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This work addresses the tectonic significance of a NW-SE strike-slip fault zone in the Calabrian Arc of Southern Italy, the Rossano-San Nicola Fault Zone (RSFZ). High-quality seismic reflection and 1D forward models of exploration boreholes and pseudo-wells show that the RSFZ experienced multiple Miocene phases of contractional/transpressional tectonics. These were followed by crustal extension during the Pliocene in association with the oceanisation of the Tyrrhenian Sea, Apennine orogenesis, and collision between the Calabrian Arc and adjacent tectonic plates. Such a setting had a profound influence on the Crotone Basin and its economic potential: 1) tectonic reactivation allowed reservoir units of the Crotone Basin to be charged by gas derived from Triassic/Lower Jurassic source rocks, and 2) source rocks reached their maximum depth and remained in the gas generation window after the emplacement of a large mass-transport complex in the Pliocene. In the surrounding areas, tectonic activity near the RSFZ contributed to source-rock maturation by enhancing local sedimentation rates, particularly during Langhian (Middle Miocene) and Zanclean (early Pliocene) tectonics. This work is important as it demonstrates the tectono-stratigraphic evolution of the Crotone Basin to be closely related to the structural evolution of the RSFZ. Crucially, the study area reveals the first example of a gas field fully sealed by a large mass-transport complex. As a corollary, we tie the Late Cenozoic geological history of the Crotone Basin to the geodynamic evolution of the central Mediterranean region, namely the Ionian and Tyrrhenian seas. We identify new prospects in the Crotone Basin and provide a time frame for gas generation and accumulation in Southern Italy.

To ensure environmental and public safety, critical facilities require rigorous seismic hazard analysis to define seismic input for their design. We consider the case of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which is a pipeline that transports natural gas from the Caspian Sea to southern Italy, crossing active faults and areas characterized by high seismicity levels. For this pipeline, we develop a Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Assessment (PSHA) for the broader area, and, for the selected critical sites, we perform deterministic seismic hazard assessment (DSHA), by calculating shaking scenarios that account for the physics of the source, propagation, and site effects. This paper presents a DSHA for a compressor station located at Fier, along the Albanian coastal region. Considering the location of the most hazardous faults in the study site, revealed by the PSHA disaggregation, we model the ground motion for two different scenarios to simulate the worst-case scenario for this compressor station. We compute broadband waveforms for receivers on soft soils by applying specific transfer functions estimated from the available geotechnical data for the Fier area. The simulations reproduce the variability observed in the ground motion recorded in the near-earthquake source. The vertical ground motion is strong for receivers placed above the rupture areas and should not be ignored in seismic designs; furthermore, our vertical simulations reproduce the displacement and the static offset of the ground motion highlighted in recent studies. This observation confirms the importance of the DSHA analysis in defining the expected pipeline damage functions and permanent soil deformations.

The design of critical facilities needs a targeted computation of the expected ground motion levels. The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) is the pipeline that transports natural gas from the Greek-Turkish border, through Greece and Albania, to Italy. We present here the probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) that we performed for this facility, and the deaggregation of the results, aiming to identify the dominant seismic sources for a selected site along the Albanian coast, where one of the two main compressor stations is located. PSHA is based on an articulated logic tree of twenty branches, consisting of two models for source, seismicity, estimation of the maximum magnitude, and ground motion. The area with the highest hazard occurs along the Adriatic coast of Albania (PGA between 0.8 and 0.9 g on rock for a return period of 2475 years), while strong ground motions are also expected to the north of Thessaloniki, Kavala, in the southern Alexandroupolis area, as well as at the border between Greece and Turkey. The earthquakes contributing most to the hazard of the test site at high and low frequencies (1 and 5 Hz) and the corresponding design events for the TAP infrastructure have been identified as local quakes with MW 6.6 and 6.0, respectively.

Since about 20,000 years ago, the geography of the Earth has been profoundly modified by the gradual sea-level rise caused by the melting of continental ice sheets. Flat areas and regions characterized by very low gradients experienced, more than others, rapid flooding, with the progressive disappearance of vast coastal territories. Here we present a recon- struction of the late Quaternary coastline evolution of the north-western sector of the Sicilian Channel, constrained by high-resolution seismic profiles where the marker of the post-Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) marine transgression has been clearly identified and mapped. The locations of the post-LGM seismic horizon have been compared with predictions of a Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA) model, which accounts for the migration of the shorelines in response to sea-level rise and for Earth’s rotational and deformational effects associated with deglaciation. We have verified that most of the points mapped through seismic data interpretation fall along the palaeo-coastline that the GIA model predicts for the 21 kyrs B.P. time frame. However, the model shows a misfit in the marine sector between Mazara del Vallo and Sciacca, where the available data indicate a Quaternary tectonic uplift. The analy- sis of the seismic profiles provides useful constraints to current GIA models. These add on existing histories of relative sea level in the Mediterranean Sea, allowing to gain new insight into the evolution of the palaeo-geography of the region of study and of the whole Sicilian Channel since the LGM, even in areas where direct geophysical observations are not avail- able yet. In this respect, one of the most attractive implications of the ancient coastline evo- lution is linked with the underwater archaeology. The sea-level rise heavily impacted the distribution of human settlements, possibly forcing site abandonment and migrations, and this is particularly relevant in the Mediterranean basin, the cradle of the western civilization. The underwater traces left by these ancient populations represent the fundamental proofs to reconstruct the early history of our precursors.

Well-preserved SSE-dipping low-angle normal faults (LANF) active during the Early Permian (Cisuralian) were recognized along the northern margin of the Orobic Basin (central Southern Alps, N Italy). These faults, which escaped most of the Alpine deformations, exhumed the Variscan basement during the deposition of the upper part of the Lower Permian succession (Pizzo del Diavolo Formation). Fault planes show evidence of frictional processes typical of the upper crust associated with hydrothermal circulation, responsible for the deposition of cm to m thick tourmalinite and Uranium mineralization. The recognized LANFs interacted with high-angle normal faults producing half grabens that stored the Lower Permian deposits, where synsedimentary fault activity in their hangingwall is testified by abrupt vertical and lateral facies changes, thickness variations and by soft-sediment deformations. Mesoscopic structures, exposed in the hangingwall of a major LANF (the Aga-Vedello Fault system) along a synthetic high-angle normal fault, include conjugate normal faults, horst-and-graben, domino-style planar and listric faults, which clearly record synsedimentary deformations testified by liquefaction and dewatering structures, typical of pre-consolidation hydroplastic conditions. This xceptional record indicates deformations at shallow crustal level which occurred during the Early Permian along highangle normal faults soling into the LANFs, forming the northern boundary of the Orobic Basin. The outcrop continuity, the perfectly preserved relationships among high- and low-angle normal faults together with the synsedimentary record of fault activity and the occurrence of mesoscopic faults developed during the deposition of the sediments, make this case-study an excellent reference for the analysis of extensional tectonics in synsedimentary conditions. In addition, the occurrence of large LANF systems, typical of a stress regime characterized by a vertical σ1, suggests that the Lower Permian Orobic Basin was dominated by pure extension at least in the study area, alternatively to existing interpretations, which favor a transtensional origin of the basin. Strike-slip tectonics can be responsible for a later partial tectonic inversion of the basin, as testified by the angular unconformity with the overlying Upper Permian succession (Verrucano Lombardo), marking a Middle Permian stratigraphic gap.

The Plio-Quaternary tectonic evolution of the central sector of the Sicilian Channel and the resulting morphostructural setting have been analyzed using a large geophysical dataset consisting of multichannel seismic profiles, which some of them never published, and available bathymetric data. This area hosts two regional-scale tectonic domains that registered the complex pattern of deformation occurred since the Early Pliocene: (1) the Sicilian Channel Rift Zone (SCRZ), which can be divided into a western sector formed by the Pantelleria graben (PG) and in a eastern one represented by the Linosa and Malta grabens (LG and MG) and (2) the Capo Granitola-Sciacca Fault Zone (CGSFZ), a NNE-oriented lithospheric transfer zone that crosses the Sicilian Channel from the Sicily coast to the Linosa Island, of which only its northern part has been studied to date. Data interpretation has allowed achieving the following outcomes: (i) the presence of an alternation of basins and structural highs forming a NNE-oriented separation belt between the western and eastern sectors of the SCRZ, and interpreted as the shallow expression of the southern part of the CGSFZ; (ii) a NE-oriented tectonic lineament separating the MG in a northern and southern part, and interpreted as the southern prosecution of the Scicli-Ragusa Fault System; (iii) the presence of syn-rift deposits in the Plio-Quaternary fill of the grabens, suggesting that the opening of the grabens of the SCRZ was coeval, and started since Early Pliocene in the framework of a NW-oriented right-lateral transtensional mega-shear zone; (iv) continental rifting ended around the Early Calabrian, during which extensional tectonics dominated along the separation belt; (v) the CGSFZ conditioned the SCRZ configuration at a regional scale, leading to the development of the PG in the western sector and of the LG and MG in the eastern one; and (vi) after the Early Calabrian, the PG and the southern MG followed a different tectonic evolution with respect to the LG and northern MG. The syn-rift deposits of the PG and southern MG were sealed by an undeformed post-rift succession, while the LG and the northern MG suffered a basin inversion that ended around the Latest Calabrian time. During this stage, the separation belt was affected by a transpressional tectonics. At present, the grabens of the Sicilian Channel seem to be tectonically inactive, while the CGSFZ represents an active tectonic domain.

Large-scale submarine gravitational land movements involving even more than 1,000 m thick sedimentary successions are known as megalandslides. We prove the existence of large-scale gravitational phenomena off the Crotone Basin, a forearc basin located on the Ionian side of Calabria (southern Italy), by seismic, morpho-bathymetric and well data. Our study reveals that the Crotone Megalandslide started moving between Late Zanclean and Early Piacenzian and was triggered by a contractional tectonic event leading to the basin inversion. Seaward gliding of the megalandslide continued until roughly Late Gelasian, and then resumed since Middle Pleistocene with a modest rate. Interestingly, the onshore part of the basin does not show a gravity-driven deformation comparable to that observed in the marine area, and this peculiar evidence allows some speculations on the origin of the megalandslide.

A few kilometres off the SW coast of Sicily lie the shallow banks of Graham, Terrible and Nerita. These morphological reliefs are affected by two lithospheric scale, N–S trending tectonic lineaments known as Capo Granitola to the west and Sciacca to the east. Within the Graham and Terrible banks, several volcanic edifices have been documented and mapped using high-resolution bathymetry and seismic profiles. Three groups of volcanic features can be distinguished: (i) a cluster of N–S aligned volcanic cones in the Graham Bank, generally developed along the Capo Granitola fault, (ii) a series of poorly developed volcanic constructs roughly positioned along the northern edge of the Terrible Bank, and (iii) a few isolated volcanic centres located north of the Terrible Bank, within an undeformed zone. Here we present a 2-D gravimetric model, constrained at shallow levels by an integrated seismic dataset, which we use to interpret the distribution of magmatic manifestations in this sector of the Sicilian Channel. At the Graham Bank, where there are no significant positive gravity anomalies, the magmatic material seem to migrate to the surface along the Capo Granitola lithospheric fault, without the presence of a shallow magma source. In the Terrible Bank, where there is a well-defined positive gravity anomaly, the model implies the presence of a shallow magma chamber from which sea-floor volcanic constructs are fed upwards along cracks. The origin for the volcanic cones located between the two fault systems is more problematic, as no significant structural discontinuities were identified in this area from the available seismic data. However, the presence of a potential wide sill complex suggests that it facilitated lateral magma flow from source to surface over lateral distances of tens of kilometres.

The naturally fractured carbonates have a great potential for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) purpose because they could offer the possibility for CO2 storage in areas where no suitable sandy reservoirs are available, as for example in the Mediterranean area, where most of the stratigraphic succession is composed by carbonate rocks. The Sulcis basin, located in the south-western part of Sardinia island (Italy), is an ideal site for technology development. Although the site is not feasible for commercial-scale geological storage (mainly due to the lack of stationary CO2 sources), it represents an optimal location for pilot-scale experiments. Thanks to data available from several national and international projects, as well as from the mining activities, it has been possible to recognize a potential reservoir-caprock system, suitable for pilot-scale CCS development. A sequence of well bedded, about 50 m thick, mudstones and grainstones (“Miliolitico Fm.”) has been identified as a potential reservoir; the caprock is represented by a thick succession of siltstones, sandstones and conglomerates (“Cixerri Fm.”) and up to 900 m of OligoMiocene volcanic rock, ranging from basaltic to rhyolitic composition. In this work we present the results of several geophysical and geological surveys, including reflection seismic profiles, and geo-structural analysis. All the data were combined in a 3D model, defining the volumes of each formation. The evaluation of the storage capacity and the existence of a thick and impermeable caprock are essential to consider the site suitable for the experimental tests. With this aim, we measured primary porosity and permeability, whereas the fracture network was studied using scan lines and scan areas techniques on outcropping analogue of reservoir and seals. The measured linear parameters were used to build several Discrete Fracture Model (DFN) both of reservoir and caprock formations. In particular, DFN were constructed varying length and aperture values to evaluate their influence on the total secondary porosity.

Source at https://doi.org/10.3301/IJG.2018.34. A multidisciplinary approach has been used for the first time to study the widespread occurrence of hydrocarbon seeps in the northern Adriatic Sea. Geological, geophysical and geochemical analyses were performed to identify and characterize the gas-charged fluids occurring throughout the Plio-Quaternary succession, and to date the shallow gas seeping at three leakage sites. The analysis of CHIRP, morpho-bathymetric, and multichannel seismic data allowed us to identify different types of gas-related features, which occur within the whole Plio-Quaternary succession up to the seafloor and to the water column. Quantitative analyses of CHIRP data were conducted to better define, characterize and quantify the gas occurrence within the uppermost stratigraphic succession. CHIRP data also allowed identifying the gas leakage sites. Three gas seepages areas were sampled with the aim to determine the gas composition and origin. The isotopic analyses revealed that seep gases are microbial in origin, and are primarily composed by methane, mostly formed within relatively laterally persistent Late Pleistocene peat layers, which are widely distributed throughout the northern Adriatic Sea and represent the main source of organic matter feeding the seeping gases.

The interpretation of approximately 1300 km of multichannel seismic data, acquired in the northern Adriatic Sea, revealed that the Apennine foredeep in the northern Adriatic does not show any evidence of tilting since Early Pliocene, suggesting that slab retreat cannot be the geodynamic driving force for the northern Adriatic subsidence and for the northern Apennine kinematic since that time. Moreover, the presence of two fault systems that developed since the Pliocene indicates that the northern Adriatic underwent intraplate deformation during the Plio-Pleistocene. These considerations suggest that, since Early Pliocene, subduction below the northern Apennine ceased, and that the Adria Plate movements were mainly driven by the kinematics of the adjacent plates, particularly by the Nubia-Europe convergence. At present, on the basis of the foredeep setting, four distinct sectors can be recognized in the Adriatic foreland: Po Plain, northern, central and southern Adriatic, separated by major tectonic lineaments. The northern Adriatic differs from the two adjoining sectors because its foredeep deposits are still well preserved. In the Po Plain in fact, the Adriatic foredeep is almost totally incorporated into the Alpine and Apennine chains while in the central Adriatic, it is affected by a considerable intraplate deformation (e.g. the Mid Adriatic Ridge). In this framework, the northern Adriatic region may be regarded as a triangular shaped sector indented below the Southern Alps to the north and the northern Dinarides to the north-east and bounded to the west by the Schio-Vicenza fault system and to the south-east by the Kvarner fault.

The Crotone Basin is a Neogene-Quaternary depocenter developed along the Ionian margin of Calabria, southern Italy. The basin opening was concomitant with the onset of spreading of the Tyrrhenian backarc Basin during late Serravallian and the subduction of the Ionian lithosphere below the Calabrian Arc. The adoption of modern sequence stratigraphic principles to subdivide the basin fill into stratigraphic sequences of different rank, bounded by subaerial unconformities, has allowed cycles of creation and loss of accommodation mainly related to tectonics to be recognized. In particular, an alternation between phases of basin subsidence, concomitant with spreading of the Tyrrhenian backarc Basin and forward migration of the Arc, and phases of compressional or transpressional tectonics, accompanied by basin uplift and stopping of Arc migration, are well recognizable in the basin fill, in particular for the late Messinian to late Pleistocene part of the succession. The present study highlights the effectiveness of the sequence stratigraphic method in basin analysis to decipher the effects of large-scale tectonic events on sedimentation and ultimately to reconstruct the geodynamic evolution of the central Mediterranean.

The aim of this study is to better define the scale, timing and driving mechanisms of a seaward-gliding landmass currently affecting the Crotone Basin, a forearc basin on the Ionian side of Calabria (southern Italy). An integrated approach of seismic, well and field data, together with literature information, have revealed that the slide includes an onshore updip extensional domain compatible with the presence of a curved seaward-dipping fault system to the NW, which is connected southward to an offshore downdip compressional domain through a buried detachment surface lying at a Messinian halite layer. The landmass, which involves Messinian-Pleistocene deposits, has started to slide since the Zanclean, and experienced a paroxysmal episode between late Zanclean and early Piacenzian linked to transpressional tectonics. After a phase of inactivity during the Calabrian, the gravitational collapse underwent a second reactivation since middle Pleistocene due to regional uplift, which seems to be restricted to the offshore sector, the Crotone peninsula and probably the eastern coastal area.

Highlights • A structural map of the northern part of the Capo Granitola-Sciacca strike-slip Fault Zone (Sicilian Channel) has been produced. • Numerous magmatic manifestations in addition to those already known in the Graham and Terrible banks, have been recognized. • A relationship between magmatism and structures associated with the Capo Granitola-Sciacca Fault Zone, has been documented. • A mechanism of non-plume origin is proposed for the magmatism observed in the study area. The tectonic framework of the northern sector of the Capo Granitola-Sciacca Fault Zone (CGSFZ), a NNE-oriented lithospheric strike-slip fault zone located in the Sicilian Channel (southern Italy), has been reconstructed with the aim to clarify the relationships between geometry and kinematics of the structures and the occurrence and distribution of the magmatic manifestations observed in the area. This has been achieved by the interpretation of a large dataset composed of 2-D multichannel seismic profiles, Chirp profiles, magnetic data and borehole information. In addition to the volcanic edifices known in the Graham and Terribile banks, this study has allowed to recognize several other magmatic manifestations. The magmatic occurrences consist of small volcanic cones, buried magma ascents and potential igneous sills. The CGSFZ is bounded by two strike-slip fault systems, the Capo Granitola Fault System (CGFS) to the west and the Sciacca Fault System (SFS) to the east, dominated by positive flower structures generated by tectonic inversion of NNE-oriented late Miocene extensional faults. Only the southern part of the CGFS shows the presence of a sub-vertical, N-S oriented strike-slip master fault. The sector between the two fault systems does not show a significant Pliocene-Quaternary tectonic deformation, except for its southern part hosting the Terribile Bank, which is dissected by WNW to NW-trending normal faults developed during late Miocene and later reactivated. This set of faults is currently active at the Terribile Bank, whereas is buried by Pliocene-Quaternary deposits in the central and northern sectors of the CGSFZ. The observed magmatism is driven by a mechanism of non-plume origin. Magmas have used as open paths the faults of the CGFS and SFS, which cut the whole lithosphere reaching the asthenosphere and producing partial melting by simple pressure release. Most of the magmatism develops along the strike-slip master fault associated with the CGFS and the normal faults affecting the Terribile Bank. The magmatic feeding of the Terribile Bank would be related to lateral magma migration coming from the structures of the SFS, which would use the open pathways represented by active normal faults. In the central-northern part of the CGSFZ, magmas migrate upward along lithospheric faults, then move laterally and rise toward the surface through NNE and NW-trending buried normal faults. These late Miocene faults do not reach the surface, and this may have favoured the emplacement of igneous sills, which in turn may explain the observed volcanic centres.

Highlights • Active tectonics in Sicilian Channel • Analogue models of transcurrent structures • 3D fault pattern reconstruction Seismo-stratigraphic and structural analysis of a large number of multichannel seismic reflection profiles acquired in the northern part of the Sicilian Channel allowed a 3-D reconstruction of a regional NS-trending transfer zone which displays a transcurrent tectonic regime, and that is of broad relevance for its seismotectonic and geodynamic implications. It is constituted of two major transcurrent faults delimiting a 30-km-wide, mostly undeformed basin. The western fault (Capo Granitola) does not show clear evidence of present-day tectonic activity, and toward the south it is connected with the volcanic area of the Graham Bank. The eastern fault (Sciacca) is structurally more complex, showing active deformation at the sea-floor, particularly evident along the Nerita Bank. The Sciacca Fault is constituted of a master and splay faults compatible with a right-lateral kinematics. Sciacca Fault is superimposed on an inherited weakness zone (a Mesozoic carbonate ramp), which borders to the east a 2.5-km-thick Plio-Quaternary basin, and that was reactivated during the Pliocene. A set of scaled claybox analogue models was carried out in order to better understand the tectonic processes that led to the structural setting displayed by seismic data. Tectonic structures and uplift/subsidence patterns generated by the models are compatible with the 3-D model obtained from seismic reflection profiles. The best fit between the tectonic setting deriving from the interpretation of seismic profiles and the analogue models was obtained considering a right-lateral movement for the Sciacca Fault. Nevertheless, the stress field in the study area derived from GPS measurements does not support the present-day modelled right-lateral kinematics along the Sciacca Fault. Moreover, seismic events along this fault show focal mechanisms with a left-lateral component. We ascribe the slip change along the Sciacca Fault, from a right-lateral transcurrent regime to the present-day left-lateral kinematics to a change of principal horizontal stress direction starting from Late Pliocene.

As is well known, both the traditional direct geological and geophysical survey methods used to identify geologic features are very expensive and time-consuming procedures. In this regard, remote sensing methods applied to multispectral and medium spatial resolution satellite images allow a more focused approach with respect to the more specific geologic methods. This is achieved by a preliminary land inspection carried out by the semi-automated analysis of satellite imagery. This avoids wasting resources as the geological/geophysical survey methods can be later applied only to those zones suspected of having certain tectonic activity (derived by the remotely sensed imagery). This paper will evaluate an ASTER sensor satellite image (and its derived Digital Elevation Model or DEM), in order to point out the suspected presence of active geologic structures (faults). The area in question is west – central Albania. The results of the remote sensing procedures are later compared with the established data for the same area taken by satellite images, in order to verify the reliability of the adopted method. The source of the established data has been from the bibliography.

The Sicilian Channel is a broad and shallow shelf which is geologically part of the African Plate. Its NW sector (the Adventure Plateau), where water depths rarely exceed 100 m, is punctuated by several kilometre-sized morphological highs. These elevations, formed by both sedimentary and volcanic rocks, emerged around middle Holocene time or earlier when they constituted a large archipelago. High-resolution single-channel and multichannel seismic reflection profiles, along with stratigraphic and lithological information derived from exploration wells and rock samplings, are analysed to derive the shallow and deep structural setting of these banks and identify their geological nature. The sedimentary banks (Talbot, Ante-Talbot, Panope, Nereo and Pantelleria Vecchia), presently located at water depths 8–40 m, are composed of Miocene rocks severely deformed by a late Miocene compressional phase which produced the external sector of the Sicilian–Maghrebian thrust belt. Tortonian-aged rock samples from the Pantelleria Vecchia Bank represent patch reefs that have mostly formed on structural highs. Sedimentary analogies suggest that other sedimentary banks of the Adventure Plateau may have the same origin. Galatea, Anfitrite and Tetide represent submarine volcanic edifices emplaced on major extensional faults formed during early Pliocene – Quaternary continental rifting of the Sicilian Channel. The present-day morphology of the banks is the result of repeated phases of subaerial exposure and drowning, especially since the Last Glacial Maximum.

The rise in sea level following the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) radically altered pre-existing geography, pushing back the former shorelines. The effect of this eustatic change was particularly intense and dramatic in flat lands and shelves, such as the Sicilian Channel. High-resolution bathymetric maps and Chirp seismic profiles analyzed in this study show that the Sicilian Channel, now lying at depths rarely exceeding 150 m, has emerged several times during its geological history. The last emergence was during the Early Holocene, when kilometre-sized islands punctuated the north-western sector of the Sicilian Channel, the Adventure Plateau, forming a broad archipelago. Many of these islands, now located in water ranging in depth from − 10 to − 40 m, are composed of highly deformed Neogene sedimentary rocks (Talbot, Ante-Talbot, Nereo, and Pantelleria Vecchia banks), while others represent submarine Pleistocene volcanic edifices (Galatea, Anfitrite and Tetide banks). Sedimentary cover in all of these banks is virtually absent. High-resolution seismic profiles allowed the identification of post-LGM morphological markers associated with the marine transgression, some of which are characterized by melt water-pulses, as demonstrated by the presence of specific and distinct erosional features. Combining swath bathymetric data with the seismic profiles, we have generated two palaeogeographic maps of the former Adventure Archipelago at two specific time frames: (1) at the end of the Younger Dryas stadial (11,500 yr B.P., corresponding to a former sea level of − 60 m), and (2) at the end of the melt-water pulse 1B (11,200 yr B.P., corresponding to a former sea level of − 42 m). Maps clearly show that in just 300 years the geography of the archipelago has changed dramatically, so much so that some islands have disappeared and some have decreased by more than 80% of their pre-Younger Dryas size.

The Southern Adriatic Sea is one of the five prospective areas for CO2 storage being evaluated under the FP7 European Sitechar project. The potential reservoir identified in the investigated area is represented by a carbonate formation (Scaglia Formation – Late Cretaceous). This paper shows the site characterization applied to one of the structures identified in the carbonate storage system of the South Adriatic offshore. The interpretation and analysis of seismic and borehole data allowed the construction of a 3D geological static model on both regional and local scales. Dynamic modeling was applied, adopting a sensitivity approach (i.e. fault transmissivity, petrophysical properties of the caprock and reservoir, and different stress regimes). Coupled fluid flow and geomechanical simulation was applied to investigate the potential risk of leakage induced by mechanical solicitation on the faults occurring in the investigated area.

The structural setting of the northern Ionian Sea is the result of the collision between the Calabrian Accretionary Wedge (CAW) and the adjacent foreland, i.e. the Apulian Carbonate Platform. The CAW represents a sector of the Apennine accretionary system extending in the Ionian Sea, bounded to the west by the Malta Escarpment and to the east by the Apulia Escarpment. This work presents the results of the interpretation of new seismic and bathymetric data acquired on the north-eastern edge of the CAW, in the N-Ionian Sea. The data interpretation has identified four main structural domains from NE to SW: 1. The Apulian carbonate Platform consisting of foreland shelf and transitional Mesozoic-Cenozoic carbonate deposits; 2. A narrow foredeep basin, filled by a very thick Plio-Quaternary succession; 3. A deformed domain, at the front of the CAW, incorporating thrusted foredeep sequences and a carbonate block of the Apulian Platform (Transpressed Apulian Block, TAB); 4. A highly deformed pre-Pliocene accretionary wedge. A mid-Pliocene unconformity interpreted on both the CAW and Apulian Foreland suggests that a regional tectonic event occurred at that time, related to the evolution of Calabrian Arc, moving on the subducting oceanic Ionian slab before the collision. This event would correspond to a main tilting and faulting phase of the Apulian Foreland during the diachronous oblique collision with the CAW. The collision and the presence of a remnant of Ionian foreland at the southern front of the accretionary prism, caused a gradual transition to a transpressional tectonics which produced the uplift of the TAB. The TAB would be the south-east continuation of the Amendolara ridge transpressed structure, which forms the offshore extension of the Pollino range. This transpressed shear zone involving the Apulian Foreland developed above the transition between the Adriatic continental crust and the subducting Ionian oceanic crust.

In the Northern Adriatic Sea, the occurrence of gas seepage and of unique rock outcrops has been widely documented. The genesis of these deposits has recently been ascribed to gas venting, leading to their classification as methane-derived carbonates. However, the origin of seeping gas was not clearly constrained. Geophysical data collected in 2009 reveal that the gas-enriched fluid vents are deeply rooted. In fact, the entire Plio-Quaternary succession is characterized by widespread seismic anomalies represented by wipe-out zones, and interpreted as gas chimneys. They commonly root at the base of the Pliocene sequence but also within the Palaeogene succession, where they appear to be associated to deep-seated faults. We suggest that there is a structural control on chimney distribution. Chimneys originate and terminate at different stratigraphic levels; commonly they reach the seafloor, where authigenic carbonate deposits form locally. Gas analyses of some gas bubble streams just above the rock outcrops reveal that gas is composed mainly of methane. Geochemical analyses performed at four selected outcrop sites show that these deposits formed as a consequence of active gas venting. In particular, geochemical analyses indicate carbonate precipitation from microbial oxidation of methane-rich fluids, although a straightforward correlation with the source depth of gas feeding the authigenic carbonates cannot yet be clearly defined.

The Graham and Terrible banks, located about 35 km from the south-western coast of Sicily, host a large number of volcanic constructs, the most famous being the ephemeral Ferdinandea Island. These volcanoes occur along two N-S trending strike-slip lineaments that constitute the lithospheric-scale Capo Granitola-Sciacca Fault Zone. Here we present recently acquired swath bathymetric data and magnetic measurements, in conjunction with high-resolution seismic profiles, which reveal the presence of another six volcanic edifices located very close to the Sicilian coasts, one of which is only 7 km away. Three of these volcanic constructs have been previously identified only on the basis of available seismic profiles, but their morphology and their volcanic nature had so far not been documented. Two edifices to the north show a possible tuff cone/ring-like morphology modified by crater breaching, while the three southernmost volcanoes have a truncated-conical shape. The northwestern-most volcano (here called Actea) shows a more complex morphology, probably representing the remnants of a previous crater rim. Seismic data analysis suggests that the six volcanic edifices were generated during a pre-Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, ca. 20 ka B.P.) magmatic phase associated with a tectonic event. Only the Actea volcano shows indications of magmatic reactivation, possibly between the LGM and the initial post-LGM transgressive phase. This reactivation is evident by the emplacement of a prominent young lava flow. The discovery of submerged volcanoes so close to the populated coast of Sicily demonstrates that there are large submerged areas near the littoral that are still little known and studied, and underlines how crucial it is to analyze the issue of volcanic risk for densely inhabited coastal areas like Sicily.

The upper Messinian to lower Zanclean succession of the Crotone Basin, a forearc basin located along the Ionian side of the Calabrian Arc (southern Italy), consists of a turbidite-bearing succession (the Petilia Policastro Formation) overlying evaporites and abruptly passing upward into coarse-grained continental deposits (the Carvane Conglomerate), which are in turn overlain by distal shelf to slope mudstones (the Cavalieri Marl). The marked environmental changes from subaqueous to continental and vice versa documented by the studied succession are inferred to be the expression of basin-scale tectonics, leading to uplift and exposure, superposed on the Mediterranean-scale base-level rise that followed the acme of the Messinian Salinity Crisis. The upper part of the succession documents a transgressive trend probably initiated within the Carvane Conglomerate, and further testified by the presence of a ravinement surface marked by a transgressive lag at the base of the Zanclean Cavalieri Marl, pointing to a non-catastrophic deepening occurred near the end of the Messinian.

Within the central Mediterranean, the northwestern sector of the Sicily Channel is the unique area where two independent tectonic processes can be analyzed: the building of the Sicilian–Maghrebian Chain occurred in Late Miocene and the continental lithospheric rifting of the northern African margin occurred since Early Pliocene. These two geodynamic processes generated a peculiar structural style that is largely recognizable in the Adventure Plateau. This plateau is the shallowest part of the Sicily Channel, where water depths do not generally exceed 150 m. It hosts several areas of geomorphic relief, which in some cases rise up to less than 20 m beneath sea-level. A series of submarine magmatic manifestations occur in this area, mainly associated with the extensional phase which produced the rift-related depressions of Pantelleria, Malta and Linosa. Seismic-stratigraphic and structural analyses, based on a large set of multichannel seismic reflection profiles and well information acquired mostly for commercial purposes in the 1970s and 1980s, have allowed us to reconstruct the Triassic-Quaternary sedimentary succession of the Adventure Plateau and define its structural setting. A broad lithological distinction can be made between the successions ranging from Triassic to Paleogene, predominantly carbonate, and the successions ranging from Miocene to Quaternary, predominantly siliciclastic. Three main structural belts have been identified within the Adventure Plateau: (1) the northern belt, affected during Late Miocene time by ESE-verging thrusts belonging to the External Thrust System orogenic domain, which represents the lowermost structural level of the Sicilian–Maghrebian Orogen; (2) the Apenninic–Maghrebian domain of the Sicilian–Maghrebian Orogen, which occupies the northwestern sector of the Adventure Plateau, and that is overthrusted on the External Thrust System orogenic domain during the Late Miocene; (3) the extensional belt of the southwestern sector of the Adventure Plateau, affected by broad NW-trending, high-angle normal faults associated with the Early Pliocene continental rifting phase. The eastern boundary of the Adventure Plateau corresponds to a broadly N–S trending lithospheric transfer zone separating two sectors of the Sicily Channel characterized by a different tectonic evolution.

Carbonate successions have a large distribution in the Italian territory, both onshore and offshore, and they are commonly hydrocarbons exploration targets. However, an evaluation of the suitability of these sedimentary successions for CCS projects has never been performed. The present study has allowed for the first time the recognition and the geological and structural characterization of areas potentially suitable for CO2 geological storage in carbonate rocks in Italy. To achieve this objective, public available well data and 2D multichannel seismic profiles were analyzed and interpreted, allowing to define eight areas (Malossa–San Bartolomeo, Lachiarella–Binasco, Abruzzi offshore, Abruzzo–Molise, Southern Adriatic, Northern Bradanic Trough, Southern Bradanic Trough, Sicily Channel) characterized by potential reservoirs in carbonate rocks sealed by relatively thick and laterally continuous caprocks. The present results have also highlighted marked spatial heterogeneities in the recognized reservoirs, inferred to result from primary depositional processes, diagenesis and fracturing due to tectonic events. Most reservoirs were recognized within shallow marine carbonate platform succession, among which the most suitable for CCS purposes are those composed of dolostones, showing maximum porosity and permeability values of 25% and 400–450 mD, respectively. Among the identified areas, the so called “Sicily Channel” and “Abruzzi offshore” are probably those most promising because of their location in offshore settings, closeness to significant sources of CO2 and distance from the main seismogenetic tectonic structures, as well as for the occurrence of one or multiple reservoir–caprock systems. However, the information provided by this study is at a regional scale, and therefore more detailed analyses are needed to identify and characterize potential individual storage sites for CCS projects.

In 2009, the National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics (OGS, Italy) has performed a geophysical survey in the northernmost sector of the Northern Adriatic Sea, between the Tagliamento and Po river deltas, with R/V OGS Explora. About 820 km of 2D multichannel seismic and Chirp profiles, together with multibeam data along the ship tracks, have been acquired, with the aim to reconstructing the Plio-Quaternary stratigraphic and tectonic setting of the study area. Data have been also analyzed to verify whether this region is suitable for CO2 geological storage. Sites eligible for the application of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) techniques have been already identified in the Adriatic Sea, except in the northernmost sector, due to the scarcity of available data. The analyses of the new OGS seismic dataset highlighted the occurrence of peculiar seismic anomalies, represented by sub-vertical wipe-out zones, that have been interpreted as due to gas leakages affecting the Plio-Quaternary sequence. They could be possibly related to the formation of rock outcrops interpreted as methane-derived carbonates. It is suggested that gas migrates along sub-vertical chimneys throughout the Plio-Quaternary sequence. The correlation of these sub-vertical features among the seismic profiles reveals that two main alignments could be recognized: a NW–SE trend offshore the Venice Lagoon and a NE–SW in the northernmost part of the investigated area. It leads to hypothesize that the preferential conduits for gas migration are associated to tectonic lineaments. The analysis of the tectonic setting has been then addressed at defining the role of fault/fracture zones, which can affect the integrity of a CO2 storage complex in this area. Tectonic features have been identified in the Mesozoic–Paleogene succession, but their relationship with the shallow faults/fractures representing the paths for gas leakages still need further work and additional data in order to be clearly constrained.

The Southern Apennines (SA) are part of the Apennine–Maghrebian chain, a segment of the circum-Mediterranean Alpine orogenic system. It is a NE-verging fold-and-thrust belt with an about N150°-striking axis developed since the late Oligocene-early Miocene. The Geological Map at 1:25,000 scale of the Pergola–Melandro basin area, presents a sector of the axial zone of the SA which represents a key area to reconstruct the tectonic evolution of this chain. The map describes the complex structural and stratigraphic relationships between the three main tectonic units forming this sector of the SA: (1) the carbonate slope succession of the Maddalena Mts Unit, interpreted as the eastern boundary of the Apennine carbonate Platform; (2) the Lagonegro Unit, resulting from the deformation of the homonym pelagic basin; (3) the strongly deformed Argille Variegate Group sandwiched between the two previous units. Three main contractional tectonic stages, occurring from middle Miocene to Pliocene, have been recognized. Since Pliocene times low-angle extensional tectonic contacts and tectono-gravitative detachments affected the tectonic pile.

The plate boundary between the Scotia and Antarctic plates runs along the broadly E-W trending South Scotia Ridge. It is a mainly transcurrent margin that juxtaposes thinned continental and transitional crust elements with restricted oceanic basins and deep troughs. Seismic profiles and regional-scale seismological constraints are used to define the peculiarities of the crustal structures in and around the southern Scotia Sea, and focal solutions from recent earthquakes help to understand the present-day geodynamic setting. The northern edge of the western South Scotia Ridge is marked by a sub-vertical, left-lateral master fault. Locally, a narrow wedge of accreted sediments is present at the base of the slope. This segment represents the boundary between the Scotia plate and the independent South Shetland continental block. Along the northern margin of the South Orkney microcontinent, the largest fragment of the South Scotia Ridge, an accretionary prism is present at the base of the slope, which was possibly created by the eastward drift of the South Orkney microcontinent and the consequent subduction of the transitional crust present to the north. East of the South Orkney microcontinent, the physiography and structure of the plate boundary are less constrained. Here the tectonic regime exhibits mainly strike-slip behavior with some grade of extensional component, and the plate boundary is segmented by a series of NNW-SSE trending release zones which favored the fragmentation and dispersion of the crustal blocks. Seismic data have also identified, along the northwestern edge of the South Scotia Ridge, an elevated region - the Ona Platform - which can be considered, along with the Terror Rise, as the conjugate margin of the Tierra del Fuego, before the Drake Passage opening. We propose here an evolutionary sketch for the plate boundary (from the Late Oligocene to the present) encompassing the segment from the Elephant Island platform to the Herdman Bank. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Widespread Late Miocene to Quaternary volcanic activity is know to have occurred in the Sicily Channel continuing up to historical time. New magnetic anomaly data acquired in the Pantelleria Graben, one of the three main tectonic depressions forming the WNW-trending Sicily Channel rift system, integrated with available profiles, are used to identify and map volcanic bodies in this sector of the northern African margin. Some of these manifestations, both outcropping at the sea-floor or buried beneath a variable thickness of Plio-Quaternary sedimentary cover, have been imaged by seismic reflection profiles. Three main positive magnetic anomalies have been found: to the S–E of the Pantelleria Island, the largest emerged caldera of the Sicily Channel, along the eastern margin of the Nameless Bank, and at the north–western termination of the Linosa Graben. Only the anomaly located off the south–eastern coast of the Pantelleria Island, associated with a large outcropping body gradually buried beneath a substantially undisturbed Upper Pliocene-Quaternary sediments, aligns with the trend of the tectonic depression. 2-D geophysical models produced along seismic transects perpendicularly crossing the Pantelleria Graben have allowed to derive its deep crustal structure, and detect the presence of buried magmatic bodies which generate the anomalies. Marginal faults seem to have played a major role in focussing magma emplacement in this sector of the Sicily Channel. The other anomalies represent off-axis volcanic episodes and generally do not show evident magmatic manifestations at the sea-floor. These magnetic maxima seem to follow a NNE-SSW-trending belt extending from Linosa Island to the Nameless Bank, where pre-existing crustal anisotropies may have conditioned magma emplacement both at deep and shallow crustal levels. In general, data analysis has shown that there is a structural control on magma emplacement, with the major magmatic features located in specific locations like boundary faults and transfer zones, in a manner similar to that found along several segments of the East African Rift system.

Terra Nova, 22, 324–329, 2010 Abstract The contributions of eustasy and tectonics to the development of stratigraphic sequences are commonly hard to discern, and this has been a controversial topic that is still being debated. New data are therefore necessary to improve our understanding of the factors that govern sedimentary cyclicity. Data from the subsiding Venice and the uplifting Crotone areas in Italy allow the recognition of the different effects of Late Quaternary glacio-eustatic changes and regional tectonics on sequence architecture at different temporal scales. Shallow-marine small-scale sequences linked to short-term glacio-eustatic changes at the scale of the marine isotope substage cyclicity (104 years) show features that developed irrespective of the local conditions of subsidence or uplift, such as a modest thickness, a similar organization of facies and thin transgressive deposits. In contrast, lower frequency composite sequences at the scale of 105 years show strongly different architectures and stacking patterns depending on the regional tectonic context: downstepping in uplifting areas and aggradational in subsiding areas. The present results, therefore, highlight that only the architecture of small-scale sequences showing a periodicity of about 20 and 40 ka appears to be dominated by the glacio-eustatic variable, because of the very high rates of sea-level change characterizing the substage cyclicity, which overprints the regional tectonic signal.

We present new high-resolution swath bathymetric data and multichannel seismic profiles acquired in the Pantelleria graben, one of the three main tectonic depressions forming the Sicily Channel Rift Zone. This region experienced a Late Miocene–Early Pliocene continental extension with the development of NW-trending, fault-bounded troughs, later accompanied by widespread volcanic manifestations. Data support the interpretation that the Pantelleria graben evolution was dominated by two tectonic phases: A lithospheric-scale continental rifting (Early Pliocene), in which the whole graben was formed, and a successive phase (Late Pliocene–Pleistocene) characterized by a magma-assisted extensional mechanism. Ascending magmas within the graben floor seem to migrate from the S–E sector of the depression toward the N–W sector, which is almost entirely floored by igneous material, and where the volcanic edifice of the Pantelleria Island is emerged. The volcanic activity is presently concentrated north of the Pantelleria Island. The tectonic evolution of the Pantelleria graben, characterized by the chronological sequence of events: rifting-doming-volcanism, can be referred to as a ‘passive’ rifting model. Crustal stretching, and subsequent fault development and rifting within the Pelagian block, may have been controlled by slab-pull forces of the northward-subducting African slab.

A compilation of available multichannel seismic profiles acquired along the southern margin of the Scotia Sea east of the South Orkney microcontinent has allowed identifying and mapping the main morphological and structural features of the central segment of the Scotia-Antarctica plate boundary. This margin is composed by several bathymetric highs of variable size and uncertain crustal nature, separated by deep troughs and restricted oceanic basins. Some of these troughs represent pull-apart basins. Three main segments oriented WNW-ESE (the western sector), ENE-WSW (the central sector, here named Bruce Deep), and NE-SW (the eastern sector), have been described. These segments are separated by NNW-SSE-trending release zones, disposed in an en-echelon geometry, which represent mostly strike-slip faults. The western segment corresponds to the northern margin of the South Orkney microcontinent, where a subduction zone seems to be present, even if its present-day activity is unclear. The segment further to the east corresponds to an ENE-oriented basin (Bruce Deep), which separates the Bruce Bank from the eastern promontory of the South Orkney continental platform. To the south of the Bruce Deep, a wide deformation zone with N-verging folds and thrusts (here named Jane Thrust Belt), has been identified from seismic data. The eastern segment of the plate boundary is structurally the less constrained, and may be composed by a series of tectonic lineaments of different lengths. From the Bruce Bank to the east, focal mechanisms maintain a prevalent left-lateral strike-slip motion combined with an extensional component. In this sector, earthquakes are located in a 150. km wide area and on a local scale are difficult to follow unambiguously at the plate boundary. Lithologic analyses on dredged material recovered along a flank of one of the morphological relieves present south of the Discovery Bank to 35°W (here collectively named Irizar Highs), yielded a dominant granitic composition. A similar composition characterizes the rocks collected in the southern flank of the south-easternmost Jane Bank. This suggests a continental crust nature for these bathymetric highs, now dispersed along this sector of the Scotia-Antarctica plate boundary. We propose here a tectonic evolution for this margin, dominated since the Early Miocene by the northward subduction of the Weddell Sea oceanic crust. The development of a dextral, en-echelon transform fault system facilitated the process of fragmentation and dispersion of the crustal blocks, dismembered the subduction zone, and possibly inverted the direction of convergence: Therefore, the Scotia plate would subduct beneath the Antarctic plate, in the western sector, and Weddell Sea would subduct beneath Scotia plate, in the eastern sector. Finally, the activation of left-lateral transtensional strike-slip lineaments generated narrow pull-apart basins in the fore-arc sectors of the convergent zones. Fil: Lodolo, Emanuele. Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale; Italia Fil: Civile, D.. Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale; Italia Fil: Vuan, A.. Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale; Italia Fil: Tassone, Alejandro Alberto. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Geología. Instituto de Geofísica "Daniel Valencio"; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Geociencias Básicas, Aplicadas y Ambientales de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Geociencias Básicas, Aplicadas y Ambientales de Buenos Aires; Argentina Fil: Geletti, R.. Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale; Italia

The Le Castella marine terrace is the smallest and youngest terrace of the Crotone area (southern Italy), and formed after a rapid marine ingression due to a glacio-eustatic rise outpacing the regional uplift of the area. The most prominent feature of the terrace deposits is a seaward-accreting clinoform about 10 m thick, inferred to be formed during forced regressive conditions. This prograding body is mostly composed of bioclastic material, and shows an internal complexity consisting of alternating oblique and sigmoid elementary units inferred to be produced mainly by changes of accommodation development. Foreset avalancing was due to sediment accumulation by gravity-flow processes, while topsets were characterized by the migration of medium- to large-scale dunes showing a unimodal palaeocurrent pattern, oblique with respect to the dip direction of the large-scale clinoform foresets. The Le Castella clinoform starts to develop from a topographic step on the basement due to tectonics, which also controlled the palaeoshoreline trend. The recognized stratigraphic and facies architectures, the palaeocurrent pattern, and the inferred palaeogeographic setting during deposition, all suggest that the Le Castella clinoform is an example of spit system attached to the mainland and accreted due to longshore transport. The present example contributes to establish criteria allowing the recognition of ancient spit systems, which still are poorly known and rarely documented in the pre-Quaternary geological record.

Cyclic late Pleistocene shallow-marine deposits, such as those forming the sedimentary cover of some marine terraces, allow a detailed study of the architecture of nearshore to offshore cycles deposited under the influence of high-amplitude glacio-eustatic changes. The Capo Colonna marine terrace, located near Crotone (southern Italy), is composed of two cycles recording a low frequency retrogradational trend, which is thought to be the result of a generalized base-level rise during a late Pleistocene interglacial stage superimposed on regional uplift. Cycles of the Capo Colonna marine terrace are composed of coarse-grained lags, siliciclastic shoreface deposits, and mostly carbonate shelf deposits, and their general stratigraphic architecture evidences relatively thin transgressive and thick regressive intervals. The latter can be top-truncated due to wave ravinement during a subsequent erosional transgression. The architectural style of the Capo Colonna marine terrace cycles is thought to be linked to very rapid base-level rises related to the late Pleistocene, high-amplitude glacio-eustatic changes. Climatic variations controlling the sediment supply rate are considered less effective in the present context. Present results allow a comparison with other cyclic successions developed under Icehouse climatic regimes, showing a discrete variability in their stratal architecture.

Field geological data of the Pantelleria Island, a large Late Quaternary volcano located in the Sicily Channel rift zone, integrated with offshore geophysical information, are used to derive the structural setting of the Island and the surrounding region, and to analyse the relationships between tectonics and magmatism. Field work shows that the principal faults exposed on the Island fall into two systems trending NNE–SSW and NW–SE. Mapped faults from offshore multichannel seismic profiles show similar trends, and some of them represent the offshore extension of the Pantelleria Island structures. The NW–SE faults bound the Pantelleria Graben, one of the three main depressions formed since the Late Miocene–Early Pliocene within the African continental platform, which compose the Sicily Channel rift zone. A 3-D Moho depth geometry, derived from inversion of Bouguer gravity data, shows a significant uplift of the discontinuity up to 16–17 km beneath the westernmost part of the Pantelleria Graben and beneath the Pantelleria Island; it lows rapidly to 24–25 km away from the graben north-eastward and south-westward. The Moho uplift could explain the presence of a shallow magma chamber in the southern part of the Island, where processes of magmatic differentiation are documented. Geological and geophysical data suggest that the northwestern part of the Sicily Channel is presently dominated by a roughly E–W directed extensional regime. Crustal cracking feeding the Quaternary volcanism could be also related to this extensional field that would be further responsible for the development of the N–S trending volcanic belt that extends in the Sicily Channel from Lampedusa Island to the Graham Bank. This mode of deformation is confirmed also by geodetic data. This implies that in the northwestern part of the Sicily Channel, the E–W extension replaced the NE–SW crustal stretching that originated the NW-trending tectonic depressions constituting the rift zone.

The Messinian succession of the Crotone Basin, a forearc basin located along the Ionian side of the Calabrian Arc (southern Italy), is composed of resedimented gypsum, halite and siliciclastic subaqueous to continental deposits that are overlain by Lower Pliocene deep-marine marls. Integrated seismic and well data analysis have allowed the recognition of seven major stratal surfaces (S1–S7) of sequence stratigraphic significance and stratal units typified by diagnostic architectures, which allow to define three depositional sequences accumulated since the onset of the Messinian Salinity Crisis. This highlights an unusually complex stratigraphy that is interpreted as the result of the interplay between tectonics involving the basin and the Mediterranean-scale Messinian events. In particular, the surfaces S1 and S3, bounding the base and the top of the resedimented gypsum, and the uppermost surface (S7), bounding the base of the Pliocene succession, probably developed due to Mediterranean-scale events, specifically the onset and the end of the main base-level fall (S1 and S3, respectively) and the Early Zanclean reflooding (S7). The other surfaces are inferred to be related to basin-scale tectonics, although a relationship between local tectonics and pan-Mediterranean tectonic events linked to the Salinity Crisis cannot be ruled out. This, together with the evidence provided by other Messinian successions, raises the possibility that the base-level changes recorded in the Messinian deposits of the Mediterranean are more complex than previously thought, a possibility that deserves further investigations.