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The Pacific, Antarctic, and Macquarie lithospheric plates diverge from the Macquarie Triple Junction (MTJ) in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, south of Macquarie Island. Morphobathymetric, magnetic, and gravity data have been used to understand the evolution of the three accretionary/transform boundaries that meet at the MTJ. Plate velocities, estimated near the MTJ and averaged over the past 3 m.y., indicate an unstable ridge–fault–fault triple junction. The long life (>6 m.y.) of this configuration can be attributed to a rapid increase in spreading asymmetry along the Southeast Indian Ridge segment as it approaches the MTJ, and to transtension along the southernmost strand of the Macquarie–Pacific transform boundary. A major change in plate motion triggered the development of the Macquarie plate at ca. 6 Ma and makes clear the recent evolution of the MTJ, including (1) shortening of the Southeast Indian Ridge segment; (2) formation of the westernmost Pacific-Antarctic Ridge, which increased its length over time; and (3) lengthening of the two transform boundaries converging in the MTJ. The clockwise change of the Pacific-Antarctic motion (ca. 12–10 Ma) led to complex geodynamic evolution of the plate boundary to the east of the triple junction, with fragmentation of the long-offset Emerald transform fault and its replacement over a short time interval (1–2 m.y.) with closely spaced, highly variable transform offsets that were joined by short ridge segments with time-varying asymmetries in the spreading rates.

The Mediterranean Sea hosts two subduction systems along the convergent Africa-Eurasia plate boundary that have produced strong ground shaking and generated tsunamis. Based on historical descriptions and sedimentary records, one of these events, in 365 CE, impacted a broad geographical area qualifying it as a ‘megatsunami’. Understanding how megatsunamis are produced, and where they are more likely, requires a better understanding of the different secondary processes linked to these events such as massive slope failures, multiple turbidity current generation, and basin seiching.An extensive collection of cores located in distal and disconnected deep basins, identified turbidites which were analyzed using granulometry, elemental (XRF), micropaleontological, and geochemical data in order to define sedimentary processes during the propagation of the CE 365 Crete megatsunami. The deposit contains a volume of detrital siliciclastic and biogenic components as large as 800 km3. The sediment from the European and African margins was remobilized and transported by tsunamis to abyssal depositional sites and isolated basins during the catastrophic event. The resedimented deposits, when viewed across multiple geomorphological locations of the marine depositional sites (canyon mouth, abyssal, isolated higher basin), demonstrate a complex sequence of processes triggered by the megatsunami wave propagation. The tsunamis produced multiple far-field slope failures that resulted in stacked basal turbidites. It also caused transport of continent-derived organic carbon and deposition over basal turbidites and into isolated basins of the deep ocean. The composition of sediment in isolated basins suggests their deposition by large-scale sheet like flows similar to what has been caused by the Tohoku earthquake associated tsunamis. A local turbidite bed at the base of the deposit in isolated basins on the accretionary wedge indicates that sediment remobilization from basin walls was possibly related to the passage of the tsunami in deep water. When the tsunami wave hit the continental margins in Italy and Africa, it triggered turbidity currents on the slopes, which resulted in the stacked basal sand and silt units of the resedimented deposit. The analyses of geophysical data shows the presence of additional deposits of a similar nature from older layers with an age of about 14 and 40-50 Ka. This is significant for rectifying and resolving where risk is greatest and how cross-basin tsunamis are generated.

Transits during oceanographic expeditions constitute a potential huge amount of acquired bathymetric data that could be systematically integrated to increase the knowledge on submarine morphology, especially for planned surveys in the equatorial Atlantic, the Arctic, the Indian and the Southern Oceans. The recent PNRA ISOBatA project aims to efficiently exploit seafloor datasets collected during transfer times within the Antarctic region and the Ross Sea. Along the route from New Zealand to the Italian Mario Zucchelli Station in the Ross Sea, the Emerald Fracture Zone and the Macquarie Triple Junction, located in the SW Pacific Ocean, represent two selected areas to test the strength of transit acquisition in remote areas, normally affected by adverse weather conditions. The ISOBatA project has the main purpose to contribute to the mapping of Antarctic waters developing best practices and dedicated workflows to implement QA in multibeam data acquisition procedures during transit times, as well as in the processing, analysis and archiving of data and metadata. The ISOBatA experience in the Southern Ocean suggests there are several critical issues associated with collection of multibeam data in remote and ice-infested waters. Operating procedures need more standardization, to avoid the acquisition of redundant data along common routes and unreliable data. Our work aims to open a discussion to address the need for standardization in data acquisition during transit times, which should include priority in accordance with the geomorphological/geographical nature of the working areas. The integration of bathymetric data acquired during research vessel transfers to remote regions could imply a common international effort for a systematic exploration of the seafloor, sharing coverage in real time to avoid redundancy.

High-resolution multibeam and seismic reflection data collected during several oceanographic expeditions allowed us to compile an updated morphotectonic map of the North Anatolian Fault below the Sea of Marmara. We reconstructed kinematics and geometries of active fault segments at 10 ka time-scale, an interval that includes several earthquake cycles, taking the base of the latest marine transgression as a stratigraphic marker. Given the high deformation rates relative to sediment supply, most active tectonic structures have a morphological expression at the seafloor, even in the presence of composite fault geometries and/or overprinting due to mass-wasting or turbidite deposits. In the frame of the right-lateral strike-slip domain characterizing the North Anatolian fault system, three types of deformation are observed: almost pure strike-slip faults, mainly oriented E-W; NE/SW-aligned axes of transpressive structures; NW/SE-oriented trans-tensional depressions. Fault segmentation occurs at different scales, but main segments develop along three major right-lateral oversteps, which delimit main fault branches, from east to west: i) the transtensive Cinarcik segment; ii) the Central (East and West) segments; iii) the westernmost Tekirdag segment. We performed a quantitative morphometric analysis of the shallow deformation patterns observed by seafloor morphology maps and high-resolution seismic reflection profiles along the entire basin, to determine the nature and cumulative lengths of individual fault segments. These data were used as inputs for empirical relationships, to estimate maximum expected Moment Magnitudes, obtaining values in the range of 6.8 to 7.4 for the Central, and 6.8 to 7.1 for the Cinarcik and Tekirdag segments, respectively. We discuss such findings considering analyses of inherited geological structures, historical catalogs, and available paleoseismological studies for the Sea of ​​Marmara region, to formulate reliable seismic hazard scenarios.

Tectonic setting of the southwestern Pacific Ocean including kinematics data.

The Calabrian and Hellenic subduction systems accommodate the African Eurasian plate convergence in the Mediterranean Sea and are the site of large earthquakes in the forearc region facing the northern African coasts. Some of the historical earthquakes were associated with the generation of tsunami waves affecting the entire Mediterranean basin. We investigated the submarine effects of the AD 365 Crete earthquake on the sedimentary records through the integrated analysis of geophysical data, turbidite deposits, and tsunami modelling. Seismic reflection images show that some turbidite beds are thick and marked by acoustic transparent layers at their top. Radiometric dating of the most recent of such mega-beds, the Homogenite/Augias turbidite (HAT), provide evidence for synchronous basin-wide sedimentation during a catastrophic event which has occurred in the time window of AD 364–415, consistent with the AD 365 Mw = 8.3–8.5 Crete earthquake/tsunamis. The HAT (up to 25m thick) contains components from different sources, implying remobilization of material from areas very far from the epicentre. Utilizing the expanded stratigraphy of the HAT and the heterogeneity of the sediment sources of the Mediterranean margins, we reconstructed the relative contribution of the Italian, Maltan and African margins to the turbidite deposition. Our sedimentological reconstructions combined with tsunami modelling suggest that the tsunami following the Crete earthquake produced giant turbidity currents along a front over 2000km long, from northern Africa to Italy. Our cores suggests that during the last 15,000 years, only two similar turbidites have been deposited in the deep basins, pointing to a large recurrence time of such extreme sedimentary events.

Despite considerable advances in cancer research and oncological treatments, the burden of the disease is still extremely high. While past research has been cancer cell centered, it is now clear that to understand tumors, the models that serve as a framework for research and therapeutic testing need to improve and integrate cancer microenvironment characteristics such as mechanics, architecture, and cell heterogeneity. Microfluidics is a powerful tool for biofabrication of cancer-relevant architectures given its capacity to manipulate cells and materials at very small dimensions and integrate varied living tissue characteristics. This chapter outlines the current microfluidic toolbox for fabricating living constructs, starting by explaining the varied configurations of 3D soft constructs microfluidics enables when used to process hydrogels. Then, we analyze the possibilities to control material flows and create space varying characteristics such as gradients or advanced 3D micro-architectures. Envisioning the trend to approach the complexity of tumor microenvironments also at higher dimensions, we discuss microfluidic-enabled 3D bioprinting and recent advances in that arena. Finally, we summarize the future possibilities for microfluidic biofabrication to tackle important challenges in cancer 3D modelling, including tools for the fast quantification of biological events toward data-driven and precision medicine approaches.

Under the present climatic emergency, the environmental quality of freshwater reservoirs is an increasingly urgent topic as its deterioration threatens humans and ecosystems. It is evident that pollution by natural and anthropogenic contaminants must be avoided or reduced. The Lake of Cavazzo (NE Italy) is a natural perialpine basin which, from the mid-20th century, has sustained several anthropogenic impacts that added to the effects of the intense regional seismicity. Starting from 2015, in response to concerns raised by local authorities, a multidisciplinary investigation of the lake floor and sub-floor was conducted, including a geophysical survey and the collection of sediment cores. Two of them were studied to detect contamination by Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and specific Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs; i.e. PolyChlorinated Biphenyls - PCBs, PolyBrominated Diphenyl Ethers - PBDEs, and OrganoChlorine Pesticides - OCPs), and to verify the link with known anthropogenic stressors. Results were interpreted in light of previous studies suggesting modified conditions after the '50s, and recognized the effects of the 1976-1977 M

International audience; A multi-proxy analyses was applied on the sediment core from the Gulf of Saros (GoS) to identify and characterize climate and hydrological changes during the middle-to-late Holocene. The formation of two discrete Holocene sapropel layers in the GoS sediments was documented for the first time in the sediment core based on total organic carbon analysis. According to our paleo-proxy records, the lower Holocene sapropel was deposited under warm and humid climate conditions that gave rise to high delivery of terrestrial organic matter by numerous rivers in the northern catchment of the GoS. Biomarker and μ-XRF data were used to decipher climate variations during the middle to late Holocene. The general trends of sea-surface temperature records from the GoS and Sea of Marmara (SoM) at the 2 beginning of late Holocene are in good agreement, underlying the influence of the Black Sea inflow. A relatively warm and wet climate together with a high sedimentation rate during the mid-Holocene Climatic Optimum resulted in high organic productivity and ensuing formation of the younger Holocene sapropel between 5.4 and 3.0 cal ka BP. Late Holocene European climate periods are evident in the Saros core records. The Roman Humid Period is represented by high variation in climate, indicating an earlier (2.5-2.3 cal ka BP) dry and a later (2.3-1.55 cal ka BP) wet periods. The abrupt return to drier condition during the Dark Ages Cold Period (1.6-1.3 cal ka BP) was followed by a wetter Medieval Climate Anomaly (1.1-0.7 cal ka BP). The paleo-proxy record of the core indicates a passage from a wetter to drier climate during the cold Little Ice Age period (730-110 cal yr BP), and highlights the influence of deforestation in the catchment of the GoS as a result of human activities during the last three centuries.

SUMMARY The westernmost segment of the North Anatolian fault in NW Turkey lies mostly offshore, in the Sea of Marmara and the Gulf of Saros (NE Aegean), respectively to the E and W of a 45 km inland central portion. The 9 August 1912 Mürefte-Şarköy (Ms 7.4) and 13 September 1912 (Ms 6.8) earthquakes occurred along this segment. To date, the segment was studied mostly onshore although estimated magnitude and location suggest an offshore extension. Recent studies show the eastern rupture extension in the Sea of Marmara, while its western counterpart in the Gulf of Saros remains less documented. Here we use new observations from high-resolution marine geophysical data (multibeam bathymetry, side-scan-sonar, and seismic reflection profiles), to constrain the offshore 1912 ruptures in the Gulf of Saros. Detailed mapping of the subaqueous fine-scale morphology and structure of the fault provides a new insight for the western limit of the two 1912 surface ruptures. Distribution of fresh scarps, 3-D structural reconstructions, the complexity of fault segments, and the recent seismicity, altogether suggest that the western termination of the 1912 rupture(s) ends 37 km offshore in the Gulf of Saros. Following the 1999 Kocaeli earthquake, in the eastern Sea of Marmara, the unruptured segment length between the 1999 and 1912 ruptures became a critical issue, because of its implication for future earthquakes in the so-called Marmara seismic gap. If a 150–160 km total rupture length for the two 1912 earthquakes is assumed, a western rupture termination point at the inner Saros basin margin means that the eastern extension of the 9 August earthquake rupture reached the Central Marmara Basin. This outcome necessarily has implications for the seismic hazard in the Marmara coastal area that includes the Istanbul metropolitan area.

Lago Trasimeno (central Italy), 10 km wide and < 6m deep, fills a basin of tectonic origin, and is one of Europe's few endorheic lakes. We report on a multidisciplinary stratigraphic study based on seismic reflection profiles and two sediment cores, aimed at providing information on the vegetational, lithological, and climate history of this area. Trace elements, palynology, macrofossils, organic carbon, and C isotopes, coupled with AMS C-14 dating, describe environmental changes from Late-Glacial to present. The base of the cores records a Late-Glacial steppic vegetation (Poaceae, Artemisia, Amaranthaceae), with dry and cold conditions and a high charcoal/pollen ratio. An ensuing shift to a warmer and moister climate is shown by the rise of Pinus and Quercus, and shallow water aquatics such as Nitella. Early Holocene warming, indicated by Quercus, Oleaceae, Corylus, and Betula, is followed by a hiatus suggesting one or more severe drought events between 9000 and 3000 yr BP. Late Holocene presence of Alnus and Fagus indicates increased moisture, probably in winter, which would have increased lake level. Heavy metal pollution indicators (Pb, Cu, Zn) in the upper portion of the cores imply industrialization. Due to its location, to intensive and uninterrupted anthropogenic impacts since proto historical times, and to its shallow depths, Lago Trasimeno provides an important observation point for climate and environmental changes in the central Mediterranean region during and before Holocene times.

Introduction: The dermal papilla (DP) represents the major regulatory entity within the hair follicle (HF), inducing hair formation and growth through reciprocal interactions with epithelial cells. However, human DP cells rapidly lose their hair inductive ability when cultured in an epithelium-deficient environment. Objectives: To determine if the conditioned medium collected from interfollicular keratinocytes (KCs-CM) is capable of improving DP cell native properties and inductive phenotype. Methods:DP cells were cultured with KCs-CM both in 2D and 3D culture conditions (spheroids). Further, the hair-inductive capacity of DP cells precultured with KCs-CM was tested in a hair reconstitution assay, after co-grafting with human keratinocytes in nude mice. Results:We demonstrate that KCs-CM contributes to restore the inductivity of cultured human DP cells in a more effective mode than the conventional 3D-cultures. This is supported by the higher active alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels in DP cells, the improved self-aggregative capacity and the reduced expression of α-SMA and the V1-isoform of versican. Moreover, DP cells cultured with KCs-CM displayed a secretome profile (VEGF, BMP2, TGF- β1, IL-6) that matches the one observed during anagen. KCs-CM also enhanced DP cell proliferation, while preventing cells to undergo morphological changes characteristic of high passage cells. In opposition, the amount of collagenous and non-collagenous proteins deposited by DP cells was lower in the presence of KCs-CM. The improvement in ALP activity was maintained in 3D spheroidal cultures, even after KCs-CM retrieval, being superior to the effect of the gold-standard culture conditions. Moreover, DP cells cultured with KCs-CM and grafted with human keratinocytes supported the formation of HF- and sebaceous gland-like structures in mice. Conclusion:The proposed strategy encourages future cell-based strategies for HF regeneration not only in the context of hair-associated disorders, but also in the management of wounds to aid in restoring critical skin regulatory appendages., he research reported in this publication was supported by FCT/ MCTES (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia/ Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia, e Ensino Superior) through the PD/59/2013, PD/BD/113800/2015 (C. Abreu), CEECIND/00695/2017 (M. T. Cerqueira), IF/00347/2015 (R. Pirraco), IF/00945/2014 (A. P. Marques) and UIDB/50026/2020 grants. We thank Manuela Lago for her sup port on experimental assays and to Emanuel Rognoni and Simon Broad from King’s College London for their expert technical assis tance in the establishment of the in vivo chamber model in our group.

The past 20 years have witnessed ever- growing evidence that the mechanical properties of biological tissues, from nanoscale to macroscale dimensions, are fundamental for cellular behaviour and consequent tissue functionality. This knowledge, combined with previously known biochemical cues, has greatly advanced the field of biomaterial development, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. It is now established that approaches to engineer biological tissues must integrate and approximate the mechanics, both static and dynamic, of native tissues. Nevertheless, the literature on the mechanical properties of biological tissues differs greatly in methodology, and the available data are widely dispersed. This Review gathers together the most important data on the stiffness of living tissues and discusses the intricacies of tissue stiffness from a materials perspective, highlighting the main challenges associated with engineering lifelike tissues and proposing a unified view of this as yet unreported topic. Emerging advances that might pave the way for the next decadeâ s take on bioengineered tissue stiffness are also presented, and differences and similarities between tissues in health and disease are discussed, along with various techniques for characterizing tissue stiffness at various dimensions from individual cells to organs., The authors would like to acknowledge financial support from the European Research Council, grant agreement ERC-2012-ADG 20120216-321266 (project ComplexiTE). C.F.G. acknowledges scholarship grant no. PD/BD/135253/2017 from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT). The authors also thank the peer-reviewers for the constructive comments and suggestions that helped to shape this manuscript.

The microfluidic manipulation of hydrogels is a powerful tool to recapitulate functional biological ar- chitectures. A wide range of flow configurations and chip designs have been employed to create mi- crofibers with increasingly complex shapes and compositions requiring individually engineered setups. Distinctly, we demonstrate how one single 3D hydrodynamic flow-focusing chip can be used to obtain a continuous flow of hydrogel precursors, which rearrange themselves based on viscosity and applied pressures. These can crosslink into fibers with a variety of new multi-compartment shapes down to yet- unreported minimal dimensions. To prove the potential of 3D flow-focusing for the biofabrication of com- plex, multi-compartment structures, we tuned material properties and flow conditions to obtain ribbon- like cancer/basement-membrane/stroma models; core-shell vascular-like structures and networks; and multi-chemistry fibers integrating stem cells, biomaterials, and pro-differentiation hydrophobic molecule depots. This innovative biofabrication method can be valuable for the recreation of a broad range of com- plex biological architectures and micro-modeling of distinct 3D environments., The authors acknowledge financial support from the European Research Council, grant ERC-2012-ADG 20120216-321266 (project ComplexiTE). C. F. G. acknowledges scholarship PD/BD/135253/2017 from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT).

Microfluidic platforms represent a powerful approach to miniaturizing important characteristics of cancers, improving in vitro testing by increasing physiological relevance. Different tools can manipulate cells and materials at the microscale, but few offer the efficiency and versatility of light and optical technologies. Moreover, light-driven technologies englobe a broad toolbox for quantifying critical biological phenomena. Herein, the role of photonics in microfluidic 3D cancer modeling and biosensing from three major perspectives is reviewed. First, optical-driven technologies are looked upon, as these allow biomaterials and living cells to be manipulated with microsized precision and present opportunities to advance 3D microfluidic models by engineering cancer microenvironments' hallmarks, such as their architecture, cellular complexity, and vascularization. Second, the growing field of optofluidics is discussed, exploring how optical tools can directly interface microfluidic chips, enabling the extraction of relevant biological data, from single fluorescent signals to the complete 3D imaging of diseased cells within microchannels. Third, advances in optical cancer biosensing are reviewed, focusing on how light-matter interactions can detect biomarkers, rare circulating tumor cells, and cell-derived structures such as exosomes. Photonic technologies' current challenges and caveats in microfluidic 3D cancer models are overviewed, outlining future research avenues that may catapult the field.

Africa-Eurasia plate convergence and the retreat of the subducting slab led to the consumption of the Tethys ocean lithosphere, which has now mostly disappeared below or accreted/exhumed within the Alps/Apennines. Slab tearing plays a major role in plate boundary evolution, asthenospheric upwelling, dynamic topography and magmatism. However, the role played by structural inheritance on the Africa plate is not well constrained. Based on seismological, geodetic and marine geophysical data, we analyse the pattern of crustal deformation in the Calabrian Arc and Sicily Channel, two key regions to unravel the complex Africa/Eurasia plate interaction in the central Mediterranean Sea.The Calabrian Arc subduction-rollback system accommodates Africa/Eurasia plate convergence along thrust faults developing both in the frontal and inner domains of the accretionary wedge. However, the most intriguing and tectonically active features are represented by arc-orthogonal faults deforming the subduction system along a complex strike-slip/transtensional pattern that may have been the source of major earthquakes in the Calabrian Arc. Deformation along the lithospheric transtensional faults is punctuated by buried sub-circular magnetized bodies aligned with Mt. Etna, that were interpreted as serpentinite/mud diapirs intruding the subduction system from the lower plate mantle. These faults are part of the overall dextral shear deformation, resulting from differences in Africa-Eurasia motion between the western and eastern sectors of the Tyrrhenian margin of northern Sicily, and accommodating diverging motions in the adjacent compartments of the Calabrian Arc. To the West, the Sicily Channel is part of the Pelagian block and experienced a lithospheric-scale continental rifting starting from the late Miocene with the development of NW-SE-trending tectonic depressions, bordered by crustal normal faults with variable throws. Our geophysical data, however, show that the most active tectonic feature in the area is a N-S trending and ~220-km-long lithospheric fault system characterized by volcanism, high heat flow and seismic activity. The NW-SE elongated rifting pattern, considered the first order structure in this region, appears currently inactive and sealed by undeformed Pleistocene deposits suggesting a recent change in structural development.Seismological data show that the lithospheric boundaries present in the Calabrian Arc and Sicily Channel correlate well with spatial changes in the depth distribution of earthquakes and separate regions with different Moho depths and thickness of the seismogenic layer. We propose that these boundaries may represent long-lived inherited Mesozoic discontinuities controlling plate boundary evolution and neotectonics.

In the collisional setting of the Northern Ionian Sea, the Calabrian Accretionary Wedge, which represents the Southeastward prolongation of the Southern Apennines, is facing directly the subducting Apula plate, which is mainly made of Mesozoic to Tertiary Carbonate Platform. The aim of this contribution is to illuminate the structures and stratigraphic relationships between the frontal part of the orogenic belt, the foredeep and adjacent Apulian foreland. Because of the lack of exploration wells in these deep offshore basins, a detailed seismic facies analysis of six multichannel seismic profiles has been carried out to define the tectonic-sedimentary evolution of the study area.Seismic interpretation allows to identify four main structural domains. The highly tectonized accretionary wedge is characterized by compressive tectonics. A narrow foredeep basin is filled by a thick (1,5–0,9 s TWT) Pliocene-Holocene subhorizontal succession and lies above buried normal faults. A massive carbonate succession of the Apulian Platform, shows reef and carbonate platform margin facies. A layered carbonate succession of the Apulian Platform is characterized by ‘'intra-platform'’ facies and located in the easternmost portion of the area. Seismic stratigraphic analysis allows to define two main regional unconformities with characteristic relationships with structural trends: i) the Messinian unconformity, related to a regional and significant erosion associated to paleokarst processes on the exposed Mesozoic Apulian Platform, is cut by an array of normal faults affecting the entire Apulian foreland and by reverse faults in the accretionary wedge; ii) the middle Pliocene Unconformity, an angular and erosive unconformity truncating the Lower Pliocene reflectors, is affected by normal faults in the foreland and by compressive tectonics in the Calabrian wedge that is progressively advancing.Seismic data analyses shows that the compressive tectonics is currently active in the Calabrian Accretionary Wedge and concentrated in the innermost domains where thrust faults deform the sea floor. The Mesozoic Apulian Platform is affected by normal faulting driven by flexural bending since Lower Pliocene. The new structural map shows that transpressive and positive inversion tectonics is a common deformational style in the foreland that can be associated with the Dinaric-Hellenic subduction, which is synchronous with respect to Calabrian subduction. According to these observations, the compressive tectonics affecting the Apulia plate can be interpreted as related to both the Calabrian and Dinaric-Hellenic shortening processes. The interference of these two orogenic wedges with the Apulia Plate plays an important role in defining the tectonic evolution of the Northern Ionian Sea.

In Northern Calabria, the Southern Apennines orogenic wedge bends and passes to the Calabrian Arc while they are both colliding with the subducting Apulia plate. The boundary between Southern Apennines and Calabrian Arc is commonly placed along the NW-SE trending Sangineto Lineament whose offshore prolongation is not clearly defined. A multi-scale seismic reflection dataset combined with exploration wells and seafloor bathymetry allowed us to define the post-Messinian tectono-sedimentary evolution of the Bradano Basin adjacent to the orogenic belt. After Messinian times, two main tectono-sedimentary events deeply modified the Bradano Basin. During the first event (early Pliocene-early Pleistocene), a left-lateral transpressive system, about 20-30 km wide, was part of an oblique convergent margin along which the Southern Apennines and the Calabrian Arc collided; remnants of this transpressive system are now buried under the western portion of the Bradano Basin near the Calabrian margin. Shelf to deep marine turbiditic deposits were prevailing during this first event. Around the Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary (2.58 Ma), a sudden and widespread basin rearrangement occurred. During the second event (early Pleistocene-Present) the orogenic front of the Southern Apennines and the earlier transcurrent systems were suddenly translated to the NE of about 50 km and the left-lateral transpressive boundary between the Southern Apennines and Calabrian Arc became part of the orogenic wedge. During this second event, both upper and lower converging plates were shortened together along multiple detachments levels and out-of-sequence thrusts. The second tectono-sedimentary event is characterized by prograding deltaic and shelfal deposits that seal the earlier transpressive system and pass to deep marine deposits in the central part of the Bradano basin.The study reveals that the eastern boundary between Southern Apennine and Calabrian Arc is a wide deformation belt including the Sangineto Lineament while the Messinian-Pliocene orogenic transpressive system is buried and translating toward the NE since Early Pleistocene.

Fiber-based techniques hold great potential toward the development of structures that mimic the architecture of fibrous tissues, such as tendon. Microfluidics and polyelectrolyte complexation are among the most widely used techniques for the fabrication of fibrous structures. In this work, we combined both techniques to generate hydrogel fibers with a fibrillar-like structure. For this, either methacrylated hyaluronic acid (MA-HA) or chondroitin sulfate (MA-CS) were mixed with alginate (ALG), being all negatively charged polysaccharides, combined with chitosan (CHT), which is positively charged, and separately injected into a microfluidic device. Through a continuous injection into a coagulation bath and subsequent photo-cross-linking, we could obtain multi component hydrogel fibers, which exhibited smaller fibrils aligned in parallel, whenever CHT was present. The biological performance was assessed upon encapsulation and further culture of tendon cells. Overall, the reported process did not affect cell viability and cells were also able to maintain their main function of producing extracellular matrix up to 21 days in culture. In summary, we developed a novel class of photo-cross-linkable multicomponent hydrogel fibers than can act as bioactive modulators of cell behavior., The authors thank to Hospital da Prelada (Porto, Portugal) for providing tendon tissue samples; to Portuguese funds through FCT Fundacao pars a Ciencia e a Tecnologia in the framework of FCT-POPH-FSE, the PhD and postdoctoral grants SFRH/BD/96593/2013 and SFRH/BPD/103604/2014 of R.C-A. and J.B., respectively, to the project RL3-TECT-NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000020 cofinanced by ON.2 under the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF), through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Research Council for the project ComplexiTE grant agreement ERC-2012-ADG 20120216-321266.

High-resolution marine seismic reflection studies on the eastern shelf of the Saros Gulf have revealed the presence of gas-charged sediments across a narrow submarine valley incised by the Ganos Fault along the North Anatolian Fault system. Quaternary sediments, accumulated during glacial and interglacial periods through transgressional and progradational units, were controlled by glacio-eustatic sea-level fluctuations and tectonic deformation. The transgressional units made of upward-fining deposits created seals at their tops to form gas accumulation pockets. Conversely, the progradational units appear heavily eroded at their top, which is unfavorable for gas accumulation. The sediment's gas accumulation features include enhanced reflections, acoustic blanking (or blanket), acoustic turbidity, acoustic curtain, and acoustic columns. In contrast, the gas escape features consist of acoustic plumes, cloudy turbidity, domes, and pockmarks. Their concentration along the Ganos Fault indicates that active deformation, punctuated by large magnitude earthquakes, has played an essential role in their formation, storage, and seep. Understanding these interactions may provide valuable contributions to hydrocarbon explorations and early-warning strategies against earthquake risk.

Identification of catastrophic events recorded as resedimented deep marine deposits can be challenging because of multiple possible triggering mechanisms. This study investigates seismo-turbidites (STs) deposited in the Ionian Sea as a consequence of major historical earthquakes related to the Calabrian Arc subduction system. Taking advantage of the available sedimentological reconstructions, we focused our analysis on high-resolution X-ray fluorescence core scanner (XRF-CS), organic carbon and isotopic data to define geochemical signatures characterizing the ST units. The relationships between geochemical and sedimentological proxies were statistically tested using Pearson correlation and principal component analysis (PCA). Up to ∼78% of the total variance in the data set can be reduced to three principal components which identified four elemental ratio groups associated to the degree of terrestrial/coastal influence in each major depositional unit (i.e., pelagic, ST sandy stacked units, homogenites, tsunamite-seiche laminites, and tsunamite backwash). The sample score results were evaluated together with organic carbon data in order to assess geochemical variability throughout the composite turbidite structure in different basins settings. The basal parts of the ST contain coarse-grained sediment stacks whose sources can be traced back and sedimentary processes (surficial sediment erosion/massive slope failures) can be defined using geochemical data. The topmost parts of the STs exhibit a mixed compositional character suggesting basin-wide processes such as seiche oscillations and tsunami wave erosion/backwashing. The application of selected XRF-CS based elemental ratios as proxies in paleoseismological studies can help reconstruct the seismic history of a continental margin., The authors thank the CALAMARE scientific party, Urania shipboard, and SOPROMAR parties for their contribution in core collection during the Urania cruises. The authors are grateful to C. Gelati and M. Imbriani, radiologists at Ospedale Maggiore in Bologna, for CAT scan acquisition. L. Langone and F. Savelli are acknowledged for OC analysis, S. Miserocchi for acquisition of XRF data at ISMAR (Institute of Marine Sciences), and T. Tesi for fruitful discussions. This work has benefited from funding provided by the CNR for the R/V Urania shiptime. ISMAR paper no. 2058. The authors acknowledge the Editor Whitney Behr, the Associate Editor Maria Giuditta Fellin, Witold Szczuciński and an anonymous reviewer for their suggestions and comments that have contributed to improve the original version of the manuscript.

A new analysis of high-resolution multibeam and seismic reflection data, collected during several oceanographic expeditions starting from 1999, allowed us to compile an updated morphotectonic map of the North Anatolian Fault below the Sea of Marmara. We reconstructed kinematics and geometries of individual fault segments, active at the time scale of 10 ka, an interval which includes several earthquake cycles, taking as stratigraphic marker the base of the latest marine transgression. Given the high deformation rates relative to sediment supply, most active tectonic structures have a morphological expression at the seafloor, even in presence of composite fault geometries and/or overprinting due to mass-wasting or turbidite deposits. In the frame of the right-lateral strike-slip domain characterizing the North Anatolian fault system, three types of deformation are observed: almost pure strike-slip faults, oriented mainly E–W; NE/SW-aligned axes of transpressive structures; NW/SE-oriented trans-tensional depressions. Fault segmentation occurs at different scales, but main segments develop along three major right-lateral oversteps, which delimit main fault branches, from east to west: (i) the transtensive Cinarcik segment; (ii) the Central (East and West) segments; and (iii) the westernmost Tekirdag segment. A quantitative morphometric analysis of the shallow deformation patterns observed by seafloor morphology maps and high-resolution seismic reflection profiles along the entire basin allowed to determine nature and cumulative lengths of individual fault segments. These data were used as inputs for empirical relationships, to estimate maximum expected Moment Magnitudes, obtaining values in the range of 6.8–7.4 for the Central, and 6.9–7.1 for the Cinarcik and Tekirdag segments, respectively. We discuss these findings considering analyses of historical catalogues and available paleoseismological studies for the Sea of Marmara region to formulate reliable seismic hazard scenarios.

The Bradano Basin is a foreland basin along the Africa/Eurasia plate boundary. Due to its location and physiography, between Southern Apennines (SA) and Calabrian Arc (CA), it represents a natural recorder of Plio-Pleistocene tectonic processes. Integrated analysis of seismic reflection data, exploration well logs and seafloor bathymetry allowed us to unravel the basin architecture and the interplay between tectonics and sedimentation, providing stratigraphic and structural evidences on deep processes and shallow morpho-structural development. It results, that the post-Messinian tectonic evolution on this area is marked by two major tectonic events, whose effects are recorded in four sedimentary sequences bounded by interregional unconformities. During Pliocene times, an obliquely convergent margin led to collision between SA and CA, associated with shelf to deep marine turbiditic deposits. Around the Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary (2.58 Ma), a sudden and widespread rearrangement took place. The SA front, along with portions of the earlier obliquely collisional margin, started to move toward the NE, along progressively deeper detachments involving the lower Apulia plate. During this phase, a fast (3.8–8.3 cm/yr) ~50 km translation of the orogenic wedge was followed by uplift and slow-rate shortening (1.9 mm/year), associated with seafloor folding. This second phase is marked by deep marine deposits in the central part of the basin, and clinoforms in shallower western and northern sectors. Our data suggest that no oceanic crust is presently subducting below the Bradano Basin, although we cannot exclude that a narrow sliver of oceanic lithosphere was subducted before and/or during Pliocene times. The complex deformation pattern observed, represents the response to the interaction of (small-) plates, which is still active and important to be considered in neotectonics and paleoseismological reconstructions.

The Sea of Galilee in northeast Israel is a freshwater lake filling a morphological depression along the Dead Sea Fault. It is located in a tectonically complex area, where a N-S main fault system intersects secondary fault patterns non-univocally interpreted by previous reconstructions. A set of multiscale geophysical, geochemical and seismological data, reprocessed or newly collected, was analysed to unravel the interplay between shallow tectonic deformations and geodynamic processes. The result is a neotectonic map highlighting major seismogenic faults in a key region at the boundary between the Africa/Sinai and Arabian plates. Most active seismogenic displacement occurs along NNW-SSE oriented transtensional faults. This results in a left-lateral bifurcation of the Dead Sea Fault forming a rhomb-shaped depression we named the Capharnaum Trough, located off-track relative to the alleged principal deformation zone. Low-magnitude (ML = 3–4) epicentres accurately located during a recent seismic sequence are aligned along this feature, whose activity, depth and regional importance is supported by geophysical and geochemical evidence. This case study, involving a multiscale/multidisciplinary approach, may serve as a reference for similar geodynamic settings in the world, where unravelling geometric and kinematic complexities is challenging but fundamental for reliable earthquake hazard assessments.