How and why the present tectonic setting in the Apennine belt has developed

The building of the Apennine belt slowed down or ceased around the Early Pleistocene. Since then, the belt has undergone strong uplift and considerable distortion. This change, from belt-normal to belt-parallel shortening, has been determined by the fact that the continental Adriatic domain (Adria) was almost completely surrounded by buoyant orogenic structures. In that context, the mobility of Adria underwent a considerable reduction, whereas uplift and deformation of its southern part was strongly emphasized as an effect of the convergence of the confining plates. Around the middle Pleistocene, the deformation pattern in the peri-Adriatic zones changed again, in response to acceleration of Adria. The outer (Adriatic) sector of the Apennine belt underwent belt-parallel shortening, accommodated by uplift and outward escape of upper crustal wedges. The separation between the extruding wedges and the almost stable inner belt has generated a series of extensional or transtensional fault systems along the axial part of the Apennines, which now correspond to the main seismogenic sources. The spatio-temporal distribution of major tectonic events in the study area can plausibly be explained as an effect of the least-action principle. Thematic collection: This article is part of the ‘Apennines and Tyrrhenian system’ collection available at: https://www.lyellcollection.org/cc/the-apennines-tyrrhenian-system

[1]  E. Mantovani.  Evolutionary reconstruction of the Mediterranean region: extrusion tectonics driven by plate convergence. , 2005 .

[2]  Meghan S. Miller,et al.  Isostasy, dynamic topography, and the elevation of the Apennines of Italy , 2014 .

[3]  S. Corrado,et al.  INFLUENCE OF PALAEOGEOGRAPHY ON THRUST SYSTEM GEOMETRIES : AN ANALOGUE MODELLING APPROACH FOR THE ABRUZZI-MOLISE (ITALY) CASE HISTORY , 1998 .

[4]  R. Basili,et al.  Sources of Mw 5+ earthquakes in northeastern Italy and western Slovenia: An updated view based on geological and seismological evidence , 2008 .

[5]  Gianluca Valensise,et al.  Unveiling the Sources of the Catastrophic 1456 Multiple Earthquake: Hints to an Unexplored Tectonic Mechanism in Southern Italy , 2007 .

[6]  Simone Tanelli,et al.  CloudSat mission: Performance and early science after the first year of operation , 2008 .

[7]  G. Prosser,et al.  The complete Apennines orogenic cycle preserved in a transient single outcrop near San Fele, Lucania, southern Italy , 2003, Journal of the Geological Society.

[8]  L. Benedetti,et al.  The Dinaric fault system: Large‐scale structure, rates of slip, and Plio‐Pleistocene evolution of the transpressive northeastern boundary of the Adria microplate , 2016 .

[9]  M. Poljak,et al.  The Seismotectonic Characteristics of Slovenia , 2000 .

[10]  R. Nalin,et al.  Raised Pleistocene marine terraces of the Crotone peninsula (Calabria, southern Italy): facies analysis and organization of their deposits , 2004 .

[11]  Aldo Zollo,et al.  Inferences on the upper crustal structure of Southern Apennines (Italy) from seismic refraction investigations and subsurface data , 2000 .

[12]  C. Radim,et al.  Changes in the state of stress in enclosing panels after additional thermal insulation , 2016 .

[13]  A. Argnani,et al.  Cenozoic volcanism and tectonics in the southernTyrrhenian sea: space-time distribution and geodynamicsignificance , 1999 .

[14]  E. Patacca,et al.  Late thrust propagation and sedimentary response in the thrust-belt—foredeep system of the Southern Apennines (Pliocene-Pleistocene) , 2001 .

[15]  Z. Ben‐Avraham,et al.  Origin and role of major strike-slip transfers during plate collision in the central Mediterranean , 1993 .

[16]  J. V. Dijk,et al.  Neotectonic rotations in the Calabrian Arc; implications for a Pliocene-Recent geodynamic scenario for the Central Mediterranean , 1995 .

[17]  P. Tapponnier,et al.  Active oblique extension in the central Apennines (Italy): evidence from the Fucino region , 1999 .

[18]  P. Boncio,et al.  Active stress from earthquake focal mechanisms along the Padan–Adriatic side of the Northern Apennines (Italy), with considerations on stress magnitudes and pore-fluid pressures , 2009 .

[19]  L. Benedetti,et al.  Fragmentation of the Adriatic Promontory: New Chronological Constraints From Neogene Shortening Rates Across the Southern Alps (NE Italy) , 2018, Tectonics.

[20]  N. Cenni,et al.  Belt-Parallel Shortening in the Northern Apennines and Seismotectonic Implications , 2015 .

[21]  N. Cenni,et al.  Present Velocity Field in the Italian Region by GPS Data: Geodynamic/Tectonic Implications , 2015 .

[22]  C. Collettini,et al.  Brittle versus ductile deformation as the main control on the transport properties of low‐porosity anhydrite rocks , 2009 .

[23]  Enrico Serpelloni,et al.  Vertical GPS ground motion rates in the Euro‐Mediterranean region: New evidence of velocity gradients at different spatial scales along the Nubia‐Eurasia plate boundary , 2013 .

[24]  L. D’Auria,et al.  A transitional volume beneath the Sannio-Irpinia border region (southern Apennines): Different tectonic styles at different depths , 2018 .

[25]  Pierfrancesco Burrato,et al.  An active oblique‐contractional belt at the transition between the Southern Apennines and Calabrian Arc: The Amendolara Ridge, Ionian Sea, Italy , 2014 .

[26]  M. Marani,et al.  Foreland deformational pattern in the Southern Adriatic Sea , 1993 .

[27]  A. Peccerillo.  Plio-Quaternary Volcanism in Italy: Petrology, Geochemistry, Geodynamics , 2005 .

[28]  G. Bizon,et al.  Calage stratigraphique de l9age et de la duree des phases compressives des Hellenides externes (Grece nord-occidentale et Albanie), du Miocene a l9actuel , 1992 .

[29]  Mark Cloos,et al.  Lithospheric buoyancy and collisional orogenesis: Subduction of oceanic plateaus, continental margins, island arcs, spreading ridges, and seamounts , 1993 .

[30]  Paolo Baldi,et al.  Present kinematics of Central and Northern Italy from continuous GPS measurements , 2012 .

[31]  B. Kennett,et al.  Global azimuthal seismic anisotropy and the unique plate-motion deformation of Australia , 2005, Nature.

[32]  Mario Locati,et al.  CPTI15, the 2015 version of the Parametric Catalogue of Italian Earthquakes , 2016 .

[33]  M. S. Barbano,et al.  Seismogenic evidence of ongoing compression in eastern-central Italy and mainland Sicily; a comparison , 2007 .

[34]  G. Prosser,et al.  Thrust sequences and evolution of the external sector of a fold and thrust belt: An example from the Southern Apennines (Italy) , 2005 .

[35]  M. Santulin,et al.  The contribution of “silent” faults to the seismic hazard of the northern Adriatic Sea , 2011 .

[36]  Aleksandar Ilić,et al.  Tertiary to recent oblique convergence and wrenching of the Central Dinarides: Constraints from a palaeostress study , 2005 .

[37]  S. Vitale,et al.  Tectono-stratigraphic and kinematic evolution of the southern Apennines/Calabria–Peloritani Terrane system (Italy) , 2013 .

[38]  P. Molnar,et al.  Some simple physical aspects of the support, structure, and evolution of mountain belts , 1988 .

[39]  D. Boutelier,et al.  Buckling of orogens: Insights from analogue modelling , 2019, Journal of Structural Geology.

[40]  G. Moratti,et al.  Tectonics of the Western Mediterranean and North Africa , 2006 .

[41]  E. Tondi,et al.  Geological analysis and seismic hazard in the Central Apennines (Italy) , 2000 .

[42]  N. Cenni,et al.  Seismotectonics and present seismic hazard in the Tuscany–Romagna–Marche–Umbria Apennines (Italy) , 2015 .

[43]  F. Brozzetti.  The Campania‐Lucania Extensional Fault System, southern Italy: A suggestion for a uniform model of active extension in the Italian Apennines , 2011 .

[44]  A. Ascione,et al.  Late Tertiary–Quaternary tectonics of the Southern Apennines (Italy): New evidences from the Tyrrhenian slope , 2006 .

[45]  E. Humphreys,et al.  Forces acting on the Sierra Nevada block and implications for the strength of the San Andreas fault system and the dynamics of continental deformation in the western United States , 2008 .

[46]  C. Bartolini.  When did the Northern Apennine become a mountain chain , 2003 .

[47]  N. Cenni,et al.  Present Tectonic Setting and Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Seismicity in the Apennine Belt , 2015 .

[48]  N. Cenni,et al.  Post-seismic relaxation: An example of earthquake triggering in the Apennine belt (1915–1920) , 2012 .

[49]  G. Lavecchia,et al.  The May-June 2012 Ferrara Arc earthquakes (northern Italy): structural control of the spatial evolution of the seismic sequence and of the surface pattern of coseismic fractures , 2012 .

[50]  N. Cenni,et al.  Interaction of seismic sources in the Apennine belt , 2013 .

[51]  D. D. Donne,et al.  Late Pliocene–Quaternary evolution of outermost hinterland basins of the Northern Apennines (Italy), and their relevance to active tectonics , 2009 .

[52]  C. Savelli.  Time–space distribution of magmatic activity in the western Mediterranean and peripheral orogens during the past 30 Ma (a stimulus to geodynamic considerations) , 2002 .

[53]  I. Finetti,et al.  Seismicity and seismotectonics at the Alps-dinarides contact , 1991 .

[54]  G. Cavinato,et al.  Structural architecture of the central Apennines: Interpretation of the CROP 11 seismic profile from the Adriatic coast to the orographic divide , 2008 .

[55]  L. Improta,et al.  An integrated geophysical investigation of the upper crust in the epicentral area of the 1980, Ms=6.9, Irpinia earthquake (Southern Italy) , 2003 .

[56]  Giusy Lavecchia,et al.  A structural model for active extension in Central Italy , 2000 .

[57]  L. Cucci,et al.  Raised marine terraces in the Northern Calabrian Arc (Southern Italy): a ~ 600 kyr-long geological record of regional uplift , 2004 .

[58]  F. Calamita,et al.  Differences and similarities between the central and the southern Apennines (Italy): Examining the Gran Sasso versus the Matese‐Frosolone salients using paleomagnetic, geological, and structural data , 2008 .

[59]  S. Santini,et al.  Active tectonics of the outer northern Apennines: Adriatic vs. Po Plain seismicity and stress fields , 2015 .

[60]  E. Tondi,et al.  Active tectonics in the central Apennines and possible implications for seismic hazard analysis in peninsular Italy , 1997 .

[61]  R. Fantoni,et al.  Tectono-sedimentary setting of the Po Plain and Adriatic foreland , 2010 .

[62]  M. Viti,et al.  Plate kinematics and geodynamics in the central Mediterranean. , 2011 .

[63]  M. Massironi,et al.  Strike-slip contractional stepovers in the Southern Alps (northeastern Italy) , 2003 .

[64]  F. Galadini.  Pleistocene changes in the central Apennine fault kinematics: A key to decipher active tectonics in central Italy , 1999 .

[65]  I. Finetti,et al.  CROP PROJECT : Deep Seismic Exploration of the Central Mediterranean and Italy , 2005 .

[66]  C. Collettini,et al.  Fault zone architecture and deformation processes within evaporitic rocks in the upper crust , 2008 .

[67]  F. Villani,et al.  The Plio-Quaternary uplift of the Apennine chain: new data from the analysis of topography and river valleys in Central Italy , 2008 .

[68]  Atilla Aydin,et al.  Uplift and contractional deformation along a segmented strike-slip fault system: the Gargano Promontory, southern Italy , 2004 .

[69]  D. Albarello,et al.  Long-term earthquake triggering in the Southern and Northern Apennines , 2008 .

[70]  G. Corti,et al.  Recent and active tectonics of the external zone of the Northern Apennines (Italy) , 2011 .

[71]  J. Ferrier,et al.  Long-distance pollen transport from North America to Greenland in spring , 2008 .

[72]  G. Lavecchia,et al.  Rates of active compressional deformation in central Italy and Sicily: evaluation of the seismic budget , 2010 .

[73]  A. Badawy,et al.  The Sinai subplate and tectonic evolution of the northern Red Sea region , 1999 .

[74]  F. Galadini,et al.  Early–Middle Pleistocene eastward migration of the Abruzzi Apennine (central Italy) extensional domain , 2004 .

[75]  C. Monaco,et al.  Neogene‐Quaternary tectonic evolution of the southern Apennines , 2004 .

[76]  Nicola D'Agostino,et al.  Active tectonics of the Adriatic region from GPS and earthquake slip vectors , 2008 .

[77]  A. Ravaglia,et al.  Seismotectonics of the southern Apennines and Adriatic foreland: Insights on active regional E‐W shear zones from analogue modeling , 2006 .

[78]  Marcello Tropeano,et al.  Filling and cannibalization of a foredeep: the Bradanic Trough, Southern Italy , 2002, Geological Society, London, Special Publications.

[79]  R. Simpson,et al.  Northward migration of the Cascadia forearc in the northwestern U.S. and implications for subduction deformation , 2001 .

[80]  S. Corrado,et al.  Thrusting and strike-slip tectonics in the Alto Molise region (Italy): implications for the Neogene-Quaternary evolution of the Central Apennine orogenic system , 1997, Journal of the Geological Society.

[81]  G. Vai,et al.  Anatomy of an orogen : the Apennines and adjacent Mediterranean basins , 2001 .

[82]  N. Cenni,et al.  Possible location of the next major earthquakes in the northern Apennines: present key role of the Romagna-Marche-Umbria wedge , 2017 .

[83]  C. Eva,et al.  An alternative model for the recent evolution of the Northern-Central Apennines (Italy) , 2012 .

[84]  F. Beekman,et al.  Neotectonics and intraplate continental topography of the northern Alpine Foreland , 2006 .

[85]  C. Monaco,et al.  Active faulting in the Calabrian arc and eastern Sicily , 2000 .

[86]  M. Pipan,et al.  Crustal section based on CROP seismic data across the North Tyrrhenian–Northern Apennines–Adriatic Sea , 2001 .

[87]  M. Massironi,et al.  Miocene to present major fault linkages through the Adriatic indenter and the Austroalpine—Penninic collisional wedge (Alps of NE Italy) , 2006, Geological Society, London, Special Publications.

[88]  Carmelo Monaco,et al.  Active transpression in the northern Calabria Apennines, southern Italy , 2009 .

[89]  L. Tortorici,et al.  Structural styles in the frontal zones of the southern Apennines, Italy: An example from the Molise District , 1989 .

[90]  F. Calamita,et al.  EVOLUZIONE STRUTTURALE E MORFOGENESI PLIO-QUATERNARIA DELL'APPENNINO UMBRO-MARCHIGIANO TRA IL PREAPPENNINO UMBRO E LA COSTA ADRIATICA , 1999 .

[91]  E. Mantovani,et al.  Geodynamic implications of “subduction related” magmatism: insights from the Tyrrhenian–Apennines region , 2000 .

[92]  S. Stein,et al.  Comment on ``the use of the minimum-dissipation principle in tectonophysics'' by P. Bird and D.A. Yuen , 1979 .

[93]  Bertrand Meyer,et al.  Growth folding and active thrusting in the Montello region, Veneto, northern Italy , 2000 .

[94]  Giovanni Sarti,et al.  The Romagna Apennines, Italy: an eroded duplex , 2001 .

[95]  M. Viti,et al.  Quaternary geodynamics and deformation pattern in the Southern Apennines; implications for seismic activity , 2006 .

[96]  L. Frostick,et al.  Sediment Flux to Basins: Causes, Controls and Consequences , 2002 .

[97]  A. Pizzi.  Plio-Quaternary uplift rates in the outer zone of the central Apennines fold-and-thrust belt, Italy , 2003 .

[98]  S. Mazzoli,et al.  Apennine tectonics in southern Italy: a review , 1998 .

[99]  S. Nisio,et al.  Effects of uplift and tilting in the Central-Northern Apennines (Italy) , 2003 .

[100]  M. Jackson,et al.  Terra infirma: Understanding salt tectonics , 2007 .

[101]  G. Lavecchia,et al.  Present activity and seismogenic potential of a low-angle normal fault system (Città di Castello, Italy): Constraints from surface geology, seismic reflection data and seismicity , 2009 .

[102]  E. Patacca,et al.  Geology of the Southern Apennines , 2007 .

[103]  A. Peccerillo,et al.  Tertiary to Present Evolution of Orogenic Magmatism in Italy , 2010 .

[104]  S. Rossi,et al.  A seismic reflection study of the External Calabrian Arc in the northern Ionian Sea (eastern Mediterranean) , 1981 .

[105]  N. Pinter,et al.  The Adria Microplate: GPS Geodesy, Tectonics and Hazards , 2005 .

[106]  A. Ascione,et al.  Recent faulting in Southern Apennines (Italy) : geomorphic evidence, spatial distribution and implications for rates of activity , 2007 .

[107]  J. Nocquet.  Present-day kinematics of the Mediterranean: A comprehensive overview of GPS results , 2012 .

[108]  D. Albarello,et al.  Geodynamic connection between the indentation of Arabia and the Neogene tectonics of the central–eastern Mediterranean region , 2006 .

[109]  Davorka Herak,et al.  Jabuka island (Central Adriatic Sea) earthquakes of 2003 , 2005 .

[110]  N. Cenni,et al.  Generation of Back-Arc Basins as Side Effect of Shortening Processes: Examples from the Central Mediterranean , 2014 .

[111]  E. Patacca,et al.  . Tyrrhenian basin and Apenninic arcs: kinematic relations since Late Tortonian times , 1990 .

[112]  F. Galadini,et al.  Seismogenic sources potentially responsible for earthquakes with M≥ 6 in the eastern Southern Alps (Thiene–Udine sector, NE Italy) , 2005 .

[113]  Marcello Schiattarella,et al.  Quaternary uplift vs tectonic loading: a case study from the Lucanian Apennine, southern Italy , 2003 .

[114]  A. Argnani.  Some issues regarding the central Mediterranean neotectonics , 2006 .

[115]  J. Masek,et al.  Minimum‐work mountain building , 1998 .

[116]  M. Cloos.  Lithospheric buoyancy and collisional orogenesis , 1993 .

[117]  A. Blumetti,et al.  The primary role of the Paganica-San Demetrio fault system in the seismic landscape of the Middle Aterno Valley basin (Central Apennines) , 2013 .

[118]  P. Burrato,et al.  Investigating seismogenic faults in Central and Southern Apennines (Italy): modeling of fault-related landscape features , 1996 .

[119]  P. Burrato,et al.  Active extension in Val d’Agri area, Southern Apennines, Italy: implications for the geometry of the seismogenic belt. , 2005 .

[120]  P. Sammonds,et al.  Relationship between topography, rates of extension and mantle dynamics in the actively-extending Italian Apennines , 2012 .

[121]  F. Zgur,et al.  Neogene tectono-sedimentary interaction between the Calabrian Accretionary Wedge and the Apulian Foreland in the northern Ionian Sea , 2017 .

[122]  Fabrizio Galadini,et al.  Pre-existing cross-structures and active fault segmentation in the northern-central Apennines (Italy) , 2009 .

[123]  D. Cunningham,et al.  Neo-Alpine structural evolution and present-day tectonic activity of the eastern Southern Alps: The case of the Ravne Fault, NW Slovenia , 2008 .

[124]  Pietro Paolo Pierantoni,et al.  Geometry, segmentation pattern and displacement variations along a major Apennine thrust zone, central Italy , 2005 .

[125]  J. Angelier,et al.  A major geodynamic change revealed by Quaternary stress patterns in the southern Apennines (Italy) , 1994 .

[126]  A. Brogi,et al.  Transtensional shear zones controlling volcanic eruptions: the Middle Pleistocene Mt Amiata volcano (inner Northern Apennines, Italy) , 2010 .

[127]  F. Muto,et al.  The Plio-Pleistocene evolution of the Crotone Basin (southern Italy): Interplay between sedimentation, tectonics and eustasy in the frame of Calabrian Arc migration , 2012 .

[128]  S. Santini,et al.  Applying the Multiple Inverse Method to the analysis of earthquake focal mechanism data: New insights into the active stress field of Italy and surrounding regions , 2012 .

[129]  F. Ghisetti,et al.  Depth and modes of Pliocene–Pleistocene crustal extension of the Apennines (Italy) , 1999 .

[130]  G. B. Cimini,et al.  Recent seismicity and crustal stress field in the Lucanian Apennines and surrounding areas (Southern Italy): Seismotectonic implications , 2009 .

[131]  G. Heiken.  Plio‐Quaternary Volcanism in Italy. By Angelo Peccerillo. Heidelberg: Springer, 2005. 365 pages, 145 figures, and CD‐ROM. $139.00 cloth. , 2007 .

[132]  P. Fabbri,et al.  Architecture of the western margin of the North Adriatic foreland: the Schio-Vicenza fault system , 2014 .

[133]  Vladimiro Verrubbi,et al.  Late Pleistocene to Holocene record of changing uplift rates in southern Calabria and northeastern Sicily (southern Italy, Central Mediterranean Sea) , 2006 .

[134]  M. Viti,et al.  A review on the driving mechanism of the Tyrrhenian–Apennines system: Implications for the present seismotectonic setting in the Central-Northern Apennines , 2009 .

[135]  Marijan Herak,et al.  Seismic Zoning of Croatia , 1998 .

[136]  M. Viti,et al.  Generation of Trench-Arc-Back Arc Systems in The Western Mediterranean Region driven by plate convergence , 2009 .

[137]  E. Tondi,et al.  Active tectonics and earthquake sources in the epicentral area of the 1857 Basilicata earthquake (southern Italy) , 2003 .

[138]  I. Finetti,et al.  GEOPHYSICAL STUDY OF THE TYRRHENIAN OPENING , 1986 .

[139]  F. Calamita,et al.  Active intraplate deformation within Adria: Examples from the Adriatic region , 2009 .

[140]  A. Artoni.  The Pliocene-Pleistocene stratigraphic and tectonic evolution of the Central sector of the Western Periadriatic Basin of Italy , 2013 .

[141]  D. Albarello,et al.  Nubia-Eurasia kinematics: an alternative interpretation from Mediterranean and North Atlantic evidence , 2007 .

[142]  Roberto Basili,et al.  New geomorphic evidence for anticlinal growth driven by blind-thrust faulting along the northern Marche coastal belt (central Italy) , 2004 .

[143]  Massimo Rossi,et al.  Sedimentary and tectonic evolution in the eastern Po-Plain and northern Adriatic Sea area from Messinian to Middle Pleistocene (Italy) , 2010 .

[144]  G. Ciarapica,et al.  Late Triassic and Early Jurassic sedimentary evolution of the Northern Apennines : an overview , 2005 .

[145]  D. Albarello,et al.  Relative motion of the Adriatic with respect to the confining plates: seismological and geodetic constraints , 2004 .

[146]  F. Rizzini,et al.  Gravity tectonics driven by Quaternary uplift in the Northern Apennines: insights from the La Spezia-Reggio Emilia geo-transect , 2003 .

[147]  J. Nocquet,et al.  Evidence for a post-3.16-Ma change in Nubia Eurasia North America plate motions ? , 2003 .

[148]  E. Tondi,et al.  GEO-STRUCTURAL EVIDENCE FOR ACTIVE OBLIQUE EXTENSION IN SOUTH-CENTRAL ITALY , 2006 .

[149]  G. Cello.  Structure and deformation processes in the Strait of Sicily “rift zone” , 1987 .

[150]  M. Handy,et al.  Post‐20 Ma Motion of the Adriatic Plate: New Constraints From Surrounding Orogens and Implications for Crust‐Mantle Decoupling , 2017 .

[151]  M. Ripepe,et al.  Quaternary faults and seismicity in the Umbro-Marchean Apennines (Central Italy): evidence from the 1997 Colfiorito earthquake , 2000 .

[152]  Late Quaternary faulting within the Southern Apennines seismic belt: new data from Mt. Marzano area (Southern Italy) , 2003 .

[153]  R. Blakely,et al.  Fore-arc migration in Cascadia and its neotectonic significance , 1998 .

[154]  W. Hieke,et al.  The Ionian Abyssal Plain (central Mediterranean Sea): Morphology, subbottom structures and geodynamic history – an inventory , 2003 .

[155]  V. Donato,et al.  Palaeolandscapes of Southern Apennines during the late Early and the Middle Pleistocene , 2012 .

[156]  A. M. Noguera,et al.  Deep structure of the Campanian–Lucanian Arc (Southern Apennine, Italy) , 2000 .

[157]  Roberto Basili,et al.  Database of Potential Sources for Earthquakes larger than M 5.5 in Italy and surrounding areas. Version 3.0 (DISS 3.0) , 2004 .