Crustal motion along the Calabro-Peloritan Arc as imaged by twelve years of measurements on a dense GPS network

Abstract

In this work, we show the results of 12 years of continuous and survey-mode GPS measurements carried out along the western part of the Calabro-Peloritano Arc, from 1996 until the more recent acquisitions in 2008. The results highlight that a NW-SE-oriented ~0.15 microstrain/yr extension across the Messina Strait and the Aeolian-Tindari-Letojanni fault system is active. Moreover, a N-S compressive strain-rate (~0.65 microstrain/yr) is acting across Vulcano and Lipari Islands coupled with an extensional strain-rate of ~0.15 microstrain/yr in the E-W direction. Finally, taking into account the observed horizontal velocity field, an analytical inversion was performed to obtain a reliable model of deformation of the investigated area. The main results are consistent both with focal mechanism solutions and the current structural setting of the investigated area.