SUMMARY The Western Mediterranean displays a complex pattern of crustal deformation distributed along tectonically active belts developed in the framework of slow oblique plate convergence. We used earthquake and Global Positioning System (GPS) data to study the present‐day kinematics and tectonics of the Africa‐Eurasia plate boundary in this region. Crustal seismicity and focal mechanisms, analysed in terms of seismic moment release and seismic deformation, outline the geometry of major seismic belts and characterize their tectonics and kinematics. Continuous GPS data have been analysed to determine Euler vectors for the Nubian and Eurasian plates and to provide the global frame for a new Mediterranean GPS velocity field, obtained by merging continuous and campaign observations collected in the 1991–2005 time span. GPS velocities and displacements predicted by the Nubia‐Eurasia rotation pole provide estimates of the deformation accommodated across the tectonically active belts. The rather simple deformation occurring in the Atlantic region, characterized by extension about perpendicular to the Middle Atlantic and Terceira ridges and right‐lateral motion along the Gloria transform fault, turns into a complex pattern of deformation, occurring along broader seismic belts, where continental lithosphere is involved. Our analysis reveals a more complex fragmentation of the plate boundary than previously proposed. The roughly E‐W trending mainly compressive segments (i.e. southwestern Iberia, northern Algeria and southern Tyrrhenian), where plate convergence is largely accomodated across rather localized deformation zones, and partially transferred northward to the adjacent domains (i.e. the Algero‐Balearic and Tyrrhenian basins), are interrupted by regions of more distributed deformation (i.e. the Rif‐Alboran‐Betics, Tunisia‐Libya and eastern Sicily) or limited seismicity (i.e. the Strait of Sicily), which are characterized by less homogeneous tectonics regimes (mainly transcurrent to extensional). In correspondence of the observed breaks, tectonic structures with different orientation interfere, and we find belts with only limited deformation (i.e. the High and Middle Atlas, the Tunisian Atlas and the offshore Tunisia‐Libya belt) that extends from the plate boundary into the Nubian plate, along pre‐existing tectonic lineaments. Our analysis suggest that the Sicilian‐Pelagian domain is moving independently from Nubia, according to the presence of a right‐lateral and extensional decoupling zone corresponding to the Tunisia‐Libya and Strait of Sicily deformation zone. Despite the space variability of active tectonic regimes, plate convergence still governs most of the seismotectonic and kinematic setting up to the central Aeolian region. In general, local complexities derive from pre‐existing structural features, inherited from the tectonic evolution of the Mediterranean region. On the contrary, along Calabria and the Apennines the contribution of the subducted Ionian oceanic lithosphere and the occurrence of microplate...
SUMMARY We present a new geodetic velocity solution for Italy and the surrounding areas, obtained from an analysis of continuous and survey‐mode Global Positioning System observations collected between 1991 and 2002. We have combined local, regional and global networks into a common reference frame velocity solution, providing a new detailed picture of the regional‐scale deformation field in the central Mediterranean. Our velocity estimates are computed with respect to a new stable Eurasian reference frame, constraining the kinematics of the greater African–Eurasian plate boundary system in the study area. We provide strain‐rate values for the main seismotectonic districts, which are in good agreement with the seismic deformation inferred from earthquake focal mechanisms. The southern Tyrrhenian area, Calabria, the Apennines, the southeastern Alps, the southern Dinarides and the Albanides display deformation rates at the order of 20–30 nanostrain yr−1. The Corsica–Sardinia block moves according to Eurasian Plate motions, and there is no indication that the opening of the Tyrrhenian is still active. The Pelagian and Sicilian domains are separated by a northwest–southeast discontinuity, the Sicily Channel rifted area, and marginally significant relative motion between the Pelagian Plateau and the African Plate is also observed. The southern Tyrrhenian is affected by north–south compression and accommodates up to 50 per cent of the Africa–Eurasia relative plate motion, whereas the Calabrian Arc exhibits ∼2 mm yr−1 northwest–southeast extension. The observed deformation pattern suggests the presence of a major approximately north–south tectonic discontinuity separating the Sicilian and Calabrian domains. An extensional boundary observed along peninsular Italy coincides with the distribution of seismogenic faults along the axis of the Apennines. This boundary separates a Tyrrhenian and an Adriatic domain with diverging velocities, orientated north–NNW‐ward and northeastward, respectively. The Apennines are extending perpendicularly to the chain axis at rates of less than 3 mm yr−1, and only in the outer northern Apennines indications of active shortening are observed. Insignificant deformation is observed in the western Po Plain and the western Alps, while the central and eastern Alps display north–south shortening. The eastern Adriatic domain is shortening perpendicular to the Dinaric front with strain rates increasing from north to south. The locus of collision between the Aegean/Balkan system and the Adriatic and Ionian domains is marked by the Kephalonia fault system, which accommodates up to 20±1 mm yr−1 of right‐lateral motion. The deformation pattern observed in the peri‐Adriatic domain is well described by a counter‐clockwise rotation of the Adriatic microplate around a pole located in the western Alps.
The conservation of architectural heritage usually requires a multidisciplinary approach involving a variety of specialist expertise and techniques. Nevertheless, destructive techniques should be avoided, wherever possible, in order to preserve the integrity of the historical buildings, therefore the development of non-destructive and non-contact techniques is extremely important. In this framework, a methodology for combining the terrestrial laser scanning and the infrared thermal images is proposed, in order to obtain a reconnaissance of the conservation state of a historical building. The proposed case study is represented by St. Augustine Monumental Compound, located in the historical centre of the town of Cosenza (Calabria, South Italy). Adopting the proposed methodology, the paper illustrates the main results obtained for the building test overlaying and comparing the collected data with both techniques, in order to outline the capabilities both to detect the anomalies and to improve the knowledge on health state of the masonry building. The 3D model, also, allows to provide a reference model, laying the groundwork for implementation of a monitoring multisensor system based on the use of non-destructive techniques.
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