Rheological behaviour of the crust in Southern Apennine (Italy): results from a thermal and seismological study

Abstract

In order to add information on the brittle/ductile transition of the Southern Apennine we investigated a rheological profile of the crust along a WSW-ENE oriented cross-section running from Neapolitan Volcanic Zone to Apulia foreland. The rheological model was obtained computing a thermal modelling and constrained by a re-localization of earthquakes of the area. Results show that the area is characterized by horizontal rheological variations, with two horizons interlayered with ductile horizons, that are quite predominant with respect to vertical ones. The horizontal stratification of lithospheric rheology has important geodynamic consequence and could provide new insights to better understand the tectonic processes which have played a major role to construct the Southern Apennine belt. Results of this study suggested that well constrained rheological models, built integrating information from both re-located earthquakes and thermal state, could give important hints on the mechanical behaviour of the crust and its related tectonic processes.