Abstract
Since the Sixties, the turning point marked by the Plate Tectonics global theory has provided new ideas for the interpretation of the complex geodynamic evolution of the Mediterranean area. The renewed interest that followed gave a strong impulse to the geological and geophysical investigations of the Mediterranean area and, more specifically, of the Tyrrhenian Basin. Therefore, large scale geophysical surveys and oceanographic cruises were carried out until the end of the Eighties to fill the gap of geophysical information existing in the area until then. Afterwards, short scale surveys were prevalent to improve the detail of the information in areas of geodynamic interest. The gathered data sets allowed new models to be formulated, improving the knowledge of the crustal and lithospheric structure of the Tyrrhenian Basin (and surrounding areas) and the reconstruction of its complex geodynamic evolution. In this frame, the contribution of gravity and magnetic investigations has been unquestionable and deserves a wide-ranging review both on large and small scale. The main features of the potential fields resulting from these surveys will be described and the interpretative models suggested by several authors will be summarized.
Highlights
Since the Sixties, the turning point marked by the Plate Tectonics global theory has provided new ideas for the interpretation of the complex geodynamic evolution of the Mediterranean area
Regional magnetic data supplied by the MAGSAT mission at different elevations for the Mediterranean area were processed by Fedi et al (1986) and led to the identification of some anomalies of crustal origin by calculating spherical harmonic coefficients of the Earth magnetic field
The advances in the collection, analysis and interpretation of gravity and magnetic data in the Tyrrhenian Basin provided a significant contribution to the investigation of the large scale structures and geodynamic evolution of this area in the light of the new global theories
Summary
The first measurements carried out within the Tyrrhenian basin revealed a gravity field roughly correlated with the main regional morphological features and dominated by a long wavelength, very high amplitude positive anomaly (+250 mGal) centred on the bathyal plain of the basin (fig. 1). The western side of the positive regional anomaly is interrupted by weak short period anomalies correlated to submarine (Baronie Seamounts) asymmetrical, tilted basement blocks (Kastens et al, 1988). They formed by stretching, thinning of the continental crust and by rotational normal faulting (Rehault et al, 1987) before the basaltic volcanism. Several short period anomalies are visible along the eastern and southern flanks They are associated with volcanic islands and seamounts representative of the most recent phases of calc-alkaline arc magmatism, trending from NW (older terms) to SE. The Bouguer anomaly field surveyed in the Gulf of Naples by Berrino et al (1998) shows a gravity gradient running roughly along a N-S direction, interrupted by a negative anomaly located south of the Gulf of Pozzuoli, whereas strong gradients border the Islands of Ischia and Procida (fig. 3)
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