Options
The timescale and spatial extent of vertical tectonic motions in Italy: insights from relative sea-level changes studies
Language
English
Obiettivo Specifico
3.3. Geodinamica e struttura dell'interno della Terra
Status
Published
JCR Journal
N/A or not JCR
Peer review journal
Yes
Title of the book
Issue/vol(year)
/36(2010)
Publisher
http://virtualexplorer.com.au/
Pages (printed)
paper 30
Issued date
2010
Keywords
Abstract
Vertical tectonic displacements in Italy since 125 to 1 Kyr BP are drawn from relative sea-level (RSL)
history studies at coastal sites, and, together with instrumental observations, allow to bridge the gap with events
recorded in the geologic (1 Ma) archive. Our analysis aims at establishing the appropriate spatial extent, rate and
duration of vertical tectonic motion within individual crustal segments, and at placing constraints on the contribution
to displacements coming from regional (deep) and local (shallow-crustal) sources. The central and northern
Tyrrhenian Sea and the Ligurian Sea margins show stability at all scales, except for subsidence in coastal basins and
uplift, at places high, at volcanic centers. On the contrary, sustained, large magnitude uplift of Calabria embeds a
deep-seated contribution, highlighted by the spatial coincidence of the uplifting province with a lithospheric slab, and
a contribution from local faults and folds. Holocene uplift was up larger than since Middle-Late Pleistocene, with rate
changes tuned among all sites. The recent increase in uplift rate, detected also in the instrumental record, is related to
clustering of strain release, possibly triggered by isostatic response to deglaciation. A weak deformation signal is
recorded on the central Adriatic coastline, and records slow Apennines thrust belt migration. In the northern Adriatic
Sea, vertical tectonic motions result from opposite displacements in the southern Alps, internal Dinarids and northern
Apennines, but flexure of the Adriatic (micro-) plate beneath the Northern Apennines is the dominating contributor.
Here, rate and spatial extent of displacements are steady over different time-scales, suggesting prevailing control
exercised by plate dynamics.
history studies at coastal sites, and, together with instrumental observations, allow to bridge the gap with events
recorded in the geologic (1 Ma) archive. Our analysis aims at establishing the appropriate spatial extent, rate and
duration of vertical tectonic motion within individual crustal segments, and at placing constraints on the contribution
to displacements coming from regional (deep) and local (shallow-crustal) sources. The central and northern
Tyrrhenian Sea and the Ligurian Sea margins show stability at all scales, except for subsidence in coastal basins and
uplift, at places high, at volcanic centers. On the contrary, sustained, large magnitude uplift of Calabria embeds a
deep-seated contribution, highlighted by the spatial coincidence of the uplifting province with a lithospheric slab, and
a contribution from local faults and folds. Holocene uplift was up larger than since Middle-Late Pleistocene, with rate
changes tuned among all sites. The recent increase in uplift rate, detected also in the instrumental record, is related to
clustering of strain release, possibly triggered by isostatic response to deglaciation. A weak deformation signal is
recorded on the central Adriatic coastline, and records slow Apennines thrust belt migration. In the northern Adriatic
Sea, vertical tectonic motions result from opposite displacements in the southern Alps, internal Dinarids and northern
Apennines, but flexure of the Adriatic (micro-) plate beneath the Northern Apennines is the dominating contributor.
Here, rate and spatial extent of displacements are steady over different time-scales, suggesting prevailing control
exercised by plate dynamics.
Type
article
File(s)
No Thumbnail Available
Name
Ferranti et al_vertical-tectonic-motions-in-italy_JVE 2010.pdf
Size
3.52 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
4ef1d14fa6487b3d28ba23a9fda7f86d