Morphoneotectonics of the Abruzzo Periadriatic Area (Central Italy): Morphometric Analysis and Morphological Evidence of Tectonics Features

Abstract

Drainage basin-scale morphometric analysis and morphological evidence of tectonics represent helpful tools to evaluate and investigate morphoneotectonic processes in tectonically active regions. In this perspective, we applied an integrated analysis to the Abruzzo Periadriatic Area, between the Tronto and Sinello rivers (Central Italy). It involved morphometric analysis, structural geomorphological field mapping, and detailed analysis of fluvial terraces. Geomorphic indexes and markers (e.g., Irta, SL index, ksn, and knickpoints) were used in this study to detect the response of landscapes to drainage systems’ unsteadiness and tectonic deformation processes, possibly induced by the ongoing activity of the buried tectonic structures. Furthermore, the investigation of morphological field evidence of tectonics, integrated with the analysis of fluvial terraces’ spatial and temporal arrangement, was performed to assign relative, geomorphologically-based, age constraints of the landscape evolution. The resulting data allowed us to define domains affected by different morphostructural and morphoneotectonic processes, related to the impact and ongoing activity of the five detected families of structural elements (S1, F1, F2, F3, and F4), mainly characterized by compressive, extensional, and transtensive kinematics. Finally, this study could represent a scientific basis for integrating morphometric, fluvial, and tectonic geomorphology analysis to better define the main phases of the landscape evolution and the impact of morphoneotectonic processes on fluvial environments in uplifting piedmont areas.

Evolution of Deep-Seated Gravitational Slope Deformations in Relation with Uplift and Fluvial Capture Processes in Central Eastern Sardinia (Italy)

“…A morphotectonic analysis of the River Pardu and River Quirra was carried out based on an integrated approach that incorporated a cartographic and morphometric analysis [86][87][88]. Remote sensing analysis and geological and geomorphological field mapping in slopes and the valley floor of the Rio Quirra and Rio Pardu were performed from the head to the mouth on a scale of 1:10,000.…”

Geo-archaeology, archaeometry, and history of a seismic-endangered historical site in central Apennines (Italy)

“…It developed due to the dissolution of Upper Cretaceous carbonate rocks that form most of the Maiella Massif. The cave lies within an east-verging anticline and is crosscut by an E-W-striking strike-slip fault [17,18]. The age of folding likely dates to the Late Pliocene (Piacenzian 3.5-2.5 My.)…”

Rockfall Susceptibility Assessment and Landscape Evolution of San Nicola Island (Tremiti Islands, Southern Adriatic Sea, Italy)

“…In historical times, the Tremiti Islands experienced strong seismic events, severely affecting both the Gargano and Periadriatic areas. More recently, events with magnitudes greater than 4 have enucleated in the nearby Adriatic sector [43][44][45][46][47].…”