Abstract
<p>On 24th August 2016 a M<sub>L</sub> 6.0 earthquake occurred near Amatrice (central Italy) causing nearly 300 fatalities. The mainshock ruptured a NNW-SSE striking, WSW dipping normal fault. The earthquake produced several coseismic effects at ground, including landslides and ground ruptures. In particular, ground surveys identified a 5.2 km long continuous fracture along the Mt. Vettore flank, both on rock and slope deposits, along one of the active normal fault segments bounding the relief to the west. In this work, we evaluated the contribution of seismically-induced surface instabilities to the observed ground fractures by means of a permanent-displacement approach. The results of a parametric analysis show that the computed seismically-induced gravitational displacements (about 2-10 cm) are not enough to explain field observations, testifying to a mean 20-25cm vertical offset. Thus, the observed ground fractures are the result of primary faulting related to tectonics, combined with gravitational phenomena.</p>
Highlights
On August 24th 2016 a MW 6.0 normal faulting earthquake occurred near Amatrice (Central Italy), approximately 50 km NW of L’Aquila (Figure 1a)
We evaluated the contribution of seismically-induced surface instabilities to the observed ground fractures by means of a permanent-displacement approach
The observed ground fractures are the result of primary faulting related to tectonics, combined with gravitational phenomena
Summary
On August 24th 2016 a MW 6.0 normal faulting earthquake occurred near Amatrice (Central Italy), approximately 50 km NW of L’Aquila (Figure 1a). The mainshock produced several coseismic effects at ground, including landslides and ground ruptures along mountain slopes and cultivated fields [EMERGEO Working Group, 2016]. A continuous coseismic rupture, approximately 5.2 km long, was observed on the SW flank of Mt. Vettore, along the Vettore and Vettoretto active normalfaults (Figure 1b and c). Along the Vettore and Vettoretto active normalfaults (Figure 1b and c) This newly formed fracture was observed both on slope deposits and on the bedrock fault planes. Such fractures were initially interpreted as primary surface faulting, satellite measurements revealed localized displacements in the area, extending for about 0.5 km on the Mt. Vettore flank and bordered upward by the observed ground fractures [Gruppo di lavoro IREA-CNR & INGV, 2016]. We assess the stability of talus sediments during the MW 6.0 earthquake shaking in order to identify the possible contribution of gravitational phenomena on the observed ground fractures
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