The tectonic puzzle of the Messina area (Southern Italy): Insights from new seismic reflection data

Doglioni, Carlo; Ligi, Marco; Scrocca, Davide; Bigi, Sabina; Bortoluzzi, Guido; Carminati, Eugenio; Cuffaro, Marco; D’Oriano, Filippo; Forleo, Vittoria; Muccini, F.; Riguzzi, Federica

doi:10.1038/srep00970

Cited by 50 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Degassing of mantle‐derived fluids coupled to active tectonics and seismicity points to a deformation‐enhanced permeability in the deep crust. Moreover, the present‐day seismicity indicates that the prevailing focal mechanisms are extensional, and the hypocenters of the earthquakes are mainly concentrated at locations deeper than 30 km and shallower than 10 km (Doglioni et al, ), supporting that the tectonic is active and the faults are able to transfer fluids through the deep crust toward the surface.…”

Section: Delamination and Mantle‐derived Volatiles Degassingmentioning

confidence: 93%

Outgassing of Mantle Volatiles in Compressional Tectonic Regime Away From Volcanism: The Role of Continental Delamination

Caracausi

Sulli

2019

Geochem Geophys Geosyst

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In this study we discuss the occurrence of mantle‐derived heat and volatiles (i.e., helium and CO2) feeding hydrothermal systems in a seismically active margin between two convergent plates (African and European) without any signals of volcanism. The helium (He) isotopes clearly indicate a mantle‐derived component in the outgassing volatiles. The estimated mantle‐derived He fluxes are up to two to three orders of magnitude greater than those in a stable continental area. Such high He fluxes cannot be provided by a long‐lasting diffusion, thereby implying a more efficient transport (i.e., advective transport through faults). He data coupled to heat‐He relationship suggest the occurrence of active degassing of magmatic intrusions in this area of continental collisional. Geophysical data indicate the presence of a hot mantle wedge below the outgassing of mantle volatiles and a system of faults cutting the continental crust down to the hot mantle wedge. Here we discuss the hot mantle wedge and possible associated magmatic intrusions as the source of the mantle‐derived volatiles outgassing in the region. We also assessed the output of mantle‐derived CO2 from the investigated hydrothermal basins. The possible occurrence of magma at depth as well as the geometry of the thick‐skinned deformed wedge unambiguously indicates delamination processes that are related to continental subduction. Hence, we show that delamination processes can really produce magma at depth without evidences of volcanism at the surface. Finally, we have also provided the fault systems that work as a network of pathways and actively sustain the advective transfer of the mantle fluids toward the surface.

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Section: Delamination and Mantle‐derived Volatiles Degassingmentioning

confidence: 93%

Outgassing of Mantle Volatiles in Compressional Tectonic Regime Away From Volcanism: The Role of Continental Delamination

Caracausi

Sulli

2019

Geochem Geophys Geosyst

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“…The Moroccan and Algerian coastal areas along the Mediterranean Sea display seismicity on faults accommodating, with compressional and strike‐slip mechanisms, the oblique convergence between Africa and Eurasia (Figures a and a). This deformation belt extends to the east to northern Sicily and is localized along the southern margin of the Alboran, Algerian, and Tyrrhenian Sea [ Goes et al ., ; Dévèrchere et al ., ; Stich et al ., 2006, Billi et al ., ; Mauffret , ; Serpelloni et al ., ; Doglioni et al ., ]. The onset of this compressional belt produced the tectonic “inversion” of the basin margins, from extension to compression, and propagated eastward from the Alboran (~8 Ma) to the Tyrrhenian margin (younger than ~2 Ma), following the progressive cessation of northward subduction of the African Plate [ Billi et al ., ] (see also section 5).…”

Section: Present‐day To Recent Deformationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mantle dynamics in the Mediterranean

et al. 2014

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The Mediterranean offers a unique opportunity to study the driving forces of tectonic deformation within a complex mobile belt. Lithospheric dynamics are affected by slab rollback and collision of two large, slowly moving plates, forcing fragments of continental and oceanic lithosphere to interact. This paper reviews the rich and growing set of constraints from geological reconstructions, geodetic data, and crustal and upper mantle heterogeneity imaged by structural seismology. We proceed to discuss a conceptual and quantitative framework for the causes of surface deformation. Exploring existing and newly developed tectonic and numerical geodynamic models, we illustrate the role of mantle convection on surface geology. A coherent picture emerges which can be outlined by two, almost symmetric, upper mantle convection cells. The downwellings are found in the center of the Mediterranean and are associated with the descent of the Tyrrhenian and the Hellenic slabs. During plate convergence, these slabs migrated backward with respect to the Eurasian upper plate, inducing a return flow of the asthenosphere from the back-arc regions toward the subduction zones. This flow can be found at large distance from the subduction zones and is at present expressed in two upwellings beneath Anatolia and eastern Iberia. This convection system provides an explanation for the general pattern of seismic anisotropy in the Mediterranean, first-order Anatolia, and Adria microplate kinematics and may contribute to the high elevation of scarcely deformed areas such as Anatolia and eastern Iberia. More generally, the Mediterranean is an illustration of how upper mantle, small-scale convection leads to intraplate deformation and complex plate boundary reconfiguration at the westernmost terminus of the Tethyan collision.

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“…In the two fault systems landslide material concentrates where the cumulated fault throws are largest (Figure (B) ). We conclude that the asymmetry in the distribution of the landslide material (Figure (D) ) and the association between large landslides, large active faults and earthquakes (Figure and Figure ) is the result of the activity of normal faults related to the opening of the Messina Straits (Bonini et al , ; Doglioni et al , ). The faults have increased topographic relief and have disturbed large volumes of rocks, amplifying locally the conditions that favour slope instability and the formation of large landslides.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the study area, one of the fastest uplifting areas in the Mediterranean (Doglioni et al, 2012), large bedrock landslides produce the majority of the landslide material (Figure 2 and Figure 4). This is typical of tectonically active landscapes (Guzzetti et al, 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Landslide distribution and size in response to Quaternary fault activity: the Peloritani Range, NE Sicily, Italy

Bucci

Santangelo

Cardinali

et al. 2016

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.ABSTRACT: Landslides contribute to dismantle active mountain ranges and faults control the location of landslides. Yet, evidence of the long-term, regional dependency of landslides on active faults is limited. Previous studies focused on the transient effects of earthquakes on slope stability in compressive and transcurrent regimes. Here we show that in the Peloritani range, NE Sicily, Italy, one of the fastest uplifting areas in the Mediterranean, a clear geographical association exists between large bedrock landslides and active normal faults of the Messina Straits graben. By interpreting aerial photographs, we mapped 1590 landslides and sackungs and 626 fault elements and their facets in a 300 km 2 area in the eastern part of the range. We used the new landslide and fault information, in combination with prior geological and seismic information, to investigate the association between bedrock landslides and faults. We find that the distribution and abundance of landslides is related to the presence of large active normal faults, and matches the pattern of the local historical seismicity. Landslide material is more abundant along the East Peloritani Fault System where the long-term activity of the faults, measured by the average yearly geological moment rate, is larger than in the West Peloritani Fault System where landslides are less abundant. Along the fault systems landslide material concentrates where the cumulated fault throws are largest. We conclude that large landslides and their cumulated volume are sensitive to local rates of tectonic deformation, and discriminate the deformation of the single fault segments that dissect the Peloritani range. Our findings are a direct test of landscape evolution models that predict higher rates of landslide activity near active faults. Our work opens up the possibility of exploiting accurate landslide and fault maps, in combination with geological and seismic information, to characterize the long-term seismic history of poorly instrumented active regions.

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The tectonic puzzle of the Messina area (Southern Italy): Insights from new seismic reflection data

Cited by 50 publications

References 33 publications

Outgassing of Mantle Volatiles in Compressional Tectonic Regime Away From Volcanism: The Role of Continental Delamination

Outgassing of Mantle Volatiles in Compressional Tectonic Regime Away From Volcanism: The Role of Continental Delamination

Mantle dynamics in the Mediterranean

Landslide distribution and size in response to Quaternary fault activity: the Peloritani Range, NE Sicily, Italy

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