Integrated neotectonic and morphometric analysis of northern Sicily

Abstract

Sicily is characterised by active deformations, as suggested by the presence of very recent faulted deposits and by widespread seismicity. The northern portion of the Sicilian belt has undergone strike-slip tectonics since the Pliocene, as the effect of the south Tyrrhenian border dynamics. Integrated methodologies of analysis have been utilised to evaluate the neotectonic setting of the northern sector of the island. To this aim, we have elaborated mesostructural, morphotectonic and morphometric data obtained from field survey, photogeological analysis and from the elaboration of digital elevation model (DEM) data relative to 31 drainage basins. The data sets have been compared with the uplift rate and seismicity distributions, allowing us to recognise different crustal blocks into which the northern Sicily chain may be divided. Each block of the chain reflects the characteristic morphometric pattern of the drainage basins. The morphostructural setting, the distribution of seismicity and the orientation of the recent faults indicate that the main narrow neotectonic deformation zones bounding the crustal blocks range from NW-SE, NE-SW and W-E.