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Cella, Federico
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Cella, Federico
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- PublicationRestrictedA multidisciplinary approach to characterize the geometry of active faults: the example of Mt. Massico, Southern Italy(2018-03-03)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; We present the results of a multidisciplinary and multiscale study at Mt. Massico, Southern Italy. Mt. Massico is a carbonate horst located along the Campanian-Latial margin of the Tyrrhenian basin, bordered by two main NE–SW systems of faults, and by NW–SE and N–S trending faults. Our analysis deals with the modelling of the main NE– SW faults. These faults were capable during Plio-Pleistocene and are still active today, even though with scarce and low-energy seismicity (Mw maximum = 4.8).We inferred the pattern of the fault planes through a combined interpretation of 2-D hypocentral sections, a multiscale analysis of gravity field and geochemical data. This allowed us to characterize the geometry of these faults and infer their large depth extent. This region shows very striking gravimetric signatures, well-known Quaternary faults, moderate seismicity and a localized geothermal fluid rise. Thus, this analysis represents a valid case study for testing the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary approach, and employing it in areas with buried and/or silent faults of potential high hazard, such as in the Apennine chain.246 4 - PublicationOpen AccessParameters estimation of intensity decay relationships(1996-10)
; ; ; ;Cella, F.; Istituto di Ricerca sul Rischio Sismico, C.N.R., Milano, Italy ;Zonno, G.; Istituto di Ricerca sul Rischio Sismico, C.N.R., Milano, Italy ;Meroni, F.; Istituto di Ricerca sul Rischio Sismico, C.N.R., Milano, Italy; ; This paper presents a methodology that analyses a set of observed intensities and estimates the parameters of an adopted attenuation law directly using the data points. A procedure was developed to define and evaluate the equivalent radii Di of the isoseismal lines. From these data it is possible to derive the parameters of the attenuation law. Moreover a validation procedure was developed to measure the capability of intensity decay relationships to reproduce the observed intensities. A case study of 55 earthquakes, divided into 9 subsets, of similar-attenuation zones, was analysed, using, as attenuation law, the one proposed by Grandori (1987, l991) to estimate either the parameters for each single earthquake or the parameters of an average intensity decay relationship for the similar-attenuation zones. The calculated intensity decay relationships result in 60- 70% of correctly reproduced points for most intensity data maps analysed. Analysing the similar-attenuation zones and different earthquakes simultaneously, the parameters of attenuation laws obtain results with a lower percentage of correctly reproduced points. The proposed methodology seems to be effective and suitable to reach practical results in parameters estimation of intensity decay relationships.183 567 - PublicationOpen AccessImproved techniques in data analysis and interpretation of potential fields: examples of application in volcanic and seismically active areas(2002)
; ; ; ; ;Rapolla, A.; Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Napoli, Italy ;Cella, F.; Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università della Calabria,Arcavacata di Rende (CS), Italy ;Fedi, M.; Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Napoli, Italy ;Florio, G.; Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Napoli, Italy; ; ; Geopotential data may be interpreted by many different techniques, depending on the nature of the mathematical equations correlating specific unknown ground parameters to the measured data set. The investigation based on the study of the gravity and magnetic anomaly fields represents one of the most important geophysical approaches in the earth sciences. It has now evolved aimed both at improving of known methods and testing other new and reliable techniques. This paper outlines a general framework for several applications of recent techniques in the study of the potential methods for the earth sciences. Most of them are here described and significant case histories are shown to illustrate their reliability on active seismic and volcanic areas.177 925 - PublicationOpen AccessBoundaries of magnetic anomaly sources in the Tyrrhenian region(1998-08)
; ; ; ; ;Cella, F.; Dipartimento di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Universitá di Napoli ;Fedi, M.; Dipartimento di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Universitá di Napoli ;Florio, G.; Dipartimento di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Universitá di Napoli "Federico II", Napoli, Italy ;Rapolla, A.; Dipartimento di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Universitá di Napoli "Federico II", Napoli, Italy; ; ; Analysis of the analytic signal of the aeromagnetic field in the Tyrrhenian region allowed the systematic location of the boundaries of magnetic shallow sources. This method was chosen because of its independence from the magnetization and inducing field direction, and the results were similar to those of the boundary analysis of the horizontal gradient of the pseudogravity transformed field. The analytic signal was computed by a stable algorithm based on the second order horizontal derivatives of the field and Laplace equation. The complexity of the investigated area is well reflected in the aeromagnetic field and an objective and systematic study, such as boundary analysis, provided a rather complete description of the main regional structures. Significant trends indicated the existence of structures, whose nature was still unknown or uncertain. These included structures located between the Vavilov and De Marchi seamounts, NW of Stromboli Island, south of Ponza Island, a buried horst immediately south of the Cilento coastline, a body located northwest of the Cassinis seamount and other small magnetized structures located south of the Tuscanian archipelago. In many cases, a better definition of several structures previously recognized was obtained as in the case of some tectonic alignments (e.g., the Elba ridge, the Romolo and Selli lines, etc.), a large number of igneous seamounts (e.g., Magnaghi, Marsili, Vavilov, Anchise, Quirra, Enarete, Eolo and Sisifo seamounts) and several crystalline outcrops (e.g., Ichnusa, Vercelli, M. della Rondine, Tiberino, Cassinis, Traiano, Glauco and Augusto seamounts).640 580 - PublicationOpen AccessTesting the value of a multi-scale gravimetric analysis in characterizing active fault 2 geometry at hypocentral depths: the 2016-2017 Central Italy seismic sequenceWe report the results of a multidisciplinary investigation performed across the normal Quaternary faults that ruptured the surface during the August 24 (Mw 6.0) and October 30 (Mw 6.5), 2016 strong earthquakes in the Mt. Vettore-Mt. Bove areas, central Italy. Our aim is to test the effectiveness of the contribution of a multi-scale gravimetric analysis in characterizing seismogenic faults’ geometry at hypocentral depths on well-known outcropping faulty systems with known earthquake distribution. We adopted a multi-scale geophysical/geological approach consisting in the comparison of gravity lineaments inferred by Multiscale Derivative Analysis with the Quaternary structural setting mapped in the study area, the primary coseismic surface ruptures of the 2016-2017 sequence and the earthquakes’ epicentral distribution. Moreover, we performed a combined interpretation of 2D hypocentral sections of the 2016-2017 seismic sequences with images resulting from the Depth from Extreme Points method, to infer the faults’ geometry at depth. Based on our results, the investigated NW-SE Mt. Vettore-Mt. Bove fault system is dipping 60°-70° westward. We also detected the splays of this primary fault and its blind antithetic NW-SE structure, dipping northeastward. In the Norcia basin we highlight two main faults bordering the basin with a dip of about 45°. The one edging the eastern side dips westward, whereas the fault edging the western side dips eastward. Thanks to our analysis we could identify and characterize the geometry of the Norcia and Vettore master faults, as well as other blind/buried and/or silent faults that are related to the 2016 seismogenic structure. Our results show the effectiveness of this approach in potentially high-hazard areas that are structurally poorly known.
332 133 - PublicationOpen AccessBasement Mapping of the Fucino Basin in Central Italy by ITRESC Modeling of Gravity DataSediments infilling in intermontane basins in areas with high seismic activity can strongly affect ground-shaking phenomena at the surface. Estimates of thickness and density dis- tribution within these basin infills are crucial for ground motion amplification analysis, especially where demographic growth in human settlements has implied increasing seismic risk. We em- ployed a 3D gravity modeling technique (ITerative RESCaling—ITRESC) to investigate the Fucino Basin (Apennines, central Italy), a half-graben basin in which intense seismic activity has recently occurred. For the first time in this region, a 3D model of the Meso-Cenozoic carbonate basement morphology was retrieved through the inversion of gravity data. Taking advantage of the ITRESC technique, (1) we were able to (1) perform an integration of geophysical and geological data con- straints and (2) determine a density contrast function through a data-driven process. Thus, we avoided assuming a priori information. Finally, we provided a model that honored the gravity anomalies field by integrating many different kinds of depth constraints. Our results confirmed evidence from previous studies concerning the overall shape of the basin; however, we also high- lighted several local discrepancies, such as: (a) the position of several fault lines, (b) the position of the main depocenter, and (c) the isopach map. We also pointed out the existence of a new, un- known fault, and of new features concerning known faults. All of these elements provided useful contributions to the study of the tectono-sedimentary evolution of the basin, as well as key infor- mation for assessing the local site-response effects, in terms of seismic hazards.
130 42 - PublicationOpen AccessApplication of artificial intelligence techniques in seismology and engineering seismology(European Center for Geodynamics and Seismology (ECGS), 1992)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;In the field of risk evaluation and seismic hazard assessment, it is necessary to codify a great quantity of aspects of the so called knowledge and to supply an intelligent support for the not-well-defined problems (data uncertainty, lack of rigorous solution algorithms). The main feature of an expert system is to emulate effectively the behaviour of a human expert in a particular and defined field, enabling the final user to improve its decisional process and giving access to him to a knowledge base otherwise not clearly codified. From these general considerations the intention came to develop the prototype CZAR (Classificatore Zone A Rischio) that is an expert system reproducing the Italian seismic classification based on the definition of Seismic Hazard given by Progetto Finalizzato Geodinamica (PFG) of the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR). The expert system built up on the commercial shell Nexpert Object is working on a personal computer through a graphic interface developed with the Graphical User Interface (GUI) of Window 3.0. This user friendly interface makes possible the choice of different procedures to estimate the hazard parameters and also allows the activation of the classification inferential process. The influence of different assumptions and strategies has been evaluated by a mathematical algorithm suggested by the general structure of the Bayes’ theorem. In this paper the prototype of the expert system has been applied to the data relating to Toscana region (central Italy) and the interactive evaluation of the maps furnishes a relative measure for discrepancies on seismic classification in the 2nd seismic category.87 19 - PublicationOpen AccessAn application on Geographic Information Systems connected to Expert System(European Center for Geodynamics and Seismology (ECGS), 1995)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;The studies urban areas directed at the definition of seismic risk, raise the problem of the seismic vulnerability assessment of construction properties that require the estimation of the tendency to damage of a plurality of buildings. Very often one comes upon buildings that have been constructed in former epochs without the use of seismic codes and generally built in masonry. The leads to the search for procedures for vulnerability assessment, based on the rapid acquisition of information on existing buildings, which must furnish a sufficiently reliable assessment of the seismic damageability, generally without the possibility to refer to very sophisticated models. In previous works, assessments of seismic vulnerability have been effected using surveys transferred on National Project for Seismic Prevention (GNDT) sheets (Zonno and Ducarme, eds, 1992). These works have been realized using capes systems in order to treat with the uncertainty of the data. However, the analyses that only refer to GNDT sheets, are limited to single buildings, ideationally understood as isolated. An alternative and maybe complementary attempt is to assess the vulnerability of buildings in a global structural context using Geographic Information Systems to mapping the urban system, integrated with the surveys transferred on COOT sheets. The main characteristics of the building and the structural context, indices of a major or minor damageability, have been individuated, but it is difficult to define a rapid procedure for the assessment of seismic vulnerability. The idea was to use an expert system to codify a basis of the presently acquired knowledge and to apply it automatically on the basis of the results obtained by processes of space analyses calculated by GIS. On the basis of the data obtained with GNDT sheets, the vulnerability of the building can be assessed independently from the structural context (intrinsic vulnerability). The availability of data on the space distribution of the adjoining buildings permits an assessment on the effective vulnerability that takes into account the influence of the structural context. With relation to other works effected on the argument, the proposed system automatically assesses a large quantity of geocoded data either in geometry and in the structure of the components. In particular, in this work the seismic vulnerability assessment of the buildings is effected through the Geographic Information Systems PC Arc-Info connected with the Expert System Shell Nexpert Object, starting from the methods used by the GNDT of the National Council for Research (CNR) (Benedetti and Petrini, 1984; Baldi and Corsanego, 1987) and integrating the effects of anisotropics of the structural behaviour and context (Grimaz, 1992-93).79 61 - PublicationOpen AccessGravity modeling finds a large magma body in the deep crust below the Gulf of Naples, Italy(2018-05-29)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;; ; ;We analyze a wide gravity low in the Campania Active Volcanic Area and interpret it by a large and deep source distribution of partially molten, low-density material from about 8 to 30 km depth. Given the complex spatial-temporal distribution of explosive volcanism in the area, we model the gravity data consistently with several volcanological and petrological constraints. We propose two possible models: one accounts for the coexistence, within the lower/intermediate crust, of large amounts of melts and cumulates besides country rocks. It implies a layered distribution of densities and, thus, a variation with depth of percentages of silicate liquids, cumulates and country rocks. The other reflects a fractal density distribution, based on the scaling exponent estimated from the gravity data. According to this model, the gravity low would be related to a distribution of melt pockets within solid rocks. Both density distributions account for the available volcanological and seismic constraints and can be considered as end-members of possible models compatible with gravity data. Such results agree with the general views about the roots of large areas of ignimbritic volcanism worldwide. Given the prolonged history of magmatism in the Campania area since Pliocene times, we interpret the detected low-density body as a developing batholith.95 39 - PublicationRestrictedComment on “Gravity modeling reveals a Messinian foredeep depocenter beneath the intermontane Fucino basin (Central Apennines)” byThe Fucino Pliocene-Quaternary extensional basin represents a puzzling tectonic structure in the central part of the Apennine chain (Italy). Bordered by seismogenetic faults responsible for strong earthquakes in the last millennium (Mw = 6–7), differently from other elongated intermontane basins in this area, it has a rounded shape and extends for 15–20 km both in the E-W and N-S directions. This structural peculiarity is also demonstrated by the very intense gravity low, with amplitude >30 mGal (e.g., Cella et al., 2021), associated with this basin. Available reflection seismic data in this area are often considered of low quality (e.g., Compagnia Mediterranea Idrocarburi, 1999), and no deep well (i.e., >200 m depth) is present in this basin, so that its structure at depth results poorly constrained. In a recent paper, Mancinelli et al. (2021; hereafter this paper will be referred to as MSPM), by forward modelling residual gravity data try to confirm a recent 2D seismic stratigraphic interpretation (Patruno and Scisciani, 2021) and the relative model of the Fucino basin structure. In this interpretation of seismic data, the Pliocene-Quaternary units infilling the basin overlies an older (Messinian) siliciclastic flysch, instead of a carbonate substrate as hypothesized in previous studies (e. g., Cavinato et al., 2002; Cella et al., 2021). The forward gravity modelling attempted in MSPM would confirm the presence of huge volumes of Miocene sediments, with a thickness up to 1000 m, and would support the hypothesis of the presence of a, rapidly filled, transient Messinian foredeep basin. However, we have concerns about the quality of the gravity modelling proposed in MSPM, and consequently we are doubtful about the geological conclusions that are drawn from it.
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