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Barbano, Maria Serafina
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Barbano, Maria Serafina
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Barbano, M. S.
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ORCID
39 results
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- PublicationOpen AccessA unique 4000 year long geological record of multiple tsunami inundations in the Augusta Bay (eastern Sicily, Italy)(2010-10-15)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;De Martini, P. M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma1, Roma, Italia ;Barbano, M. S.; Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Università di Catania, Corso Italia 55, 95129 Catania, Italy ;Smedile, A.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma1, Roma, Italia ;Gerardi, F.; Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Università di Catania, Corso Italia 55, 95129 Catania, Italy ;Pantosti, D.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma1, Roma, Italia ;Del Carlo, P.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Pisa, Pisa, Italia ;Pirrotta, C.; Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Università di Catania, Corso Italia 55, 95129 Catania, Italy; ; ; ; ; ; We present the geological evidence for a 4000 year long record of multiple tsunami inundations along the coast of the Augusta Bay (eastern Sicily)and discuss its implications. The research was carried out through a multi-theme approach which benefited from an extraordinarily long historical record that we used to guide detailed geomorphologic and geologic surveys, coring campaigns and laboratory analyses. Two sites, named the Augusta Hospital and Priolo Reserve, were selected and investigated in detail along the 25 km-long coastline of Augusta Bay. We found evidence for six (possibly seven) tsunami deposits; three of them may be tentatively associated with the 1693 and 365 AD Ionian Sea historical tsunamis and the ~3600 BP Santorini event. The other three (possibly four) deposits are evidence for unknown paleo-inundations dated at about 650–770 AD, 600–400 BC and 975–800 BC (at Augusta Hospital site), and 800–600 BC (at Priolo Reserve site). We use these ages to extend further back the historical record of tsunamis available for this coastal area. The exceptional number of tsunami deposits found with this study allowed us to derive an average geologic tsunami recurrence interval in the Augusta Bay of about 600 years for the past 4 ka. Conversely, the historical tsunami data for the past millennium suggest an average tsunami recurrence interval of about 250 years. This difference in the average recurrence intervals suggests that only the strongest inundations may leave recognizable geological signatures at the investigated sites (i.e. the evidence for the 1908 and 1169 tsunamis is missing) but also that the geomorphological setting of the site and its erosional/depositional history are critical aspects for the data recording. Thus, an average recurrence interval derived from the geological record should be considered as a minimum figure. The identification and age estimation of tsunami deposits represent a new and independent contribution to tsunami scenarios and modeling for coastal hazard assessment in Civil Protection applications. Furthermore, our study cases provide new elements on tsunami deposit recognition related to exceptionally large events that occurred in the Aegean Sea.176 1152 - PublicationOpen AccessMateriali per una storia sismica delle Isole Maltesi(2021-06)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; We present the results of an Italian-Maltese research, carried out to collect the macroseismic data needed to update the seismic catalogue of the Maltese Islands [Galea, 2007]. In this work we adopted the most up-to- date criteria developed by Italian historical seismology, obtaining results that significantly improve knowledge, particularly for the 1650-1923 time-window. Several previously unknown local earthquakes have been identified and evidence has been found of earthquake damage caused to the Maltese Islands both by earthquakes probably located in the Sicilian Channel (1658, 1780, 1861), and by some strong Greek earthquakes (1756, 1810, 1846). The European macroseismic scale 1998 (EMS-98, Grünthal, 1998) was used to assign macroseismic intensities. Basic information on seismic-induced natural phenomena (landslides, tsunamis) was also collected, to be used as a further constraint on the location and size of associated earthquakes, or for paleo-seismological studies. As an added bonus, the study collected evidence of some Sicilian earthquakes unknown to seismological literature and data useful to improve the macroseismic database of already known Sicilian and Greek earthquakes. Presentiamo i risultati di una ricerca italo-maltese svolta per raccogliere i dati macrosismici occorrenti per aggiornare il catalogo sismico delle Isole Maltesi [Galea, 2007]. Il lavoro ha seguito i più aggiornati criteri messi a punto dalla sismologia storica italiana ottenendo risultati che migliorano sensibilmente le conoscenze specialmente per la finestra cronologica 1650-1923. Sono stati individuati diversi eventi sismici locali finora non catalogati e almeno 6 segnalazioni di effetti di danno precedentemente sconosciuti, causati nelle Isole Maltesi sia da terremoti probabilmente localizzati nel Canale di Sicilia (1658, 1780, 1861), sia da alcuni forti terremoti greci (1756, 1810, 1846). Le intensità macrosismiche sono state assegnate mediante la scala macrosismica europea 1998 (EMS-98, Grünthal, 1998). Sono state inoltre raccolte informazioni di base su fenomeni naturali sismo-indotti (frane, tsunami), da utilizzare come ulteriore vincolo all'ubicazione e alle dimensioni dei terremoti associati o per studi paleosismologici. Un risultato collaterale dello studio è la riscoperta di alcuni terremoti siciliani sconosciuti alla letteratura sismologica e il miglioramento della base di dati macrosismici su terremoti siciliani e greci già conosciuti.172 878 - PublicationRestrictedPaleoseismic investigations of historical liquefactions along the Ionian coast of Sicily(2009)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;Guarnieri, P.; Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Università di Catania ;Pirrotta, C.; Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Università di Catania ;Barbano, M. S.; Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Università di Catania ;De Martini, P. M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma1, Roma, Italia ;Pantosti, D.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma1, Roma, Italia ;Gerardi, F.; Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Università di Catania ;Smedile, A.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma1, Roma, Italia; ; ; ; ; ; Eastern Sicily is an area where some of the most catastrophic earthquakes in Italian history occurred. As reported by historical sources, these earthquakes induced liquefaction phenomena. In two areas along the Ionian coast of Sicily we found liquefaction evidence in Holocene deposits. In the Minissale site (east of Mount Etna), the observed liquefaction features can be related to the 1169 and 1693 earthquakes, while in the Agnone site (south of Catania), the deformational structures can be tentatively associated to the 1542 and 1693 events. Both sites locate in areas where historical liquefaction has been observed in the past, thus confirming the actual liquefaction susceptibility/ potential in this region. The evidence of repeated liquefaction events at the same site, highlights the relevance of the paleoseismic approach for modeling the recurrence time and preparing scenarios of seismic effects in eastern Sicily, where seismogenic sources are scantly defined.207 29 - PublicationOpen AccessAnalysis of the seismicity of Southeastern Sicily: a proposed tectonic interpretation(2000-02)
; ; ;Azzaro, R.; GNDT c/o Istituto Internazionale di Vulcanologia, CNR, Catania, Italy ;Barbano, M. S.; Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Università di Catania, Italy; Southeastern Sicily is one of the Italian regions with high seismic risk and is characterised by the occurrence in the past of large destructive events (MS = 6.4-7.3) over a territory which is densely urbanised today. The main earthquakes were analysed and some minor damaging shocks reviewed to investigate the main seismogenic features of the region. The comparison between the pattern of seismicity and evidence of Quaternary tectonics allowed us to propose a first tentative, tectonic interpretation of the earthquakes. On the whole, the seismicity of SE Sicily seems distributed along regional fault systems which have had a role in the recent geodynamic evolution of the area. The Malta escarpment, the only structure whose late Quaternary-recent activity is currently known, appears the most probable source for earthquakes with about 7 magnitude. Although no evidence of tectonics subsequent to the middle Pleistocene is available for them, the Scicli line and the NE-SW fault system delimiting the northern sector of the Hyblean plateau seem seismically active with events with maximum magnitude of 5.2 and 6.4, respectively.456 1020 - PublicationOpen AccessEarthquake sources and seismic hazard in Southeastern Sicily(2001-08)
; ; ;Barbano, M. S.; Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Università di Catania, Italy ;Rigano, R.; Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Università di Catania, Italy; A study of some earthquakes (M > 5.3) affecting Southeastern Sicily was performed to define their seismic sources and to estimate seismic hazard in the region. An analysis of historical reports allowed us to reassess intensities of the 1542, 1693, 1818, 1848 and 1990 earthquakes by using the new European Macroseismic Scale ’98. The new intensity data were used to define parameters and the orientation of seismic sources. The sources obtained were compared with the ones computed using the MCS intensities retrieved from the Catalogue of Strong Italian Earthquakes. The adopted procedure gives results that are statistically significant, but both the epicentre location and source azimuth, in some cases, are strongly affected by the azimuthal gap in the intensity distribution. This is evident mainly for the 1693 January earthquakes. For these earthquakes the macroseismic data uncertainty gives significantly different solutions, and does not allow the events to be associated with known active faults. By handling the new estimated intensity data and using the site seismic histories, the seismic hazard for some localities was calculated. The highest probability of occurrence, for destructive events (I = 10), was obtained in the area between Catania, Lentini and Augusta, suggesting that the seismogenic sources are located near the Ionian coast.235 751 - PublicationOpen AccessIdentification of tsunami deposits in south-eastern Sicily: evidence for the 365 A.D. Crete earthquake?(2009-11-16)
; ; ; ; ; ; ;Barbano, M. S.; Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Università di Catania ;De Martini, P. M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma1, Roma, Italia ;Gerardi, F.; Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Università di Catania ;Pirrotta, C.; Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Università di Catania ;Smedile, A.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma1, Roma, Italia ;Pinzi, S.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma1, Roma, Italia; ; ; ; ; In the past decade, the methodologies and techniques of paleoseismological studies have evolved towards a multidisciplinary approach for the characterization of past earthquakes. Along with traditional geologic and geomorphologic near-fault investigations, off-fault studies of evidence for past earthquakes, such as soft sediment deformation (e.g. Moretti, 2000; Marco and Agnon, 2005), evidence of liquefaction (e.g. Tuttle et al., 2002; Guarnieri et al., 2009) and tsunami deposits (Dawson and Stewart, 2007; Pantosti et al., 2008; De Martini et al., 2009) are considered useful tools in the assessment of paleoearthquakes ages, magnitudes, and earthquake recurrence rates. We present the preliminary results of off-fault paleoseismological studies carried out in south-eastern Sicily, focused to identify evidence of tsunami inundations.191 340 - PublicationRestrictedBuilding collapse and deformation in the archaeological site of Abakainon (NE Sicily): a possible earthquake in the 2nd century BC?(OGS, 2012-11-20)
; ; ; ; ;Bottari, C.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia ;Barbano, M.S.; Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, Università di Catania ;Pirrotta, C.; Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, Università di Catania ;Azzaro, R.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione AC, Roma, Italia; ; ; Discriminating between building collapse and deformation in ancient relics and attributing them to certain seismic events contributes to a better assessment of recent seismic activities in a region. In NE Sicily, the Greek necropolis of Abakainon shows interesting collapse and deformation which can be related to an earthquake. This damage is related to oriented collapsed columns, diffuse cracking, tilting and dipping broken corners of the tombs basements.301 31 - PublicationOpen AccessA Reappraisal of the 1968 Valle Del Belice Seismic Sequence (Western Sicily): A case study of Intensity Assessment with Cumulated Damage Effects(2020)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; In 1968, six earthquakes with magnitude between 5.1 and 6.4 destroyed or heavily damaged several towns in the Valle del Belìce (western Sicily), causing some three hundred fatalities. There have been some critical issues in the intensity assessment however in the macroseismic studies produced over the years , since the MCS scale was used as an estimation of shaking rather than a representation of the damage scenario; in practise, intensity was assigned for each earthquake of the sequence disregarding the effect of the cumulative damage. The case-study of the 2016-17 earthquakes in Central Italy reflected the difficulty in estimating the intensity in localities repeatedly hit by strong shocks, producing macroseismic parameters (epicentre, magnitude) inconsistent with the instrumental ones. As for the 1968 Valle del Belìce sequence, the Parametric Catalogue of Italian Earthquakes CPTI15 reports the macroseismic parameters, owing to the inadequacy of the seismic network operating in Italy in that period. Aware of the issues related to epicentre locations and magnitudes calculated by the existing macroseismic datasets, here we propose a reappraisal of the 1968 earthquakes following a methodology tested during the 2016-17 seismic sequence in Central Italy. By a new analysis of the primary sources, we reconstruct the evolution of the damage scenario during the sequence and assess intensity by using the European Macroseismic Scale EMS-98; the new macroseismic parameters are finally compared with the ones of the CPTI15 catalogue. Lastly, we propose a procedure for minimizing the magnitude overestimation in case of seismic sequences, based on the computation of the total seismic moment M0.448 56 - PublicationOpen AccessGeological Evidence of Paleotsunamis at Torre degli Inglesi (northeast Sicily)(2008)
; ; ; ; ; ;Pantosti, D.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma1, Roma, Italia ;Barbano, M. S.; Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Università di Catania ;Smedile, A.; Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Università di Catania ;De Martini, P. M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma1, Roma, Italia ;Tigano, G.; Soprintendenza Beni Culturali ed Ambientali di Messina, Sezione Archeologica; ; ; ; Two layers of fine sand of marine origin occur in a sequence of organic rich colluvia in an archaeological excavation at Torre degli Inglesi, on Capo Peloro, northeast Sicily. Stratigraphic and micropaleontologic analyses support the hypothesis that these layers are related to deposition due to paleotsunami waves. Their ages are constrained both with radiocarbon and archaeological datings. The age of the oldest layer is coincident with the 17 A.D. earthquake that hit Reggio Calabria but for which no tsunami was previously reported. The age of the youngest layer can be only constrained in the range 3rd– 19th century and is tentatively associated to the 6 Feb. 1783 event.209 388 - PublicationOpen AccessDiscrimination of tsunami sources (Earthquake vs. Landslide) on the basis of historical data in Eastern Sicily and southern Calabria(2008-12)
; ; ; ; ;Gerardi, F.; University of Catania ;Barbano, M. S.; Univeristy of Catania ;De Martini, P. M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma1, Roma, Italia ;Pantosti, D.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma1, Roma, Italia; ; ; The source mechanisms responsible for large historical tsunamis that have struck eastern Sicily and southern Calabria are a topic of robust debate. We have compiled a database of historical coeval descriptions of three large tsunamis: 11 January 1693, 6 February 1783, and 28 December 1908. By using accounts of run-up and inundation and employing an approach proposed by Okal and Synolakis in 2004, we can provide discriminants to define the nature of the near-field tsunami sources (fault dislocation or landslide). Historical reports for the 1908 event describe affected localities, maximum runups, and inundation areas. However, for the 1693 and 1783 tsunamis, reports are limited to inundation and occasional run-up estimates. We calculate run-up values for these events using available relations between inundation and run-up. We employed the model of Okal and Synolakis to the obtained profiles of tsunami run-up along the inundated shorelines. The 1908 run-up data distribution confirms that the tsunami is compatible with a seismic dislocation source, whereas the 1783 data supports contemporary observations and recent offshore investigations suggesting that the tsunami was produced by an earthquake-triggered submarine landslide. Analysis of the 1693 event data suggests that the tsunami was generated during a tectonic event and thus a seismogenic source should be found offshore.276 1200