New evidence for Late Quaternary deformation of the substratum of Mt. Etna volcano (Sicily, Italy): clues indicate active crustal doming

Abstract

Stratigraphic and morphostructural analyses have been carried out in the Mt. Etna volcanic region (eastern Sicily) to investigate in detail the deformation events that have affected the sedimentary successions forming the substratum of the volcano. In the foredeep, Quaternary submarine sedimentation ended 600 ka ago when the whole area emerged in response to homogeneous regional uplift. The irregular distribution of a stratigraphic marker, recognized through the analysis of more than 250 borehole logs, suggests that local dynamics also affected the area. We identify both compressional tectonic dynamics and volcano-related tectonic activity, and discriminate among their associated deformations. In particular, we quantify the vertical deformation component of the compressional structures (thrusts and related folds) and recognize for the first time a vertical component of deformation whose pattern clearly indicates a doming process acting at Mt. Etna. The comparison between long-term and short-term rates suggests that the doming has acted consistently over space and time through the last 600 ka and provides clues to the source of uplift. This component, defined by a specific Quaternary sedimentary horizon, has been compared with vertical deformation obtained by analytical inversion of morphological substratum data, and localizes the source at a depth of ∼16 km, at the mantle-crust transition. This uplift may be the consequence of hydration occurring in the altered ocean-like crust.