Abstract Little is known about the effect of thrusting on lithological and petrophysical properties of reservoir sandstone. Here we use field observations, probe permeability measurements and thin-section analysis along ten transects from the Muddy Mountain thrust contact downwards into the underlying Jurassic Aztec Sandstone to evaluate the nature and extent of petrophysical and microstructural changes caused by the thrusting. The results reveal a decimetre- to metre-thick low-permeable (≤50 mD) and indurated (0–3% porosity) zone immediately beneath the thrust contact in which dominant microscale processes, in decreasing order of importance, are (1) cataclasis with local fault gouge formation; (2) pressure solution; and (3) very limited cementation. From this narrow zone the petrophysical and microstructural effect of the thrusting decreases gradually downwards into a friable, highly porous ( c. 25%) and permeable (≤2 D) sandstone some 50–150 m below the thrust, in which strain is localized into deformation band populations. In general, the petrophysical properties of the sandstone as a result of overthrusting reveal little impact in overall primary reservoir quality below some tens of metres into the footwall, except for the relatively minor baffling effect of deformation bands.

The Aeolian Island arc, emplaced on continental lithosphere, is composed of seven islands and several seamounts, which have evidence of magmatic activity from 1.3 Ma (Sisifo seamounts) to present time (Vulcano, Stromboli). The rock compositions belong to different magmatic series and show a large silica range (48–76 wt%). Calc-alkaline and high-K calc-alkaline volcanics are present in all the islands, except for Vulcano. Shoshonitic rocks are only lacking at Alicudi, Filicudi, and Salina. Potassic magmas have been erupted at Vulcano and Stromboli. The different parental magmas originated in a heterogeneous mid-ocean-ridge basalt (MORB)–like mantle wedge, variously metasomatized by subduction-related components (oceanic crust + sediments, released as either fluids or sediment melts). Trace-element and Sr-Nd isotopic ratios show clear geographical west-east variations among calc-alkaline rocks. The composition of the mantle source of Stromboli is strongly influenced by the addition of a sedimentary component recycled into the mantle wedge; it shows evidence of a higher amount (∼2%) than in all the other islands (<0.5%). Furthermore, the islands from the central sector of the arc are characterized by a higher proportion of slab-derived fluids, which promotes a higher degree of melting. In this frame, the high Pb isotopic ratios (HIMU-like [high µ–like]) of the rocks of the central and western branch of the arc are explained with the high 206 Pb/ 204 Pb carried from a fluid component derived from the dehydration of the ancient subducting Ionian oceanic crust. On the contrary, the low Pb isotope signature of Stromboli magmas is dictated by the sediment input, as for Sr and Nd isotopes. Parental shoshonitic magmas of Vulcano are generated by low melting degrees of a MORB-like mantle wedge, metasomatized by crustal contaminant with high fluids/sediment values, whereas Vulcano potassic magmas are interpreted as deriving from the shoshonitic magmas by refilling, tapping, fractionation, assimilation (RTFA) processes. At Stromboli, potassic to calc-alkaline magmas are generated by increasing melting degrees of a heterogeneous veined mantle. The involvement of K-micas in the genesis of potassic magmas (during partial melting of mantle wedge and/or subducted sediments) is also suggested. U-Th disequilibria confirm the higher fluid versus melt proportion in the central than in the western islands. At Stromboli, the 238 U excesses measured in calc-alkaline volcanics suggest a consistent addition of slab-derived fluids in the source, also promoting higher degrees of melting. The shift to the consistent 230 Th excesses in shoshonitic and potassic rocks requires dynamic melting processes capable of producing in-growth of 230 Th. Quantitative modeling suggests lower melting rates for shoshonitic and potassic rocks, which are consistent with the lower melting degree proposed for these magmas.

Intercontinental correlation of distal Archean impact ejecta layers can be used to help create a global time-stratigraphic framework for early Earth events. For example, an impact spherule layer in the Neoarchean Monteville Formation (Griqualand West Basin, South Africa) may be correlated with layers in one or more formations in Western Australia. To help assess the degree to which diagenetic alteration would hinder such correlations, we performed a petrographic study of spherules in the Monteville layer. Most of the spherules in the Monteville layer have botryoidal rims composed of radial-fibrous K-feldspar, but compaction and replacement have greatly altered their appearance and mineralogy. Moreover, the Monteville spherule layer consists of three main subunits, and spherule compaction varies between subunits as well as across the Griqualand West region. Compaction is about three times greater in a medial spherule-rich subunit as compared to a basal subunit rich in large intraclasts, resulting in better preservation of the shapes of melt particles in the latter. However, spherule rims have comparable numbers of fractures in both subunits, indicating the melt particles were fractured prior to compaction. Some spherules contain mica ribbons with a septarian geometry. Fracturing via rapid thermal quenching could help explain all of these features. If hot spherules possessing crystalline rims were thermally shocked when they hit the ocean, fractures would have the observed geometries and provide pathways for fluid infiltration and local replacement of glass by mica. Although heavily distorted, impact spherules in the Monteville layer are very similar to those in the Hesta occurrence of the Neoarchean Jeerinah spherule layer of the Hamersley Basin, even showing similar diagenetic histories. In this instance, diagenetic alteration may actually help rather than hinder intercontinental correlation of impact spherule layers.