Quaternary geology and paleoseismology in the Fucino and L’Aquila basins

This 2 days-long field trip aims at exploring field evidence of active tectonics, paleoseismology and Quaternary
geology in the Fucino and L’Aquila intermountain basins and adjacent areas, within the inner sector of Central
Apennines, characterized by extensional tectonics since at least 3 Ma. Each basin is the result of repeated strong
earthquakes over a geological time interval, where the 1915 and 2009 earthquakes are only the latest seismic
events recorded respectively in the Fucino and L’Aquila areas. Paleoseismic investigations have found clear evidence
of several past earthquakes in the Late Quaternary to Holocene period. Active tectonics has strongly imprinted also
the long-term landscape evolution, as clearly shown by numerous geomorphic and stratigraphic features.
Due to the very rich local historical and seismological database, and to the extensive Quaternary tectonics and
earthquake geology research conducted in the last decades by several Italian and international teams, the area
visited by this field trip is today one of the best studied paleoseismological field laboratories in the world. The Fucino
and L’Aquila basins preserve excellent exposures of earthquake environmental effects (mainly surface faulting), their
cumulative effect on the landscape, and their interaction with the urban history and environment. This is therefore
a key region for understanding the role played by earthquake environmental effects in the Quaternary evolution of
actively deforming regions, also as a major contribution to seismic risk mitigation strategies.