role, being the place of wastewater flow. When sewerage deterioration conditions occur, aquifers can be contaminated by contaminants contained within wastewater. The...

Hydrothermal silicification and deformation bands influence the physical properties of porous siliciclastic rocks. However, the impacts generated by the coexistence of these two processes on fault zone flow properties, such as porosity and permeability reductions, are still debatable. We integrated structural, geomechanical, and petro-physical data...

Although it is well documented that during faulting in porous sandstone there is an overall fault zone porosity loss, little is known about the effect of shear-induced compaction on subsequent deformation bands petrophysics. We studied the impact of fault-induced compaction on deformation band's petrophysical properties developed in poorly lithifie...

Understanding the karstification process in fractured carbonates is a key factor in developing and exploiting fractured and karstified reservoirs. This study documents the relationship among the 2D geometry, stratigraphy and petrophysical properties of a cave system developed in a Neoproterozoic mixed carbonate-siliciclastic sequence. We applied a...

We constrained the tectonic evolution of the intracratonic Cretaceous Rio do Peixe Basin (RPB) in NE Brazil, combining structural and Anisotropy of Magnetic Susceptibility (AMS) data. We analyzed the structural features of four sites along two major faults bordering the basin, the NE‐striking Portalegre Fault and the E‐W‐striking Malta Fault. AMS d...

Hypogenic caves in carbonate reservoirs offer the opportunity to study exposed and accessible analogues of buried conduit systems. "Super-permeability zone" (here referred to as super-k) is a term adopted in petroleum geology literature to identify stratigraphic horizons characterized by exceptionally high permeability. In case of soluble rocks suc...

The Middle Jurassic limestones of the Vajont Formation, which constitute major parts of the flanks of the Vajont Canyon (Southern Alps, Italy), have been subjected to pervasive dolomitization. The dolomites are localized within fault damage zones. Based on field and petrographic characteristics, two dolostone groups can be differentiated. Group 1,...

Fluid sources and migration pathways can dramatically change during the multiphase tectonic evolution of thrust wedges. We present a multidisciplinary study of syntectonic calcite cements in the Lower Cretaceous carbonates of the external Bornes (SE France), which underwent sub-aerial exposure during flexural bulging, layer-parallel shortening, fol...

Fractured and karstified carbonate units are key exploration targets for the hydrocarbon industry as they represent important reservoirs. Furthermore, large water reserves and geothermal systems are hosted in carbonate aquifers. This paper documents the relationships between stratigraphy, structural patterns, silicification, and the spatial-morphol...

Despite that many field studies on joint attribute statistics are available in the literature, there is still an ongoing debate on the most effective statistical treatment to properly describe the distribution of a fundamental parameter like joint spacing. This may also relate to the objective difficulty of collecting very large datasets from singl...

Superposed events of rock exposure, fracturing, and the hydrological dynamics, are key elements that influence epigenic karstification in carbonate reservoirs. However, they are not fully identified in seismic or well data. One way forward is a multiscale characterization of the porous system to understand karst development, from the pore scale to...

This study shows how mechanical stratigraphy influences deformation bands' structural attributes in faulted, heterolithic arkosic sandstones in the Rio do Peixe Basin, northeastern Brazil. We combined the analyses of sedimentary units with rock properties measurements (porosity, permeability, Young's modulus, Poisson's ratio, and uniaxial compressi...

In permeability modeling of fault damage zones affecting porous sandstones, deformation bands are commonly considered low-permeability structures that influence fluid flow. Permeability in damage zones of such rocks exhibits and is influenced by complex networks of deformation bands separated by volumes of seemingly undeformed host rock. This study...

In many orogenic wedges, foreland basin systems are preferential sites for economical resource accumulation, typically hydrocarbons. Understanding how structural inheritance perturbs the evolution of folding‐related deformation and impacts on subsurface fracture patterns bears first order economic and environmental implications, when also CO2 stora...

The Tyrrhenian back‐arc basin developed at the rear of the E‐ward migrating Apennine fold‐and‐thrust belt, with northward decreasing rollback of the subducting Adria slab leading to northward fading of back‐arc extension. The northern portion of the Tyrrhenian basin is made of thinned continental crust, whereas in the central/southern portion exten...

This study investigates the Samambaia seismogenic fault at the border of the Potiguar rift Basin, Brazil, to evaluate the relationships among hydrothermal processes, seismicity, and preexisting tectonic fabric. The fault is a 27 km-long structure composed of three left-bend, en echelon segments spaced 1.0–1.5 km apart. The segments strike N31°E – N...

We studied the geometry and petrophysical properties of fault core and damage zones of a deformation band fault zone in the arkosic sandstones of the Cretaceous Antenor Navarro Formation in the Rio do Peixe Basin, Brazil. The present work includes results from fieldwork and laboratory measurements. We performed structural, geometric, and permeabili...

We propose a structural evolutionary model for deformation band (DB) development via microcrack propagation and coalescence process in a normal fault zone affecting arkosic sandstones. Based on structural analysis and reconstruction of the paleostress, we infer that a sub-horizontal minimum principal stress (σ3) in the NNW-SSE direction controlled...

Caves developed in carbonate units have a significant role in fluid flow, but most of these subsurface voids are below seismic resolution. We concentrated our study on four caves to determine the roles of fractures and folds in the development of karst conduits that may form flow pathways in carbonate reservoirs. We performed structural field inves...

This study investigates how the intensity of the cataclasis deformation mechanism influences petrophysical properties, such as pore diameter, grain size, porosity, and permeability, in deformation bands of arkosic sandstones and conglomerates affected by normal fault zones in the Rio do Peixe Basin, Brazil. We analysed in detail the cataclastic mat...

Porous sandstones are important reservoirs for geofluids. Interaction therein between deformation and cementation during diagenesis is critical since both processes can strongly reduce rock porosity and permeability, deteriorating reservoir quality. Deformation bands and fault-related diagenetic bodies, here called “structural and diagenetic hetero...

The mechanics and seismogenic behavior of fault zones are strongly influenced by their internal structure. In this perspective, the internal structure of the extensional seismically active Vado di Corno Fault Zone (VCFZ, Central Apennines, Italy) was quantified by combining high‐resolution structural mapping with 3‐D fault network analysis over ∼2...

Fault damage zones can act as a preferential corridor for fluid flow in the subsurface, and for this reason the characterization of their structure, including the attributes of the associated fracture network, is fundamental. In this work, we characterize the damage zone of the Qala fault, a normal fault developed in platform carbonates of the Gozo...

Porous sandstones are important reservoirs for geofluids. Interaction therein between deformation and cementation during diagenesis is critical since both processes can strongly reduce rock porosity and permeability, deteriorating reservoir quality. Deformation bands (DBs) and structural-related diagenetic bodies, here named Structural and Diagenet...

Folded, fractured, and karstified structures have been recognized in several carbonate reservoirs. However, they are rarely fully identified from seismic or well data and have been poorly described. The present study investigates the geological and structural controls that regional anticlines may exert on solution-enlarged fracture corridors and ep...

Fractured and karstified carbonates are often major aquifers and hydrocarbon reservoirs. The Toca da Boa Vista (TBV) and Toca da Barriguda (TBR) caves in NE Brazil, which form the longest cave system in South America, developed in a gently folded, layered and fractured Neoproterozoic carbonate sequence made of different lithological units (limeston...

We present the results of meso-and micro-structural analyses performed on fault-related soft-sediment deformation structures affecting poorly lithified, high-porosity siliciclastic sediments in the Crotone Basin, Southern Italy. The investigated extensional fault zone has a total displacement of ∼90 m and juxtaposes marine clayish sediments in the...

The carbonate rocks exposed in the Irecê (Brazil) are pervasively affected by hydrothermal silicification and dolomitization. These mineralizing events drastically changed the original petrophysical properties of the host rock. In order to understand the role played by deformation mechanisms and tectonic evolution of these carbonates on the ingress...

Karst features are controlled by structural heterogeneities, such as faults and fractures, which influence fluid flow, provide preferential pathways for geofluids with the development of secondary porosity, and could influence the production and exploitation of oil reservoirs (Frumkin, 2013; Klimchouk et al., 2017; Ogata et al., 2012). The hypogeni...

In carbonates, fault zone architecture, distribution of different types of fault rocks in fault cores (e.g., breccias, cataclasites), and the interplay between deformation and diagenesis must be considered to predict the flow properties of a fault zone. We present the results of an integrated structural and petrophysical study of two carbonate outc...

Thrust wedge evolution is typically characterized by out‐of‐sequence thrusting, which can occur in both submarine and subaerial conditions to maintain the balance between gravitational and tectonic forces. The Gran Sasso Massif, in Central Italy, is a high topography region where the kinematics and environmental conditions of deformation of some fa...

OBJECTIVES To select the "best outcrop analogue" of a subsurface field/prospect is always challenging, especially when dealing with fractured carbonatic reservoirs. The candidate should match the mechanical stratigraphy, the depositional conditions, the diagenetic history, the tectonic evolution. This is almost impossible, considering that at least...

This work focuses on the study of collapse dolines, which are the most expressive collapse structures in carbonate rocks, and their relations with preexisting and syn-collapse fractures. The study area has two fracture sets that were formed before folding, early N-S/E-W- and late NE-SW/NW-SE-striking sets, which concentrate most of the dissolution...

In this work, we report the results of a multidisciplinary study describing the structural architecture and diagenetic evolution of the Rocca di Neto extensional fault zone developed in poorly lithified sandstones of the Crotone Basin, Southern Italy. The studied fault zone has an estimated displacement of ∼90 m and consists of: (1) a low-deformati...

The Gran Sasso Massif arc-shaped fold-thrust stack constitutes the most prominent topographic relief in the Apennine orogenic wedge. It developed in Messinian-Pliocene times in response to the westward subduction of Adria and related slab rollback, which caused in-sequence and out-of-sequence thrusting affecting the Adria passive margin carbonatic...

The tectonic and geodynamic evolution of the Pelagian platform and of the Pantelleria Rift System, located in the foreland of the Apennine‐Sicilian‐Maghrebian Belt, from the Late Oligocene onward, is still debated. Here we present a new interpretation based on structural data collected in the Malta and Gozo islands. With a tectonic back‐stripping a...

The Lower Jurassic platform and basinal deposits exposed in the Montagna dei Fiori Anticline (Central Apennines, Italy) are pervasively affected by dolomitization. Based on the integration of field work, petrography, and geochemistry, two fault-related dolomitization events were recognized and interpreted as having occurred before and during the Ap...

Fractal dimensions of fault core rocks provide a suitable tool to estimate amounts of comminution and describe processes associated with faulting, such as hydraulic sealing, and nucleation and propagation of coseismic ruptures. It is thus important to be aware of possible biases produced by different analytical procedures on given materials, to pre...

We analyzed hydrothermal silicification along the Afonso Bezerra strike-slip fault system in the Potiguar Basin, equatorial margin of Brazil, to assess the role of Si-rich fluids in fault geometry, properties, and evolution. The fault cut across the whole basin, including its crystalline basement, a late Cretaceous siliciclastic unit and a lower ca...

Geofluid reservoirs located in heterolithic successions (e.g., turbidites) can be affected by vertical and lateral compartmentalization due to interbedded fine-grained facies (i.e., shale, siltstones) and the presence of faults, respectively. A fault can behave as a conduit or barrier to fluid flow depending on its architecture and the individual h...

Understanding the factors that control fracture patterns in fault damage zones is fundamental to predicting fault zone permeability in the subsurface. In this contribution, we present outcrop data on vein attributes collected from 26 fault zones (10 strike-slip and 16 normal dip-slip) that cut Cretaceous Natih Formation platform carbonates exposed...

In this contribution we show the variation of the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) and petrophysical properties of different architectural elements of fault zones affecting poorly lithified coarse sandstone and conglomerates of the Rio do Peixe basin, NE Brazil. We worked on three distinct outcrops; (1) non-deformed (protolith); (2) single fault...

Abstract. The Lower Jurassic platform and basinal deposits exposed in the Montagna dei Fiori Anticline (Central Apennines, Italy) are pervasively affected by dolomitization. Based on the integration of field work, petrography, and geochemistry, two fault-related dolomitization events were recognized and interpreted as occurred before and during the...

Reconstructing the paleofluid evolution in mature fault zones, which typically have complex structural architectures, is a challenging task because reactivation of pre-existing deformation structures and dissolution-reprecipitation processes are very abundant. Understanding why specific structural elements are preferentially mineralized and what ar...

The Montagna dei Fiori fault vertically offsets the crest of the NW-SE trending Montagna dei Fiori anticline in the distal foothills of the central Apennines. There are several interpretations to explain this extensional fault system in close proximity to the Apennine deformation front. A prefolding age of the Montagna dei Fiori fault prevails in m...

Clay minerals in structurally complex settings influence fault zone behavior and characteristics such as permeability and frictional properties. This work aims to understand the role of fault zones on clay authigenesis in arkosic, high-porosity sandstones of the Cretaceous Rio do Peixe basin, northeast Brazil. We integrated field, petrographic and...

We describe conjugate systems of shear-enhanced compaction bands oriented oblique to the maximum compressive stress and developed in Paleocene quartz-rich calcarenites formed by the interplay between shearing, mechanical compaction, and dissolution. These deformation bands are located in the footwall of the Cotiella Thrust (Spanish Pyrenees), and s...

Mais de 50% do petróleo e gás natural presentes no mundo estão contidos em reservatórios carbonáticos fraturados-carstificados, incluindo vários campos supergigantes como o Campo de Ghawar (Arábia Saudita), Kashagan e Tengiz (Casaquistão) e as grandes descobertas do Pré-Sal brasileiro. A produção de hidrocarbonetos nesse tipo de reservatórios apres...

Recent high resolution hypocentral localisation along active fault systems in the Central Apennines illuminates the activation of seismogenic volumes dipping at low angle (<30°) in extensional settings overprinting contractional deformations affecting the continental crust of the Adria microplate. Individuation of the geological structures and of t...

Hydrocarbon accumulations in the Plataforma Burgalesa are located in structural traps that resulted from Mesozoic extensional forced folding. Pre-rift Triassic evaporites favored the structural decoupling between faulted basement rocks and their supra-salt cover, which includes carbonate and fluvial reservoirs. These reservoir levels record severe...

Recent high resolution hypocentral localisation along active fault systems in the Central Apennines illuminates the activation of seismogenic volumes dipping at low angle (<30°) in extensional settings overprinting contractional deformations affecting the continental crust of the Adria microplate. Individuation of the geological structures and of t...

The northern Apennines of Italy are a classical site for studying fundamental issues in tectonic studies, such as ophiolite formation and emplacement, kinematics of thrust wedges, role of in-sequence and out-of-sequence thrusting, and of along strike segmentation, synorogenic versus postorogenic extension, and interplay between tectonics, erosion,...

This paper is based on a multidisciplinary field and laboratory study of carbonate concretions developed in poorly lithified Quaternary, syn-kinematic sediments along the Quattro Castella Anticline, Northern Apennines, Italy. The studied concretions consist of both tabular (parallel to bedding) and elongate single to coalescent concretionary bodies...