Search results for " seismicity"
showing 9 items of 49 documents
An integrated approach to investigate the seismotectonics of northern Sicily and southern Tyrrhenian
2009
Abstract This paper deals with a comparison among recent structure and seismicity in the hinge zone between northern Sicily and southern Tyrrhenian, corresponding to both emerged and submerged northern portion of the Maghrebian chain. This hinge zone is part of a wider W–E trending right-lateral shear zone, mainly characterized by both a synthetic NW-SE/W–E oriented, and antithetic left-lateral N–S/NE-SW fault systems, which has been affecting the tectonic edifice, since the Pliocene. The inland structures have been mapped using aerial-photo interpretation, geological mapping and mesostructural analysis to reconstruct the stress regime in the study area. On the contrary, the offshore struct…
Active north-vergent thrusting in the northern Sicily continental margin in the frame of the quaternary evolution of the Sicilian collisional system
2021
Abstract A three-stage evolution has characterized the Sicilian Fold and Thrust Belt (SFTB) during the last 15 My: two main thin-skinned shortening events involving mainly Meso-Cenozoic carbonate units, followed by thick-skinned thrusting involving Plio-Pleistocene deposits in the frontal area as well as the crystalline basement in the inner and deeper sector of the chain. We investigated the northern Sicily continental margin, by using differently-penetrative seismic reflection data and new field surveys, which revealed, both offshore and onshore, north-vergent compressional structures that affected the tectonic edifice during Quaternary time. These structures, correlated with the kinemati…
The Problem of Volcanic Unrest: The Campi Flegrei Case History
1996
Campi Flegrei is one of the most densely populated active volcanic areas of the world. It consists of a complex structure with a multicollapse caldera and many postcaldera, explosive, mostly monogenetic vents. The last eruption was in 1538 (Mt. Nuovo). Progressive reduction of eruption energy has accompanied migration of the vents toward the center of the caldera. Campi Flegrei activity is fed by a shallow magma chamber in which trachybasaltic magma undergoes cooling and fractionation, producing trachytic residual melt that is periodically tapped and erupted to the surface. The depth of the chamber is estimated, from petrological and active and passive seismic data, to be about 4 km beneath…
Flow changes and geochemical anomalies in warm and cold springs associated with the 1992-1994 seismic sequence at Pollina, Central Sicily, Italy
2007
During a three-year discontinuous geochemical monitoring of some warm springs and cold discharges located in central-northern Sicily, some hydro-geochemical changes were observed. Excluding a possible related to a moderate seismic activity were accidentally identified. The observed anomalies showed amplitudes that were modulated by the different geometries and volumes of the feeding aquifers. A poroelastic aquifer contraction, a shaking-induced dilatancy theory as well as seismogenetic-induced changes in the properties of the aquifers have been proposed as possible mechanisms for the water flow and hydro-geochemical changes. These preliminary results could be used to design a monitoring net…
The Coupled Magmatic and Hydrothermal Systems of the Restless Aluto Caldera, Ethiopia
2020
Seismicity can be used to better understand interactions between magma bodies, hydrothermal systems and their host rocks—key factors influencing volcanic unrest. Here, we use earthquake data to image, for the first time, the seismic velocity structure beneath Aluto, a deforming volcano in the Main Ethiopian Rift. Traveltime tomography is used to jointly relocate seismicity and image 3D P- and S-wave velocity structures and the ratio between them (V P/V S). At depths of 4–9 km, the seismicity maps the top of a large low velocity zone with high V P/V S, which we interpret as a more ductile and melt-bearing region. A shallow (<3 km) hydrothermal system exhibits low seismic velocities and ve…
Hot water injection in relation to 1982-84 microseismic events at Campi Flegrei Caldera by thermo-hydro-mechanical simulation
2020
The repeated deformations and seismic unrests at Campi Flegrei caldera (southern Italy) have been identified due to a fluid injection source in volcano active area. We investigated the role of hot water injection in the seismic unrests of 1982-1984 with a view to gaining insights into the caldera’s dynamics, by applying coupled TOUGHREACT-FLAC3D simulator to our computational domain of 10 × 1 × 3 km with a single-phase steam isothermal (HM) and non-isothermal (THM) simulations comparison. The results indicated that the overlying caprock blocks the uprising hot water injection, leading to the building up of pore pressure and shear stress underneath over time. This process substantially modif…
Seismotectonics in the North-Western Sicily Continental Margin: implications for Geohazard assessment
2017
Active processes in the Northern Sicily Continental Margin (NSCM) have been analysed to produce a seismotectonic map, in order to obtain a useful tool for the assessment of the seismic hazard of the sea-land region. The seismotectonic map is composed of overlapping layers that represent the distribution of different features, such as lithostratigraphy, tectonic elements, seismicity, heat flow, gravimetry, magnetometry, Moho depth, horizontal and vertical movements, submarine landslides, fluid emissions, outlining the mutual relationship and the active structures. The NSCM is suitable to test this approach because it’s located in a transitional area between the Sicilian-Maghrebian chain to t…
SEISMOTECTONIC MAP OF THE NORTHERN SICILY CONTINENTAL MARGIN (NSCM) AND IMPLICATIONS FOR GEOHAZARD ASSESSMENT
2018
The Sicily dominates the central Mediterranean Sea. The Northern Sicily Continental Margin (NSCM) is a segment of the Appeninic-Tyrrhenian System whose upbuilding refers to both the postcollisional convergence between Africa and a very complex “European” crust (Bonardi et al., 2001) or AlKaPeKa (sensu Boullin, 1986) and the opening of the Tyrrhenian back-arc basin. Seismostratigraphic and structural analysis of a large number of available (from ViDePi project) and unpublished (from Department of Earth and Marine Science of the University of Palermo) multichannel seismic reflection profiles acquired across the NSCM, allow us to produce an accurate seismotectonic map, in order to obtain a use…
Evolution of Seismicity During a Stalled Episode of Reawakening at Cayambe Volcano, Ecuador
2021
Cayambe Volcano is an ice-capped, 5,790 m high, andesitic-dacitic volcanic complex, located on the equator in the Eastern Cordillera of the Ecuadorian Andes. An eruption at Cayambe would pose considerable hazards to surrounding communities and a nationally significant agricultural industry. Although the only historically documented eruption was in 1785, it remains persistently restless and long-period (LP) seismicity has been consistently observed at the volcano for over 10 years. However, the sparse monitoring network, and complex interactions between the magmatic, hydrothermal, glacial, and tectonic systems, make unrest at Cayambe challenging to interpret. In June 2016 a seismic “crisis” …