Abstract
Two marine magnetic surveys were carried out during 1997 and 1999 in the Ionian Sea off the eastern coast of Sicily to investigate the magnetic structures of the eastern base of Mt. Etna and the Hyblean Plateau. The investigated area is approximately 85 km long and 15 km wide, running from North to South, in the Western Ionian Sea. Models along two profiles parallel to the coast and over the entire area provide a possible distribution of volcanic bodies and volcaniclastic deposits off the eastern coast of Sicily and their relations with the sedimentary substratum. 3D modeling suggests the presence of magnetized bodies, inserted in the sedimentary substratum, plausibly related to Hyblean Plateau volcanism in the south sector and to Mt. Etna activity in the north. We speculate that the Malta Escarpment could have produced preferential ways for magma ascents off the Hyblean Plateau. The spatial continuity of the volcanism affecting the entire investigated area could testify spatial transition between Hyblean and Etnean volcanism supporting the hypothesis that the magma process migrated with time from south-east to north-west.
Highlights
The geological and structural frame of Sicily is the result of complex motions and interactions between the African and European plates, which have produced, in the Mediterranean region, the Calabro-Sicilian subduction process
Marine geological and geophysical investigations, may represent a useful tool to support and integrate data gathered inland to improve the knowledge of both the Hyblean Plateau and Etna evolution
The presence of volcanic bodies, and especially their prosecution southwards to the main faults of the Malta Escarpment, could represent the spatial transition between Hyblean and Etnean magmatism and highlights the major role played by the regional discontinuities in the spatial and temporal evolution of the PlioPleistocene volcanism of Eastern Sicily
Summary
The geological and structural frame of Sicily is the result of complex motions and interactions between the African and European plates, which have produced, in the Mediterranean region, the Calabro-Sicilian subduction process To different episodes of local extensional tectonics (Barberi et al, 1974; Grasso and BenAvraham, 1992), is responsible for the volcanism of both the Hyblean Plateau and Etna. Marine geological and geophysical investigations, may represent a useful tool to support and integrate data gathered inland to improve the knowledge of both the Hyblean Plateau and Etna evolution. This paper focuses on the analysis of magnetic data gathered along a more than 500 km line Their interpretation, in combination with previous geological and geophysical studies (e.g., Gabbianelli et al, 1995), evidences the offshore prosecution of the Etnean edifice and the area affected by magmatism off the Hyblean coast. The presence of volcanic bodies, and especially their prosecution southwards to the main faults of the Malta Escarpment, could represent the spatial transition between Hyblean and Etnean magmatism and highlights the major role played by the regional discontinuities in the spatial and temporal evolution of the PlioPleistocene volcanism of Eastern Sicily
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
