Search results for "active fault"
showing 10 items of 19 documents
Geometry and modeling of an active offshore thrust-related fold system: The Amendolara Ridge, Ionian Sea, southern Italy
2012
On the Ionian Sea coast of southern Italy, spanning the transition from the Calabrian Arc to the Apennines, NE-directed motion of the thin-skinned frontal thrust belt of the Apennines toward the Apulian foreland reportedly ceased during the Early-Middle Pleistocene (PATACCA & SCANDONE, 2007). Deformation since then was dominated by the regional uplift of the Calabrian Arc (WESTAWAY, 1993; CUCCI & CINTI, 1998). However, detailed structural and geomorphologic analysis has revealed that uplift of Middle Pleistocene and younger marine terraces not only ensues from a regional-scale process, but also reflects a smaller-wavelength component of shortening which is attributed to recent, deeper activ…
Tectonic beheading of fluvial valleys in the Maestrat grabens (eastern Spain): Insights into slip rates of Pleistocene extensional faults
2013
Abstract Interaction between faulting and landscape evolution in regions of active tectonics allows us to use subtle geomorphological markers for estimating fault slip rates. Geomorphic features of two valleys connected with the bottom of the Alcala de Xivert graben, at the Maestrat graben system (eastern Spain), suggest that they correspond to the lowest segments of ancient valleys whose original heads were located at the axis of the neighbouring Irta range. They were beheaded owing to displacement of the Torreblanca and Irta faults during a period of active extensional faulting in Middle Pleistocene times. These faults produced a negative inversion of the relief, sinking a narrow graben (…
Scattering and absorption imaging of a highly fractured fluid-filled seismogenetic volume in a region of slow deformation
2020
Regions of slow strain often produce swarm-like sequences, characterized by the lack of a clear mainshock-aftershock pattern. The comprehension of their underlying physical mechanisms is challenging and still debated. We used seismic recordings from the last Pollino swarm (2010–2014) and nearby to separate and map seismic scattering (from P peak-delays) and absorption (from late-time coda-wave attenuation) at different frequencies in the Pollino range and surroundings. High-scattering and high-absorption anomalies are markers of a fluid-filled fracture volume extending from SE to NW (1.5–6 Hz) across the range. With increasing frequency, these anomalies approximately cover the area where t…
An active oblique-contractional belt at the transition between the Southern Apennines and Calabrian Arc: The Amendolara Ridge, Ionian Sea, Italy
2014
High-resolution, single-channel seismic and multibeam bathymetry data collected at the Amendolara Ridge, a key submarine area marking the junction between the Apennine collision belt and the Calabrian subduction forearc, reveal active deformation in a supposedly stable crustal sector. New data, integrated with existing multichannel seismic profiles calibrated with oil-exploratory wells, show that middle to late Pleistocene sediments are deformed in growth folds above blind oblique-reverse faults that bound a regional pop-up. Data analysis indicates that similar to 10 to 20km long banks that top the similar to 80km long, NW-SE trending ridge are structural culminations above en echelon fault…
Zipper junctions: A new approach to the intersections of conjugate strike-slip faults
2016
Intersecting pairs of simultaneously active faults with opposing slip sense present geometrical and kinematic problems. Such faults rarely offset each other but usually merge into a single fault, even when they have displacements of many kilometers. The space problems involved are solved by lengthening the merged fault (zippering up the conjugate faults) or splitting it (unzippering). This process can operate in thrust, normal, and strike-slip fault settings. Examples of conjugate pairs of large-scale strike-slip faults that may have zippered up include the Garlock and San Andreas faults in California (USA), the North and East Anatolian faults (Turkey), the Karakoram and Altyn Tagh faults (…
A multidisciplinary approach to the evaluation of the mechanism that triggered the Cerda landslide (Sicily, Italy).
2005
Abstract The present paper describes a multidisciplinary approach to the evaluation of a seismically triggered landslide that occurred in the Cerda area (Italy) on September 6, 2002, about 1 h after an earthquake took place in the south Tyrrhenian Sea. The study was focused on an analysis of the role of the seismic input in triggering the landslide, in view of the evidence that no other mass movement was recorded in the adjacent areas despite geological and geomorphological spatial homogeneity. The studied area is located on a slope of the western flank of the Fiume Imera Settentrionale (Northern Sicily), which is made up of clayey–arenitic rocks. The slope inclines gently but is not unifor…
A complex thrust sequence in western Himalaya: the active Medlicott Wadia Thrust.
2017
15 pages; International audience; The recent activity of the Medlicott-Wadia Thrust (MWT) is investigated by geomorphic and tectonic studies in the Riasi zone, south of the Pir Panjal range (India, Jammu-Kasmir state of western Himalaya). In the Riasi area, the MWT forms a splay of five faults that dip northward. The recent activity of the splay is quantified using a set of deformed Quaternary alluvial units. The central branch of the thrust splay moved Precambrian limestones above Quaternary sediments and is sealed by 36 ± 3 ka (youngest OSL age) deposits. The other branches offset the top of a 15 ± 1 ka (youngest OSL age) alluvial fan by 180 to 120 m; the two southernmost branches form 17…
An Integrated Multiscale Method for the Characterisation of Active Faults in Offshore Areas. The Case of Sant’Eufemia Gulf (Offshore Calabria, Italy)
2021
Diagnostic morphological features (e.g., rectilinear seafloor scarps) and lateral offsets of the Upper Quaternary deposits are used to infer active faults in offshore areas. Although they deform a significant seafloor region, the active faults are not necessarily capable of producing large earthquakes as they correspond to shallow structures formed in response to local stresses. We present a multiscale approach to reconstruct the structural pattern in offshore areas and distinguish between shallow, non-seismogenic, active faults, and deep blind faults, potentially associated with large seismic moment release. The approach is based on the interpretation of marine seismic reflection data and …
Geochemical investigations applied to active fault detection in a volcanic area: the North-East Rift on Mt. Etna (Sicily, Italy)
1999
Geochemical investigations were performed on the Northeast Rift of Mt. Etna, a prominent volcanic structure of this volcano. Low-temperature fumaroles were found on the upper part of this area and the isotopic compositions of C(CO2) and He suggest a likely magmatic origin of the emitted gases. On the contrary, very low degassing was found in the lower part of the NE-Rift, with CO2 concentrations generally very close to those in air. This pattern is probably due to sealing of the eruptive fissures by the repeated injections of magma solidified into dikes and by consequent shallow hydrothermal alteration of the fissured rocks due to residual magma degassing. High soil CO2 concentrations were …
Geodetic and geological evidence of active tectonics in south-western Sicily (Italy)
2014
Abstract Integrated geological, geodetic and marine geophysical data provide evidence of active deformation in south-western Sicily, in an area spatially coincident with the macroseismic zone of the destructive 1968 Belice earthquake sequence. Even though the sequence represents the strongest seismic event recorded in Western Sicily in historical times, focal solutions provided by different authors are inconclusive on possible faulting mechanism, which ranges from thrusting to transpression, and the seismogenic source is still undefined. Interferometric (DInSAR) observations reveal a differential ground motion on a SW–NE alignment between Campobello di Mazara and Castelvetrano (CCA), locate…