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Catalano, Stefano
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- PublicationRestrictedActive deformation along the northern margin of the Hyblean Plateau (SE Sicily) from GPS and geological data(2012)
; ; ; ; ; ; ;Bonforte, A.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Catania, Catania, Italia ;Catalano, S.; Università degli studi di Catania ;Maniscalco, R.; Università degli studi di Catania ;Romagnoli, G.; Università degli studi di Catania ;Sturiale, G.; Università degli studi di Catania ;Tortorici, G.; Università degli studi di Catania; ; ; ; ; A diffuse fragmentation of the Nubia-Eurasia tectonic boundary, due to the propagation of distinct extensional belts, has characterised the post-collision evolution of the region. In this frame, the Hyblean Plateau was affected, since about 1.5 Ma B.P., by the propagation of the the roughly N-S trending Siculo-Calabrian Rift Zone (SCRZ in Fig.1a; MONACO & TORTORICI, 2000), an extensional belt that extends from the onshore of southern Calabria to the SE Sicily. In the Hyblean plateau the propagation of the rift zone caused the reactivation of the main previous discontinuity. The earlier SE Sicily branch of the rift zone, in fact, propagated from the Ionian coast to the Scicli Line, causing the collapse of the NEtrending Scordia-Lentini Graben, at the northern margin of the plateau. This extensional basin represents an half-graben, which is controlled by a SE-facing master fault.218 38 - PublicationRestrictedTectonic control on the eruptive dynamics at Mt. Etna Volcano (Sicily) during the 2001 and 2002–2003 eruptions(2005-06-15)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;Monaco, C.; Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Università di Catania, Catania, Italy ;Catalano, S.; Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Università di Catania, Catania, Italy ;Cocina, O.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Catania, Catania, Italia ;De Guidi, G.; Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Università di Catania, Catania, Italy ;Ferlito, C.; Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Università di Catania, Catania, Italy ;Gresta, S.; Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Università di Catania, Catania, Italy ;Musumeci, C.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Catania, Catania, Italia ;Tortorici, L.; Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Università di Catania, Catania, Italy; ; ; ; ; ; ; The eruptive events of the July–August 2001 and October 2002–January 2003 at Mt. Etna provide new insights for reconstructing the complex geometry of the feeding system and their relationship to regional tectonics. The 2001 eruption took place mainly on the upper southern sector of the volcano. The eruption was preceded by a large earthquake swarm for a few days before its onset and accompanied by ground deformation and fracturing. The development of surface cracking along with the seismic pattern has allowed us to recognize three distinct eruptive systems (the SW–NE, NNW–SSE and N–S systems) which have been simultaneously active. Such eruptive systems are only the upper portions of a complex feeding system that was fed at the same time by two distinct magmas. The SW–NE and NNW–SSE systems, connected with the SE crater conduit, were fed by magma coming from depth, whereas the N–S system served instead as an ascending pathway for an amphibole-bearing magma residing in a shallow reservoir. The eruptive activity started again on October 2002 on the NE Rift Zone, where about 20 eruptive vents were aligned between 2500 and 1900 m a.s.l., and on the southern flank, from the central crater to the Montagnola. The onset of eruptive activity was accompanied by a seismic swarm. As in the 2001 eruptive event, two independent feeding systems formed, characterized by distinct magmas. The SW–NE system controlled the feeding of the Northeast Rift and was accommodated by left-lateral displacement along the WNW–ESE trending Pernicana Fault. The N–S system fed the eruptions on the southern flank. Moreover, the associated crustal deformation triggered seismic reactivation of tectonic structures in the eastern flank of the volcano and offshore. These two last eruptions indicate that at Mt. Etna the ascent of magma, as well as the accommodation of deformation, is strongly dominated by local extensional structures that are connected to a regional tectonic regime.241 87 - PublicationRestrictedLate Quaternary deformation on the island of Pantelleria: New constraints for the recent tectonic evolution of the Sicily Channel Rift (southern Italy).(2009)
; ; ; ; ; ;Catalano, S.; Università di Catania ;De Guidi, G.; Università di Catania ;Lanzafame, G.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Catania, Catania, Italia ;Monaco, C.; Università di Catania ;Tortorici, I.; Università di Catania; ; ; ; Structural observations carried out on the volcanic Island of Pantelleria show that the tectonic setting is dominated by NNE trending normal faults and by NW-striking right-lateral strike-slip faults with normal component of motion controlled by a ≈N 100°E oriented extension. This mode of deformation also controls the development of the eruptive fissures, dykes and eruptive centres along NNE–SSW belts that may thus represent the surface response to crustal cracking with associated magma intrusions. Magmatic intrusions are also responsible for the impressive vertical deformations that affect during the Late Quaternary the south-eastern segment of the island and producing a large dome within the Pantelleria caldera complex. The results of the structural analysis carried out on the Island of Pantelleria also improves the general knowledge on the Late Quaternary tectonics of the entire Sicily Channel. ESE–WNW directed extension, responsible for both the tectonic and volcano-tectonic features of the Pantelleria Island, also characterizes, at a greater scale, the entire channel as shown by available geodetic and seismological data. This mode of extension reactivates the older NW–SE trending fault segments bounding the tectonic troughs of the Channel as right-lateral strike-slip faults and produces new NNE trending pure extensional features (normal faulting and cracking) that preferentially develop at the tip of the major strike-slip fault zones. We thus relate the Late Quaternary volcanism of the Pelagian Block magmatism to dilatational strain on the NNE-striking extensional features that develop on the pre-existing stretched area and propagate throughout the entire continental crust linking the already up-welled mantle with the surface.211 31 - PublicationRestrictedThe influence of erosional processes on the visibility of Permanent Scatterers Features from SAR remote sensing on Mount Etna (E Sicily)(2013-09-15)
; ; ; ; ; ; ;Catalano, S.; Università di Catania ;Bonforte, A.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Catania, Catania, Italia ;Guglielmino, F.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Catania, Catania, Italia ;Romagnoli, G.; Università di Catania ;Tarsia, C.; Università di Catania ;Tortorici, G.; Università di Catania; ; ; ; ; Analysis of 1549 DInSAR interferograms, covering the period from 2003 to 2010, has highlighted significant motion along the entire set of the active faults identified by advanced DInSAR analyses (i.e. Permanent Scatterers Features, PSF), affecting the Mount Etna volcano, in eastern Sicily. In the analysed period, the absence of significant seismicity producing co-seismic ground deformation suggests that the overall deformation that has been recognized on the interferograms is to be associated with interseismic, almost continuous creep which is, well documented along most of the active faults. According to field evidence, the structures should accumulate displacements resulting in their permanent visibility on the interferograms, progressively increases through time. This expected behaviour has been recognised only for part of the entire set of structures. Other tectonic features, in fact, show episodic appearances, alternating with periods of absence of ground displacement on the interferograms, simulating a stick-slip mechanism of deformation, conflicting with field evidence. This apparently incongruous behaviour can be interpreted as the result of topographic changes due to the combination of the tectonic displacements with related amounts of the differential erosion and deposition across the fault line. The comparison between the history of the appearances and the monthly rainfall in the region seems to demonstrate that these structures appear when one of the two interacting processes governing the topographic changes around the fault, i.e. tectonic vs. erosional, prevails over the other. Otherwise, the same structures are not evident on the interferograms when the two components are in balance.213 59 - PublicationOpen AccessGeological and geodetic constraints on the active deformation along the northern margin of the Hyblean Plateau (SE Sicily)(2015)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;Bonforte, A.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Catania, Catania, Italia ;Catalano, S.; Università di Catania ;Maniscalco, R.; Università di Catania ;Pavano, N.; Università di Catania ;Romagnoli, G.; Università di Catania ;Sturiale, G.; Università di Catania ;Tortorici, G.; Università di Catania; ; ; ; ; ; A geologic and geodetic integrated analysis of the northern margin of the Hyblean Plateau (SE Sicily) has been carried out in order to test the relationship between the active deformation, recorded by GPS data, and the long-term tectonic evolution, reconstructed by the interpretation of structural and morphological data. Our study revealed the active growth of a large antiform, as a consequence of the positive tectonic inversion of the previous flexure, bordering the Hyblean Foreland. The deformation of Middle–Late Pleistocene marine terraces and the evolution of the drainage system are consistent with a progressive regional tilting of the entire eastern sector of the Hyblean Plateau (Siracusa Domain), representing the southern limb of the active antiform. The geometry of the Late Quaternarymarine strandlines, comparedwith the results of analoguemodels, is compatible with the effects of the NW-ward propagation of a detachment fault at depth. The active deformation of the Hyblean region, coherentwith the Nubia–Eurasia plate convergence, suggests to candidate the inverted tectonics at the northern border of the Hyblean Plateau as potential seismogenic sources of the area.681 112 - PublicationRestrictedExtensive surface geophysical prospecting for seismic microzonation(2020-05-27)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;; ;; ; ; ; ; ; ;This paper presents an overview of the geophysical activities for the seismic microzonation of 138 municipalities belonging to four Italian regions (Abruzzo, Lazio, Marche and Umbria) that were severely damaged by the seismic sequence of Central Italy (August 2016–January 2017). This study is the result of a collaborative effort between research Institutions and professional geologists with the support of local Administrations and the Italian Civil Protection Department and sets an unprecedented large-scale example of geophysical investigations supporting detailed seismic microzonation studies. This manuscript presents the methodological approach adopted for the geophysical activities, including the technical protocols and procedures, the best practices, the final products and the results supporting a detailed microzonation study of III level. The first step of the study was the collection and critical review of all available geophysical and geological information for planning the new geophysical surveys (specifically their type and location), in order to assess the subsoil geometry and the seismic characterization of the areas under investigation. Integration with the newly acquired geophysical data allowed the identification of zones with homogeneous local seismic hazard as well as the reference seismo-stratigraphy for each area, defining for each geological unit the ranges of the relevant properties in seismic amplification studies: layering and thicknesses, density, P-wave and S-wave seismic velocity. We also present a few representative case studies illustrating the geophysical investigation for different geomorphological situations. These examples, together with the findings of the entire project, are discussed to point out the strength points and the criticalities, as well as the necessary requirements in the application of geophysical methods to detailed microzonation studies.180 4 - PublicationOpen AccessSeismological and structural constraints on the 2011–2013, Mmax 4.6 seismic sequence at the south-eastern edge of the Calabrian arc (North-eastern Sicily, Italy)(2018)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;; ; ; ;; Between June 2011 and September 2013, the Nebrodi Mountains region was affected by a seismic swarm consisting of > 2700 events with local magnitude 1.3 ≤ ML ≤ 4.6 and located in the 5–9 km depth interval. The seismic swarm defines a seismogenetic volume elongated along the E-W direction and encompasses the NW-SE-oriented tectonic boundary between the Calabrian arc (north-eastward) and the Sicilide units (south-westward). By exploring the recent tectonic deformation and the seismic behavior of the region, this study aims at providing additional constraints on the seismogenetic faults at the southern termination of the Calabrian arc. Waveform similarities analysis allowed observing that ~ 45% of the whole dataset can be grouped into six different families of seismic events. Earthquake multiplet families are mainly located in the eastern part of the seismogenetic volume. We suggest that such a feature is responsive to the lateral lithological variations as highlighted by geology (at the surface) and P-wave seismic tomography (at depth of 10 km). Stress tensor inversions performed on FPSs indicate that the investigated region is currently subject to a nearly biaxial stress state in an extensional regime, such that crustal stretching occurs along both NW-SE and NE-SW directions. Accordingly, mesoscale fault geometries and kinematics analyses evidence that a younger normal faulting stress regime led to a tectonic negative inversion by replacing the pre-existing strike-slip one. Based on our results and findings reported in recent literature, we refer such a crustal stretching to mantle upwelling process (as evidenced by diffuse mantle-derived gas emissions) coupled with a tectonic uplift involving north-eastern Sicily since Middle Pleistocene. Moreover, seismic swarms striking the region would be related to the migration of mantle and sub-crustal fluids toward the surface along the complex network of tectonic structures cutting the crust and acting as pathways.280 30