Publication Date:
2017-11-21
Description:
We applied a joint survey approach integrating time domain electromagnetic soundings and
single-station ambient vibration surveys in the Middle Aterno Valley (MAV), an intermontane basin in
central Italy and the locus of the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake. By imaging the buried interface between the
infilling deposits and the top of the pre-Quaternary bedrock, we reveal the 3-D basin geometry and gain
insights into the long-term basin evolution. We reconstruct a complex subsurface architecture, characterized
by three main depocenters separated by thresholds. Basin infill thickness varies from ~200–300m in the
north to more than 450m to the southeast. Our subsurface model indicates a strong structural control on the
architecture of the basin and highlights that the MAV experienced considerable modifications in its
configuration over time. The buried shape of the MAV suggests a recent and still ongoing predominant
tectonic control by the NW-SE trending Paganica-San Demetrio Fault System (PSDFS), which crosscuts older
~ENE and NNE trending extensional faults. Furthermore, we postulate that the present-day arrangement
of the PSDFS is the result of the linkage of two previously isolated fault segments. We provide constraints on
the location of the southeastern boundary of the PSDFS, defining an overall ~19 km long fault system
characterized by a considerable seismogenetic potential and a maximum expected magnitude larger than
M6.5. This study emphasizes the benefit of combining two easily deployable geophysical methods for
reconstructing the 3-D geometry of a tectonically controlled basin. Our joint approach provided us with a
consistent match between these two independent estimations of the basin substratum depth within 15%.
Description:
Published
Description:
2236–2259
Description:
7T. Struttura della Terra e geodinamica
Description:
2TR. Ricostruzione e modellazione della struttura crostale
Description:
JCR Journal
Keywords:
Middle Aterno Valley
;
TDEM
;
seismic vibration measurements
;
3D Bedrock mapping
;
04.02. Exploration geophysics
Repository Name:
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
Type:
article
