Publication Date:
2015-06-24
Description:
The Messina Strait, that separates peninsular Italy from Sicily, is one of the most seismically active areas of
the Mediterranean. The structure and seismotectonic setting of the region are poorly understood, although
the area is highly populated and important infrastructures are planned there. New seismic reflection data
have identified a number of faults, as well as a crustal scale NE-trending anticline few km north of the strait.
These features are interpreted as due to active right-lateral transpression along the north-eastern Sicilian
offshore, coexisting with extensional and right-lateral transtensional tectonics in the southern Messina
Strait. This complex tectonic network appears to be controlled by independent and overlapping tectonic
settings, due to the presence of a diffuse transfer zone between the SE-ward retreating Calabria subduction
zone relative to slab advance in the western Sicilian side.
Type:
Article
,
PeerReviewed
Format:
text