0000000000773062
AUTHOR
Micallef A.
Nature and origin of fault-controlled fluid seepage across the Maltese Islands
The Maltese Islands are intersected by two major fault systems associated with two diverse rifting episodes affect the islands. The first and most widespread system is Early Miocene to mid-Pliocene in age, and consists of faults that are orientated ENE-WSW. The most distinct of these faults is the Great Fault (known also as the Victoria Lines Fault). The younger system of faults (Late Miocene-Early Pliocene) is still active and consists of faults striking NW to SE that often cross-cut the first generation of faults. The most extensive of these faults is the Maghlaq Fault, located along the southern coastline of the Maltese Islands.
Seismostratigraphic reconstruction of the Messinian palaeotopography across the Northern Sicily Continental Margin (NSCM) and an overlying Zanclean megaflood deposit
During the Messinian salinity crisis (MSC) (from 5.97 to 5.33 Ma), the Mediterranean Sea became disconnected from the world’s oceans and a fast and continuous evaporation resulted in its partial desiccation. One of the theories for the end of the MSC postulates that a large volume of Atlantic waters entered the Mediterranean Sea through the Gibraltar Strait and rapidly refilled the Mediterranean basin in an event welldocumented known as the Zanclean Flood. The pathway of the Zanclean flood during its passage from the western to the eastern Mediterranean Sea is unclear. The aim of this study is to understand the effects of the Messinian palaeotopography of the southern Tyrrhenian Sea on the …
Volcano- and neoectonic-related slope failures in the north-western Sicily Channel (central Mediterranean Sea): Implications for understanding and assessing geohazard risk
The southern Sicily coasts represent an important contribution to Italian tourism and marine geological processes in the Sicily Channel could pose a significant risk to neighbouring populations and goods. In this work, we are presenting the first results of the data collection that allowed us to identify and map several geological elements that can be used to assess submarine geohazards in the Sicily Channel. By using multibeam data and high-resolution seismic reflection profiles acquired during the ACUSCAL 2015 Cruise, we defined the characteristics of the morphostructural highs, and the morphology of slope failures and the stratigraphy of the mass transport deposits (MTD). In particular, …