Tectonic features of the Lipari–Vulcano complex (Aeolian archipelago, Italy) from 10 years (1996–2006) of GPS data

Abstract

The tectonic deformation of the Lipari-Vulcano complex, one of the most important active volcanic areas of Mediterranean region, is studied here through the analysis of ten years (1996-2006) of GPS data from both 3 permanent and 13 non-permanent stations. This area can be considered crucial for the understanding of the Eurasia-Africa plates interaction in the Mediterranean area, and, in general, this work emphasize a methodological approach, already applied in other areas worldwide (e.g. Shen et al., 1996, El-Fiki and Kato, 1999) where geodetic data and strain parameters maps of critical areas can help to improve our understanding of their geodynamical aspects. In this framework, this study is aimed at providing a kinematic deformation model on the basis of the dense geodetically estimated velocities of the Lipari-Vulcano complex. In particular, the observed deformation pattern can be described by a mix between 1) the main N-S regional compression and 2) a NNE-SSW compression with a small right-lateral strike slip component acting along a tectonic structure N°40W trending located between the two islands. This pattern was inspected through a simplified synthetic model.