Active north-vergent thrusting in the northern Sicily continental margin in the frame of the quaternary evolution of the Sicilian collisional system

Sulli, Attilio; Morticelli, Maurizio Gasparo; Agate, Mauro; Zizzo, Elisabetta

doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2021.228717

Cited by 17 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 104 publications

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“…This evidence and the formation of ridges characterized by high uplift rates [65] clearly reveal that such a zone underwent an inversion of strain regime since the Middle Pleistocene. The Quaternary compressional deformation observed in the Maghrebian belt lying offshore northern Sicily (e.g., [46,[66][67][68][69][70][71]) is compatible with the supposed roughly northward motion of the Hyblean block (Figure 6). The important decoupling role that is still played by the Syracuse fault is testified by the occurrence of strong historical earthquakes offshore eastern Sicily (e.g., the 1169 M = 6.5 and 1693 M = 7.3 shocks) [72].…”

Section: Early Pleistocene-presentsupporting

confidence: 56%

Generation of the Quaternary Normal Faults in the Messina Strait (Italy)

Mantovani,

Viti,

Babbucci

et al. 2023

Geosciences

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It is widely recognized that since the Early–Middle Pleistocene, the Messina zone, the site of strong earthquakes, has undergone extension, but the geodynamic context which determined this deformation is still a matter of debate. This work suggests that such a tectonic event was caused by the interaction of northern Calabria with the continental Adriatic domain. The suture of that consuming boundary produced major changes in the microplate mosaic and the related kinematic pattern in the Southern Italian zones, which was triggered by the activation of the Sibari and Vulcano faults. In the new context, the Peloritani belt sector, dragged by the Hyblean block, rotated clockwise and then moved northward, causing its divergence from southern Calabria. The normal faults which have accommodated that separation may be the main seismogenic source in the Messina Strait.

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Section: Early Pleistocene-presentsupporting

confidence: 56%

Generation of the Quaternary Normal Faults in the Messina Strait (Italy)

Mantovani,

Viti,

Babbucci

et al. 2023

Geosciences

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“…These previously normal faults are currently being inverted on a transpressional system in the frame of the present NW-SE convergence between the Nubia and Eurasian plates (Figure 4). Undifferentiated Plio-Quaternary minor phases of inversion and recent compressive folding have been described along the edge of the Tunisian plateau in the Sardinia Channel area (Mascle et al, 2001(Mascle et al, , 2004Tricart et al, 1990Tricart et al, , 1994 and is active in the Tyrrhenian Basin (Sulli et al, 2021;Zitellini et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Active Tectonics of the North Tunisian Continental Margin

2022

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A poorly defined boundary between the Nubia and Eurasian plates runs along the Northern Tunisian continental margin. The Tunisia margin is deformed by a slow NW–SE trending convergence resulting in a diffuse deformation zone with scarce and scattered seismicity compared to the seismic activity into the neighboring regions to the east and west along the boundary. The area has been poorly studied and therefore its recent evolution is almost unknown, particularly offshore. Here, we present a structural analysis of the active tectonics in this submarine continental margin. The data used for this analysis are high‐resolution bathymetric maps together with parametric echosounder images which have allowed to obtain a map of active faulting with unprecedented detail. The structural analysis supports a dominantly transpressive to compressive component of faulting, resulting from the current regional NW–SE trending compressive regime between plates. The North‐eastern Domain of the study region contains the highest number of active faults with numerous pockmarks aligned along them. This study shows that the plate boundary across the North Tunisia margin is incipient and poorly developed, which may be due to the fact that deformation is partitioned over a large number of structures, each accommodating a small percentage of convergence, with the exception of the Hayat fault system. The Hayat reverse fault, striking WSW–ENE, is the largest fault system that comparatively may accommodate a greater amount of displacement, and is probably responsible for the uplift of the North‐eastern Domain of the continental margin.

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“…Magaggiaro -Pizzo Telegrafo ramp anticline system southward, see (Tortorici et Since the upper Pliocene, the thrust wedge system grows through N-verging structures, correlated at depth with the thick-skinned tectonic event, which involves the crystalline basement in the internal sector of the chain (Accaino et al, 2011;Catalano et al, 2013;Gasparo Morticelli et al, 2015). Field investigations and seismic data from the adjacent marine realms documented broad, active N-verging thrusting throughout the central-western sector of the SCZ (Sulli et al 2021). According to the Authors, these tectonic features developed in the late collisional stage of the SCZ and are interpreted to be the crustal expression of a change in the subduction polarity (from N-dipping to S-dipping) occurred in the southern Tyrrhenian margin since the late Pleistocene (see also Billi et al, 2011).…”

Section: Geological Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deformed archeological remains at Lilybaeum in Western Sicily (southern Italy) as possible ground signatures of missed large earthquake in the area.

Barreca,

Pepe,

Sulli

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Archaeoseismic analysis performed in Western Sicily point to deformed archeological remains at Lilybaeum, a Punic coastal city founded in 397 B.C. at the Island’s westernmost edge. Starting from the direct observation of deformed ruins, an interdisciplinary work-strategy, which has included field-structural analysis, drone-shot high-resolution aerial photogrammetry, and geophysical prospecting, was employed to investigate whether the identified deformations may represent the ground effects of a previously unknown large earthquake in the area. Among the unearthed remains, some mosaics and a stone-paved monumental avenue show evidence of tectonic deformation being fractured, folded, and uplifted. Trend of folding and fracturing is consistent with the NNW-SSE oriented tectonic max stress axis to which western Sicily is currently undergoing. Displacement along a fracture deforming the Decumanus Maximus together with the finding of a domino-type directional collapse, enable us to interpret the observed deformation as the ground signature of a coseismic slip. Seismic rupture occurred along a previously unmapped deformation front that well fits in the seismotectonic context of Western Sicily. Measured offset, geophysical prospecting, and age-constraints all point to the possibility that a highly-energetic earthquake nucleated in the area following a coseismic rupture along a NE-SW trending back-verging reverse fault towards the end of the IV century A.D. Since seismic catalogs do not provide evidence of such a large earthquake, the latter might represent a missed event in the historical seismic record. This finding provides constraints to redefine the seismic hazard of Western Sicily, a region where recurrence-time intervals for large earthquakes are still unknown.

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Active north-vergent thrusting in the northern Sicily continental margin in the frame of the quaternary evolution of the Sicilian collisional system

Cited by 17 publications

References 104 publications

Generation of the Quaternary Normal Faults in the Messina Strait (Italy)

Generation of the Quaternary Normal Faults in the Messina Strait (Italy)

Active Tectonics of the North Tunisian Continental Margin

Deformed archeological remains at Lilybaeum in Western Sicily (southern Italy) as possible ground signatures of missed large earthquake in the area.

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