Age and provenance of the pillow basalt exotics within the Eocene Imerese succession (North-Western Sicily)

Upper Triassic-Lower Liassic calcareous-dolomitic olistolithes, locally including pillow-lavas, have been recognized within the Caltavutoro Formation (Eocene, Imerese Basin) near the town of Termini Imerese (Palermo, north-western Sicily).

Horizons of megabreccias and conglomerates, stratigraphically intercalated within the marly-calcarenitic Caltavutoro Formation, are also foudn in locality Rocca di Papa and along the Milicia River.

Petrologic data from these volcanics show an alkaline character, a strong affinity with the within-plate basalt group and a radiometric ago of ca 196 My. The comparison with other volcanic products belonging to the Trapanese and Sicanian Units proved insigts about their provenance.

In fact, these volcanic rocks can be easily related to the well-known magmatism that occured during the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic times, preluding the continental rifting of this segment of Tethys. The source area of these volcanic rocks can be related to the Trapanese platform, which could have provided for the exotic blocks occuring within the Eocene Imerese succession.