Coseismic and postseismic displacements related with the 1997 earthquake sequence in Umbria-Marche (central Italy)

Abstract

We study the coseismic and postseismic displacements related with the 1997 Umbria-Marche earthquake sequence by means of leveling lines along a deformed aqueduct located in the epicentral area. Comparing the 1960 and 10/1997 measurements we obtain 0.49 0.10 m of coseismic displacement distributed along 3 km across the normal fault zone. Modeling of the coseismic surface dislocation is obtained from a combination of low angle (38°) faults at depth and high angle (80°) upper fault branches. The best fit model indicates that the upper branches stop at 0.4 km below the ground surface and have 60% of slip with respect to the lower faults. The postseismic displacement measured during 1998 is 0.18 m and represents 36% of the apparent coseismic deformation. Moderate earthquakes in the Apennines and related surface deformation may thus result from curved faults that reflect the brittle-elastic properties of the uppermost crustal structures.