On 24 August 2016, a Mw 6.0 normal‐faulting earthquake struck central Italy, causing about 300 fatalities and heavy damage. A geological survey collected the coseismic effects observed at the surface in order to evaluate two competing hypotheses about their nature: surface faulting versus gravitational deformation. We find that the most significant geological effect is a 5.2 km long alignment of ground ruptures along the Mount Vettore Fault System. These ruptures are independent from lithology, topography, morphology, and change in slope and exhibit an average dip‐slip displacement of ~13 cm. Geometry, kinematics, and dimensional properties of this zone of deformation strongly lead us to favor the primary surface faulting hypothesis that fits well the predicted estimates from experimental scaling law relationships. Our study provides relevant hints for surface faulting in extensional domains, contributing to implement the worldwide database of the moderate earthquakes.

We performed paleoseismological investigations at four sites across the normal Paganica fault (PF) (source of the 2009 Mw 6.3 L'Aquila earthquake), with the goal of reconstructing the rupture history and of contributing to the evaluation of the maximum event expected along the PF. We recognized five distinct surface faulting earthquakes (including the 2009) in the trenches. The age of the penultimate event is consistent with the 1461 earthquake; the third event back occurred around 1000 AD. The two oldest events have larger uncertainties and occurred in the interval 760 BC–670 AD and 2900–760 BC, respectively. The along‐strike vertical displacement for each paleoevent has a limited variability consistently with the fairly homogeneous slip observed in 2009 along the northern part of the rupture. Conversely, the throws change between distinct events and range between 0.15 m in 2009 (maximum estimate) and close to 0.4 (lower bound estimate) in earlier events. These paleorecords and the high fault escarpments imply that earthquakes larger than 2009 occurred on the PF, with implications for the level of hazard. Recurrence intervals also reflect a change with time, the average interval before ∼1000 AD is longer compared to that after this date. Two events occurred in the 2000–4000 years preceding ∼1000 AD, while three events occurred since ∼1000 AD. The age uncertainties affecting the interpreted events prevent the evaluation of a unique value for interevent interval; the older events appear closely spaced in time or far apart depending on the upper or lower boundary of the age interval. We tentatively assign an average interevent time of ∼500 years for the three youngest events, whereas the time elapsed between the previous ones could be larger, in the order of 1000–2000 years. We calculate a late Pleistocene dip‐slip rate for the PF of 0.2–0.4 mm/yr, consistent with 0.25–0.5 mm/yr for the early Pleistocene. Using age and throw of individual events, we calculate a similar late Holocene average dip‐slip rate of ∼0.3–0.4 mm/yr. This suggests that the portion of the PF where the 2009 continuous surface faulting occurred has fairly a constant average slip release since late Pleistocene. Finally, we discuss different rupture scenarios and alternative models of occurrence compatible with our data and their variability.

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Abstract:We study land subsidence processes and the associated ground fissuring, affecting an active graben filled by thick unconsolidated deposits by means of InSAR techniques and fieldwork. On 21 September 2012, Ciudad Guzmán (Jalisco, Mexico) was struck by ground fissures of about 1.5 km of length, causing the deformation of the roads and the propagation of fissures in adjacent buildings. The field survey showed that fissures alignment is coincident with the escarpments produced on 19 September 1985, when a strong earthquake with magnitude 8.1 struck central Mexico. In order to detect and map the spatio-temporal features of the processes that led to the 2012 ground fissures, we applied InSAR multitemporal techniques to process ENVISAT-ASAR and RADARSAT-2 satellite SAR images acquired between 2003 and 2012. We detect up to 20 mm/year of subsidence of the northwestern part of Ciudad Guzmán. These incremental movements are consistent with the OPEN ACCESS Remote Sens. 2015, 7 8611 ground fissures observed in 2012. Based on interferometric results, field data and 2D numerical model, we suggest that ground deformations and fissuring are due to the presence of areal subsidence correlated with variable sediment thickness and differential compaction, partly driven by the exploitation of the aquifers and controlled by the distribution and position of buried faults.

Abstract:We applied the Small Baseline Subset multi-temporal InSAR technique (SBAS) to two SAR datasets acquired from 2003 up to 2013 by Envisat (ESA, European Space Agency) and COSMO-SkyMed (ASI, Italian Space Agency) satellites to investigate spatial and temporal patterns of land subsidence in the Sibari Plain (Southern Italy). Subsidence processes (up to~20 mm/yr) were investigated comparing geological, hydrogeological, and land use information with interferometric results. We suppose a correlation between subsidence and thickness of the Plio-Quaternary succession suggesting an active role of the isostatic compensation. Furthermore, the active back thrusting in the Corigliano Gulf could trigger a flexural subsidence mechanism even if fault activity and earthquakes do not seem play a role in the present subsidence. In this context, the compaction of Holocene deposits contributes to ground deformation. Despite the rapid urbanization of the area in the last 50 years, we do not consider the intensive groundwater pumping and related water table drop as the main triggering cause of subsidence phenomena, in disagreement with some previous publications. Our interpretation for the deformation fields related to natural and anthropogenic factors would be a comprehensive and exhaustive justification to the complexity of subsidence processes in the Sibari Plain.