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Mechanical stratigraphy and (palaeo-) karstification of the Murge

area (Apulia, southern Italy)
CARL JACQUEMYN1*, RUDY SWENNEN1 & PAOLA RONCHI2
1
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, K.U. Leuven, BE-3001 Leuven, Belgium
2
ENI E&P – SPES Department, Via Emilia 1, IT-20097 S. Donato Milanese, Italy
*Corresponding author (e-mail: carl.jacquemyn@ees.kuleuven.be)

Abstract: The Cretaceous Apulia Platform, exposed in the Murge area (southern Italy), suffered
intense (palaeo)karstification. This study focuses on the controlling factors of karstification with
emphasis on fracturing. Mechanical stratigraphy was used to calculate the fracture density
within different sedimentary sequences. Several mechanical units were defined and a characteristic
relationship was found between unit thicknesses and fracture density, that is, fracture density
increases if layer thickness decreases. In some of the quarries studied, sedimentary cycles are
clearly present that are also reflected in the fracture density logs. The degree of karstification
within a mechanical unit is proportional to the mean fracture spacing. Based on fracture orientation
data extracted from LIDAR scans, different orientation clusters were observed between fractures
that are karstified and fractures that are not karstified, post-dating karstification. The clusters of kar-
stified fractures are related to the compression of the southern Apennines. The fractures became
dissolution enlarged during the Pleistocene uplift caused by bulging of the Apulia Platform.
This main karstification phase occurred prior to Late-Pleistocene deposition and before the for-
mation of orthogonal fracture sets.

Karstified limestones are often exploited as a
hydrocarbon reservoir. However, the distribution
of karst cavities is often poorly understood. In the
southern Apennines the karstified Apulia Platform
hosts some important oil fields. In this study a multi-
disciplinary approach on karstified carbonate reser-
voirs is applied on different reservoir analogue
outcrops. The study of the relationships between
the sedimentary framework and the structural and
tectonic evolution in several three-dimensional out-
crops in Apulia (Fig. 1) is key to interpreting and
forecasting the porosity –permeability properties in
Southern Italy’s time-equivalent Cretaceous car-
bonate reservoirs.
From the Upper Cretaceous, the Apulia carbon-
ate platform underwent several phases of exhuma-
tion (Mindszenty et al. 1995) and karstification
with the creation of vugs and caverns of different
shapes and sizes. Apart from the duration of
exposure and intensity of sea-level fall, the distri-
bution as well as the organization of the karst cav-
ities are influenced by several factors. The aim of
this study was to define the dominant factors for
the observed karst types.
In the Apulia Platform, karstification is mainly
vertically oriented and appears to be related to frac-
turing. The most common karst types are fracture
enlargement and karst cavities in an inverse drop-
like shape that terminate into a fracture (Fig. 2a).
Therefore the organization of fractures will have
an important influence on karstification and a mech-
anical stratigraphic approach is used.
For a reservoir analogue study, the absolute
timing of karstification is not necessarily of vital
importance, since similar karst development can
occur within time-equivalent platform carbonates,
but the timing of karstification can be different.
Mainly the relative timing of events is important
instead of the absolute timing. The proposed karsti-
fication concepts are valid without absolute time
constraints, but a similar succession of diagenetic
events is essential for application to subsurface
reservoirs.
Geological setting
The Apulia province mainly consists of Mesozoic
limestone deposited on the Apulia Platform (Fig. 1).
This platform was an isolated shallow-water car-
bonate platform located on the Adria plate, com-
posed of 5–7 km thick Triassic –Miocene shallow
water deposits. It is commonly compared with the
present-day environment of the Bahamas (Bernoulli
2001; Spalluto et al. 2008). The platform extended
from the present-day Abruzzi region in the NW
to the island of Cephalonia (Greece) in the SE
(Sachpazi et al. 2000). On top of Permian –Late
Triassic clastics, the Apulia carbonate platform
was deposited among many other peri-Adriatic

From: Garland, J., Neilson, J. E., Laubach, S. E. & Whidden, K. J. (eds) 2012. Advances in Carbonate Exploration
and Reservoir Analysis. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 370, 169– 186.
First published online June 26, 2012, http://dx.doi.org/10.1144/SP370.4 # The Geological Society of London 2012.
Publishing disclaimer: www.geolsoc.org.uk/pub_ethics
 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at University of Toronto on February 4, 2015

170 C. JACQUEMYN ET AL.

Fig. 1. (a) Overview of southern Italy with partial outline of the Apulia Platform. Study area is indicated by the
rectangle. (b) Cross section across Apulia and the southern Apennines along the transect shown in (a) (modified from
Sella et al. 1988). (c) Geological map of the study area. The four studied outcrops are indicated by stars.

platforms, such as the Apenninic, Adriatic, Panor-
mide, Latium-Abruzzi and Gavrovo-Friuli plat-
forms. These platforms were separated from each
other by deeper marine environments (e.g. Molise
and Ionian Sea basins).
In the Murge area mainly Upper Cretaceous
limestones are exposed (Azzaroli & Valduga
1967; Borgomano 2000). The Bari Limestone For-
mation (Aptian to Cenomanian in age) is present
in all four outcrops studied. The upper part of the
Bari Limestone consists of stromatolites and mud-
stone at the base and rudist floatstone at the top.
In the Murge area, the top of the Cenomanian
rudist limestone is characterized by 4– 10 m thick
palaeosol representing a major unconformity that
is Turonian in age and separating the Bari Formation
from the overlying Altamura Limestone Formation
(Turonian to Maastrichtian). Bauxite deposits have
also formed along this unconformity (Mindszenty
et al. 1995). The lower part of the Altamura Lime-
stone is composed of peri-tidal deposits and only
the lowest 5 m is exposed in some of the out-
crops studied.
This study focuses on two quarries of layered
mudstone (Bisceglie, Trani) and two quarries of
massive rudist floatstone (Barile, Cavallerizza), all
part of the Bari Formation. The Bisceglie quarry
(Lama Paterno, Fig. 2a; 41814′ 37.9′ N 16827′
43.1′ E) exposes more than 35 m of an Aptian
subtidal succession (Sacchi 2009). In this outcrop,
karstification is clearly present as metre-scale dis-
solution cavities and as enlarged fractures. The

a b c
50m
35m

50m

Fig. 2. Overview of the different quarries. (a) Southern wall of the Bisceglie quarry (vertical view 35 m). Most of the
karst cavities have a distinct inversed drop-like shape. (b) Eastern wall of the Trani quarry (vertical view 50 m).
(c) Overview of the Barile quarry (vertical view 50 m).
 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at University of Toronto on February 4, 2015
KARSTIFICATION OF THE MURGE AREA
large dissolution cavities are generally stratabound
and have formed along fractures. One large NW–
SE oriented normal fault with an average vertical
displacement of 2 m crosscuts this quarry. The
deposits exposed in the Trani quarry (Fig. 2b; 418
15′ 45.2′ N 16823′ 31.5′ E) are composed of thin
peri-tidal beds grouped into two 5 –10 m thick shal-
lowing upward cycles. These strata are also Aptian
in age, but do not correspond to the stratigraphic
interval of the Bisceglie outcrop. At the top of the
quarry, an erosional contact on the Bari Limestone
is present, unconformably overlain by 10 m of
Pleistocene deposits. Karstification in this quarry
is limited to fracture enlargement. The Barile
(Fig. 2c; 41800′ 24.8′ N 16828′ 24.5′ E) and Cavaller-
izza (41800′ 12.3′ N 16825′ 48.6′ E) quarries are very
similar to each other. Here the uppermost part of
the Bari Limestone is exposed (Cenomanian–
Turonian). Both quarries show more than 15 m of
bioclastic floatstone with rudists, topped off by a
clayey palaeosol of Turonian age. The thickness of
this Turonian palaeosol is on average 4–5 m, gradu-
ally changing from unaltered limestone at the lower
part towards a 1 m thick horizon of clay with car-
bonate pebbles at the top. The palaeosol is overlain
by 5 m of Senonian peri-tidal deposits of the Alta-
mura Limestone Formation (Iannone & Laviano
1980; Luperto Sinni & Reina 1996).
Several periods of subaerial exposure have
affected the carbonates, during which karstification
may have occurred. During the first phases of the
Alpine orogeny, several of the peri-Adriatic plat-
forms were uplifted (Mindszenty et al. 1995) and
locally emerged. During the Cenozoic, the Apulia
Platform became part of the Apenninic foreland
(Ricchetti et al. 1988) and was uplifted (bulged)
during the Pleistocene (Doglioni et al. 1994,
1996). During these events several fracture sets
were created with limited to no displacement, and
normal faults have formed since the Pliocene
(Ciaranfi et al. 1983) parallel to the bulging of the
Apulia Platform (Billi & Salvini 2003).
Methodology
Mechanical stratigraphy
Mechanical stratigraphy describes the link between
the mechanical behaviour of sedimentary rocks and
their lithological parameters (Wennberg et al.
2006). This mechanical behaviour is for a large
part expressed by fracturing in brittle rocks. A
mechanical unit defines a part of the sedimentary
series formed by one or several sedimentary
layers, in which a single homogeneous fracture
pattern (fracture stratigraphy) is observed, presum-
ably reflecting variations in underlying mechanical
properties (mechanical stratigraphy) and interfaces.
171
Mechanical interfaces are stratigraphic horizons
impeding the propagation of fractures within a
given fracture pattern (Cooke et al. 2006). In the
quarries studied, karst cavities appear to be
induced by fractures and often begin or end at inter-
faces where a significant number of fractures halt.
In the interval of the Apulia Platform covered in
this paper, the various fractured lithologies may
have experienced differing diagenetic histories,
and thus the mechanical properties stratigraphy
(which we did not measure) and the fracture strati-
graphy could be decoupled, as they are in some
other carbonate rock sequences (Laubach et al.
2009). It is not credible that this carbonate sequence
has no depositional nor diagenetical differences
(except for bed thickness) and would thus results
in a stack of mechanical identical rocks. Therefore
it is assumed that the fracture patterns in this study
area reflect an underlying mechanical stratigraphy.
Although it is believed the overall diagenetic altera-
tion of these rocks, apart from karstification, is fairly
uniform, these results suggests that an investigation
of subtle mechanical property differences in this
sequence is warranted.
Most mechanical stratigraphic studies focus
on small-scale outcrops that are relatively easy to
reach or are laterally extensive rather than vertical
(Becker & Gross 1996; Di Naccio et al. 2005;
Bertotti et al. 2007). In these studies fractures can
be detected and spacing measured on the outcrop.
Because the majority of the exposed karst cavities
in the outcrops are greater than several square
metres, large surfaces need to be covered. The ver-
tical quarry walls in this study are too large and
inaccessible to perform the necessary fracture
analysis in the field. Only the lowermost 2 m of
the outcrop can be reached where fracture par-
ameters can be measured. To resolve this access
and scale problem, the spacing of the fractures
was studied on high-resolution outcrop photo-
graphs (see also in Odling et al. 1999) and on
3D digital outcrop models obtained by LIDAR
scanning.
On the photographs all visible fractures are
traced in a standard drawing program (CorelDraw).
The minimal fracture trace height that was possible
to detect reliably was 30 cm using high-resolution
orthorectified photographs (c. 7000 pixels/m2). The
fractures could then be divided into two categories:
(1) non-stratabound fractures that undoubtedly
belong to systematic fracture sets that crosscut the
whole outcrop; and (2) stratabound fractures that
do not evidently belong to a fracture set and termi-
nate at mechanical interfaces. In Bisceglie, two
layers were excavated by explosives; in these
layers tracing blast-related fractures was avoided.
These show an elliptical pattern around the explo-
sives’ boreholes and are often not continuous
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172 C. JACQUEMYN ET AL.
along the whole thickness of a blasted unit. Conse-
quently all karst occurrences and sedimentary
layers are delineated on the photographs.
On the photographs, fracture spacing is docu-
mented along several bedding parallel scan lines
covering the height of every outcrop. Inside most
sedimentary layers multiple scan lines are recorded,
with an average vertical distance of 40 cm between
scan lines. In total 240 scan lines have been covered,
with an average length of 39 m, yielding more than
25 000 spacing measurements.
Scan line analysis on outcrop photographs pro-
vides the most important mechanical stratigraphic
parameters, such as fracture spacing, fracture den-
sity (i.e. the inverse of mean spacing) and apparent
dip. Because fracture orientation is not necessarily
perpendicular to the outcrop surface, the mea-
sured spacing is not the true (fracture-normal)
spacing of the fractures. Therefore the spacing
data need to be compared with fracture orientation
data obtained in the field and on LIDAR-scans.
The apparent dip is the dip of the fracture trace
that is formed by the intersection of a fracture
plane and the quarry wall surface. This information
can be used to link fracture traces to specific fracture
sets. To limit the loss of information and obtain
reliable data, scaled high-resolution orthorectified
pictures were used and ground truthing was
carried out. However, some fracture information
such as attitude (strike and dip) or infill was lost.
As suggested by Ortega et al. (2006) fractures’
(kinematic) aperture measurements should be stan-
dard practice; however, the level of detail of the
photographs does not allow the measurement of
apertures because these are very small (millimetre-
to centimetre-scale). Additionally, the majority of
fractures are affected by dissolution and thus aper-
ture measurements are likely to be different from
those that may have existed as a result of fracture
generation.
The division into mechanical units is based on
the distribution of fracture data and the number of
stopping fractures between them. The spacing distri-
bution is compared between every two successive
scan lines. Because there is a significant overlap
in consecutive spacing distributions and the dif-
ferences between the mean spacing are small
between most successive scan lines, their distri-
butions are tested by a Mann–Whitney–Wilcoxon
(MWW) test (Hollander & Wolfe 1999). This stat-
istical hypothesis test checks whether the median
of one of the two spacing distributions is statisti-
cally larger, and thus different. When values
approach zero, the spacing distribution is signifi-
cantly different. However, in some cases the
spacing distribution of two successive scan lines
appears to be similar, but the number of fractures
differs clearly. In these cases the number of stopping
fractures is calculated and a mechanical interface is
concluded when at least 25% of the fractures do not
continue. Based on the MWW test and the number
of stopping fractures, mechanical units are deter-
mined and marked on the photographs.
The normalized fractured density, FDn (m/m2),
is defined as the ratio of the cumulative length of
all fracture traces in a mechanical unit and the
surface area of that unit. This value should corre-
spond to the fracture density of every scan line
within the unit. Because some units are represented
by only one scan line, correspondence of the frac-
ture density measured along the scan line to the nor-
malized fracture density over the mechanical unit
indicates that this scan line is adequate to represent
the whole unit.
In every mechanical unit the ratio between the
surface area of visible karst cavities in 2D on the
cliff faces and the entire mechanical unit is calcu-
lated, resulting in the karstification percentage (por-
osity) of that unit. Inside these karst cavities it is
often difficult to recognize fractures because they
have been severely enlarged by dissolution, and fre-
quently several fractures may be combined to form
one karst cavity. Therefore, fracture recognition
and fracture density calculation are only done in
between large karst cavities. It is thus assumed
that fracture density is relatively constant along
the whole unit, and was not higher/lower where
the karst cavities presently exist. Moreover a
number of the observed karst cavities are not
wider than the average fracture spacing and thus
clustering could be recognized if present. Odling
et al. (1999) show that stratabound fractures are
not clustered relative to longer non-stratabound
fractures. This could rather be the result of a
scaling effect, that larger fractures are progressively
less abundant (Gillespie et al. 1993). However Gale
(2002) and Ortega et al. (2006) show clustering in
stratabound fractures systems in carbonate rocks
and both show that the widest aperture and thus
most conductive fractures tend to be within the
clusters. Unfortunately no aperture measurements
were collected owing to the scale of the photographs
and potential dissolution enlargement. The presence
of clustering along line samples can be deter-
mined by calculating the coefficient of variation
Cv (Cox & Lewis 1966, Gillespie et al. 1999),
defined as the ratio between the standard deviation
and the mean value of the spacing data. For fractures
with Poisson distribution, clustered fractures result
in a Cv . 1, while anti-clustered (evenly spaced)
fractures result in Cv , 1.
Lidar scanning
Three 3D photo-realistic Digital Outcrop Models
(DOMs) were obtained by LIDAR scanning of the
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KARSTIFICATION OF THE MURGE AREA 173

Bisceglie, Trani and Cavallerizza quarries with a Trani (layered carbonates)

resolution of 10 mm. The Barile quarry was dis-
regarded because of the flat-cut quarry walls that
would not allow fracture orientation to be calcu-
lated. By scanning these outcrops, inaccessible
locations (e.g. middle and upper parts of the vertical
quarry walls) could be accessed digitally to perform
measurements. The aim was to interpret the fracture
network, particularly in relation to karst features.
Therefore all fractures that could be identified in
the virtual outcrop were picked. Because of the
scale of the outcrops and the karst cavities, a
minimal trace length for fracture selection was set
at 1 m. In practice, this resulted in a large set of
3D polylines, corresponding to the picked surface
traces of exposed fractures. Best-fit planes were
then computed to represent the fractures and their
orientation (strike and dip). Afterwards the picked
planes were reviewed individually to classify them
as karstified or non-karstified fractures. From each
digital outcrop model between 400 and 600 fracture
planes were extracted.
Case studies
In this paper, four quarries are analysed to under-
stand the mechanical stratigraphy and the link
between fractures and karstification. In the layered
Trani quarry (Fig. 2b) only limited karstification
is present, but the fracture pattern is clearly influ-
enced by mechanical stratigraphy. The layered
Bisceglie quarry (Fig. 2a) shows karstification,
which appears to be governed by fracture orien-
tation and is limited to specific layers. The Cavaller-
izza and Barile quarries (Fig. 2c) do not show much
layering (rudist buildup), but karst cavities are
aligned along fractures.
The quarry wall used for the mechanical stratigra-
phy analysis is indicated in Figure 3b. Fracture
tracing on the DOM of the Trani quarry results in
408 fractures planes. Four steeply dipping fracture
sets can be distinguished on an equal-angle stereo-
net (Fig. 3a). They all occur along the whole outcrop,
no immediate relation to karstification can be seen
and no crosscutting relationships between fractures
have been found on the scans or on the field. Based
on the density plot in the stereonet, the NW–SE
fracture set is the most abundant. The fractures are
sketched on an aerial photograph of the quarry
(Fig. 3b). Notice that two quarry walls are oriented
at a very low angle (less than 58) with regard to two
of the fracture sets. The NW –SE fracture set is the
only set that is nearly perpendicular to this wall.
Near the top of the Trani quarry, an erosional
contact is present between the Bari Limestone
and the overlying Pleistocene deposits. Just below
this unconformity some karst cavities are present.
Above these cavities the Pleistocene sediments
show some depression and some layers pinch out
laterally. No disturbance (fractures, cave-ins, brec-
ciation, etc.) of these layers is observed directly
above karst cavities. Fractures are visibly present
in the Bari Limestone, but are absent in the Pleisto-
cene deposits.
The high-resolution photograph of the Trani
quarry (Fig. 4a) covers a rectangle of approximately
25 × 80 m for the mechanical stratigraphic analy-
sis. In total 3500 fractures are traced on the
picture. Based on their orientation (apparent dip)
and their persistence across the outcrop, the fracture
traces are divided into four categories: (1) a persist-
ent SW dipping fracture set (Fig. 4c); (2) a persistent
NE dipping fracture set (Fig. 4d ); (3) a persistent

0°
a b 10m
N

270° 90°

max

N = 408
max. density = 271
min 180° min. density = 0

Fig. 3. (a) Equal angle stereonet of the 408 fractures picked on the Digital Outcrop Model (DOM) of the Trani
quarry. Four fracture sets are identified. (b) Aerial photograph of the quarry. The four fracture sets derived from the
fracture attitudes are sketched arbitrarily on the overview. The two quarry walls are oriented at low angle (c. 58) to two of
the fracture sets. The quarry wall used for mechanical stratigraphy is marked with a dotted line and arrow.
 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at University of Toronto on February 4, 2015

174 C. JACQUEMYN ET AL.

(a) NE SW (b) NE SW

5m 5m

(c) NE SW (d) NE SW

5m 5m

Fig. 4. (a) Overview of the Trani quarry with all defined mechanical units in black. (b) All fracture traces of the
‘stratabound fractures’ (n ¼ 3017). (c) Fracture traces of the SW-dipping fracture set (n ¼ 185). (d) Fracture traces of
the NE-dipping (red, n ¼ 240) and low-angle SW dipping (green, n ¼ 25) fracture sets.

low-angle (LA)-SW dipping fracture set (Fig. 4d );
and (4) non-persistent stratabound fractures
(Fig. 4b). The NE, SW and LA-SW sets intersect
the whole quarry and are not restricted to a single
mechanical unit. The stratabound fractures do not
intersect the whole quarry, but are delimited by
mechanical interfaces and are generally (sub)verti-
cal. The NE set has an average apparent dip of
358. The SW and LA-SW sets have an apparent
dip of 40 and 208, respectively. These fracture sets
correspond to the non-perpendicular fracture sets
derived from the digital outcrop model. Their
low apparent-dip values are caused by their acute
angle with the quarry wall. Because these fractures
are persistent across the quarry wall, they are
excluded from the mechanical stratigraphy analy-
sis. Additionally, the obtained spacing data is
mainly derived from the wall-perpendicular NW–
SE oriented fracture set and thus the spacing data
along the scan lines will correspond to the true
spacing.
Fracture spacing is measured along 74 scan lines.
Results are shown in Figure 5a. The difference or
similarity between scan lines was checked by the
MWW test (Fig. 5b). Therefore, values close to zero
correspond to mechanical interfaces. The percentage
of stopping fractures (Fig. 5c) was counted at these
mechanical interfaces and in between scan lines
with similar spacing, but a different number of
fractures (Fig. 5d). Based on these two parameters
the Trani quarry was subdivided into 17 mechanical
units. Within these units, most parameters appear to
remain relatively constant. The mean and median of
the spacing show a strong correlation with a corre-
lation coefficient R 2 of 0.95 (Fig. 6). There is a
strong linear correlation between the mean spacing
and FDn (Fig. 7). This shows that every sampled
scan line is satisfactory to represent the whole mech-
anical unit it belongs to. The coefficient of variation
Cv for spacing along the scan lines varies from 0.65
to 0.95. Because Cv , 1, the stratabound fractures
are anti-clustered.
The fracture density evolution from bottom to
top for all fracture categories is shown in Figure 8.
The stratabound fractures show a cyclicity of frac-
ture density (two cycles). From bottom to top, two
peaks respectively at 5 and at 10 m height delineate
the beginning of two decreasing trends in which
fracture density decreases with increasing bed
thickness. These trends coincide with the sedimen-
tary cycles mentioned above (Fig. 8). The relation-
ship between mechanical unit thickness and

Fig. 5. (a) Boxplot of the spacing data for the scan lines along the Trani quarry wall. Mechanical units from top to
bottom are indicated by capital letters. The mean spacing is indicated by a black star. From mechanical unit C to unit K a
decrease in spacing values is observed. A similar decrease is present from unit L to unit O. (b) Results for the Mann–
Whitney– Wilcoxon test. Different spacing distribution results in values close to zero and suggests the presence of a
mechanical interface. (c) The percentage of stopping fractures in between scan lines. (d) Number of fractures
encountered along the scan lines. (e) Fracture density results for every scan line. Two cycles of fracture density increase
are present from top to bottom.
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KARSTIFICATION OF THE MURGE AREA 175

2.0
a
1.8

1.6
Spacing of fractures [m]

1.4

1.2

1.0

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0
A B C D E F G HI J K L M N O P Q

1.0
b
0.8
MWW-test

0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
A B C D E F G HI J K L M N O P Q

100 c
% stopping fract.

80
60
40
20
0
A B C D E F G HI J K L M N O P Q

400
Number of fractures

d
300

200

100

0
A B C D E F G HI J K L M N O P Q

5.5
e
5.0
Fracture density [1/m]

4.5
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
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176 C. JACQUEMYN ET AL.

1 0.8
Trani (R2=0.95)
0.9 Bisceglie A(R2=0.89) 0.7
Bisceglie B (R2=0.94)

1/Normalized fracture density [m²/m]

0.8
0.6
0.7
Median of spacing [m]

0.5
0.6

0.5 0.4

0.4 0.3
0.3
0.2
0.2 Trani (R²=0.96)
0.1 Bisceglie B (R²=0.85)
0.1 Bisceglie A (R²=0.79)
0 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Mean spacing [m] Mean spacing [m]

Fig. 7. Crossplot of the mean spacing v. the inverse of

Fig. 6. For all mechanical units a strong linear
correlation exists between the mean fracture spacing and
the median of fracture spacing.
mean spacing of stratabound fractures shows a
linear increase (R 2 ¼ 0.84; Fig. 9). Fracture
spacing increases with increasing unit thicknesses.
Karstification in this quarry is limited to
decimetre-scale dissolution enlargement of frac-
tures; only few large karst cavities (.1 m) are
present and they occur mainly in the top cycle
(Fig. 4a, left). The orientation of only six fractures
along which these few karst cavities formed could
be retrieved. These belong to the NW– SE and
NE–SW fracture sets.
the normalized fracture density. For the Trani quarry
both variables show a strong linear correlation
(R 2 ¼ 0.96). For walls A and B in the Bisceglie some
scatter exists; R 2 is respectively 0.79 and 0.95.
Bisceglie (layered carbonates)
All 467 picked and best-fitted fracture planes were
divided into three classes. The first class contains
154 fractures that are not obviously related to karsti-
fication and do not show dissolution enlargement.
The second class groups 323 fractures that are
clearly related to karstification, that is, severely
dissolution-enlarged or undoubtedly connected to
a karst cavity. Based on their attitude, this fracture

Stratabound fractures
NE dipping
20 SW dipping
karst LA-SW dipping
cavity

15
Height [m]

10

0
MS WS 1 2 3 4 5 6
Fracture density [#/m]

Fig. 8. Sedimentary log (left) and mechanical stratigraphic (fracture density) log (right) of the Trani quarry for the
different fracture types described in the text. The stratabound fractures show two cycles that start at 4 and 10 m,
respectively (black arrows). The fracture density results of the other three fracture sets are shown in red, blue and green
and show little variation (MS, mudstone; WS, wackestone).
 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at University of Toronto on February 4, 2015
KARSTIFICATION OF THE MURGE AREA
3.5
Trani (R²=0.84)
Bisceglie A (R²=0.64)
Bisceglie B (R²=0.53)
3.0
Mechanical unit thickness [m]
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
Mean spacing [m]
Fig. 9. Plot of the mechanical unit thickness v. the
mean spacing for the stratabound fractures. A linear
correlation is observed between fracture spacing and unit
thickness in the Trani quarry (R 2 ¼ 0.84). For the
fracture spacing in the Bisceglie quarry this correlation is
less pronounced (wall A, R 2 ¼ 0.64; wall B, R 2 ¼ 0.53).
class can be subdivided further into three fracture
sets of karstified fractures. One of these is subverti-
cally dipping and has a strike direction parallel to
the normal fault described above. Therefore, these
49 fractures have been allocated to a third class,
that is, karstified normal fault-related fractures.
The corresponding orientation data of the three frac-
ture classes is shown in density plots in lower hemi-
sphere equal angle stereonets (Fig. 10), and the
karstified fracture sets are sketched on an aerial
photograph of the quarry. The fracture sets obtained
from the DOM are consistent with field observa-
tions from both the quarry floor (Fig. 11) and the
quarry walls. On the DOM no relation was found
between the different fracture sets. Also, no cross-
cutting relationships or striations (could have been
erased by subsequent dissolution) were found in
the field.
The ‘non-karstified’ fractures (Fig. 10c) plot in
two steeply dipping fracture sets that are nearly
perpendicular to each other and are clearly oriented
differently than the karstified fractures and nor-
mal fault-related fractures. In the Trani quarry a
similar combination of steeply dipping fractures was
observed. A similar resemblance exists between
the normal fault related fracture set that is oriented
quasi-parallel to the NW–SE fracture set in the
Trani quarry. The fourth fracture set in Trani
177
(NE –SW) contains fewer fractures and has no cor-
responding fracture set in Bisceglie.
In this quarry two walls were analysed on high-
resolution photographs, one of the NE-facing (wall
A) and a second of the north-facing wall (wall B;
Fig. 11). Both walls cover the same stratigraphic
interval and sedimentary layers can easily be recog-
nized on both of them. In this quarry, fracture traces
are mostly shorter than 3 m and do not crosscut the
whole outcrop. Only very few fractures are persist-
ent over the whole height of the quarry. These are
excluded from the analysis. No systematic fracture
sets or categories could be distinguished by apparent
dip as in the Trani quarry. Based on the orientation
data, obtained from the DOM, it can be assumed that
on both walls at least one fracture set will not be
exposed because the quarry walls are oriented paral-
lel to fracture directions. The NW– SE oriented frac-
ture set exhibits the same angle to both walls
(c. 558), therefore spacing data of this set is equal
0.7 0.8 0.9
on both walls.
The high-resolution photograph (Fig. 12, top)
of the east-facing wall (wall A) next to the normal
fault covers an area of 20 m high and 35 m wide.
Probably very few fracture traces of the north–
south oriented fracture set are exposed in this wall.
On this photograph more than 1600 fractures are
traced and 75 bedding parallel scan lines are
drawn. The area covered in the photograph of the
north-facing wall (wall B) is 25 m high and 45 m
wide (Fig. 12, bottom). This wall is oriented parallel
to the normal fault’s strike and thus very few or no
normal fault-related fractures will be exposed in
this photograph. A total of 2100 fractures were
traced and 80 bedding parallel scan lines defined.
Based on the MWW test and the percentage of stop-
ping fractures, the outcrop was subdivided into 25
and 26 mechanical units for walls A and B, respec-
tively. Because walls A and B cover the same
interval, results from both walls are considered sim-
ultaneously to assign the mechanical units. Conse-
quently mechanical units can reliably be compared
between the two photographs.
The correlation between the median and the
mean fracture spacing (Fig. 6) is strong (wall A,
R 2 ¼ 0.89; wall B, R 2 ¼ 0.94), similar to results
from the Trani quarry. No relation can be observed
between fracture spacing and the mechanical unit
thickness. A general trend might be suspected
towards wider spacing in thicker units, but the cor-
relation is too weak to fully support this.
The karstification percentage, which was calcu-
lated for every mechanical unit as the ratio of the
surface area of the karst cavities and the mechanical
unit’s surface area (Fig. 12), varies from 0 to 45%.
The coefficient of variation was calculated for all
scan lines and ranges from 0.55 to 1.11 for both
walls (mean Cv ¼ 0.75). This implies that the
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178 C. JACQUEMYN ET AL.

(a) KARSTIFIED 0° (c) NOT KARSTIFIED 0°

FRACTURES FRACTURES
n = 274 n = 154
min = 0 min = 0
max = 50 max =28

270° 90° 270° 90°

A
PE

180° 180°
N
N
IN
ES

(b) KARSTIFIED 0°
NORMAL FAULT
RELATED
n = 49
min = 0
max = 28
max
270° 90°

min

180°

Fig. 10. Pole density projection on lower hemisphere equal-angle stereonets of the defined fracture sets in the Bisceglie
quarry. The black lines represent the mean orientation of their corresponding clusters. (a) The karstified fractures form
two conjugate fracture sets that can be linked to the Apeninnic compression. (b) The karstified normal fault-related
fractures have formed owing to SW–NE extension. (c) The non-karstified fracture clusters form two orthogonal
fracture sets.

Fig. 11. The walls studied in the Bisceglie quarry are indicated on an aerial photograph. The karstified fracture sets are
marked by coloured lines. The normal fault is oriented parallel to the red fracture set. Spacing distance is chosen
arbitrarily. The dotted lines are traced along fracture exposures on the quarry floor. Two of the fracture sets are
quasi-parallel to the walls studied.
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KARSTIFICATION OF THE MURGE AREA 179

N S
18
16
14
Height [m]

12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0 1 2 3 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
E W Fracture Intensity [#/m] Karstification Percentage [%]
20
18
16
14
Height [m]

12
10
8
6
4
2
0

0 1 2 3 4 0 5 10 15 20 25
Fracture Intensity [#/m] Karstification Percentage [%]

Fig. 12. Photograph of wall A (top) and B (bottom) in the Bisceglie quarry. Number of fracture traces is respectively
1658 and 2716. Mechanical unit boundaries are traced in orange, fractures are traced in blue, and karst cavities in
transparent grey. On the right the fracture density (black) and the karstification percentage (red) results are plotted
for every mechanical unit. The relation between fracture density and unit thickness shows limited karstification
where fracture density is high and vice versa.

fractures are anti-clustered. Only for six scan lines is mechanical units correlate very well. Mean spacing
Cv . 1, suggesting clustering of the fractures. values in wall A are slightly higher than in wall B.
The fracture spacing was compared between The five uppermost mechanical units and one of the
both walls per mechanical unit (Fig. 13). Most lower units in the outcrop do not follow the same
correlation. For a wide range of mean spacing
values of these units on wall B, the spacing on wall
0.5 A remains constant at c. 0.15 m.
Subsequently the karstification percentage was
compared between both quarry walls (Fig. 14).
0.4 Different relationships can be observed: (1) if karsti-
fication in wall B is not present, up to 11% of karsti-
Mean spacing (wall A) [m]

fication might by present in wall A; (2) similarly,

0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0
0.1 0.2 0.3
Mean spacing (wall B) [m]
Fig. 13. Cross plot of mean fracture spacing in wall A
v. wall B. Most mechanical units are well correlated
(R 2 ¼ 0.92) and fracture spacing in wall A is slightly
higher than results of wall B. However six mechanical
units (squares) do not follow the same trend. For a wide
range of spacing values on wall B from 0.15 to 0.38 m,
the mean spacing on wall A is 0.15 m for all these units.
fairly low degrees of karstification in wall B,
lower than 10%, can correspond to very high
degrees of karstification in wall A; and (3) further-
more, for some mechanical units a proportional
relationship is observed between the karstification
percentage of both walls.
Barile and Cavallerizza (massive rudist
floatstone)
0.4 0.5 The fracture orientation results from the best-fit
planes of the Cavallerizza quarry are plotted in
Figure 15. Three steeply dipping clusters can
clearly be recognized. Fractures along which karsti-
fication occurs belong to all three clusters. There is
no non-karstified fracture set. The orientation of the
largest set of fractures is parallel to normal
fault-related fractures in the Bisceglie and Trani
quarries. The two remaining fracture sets are
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180 C. JACQUEMYN ET AL.

25

Karstification percentage (wall B)

20

15

10

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Karstification percentage (wall A)

Fig. 14. Comparison between the karstification percentages of both quarry walls. Several different scenarios can
be recognized. Units that are not karstified in wall B show some (≤10%) karstification in wall A (triangles). Fairly
low karstification in wall B and high karstification in wall A (squares). Linear correlation exists between karstification
in both walls (circles, R 2 ¼ 0.95).

oriented differently with respect to fracture sets
inferred in the two layered quarries. The orientation
of the clusters derived from the DOM is consistent
with field measurements along scan lines and on
the quarry floor.
Karstification in both quarries is visibly not
related to specific layers. The occurrence of karst
cavities is related to large-scale (sub)vertical frac-
tures that crosscut the whole outcrop (Fig. 16).
Several large-scale vertical fractures exist but not
all are dissolution enlarged or have been overprinted
by karstification.
n = 420
min = 0
max =261
270°
max
Because the Cavallerizza and Barile quarries are
mainly composed of massive rudist mudstone,
mechanical units can hardly be defined and the
number of strata to which mechanical stratigraphy
analysis can be applied is limited. However, fractur-
ing is clearly present in these quarries and played a
vital role in karstification. The layered Altamura
Limestone above the Turonian unconformity shows
intense karstification. However, only few metres are
exposed that are heavily affected by present-day
surface weathering. Therefore this interval is disre-
garded for this study.
In the Bari Limestone in Cavallerizza two
bedding parallel scan lines (Fig. 16) are placed
above (SL C2) and below (SL C1) an interface
0° where clearly several fractures terminate. Both
scan lines span the distance (9.6 m) in between
two karst cavities along two vertical persistent frac-
tures. Fracture spacing (Fig. 17) was measured in
the field and results of the MWW test (p ¼ 0.02)
and the percentage of stopping fractures (58%)
confirm the presence of a mechanical interface.
The coefficient of variation for both scan lines is
90° 0.69 and 0.74 for SL C1 and SL C2 respectively,
indicating that the fractures are anti-clustered.

min
Fig. 15. Lower hemisphere equal-angle stereonet of all
fractures picked in the Cavallerizza quarry (n ¼ 420).
The WNW–ESE fracture set is parallel to the normal
fault in Bisceglie.
Discussion
Mechanical stratigraphy and karstification
180°
in layered outcrops
Sedimentological cycles are, apart from compo-
sitional changes, also reflected in layer thickness
(Fischer 1986), and when regarded as or combined
into mechanical units they hence control fracture
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KARSTIFICATION OF THE MURGE AREA 181

Fig. 16. Overview of karstification in the Cavallerizza quarry. The Turonian palaeosol (green) protects the Bari
Limestone below from meteoric water infiltration. Karst cavities (blue) occur along large-scale fractures (red). Between
two persistent karstified fractures, fracture spacing is measured along two bedding parallel scan lines, separated by a
mechanical interface.

spacing. This explains the coincidence of the frac- not occur in clusters where the widest aperture frac-
ture density evolution to the sedimentary cycles tures tend to occur (Gale 2002; Ortega et al. 2006).
observed in the Trani quarry. The increase in fracture spacing with respect to
The coefficient of variation Cv is ,1 for almost bed thickness has often been described in the litera-
all scan lines. Therefore it can be concluded that ture (Ladeira & Price 1981; Underwood et al. 2003;
the fractures studied are not clustered but are anti- Van Noten & Sintubin 2010). Billi and Salvini
clustered (regularly spaced), and karstification did (2003) and Billi (2005) studied vertical, bedding
normal fractures across the Apulian platform and
also calculated an increasing linear relationship
100
between unit thickness and mean spacing of 0.38 m
per metre thickness for the Apulia Platform. How-
90 ever the study of Larsen et al. (2010) on fracture
systems in the Apulia Platform on the Gargano
80 peninsula did not observe this proportional relation-
ship. In the Trani quarry this proportional relation-
70 ship is clearly present (Fig. 9) and the mean
Fracture spacing [cm]

spacing and the mechanical unit thickness are well

60
correlated. However for the Bisceglie quarry a
50 blurred increasing trend might be identified, but it
is not well correlated and is largely based on few
40 wider-spaced mechanical units. The results of the
six spurious units mentioned above do not signifi-
30 cantly influence the correlation. The lack of or
poor correlation with this proportional relationship
20
might be due to the fact that several different frac-
10 ture sets are incorporated in the spacing data. Alter-
natively, as observed by Larsen et al. (2010), this
0 spacing v. unit thickness relationship might only
exist for a subset of the data.
SL C1 SL C2
(n=41) (n=26)
The comparison between the normalized frac-
ture density FDn and the mean spacing (Fig. 7)
Fig. 17. Fracture spacing data along two scan lines in the shows a strong linear correlation for the Trani
Cavallerizza quarry, separated by a mechanical unit. The quarry. For the Bisceglie quarry, however, some
mean spacing is indicated by stars. scatter exists. The scatter is caused by the shape of
 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at University of Toronto on February 4, 2015
182
the karst cavities. Scan lines skip karst surface areas.
Because karst cavities are not always continuous
across whole mechanical units, differences in scan
line length and thus slightly different spacing data
are obtained.
In the Bisceglie quarry the mean fracture spacing
correlates well between both walls A and B
(Fig. 13). However, this proportional relationship
is not valid for all mechanical units. The upper
five units and one of the lowest units differ distinctly
from this trend. For these units the mean spacing is
constant around 0.15 m on wall A, but varies from
0.15 to 0.4 m on wall B. This is probably caused
by the exposed surface area of these units in wall
A being approximately 50% smaller than most
mechanical units. The mean fracture spacing of
these units will thus poorly or not correspond to
other parameters (karstification percentage, FDn,
etc.) compared with the other remaining units.
This will be taken into account in the discussion
given below.
In the Bisceglie quarry the surface area of karst
cavities was not used for measuring fracture spacing
for the reason that the observed spacing cannot be
precisely measured on surfaces that are not parallel
to the photo-plane. Because the fractures are not
clustered, it is reasonable to assume that fracture
corridors were absent in the Bisceglie quarry. How-
ever, in other parts of the Apulia Platform, fracture
corridors (Bazalgette et al. 2010) as well as clus-
tered fracture sets (Larsen et al. 2010) are present.
Along the two scan lines in the Cavallerizza quarry,
the stratabound fractures are anti-clustered (Cv , 1).
Therefore it is concluded that no clustering of the
stratabound fractures is present close to the karst
cavities that might have favoured karstification.
45
40
35
Karstification percentage
30
25
20
15
10
0 0.1
Fig. 18. Plot of the fracture spacing v. the percentage of karstification of all studied mechanical units. High
karstification percentage increases with increasing fracture spacing. The correlation coefficients R 2 are 0.81 and 0.76 for
wall A (squares) and B (circles) respectively. The empty squares and circles represent the mechanical units that showed
poor correlation for fracture spacing between both walls. This is also reflected in the karstification percentage.
C. JACQUEMYN ET AL.
However, karstification mainly occurs along long
persistent non-stratabound fractures that are typi-
cally clustered (Odling et al. 1999).
The relation between karstification and fracture
spacing (Fig. 18) shows a clear linear correlation:
R 2 is 0.81 and 0.76 for wall A and B respectively.
Higher fracture spacing (and hence lower fracture
density) in a mechanical unit yields a higher
degree of karstification. However, the six deficient
mechanical units differ clearly from this relation-
ship. The majority of karstification in the Bisceglie
quarry occurs where thick (1–1.5 m) sedimentary
units are overlain by thinner units of decimetre
thickness. According to these results, the thinner
units are more intensely fractured. It is therefore
likely that the meteoric water flows through these
units more dispersed and relatively slowly. The
underlying thicker units are less densely fractured,
so the same volume of fluid passes through fewer
fractures, where it causes intense karstification.
This mode of karstification is illustrated in
Figure 19. The karst development phase is preceded
by cave gestation and formation of small tubes
(Slabe 1995) along inception horizons. It is quanti-
tatively (statistically) shown that the development
of karst conduits under phreatic conditions is
strongly related to a restricted number of inception
horizons (Filipponi et al. 2009). The inception hor-
izons in the Bisceglie quarry are located at the
boundaries between intensely fractured thin units
and less fractured thick units where the main flow
direction becomes horizontally oriented owing to
lower fracture density. Only along tubes that form
at the intersection of this inception horizon and ver-
tical fractures are large karst cavities formed. Once
breakthrough occurs in these tubes, practically all
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Mean fracture spacing [m]
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KARSTIFICATION OF THE MURGE AREA 183

Fig. 19. Illustration of the influence of mechanical stratigraphy on karstification in the quarry of Bisceglie. Where
fracture density is high, fluid flow is slow and dispersed. When the meteoric fluids reach a mechanical unit with low
fracture density, fluid flow is redirected horizontally (inception horizon) and focused through few fractures where
karstification develops.

fluids are focused through them and karstification
commences (Mylroie & Carew 1995; Worthington
et al. 2000).
The karstification percentage strongly differs
between the walls in the Bisceglie quarry (Fig. 14).
Three scenarios are observed:
(1) Units that are not karstified in wall B are kar-
stified up to 10% in wall A. All these karst
cavities occur along normal fault-related frac-
tures that are exposed in wall A, but not in wall
B (Fig. 14). None of the other fracture sets
host karst cavities in these units and therefore
the karstification in wall B is zero.
(2) Units that are equally karstified in both walls
probably belong to the NE –SW oriented frac-
ture set. This fracture set cuts wall A and B at
approximately 558; hence the fracture spacing
of this set is theoretically equal in both walls
and thus the karstification percentage is also
equal. The same relationship might be
achieved if the two fracture sets that are paral-
lel to the quarry walls have the same spacing
and the same karstification potential.
(3) Karstification in wall A is much greater than in
wall B. The NNE– SSW fracture set is oriented
parallel to wall A. If a karst cavity that is
aligned along this set is exposed in wall A, it
will yield a very large surface area, while the
same karst cavity would be much smaller in
wall B. Several of these karst cavities are
exposed further along wall A (outside of the
analysed photograph). Therefore, orientation
of the quarry wall with regard to fracture
orientation exerts a major effect on the
collected datasets.
Karstification in massive limestone
Karstification in the massive rudist accumulations is
visibly related to large-scale (sub)vertical fractures
(.10 m). Nevertheless, dissolution phenomena are
not present along all fractures. The overlying Alta-
mura Limestone, however, is intensely karstified,
so it has been readily affected by meteoric water
percolating through the fracture system. The under-
lying Bari Limestone is separated from these infil-
trating fluids by a clay-bearing palaeosol below
the Turonian unconformity. Owing to the imperme-
able nature of this clay-rich horizon, the underlying
rock is shielded against meteoric water infiltration.
Impervious palaeosols are capable of diverting
meteoric water to a limited number of input points
to the subsurface (Mylroie & Carew 1995). These
inlet points are formed where the palaeosol is cut
by a fracture or fault (Fig. 16). All fluids that infil-
trate into the Bari Limestone have to pass through
these infiltration points. Thus in the Bari Limestone,
karstification is only present below weaknesses in
the palaeosol where water could infiltrate. Almost
all karst cavities form along fractures that crosscut
the whole quarry from bottom to top. Vertical frac-
tures that do not crosscut the palaeosol will not
transmit fluids and show no dissolution. Therefore
almost no karstification is observed in the Barile
quarry (Fig. 2c). The thickness of the Turonian
palaeosol in these outcrops is on average only 4–
5 m. This seems to be thick enough to protect
 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at University of Toronto on February 4, 2015
184
underlying rocks from infiltrating meteoric water
and karstification.
Fracture orientation and karstification
The lack of striations (possibly owing to karst over-
printing) and crosscutting relationships between the
fracture sets makes it difficult to work out the
sequence of fracture formation for the different frac-
ture sets. Based on their orientation, some assump-
tions can be made and a tentative development
evolution of the fracture generation composed. The
relation between karstification and fracture orien-
tation is summarized in Figure 20.
One of the fracture sets in the Bisceglie quarry is
oriented parallel to the major normal fault that cross-
cuts the whole quarry (displacement c. 2 m). There-
fore, it is assumed that this set contains joints that
formed during the extension phase that caused
normal faulting. In the Cavallerizza and Trani
quarries, fracture sets are found with a comparable
orientation. Because the whole Murge region is cut
by normal faults along this direction (Ciaranfi et al.
1983), these are also assumed to be extension
joints. The extensional regime can be explained by
the bulging of the Apulian platform (Billi &
Salvini 2003; Barba et al. 2010). Bulging provides
an extensional regime in the upper layers and sub-
aerial exposure required for karstification. The bulg-
ing is dated to the Pleistocene (Doglioni et al. 1994).
The two remaining sets of karstified fractures
in the Bisceglie quarry geometrically form a
BISCEGLIE TRANI CAVALLERIZZA
Extension joint
TRANSTENSION
COMPRESSION
BULGING/EXTENSION
OF ANTO GRABEN
KARSTIFICATION
PRESENT DAY
STRIKE-SLIP
Fig. 20. Evolution of fracturing events in the Murge area
of the Apulia Platform relative to timing of karstification.
Fracture orientation results are mainly obtained by
LIDAR scanning and complemented by
field measurements.
C. JACQUEMYN ET AL.
conjugate pair; however no additional data (stria-
tions, etc.) are available to confirm this. Further-
more the main compression direction of the
Apennine fold and thrust belt bisects this conjugate
pair. Compression in this area can be caused by the
development of the Apennines (Doglioni et al.
1994), Dinarides (de Alteriis 1995) or Tethys sub-
duction (Gelabert et al. 2002).
Karstification exclusively occurs along the
aforementioned three fracture sets. Consequently it
is assumed that the non-karstified fracture sets in
the Bisceglie quarry post-date the karstification
phase and thus formed most recently. These fracture
sets are oriented perpendicular to each other. A sim-
ilar pair of perpendicular fracture sets is observed
in the Trani quarry and is thus supposed to have
formed post-karstification. This pair of fracture
sets could be related to the present-day strike-slip
structures that are NS-sinistral and EW-dextral
faults (Del Gaudio et al. 2007) and are the same
sets as documented by Di Bucci et al. (2008) with
a maximum age of Middle Pleistocene.
The fracture sets in the Trani quarry cannot be
linked directly to subsequent karstification because
dissolution is limited in this locality and mainly
involves fracture enlargement, which is hard to
quantify. It furthermore occurs in fractures that orig-
inate from different clusters. The orientation of the
fractures along which the few large-scale karst cav-
ities formed is gathered from only six fractures. This
number is not representative and confident con-
clusions cannot be inferred; nevertheless, the
results are similar to the observations made on the
Bisceglie quarry. The large-scale karst cavities
formed along the NW–SE and NE–SW cluster.
The NW– SE set is parallel to the normal fault in
Bisceglie. The NE –SW fracture set contains fewer
fractures and cannot directly be linked to fracture
sets observed in other quarries. This set is,
however, oriented parallel to the Ofanto graben a
few kilometres to the NW of the quarry. Therefore
the fractures in this cluster could be extension
joints resulting from this graben. The occurrence
of karst cavities along this fracture set suggests
these fractures formed before or during karstifica-
tion. The Ofanto graben was formed during the Plio-
Pleistocene (Ciaranfi et al. 1983).
Above the unconformity between Cretaceous
and Pleistocene deposits no signs of cave-ins or
disturbances are observed directly above karst cav-
ities. Additionally, no fracturing is observed. This
leads to the conclusion that fracturing and karstifi-
cation occurred before the overlying layers sedi-
mented. Therefore it can be concluded that these
karst cavities formed during the Pleistocene,
after Apenninic compression and bulging of the
Apulia Platform, but before Late Pleistocene
sedimentation.
 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at University of Toronto on February 4, 2015
KARSTIFICATION OF THE MURGE AREA
In the Cavallerizza quarry the SSW–NNE
oriented fracture set probably formed during an
NE–SW extensional phase, parallel to normal fault-
ing in Bisceglie. The remaining two fracture sets
in the Cavallerizza quarry are probably the result
of a transtensional regime activated before the
Plio-Pleistocene transgression (Pieri et al. 1997).
Therefore deformation/fracturing is consistent with
Pleistocene bulging as in Bisceglie and Trani. Kar-
stification occurs along all observed fracture sets,
thus leading to the conclusion that all observed frac-
turing occurred before karstification.
Conclusions
In this reservoir analogue study, the controlling
factors of karstification on Cretaceous platform
carbonates were studied in outcrops of the Apulia
Platform carbonates. The application of mechani-
cal stratigraphy and Lidar scanning revealed the
importance of the presence of fracturing on
karstification.
In layered rocks karstification is controlled by
fracture density of the layers (mechanical stratigra-
phy). High fracture density mostly occurs in thin
layers and causes dispersed flow of percolating
meteoric fluids. In layers where fracture density is
low (thicker units), fluid flow is focussed into few
fractures, in which intensive karstification occurs.
In the case where the Turonian palaeosol pro-
tects the underlying Bari Limestone from meteoric
water infiltration, karstification is not controlled
by fracture density. Only where fractures crosscut
this impermeable palaeosol can fluids penetrate
and karstification occur. A thickness of 5 m of this
palaeosol is apparently enough to shield the under-
lying rock.
Karstification of the Apulia Platform in the
Murge area is strongly fracture-related. Fracture
orientation data were combined with data on karsti-
fication. This allowed fracturing and karstification
to be put into a common timeframe. The fractures
along which most of the dissolution occurred are
related to the southern Apennines compression and
bulging of the Apulia Platform, and are probably
of Pleistocene age. Unaffected Pleistocene sedi-
ments above karst cavities imply that karstification
predates deposition of these sediments.
The authors would like to acknowledge R. Jones and S.
Smith for the creation of these superb outcrop models
and the fracture extraction from it. We would also like to
thank S. Laubach, L. Bazalgette and an anonymous
reviewer for their profound revision of the manuscript
that significantly improved it. We also wish thank K.
Van Noten for the interesting discussions. The authors
are thankful to ENI for allowing us to publish this study.
185
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