Seismotectonics of Southern Calabria Terrane (South Italy)

Abstract

Seismic data of earthquakes recorded during the last 40 years in southern Calabria have been compared with geological data in order to obtain a seismotectonic picture of the area. We sought for any possible correlation between the main regional tectonic structures, the distribution of earthquake hypocentres and the focal mechanism of earthquakes with magnitude (Ml)≥3. Studies of historical and recent seismicity and analysis of geological structures allowed to define the main shear strips on a regional scale. More than 2600 earthquakes with 1.5 ≤ Ml ≤ 4.5 have been considered. The focal mechanisms of earthquakes with Ml≥3 have been compared with the kinematics of known faults and used to give insight on the current active stress field. From the analysis carried out it was possible to expand the cognitive framework regarding the activity of the main tectonic structures present in the area. This study also served to identify areas of high seismicity which do not correspond to any evidence of tectonic structures on the surface, and areas where recognized tectonic structures have not shown any seismicity during the last decades. These cases could be the subject of future investigation in order to correctly assess the seismic hazard in Calabria. This task is important in the context of seismic hazard evaluation and mitigation.

Multidisciplinary analysis of 3D seismotectonic modelling: a case study of Serre and Cittanova faults in the southern Calabrian Arc (Italy)

“…Another interesting cluster is located between the tips of SRF and CF; this is also visible in the map view (Figure 5D). The cluster is roughly NNW-SSE-oriented, and it is probably generated by slips along the Nicotera-Gioiosa Fault Zone (NGFZ) (see Tripodi et al, 2018;Tripodi et al, 2022). To better investigate the origin of these seismic concentrations, we built two additional NNE-SSW trending seismological sections (S1.1 and S2.1, Figure 5D) (see Supplementary Figure S1).…”

“…These sections allowed us to interpret the high concentrations of events between the SRF and CF as the result of the NGFZ activity. The fault belt is interpreted as a transfer zone that accommodates the SE migrations of the Calabrian terranes (see also Tripodi et al, 2022).…”

Structure and morphology of an active conjugate relay zone, Messina Strait, southern Italy

“…The morphological expression of normal faults in the Messina Strait is revealed in a series of fault‐perpendicular (Figure 5) and fault‐parallel (Figure 6) profiles that were constructed from topographic and bathymetric data and integrated with published fault maps (Figure 4) (Antonioli et al, 2006; Critelli et al, 2016; Doglioni et al, 2012; Ferranti et al, 2008; Pavano et al, 2016; Ridente et al, 2014; Tripodi et al, 2018, 2022). Fault‐perpendicular profiles (Figure 5) show large displacements with structural relief up to ca.…”