Cryptic Structural Trends Revealed by Cenozoic Sedimentation on the Malta-Sicily Shelf

H. M. Pedley

Fault control of sedimentation patterns affects upper Miocene carbonate deposition. Fault trends, northeasterly or northwesterly, appear to exert major controls on sedimentation and represent the principal fractures seen on geologic maps of the islands. Evidence, however, shows a regionally persistent north-south facies alignment apparent throughout the Cenozoic. A reactivated Mesozoic basement fracture pattern is thought to control this alignment. Probable Mesozoic sedimentation controls and facies distributions on the Malta shelf thus influence trap generation and hydrocarbon migration.