Adriatic Domain Research Articles

Generation of the Quaternary Normal Faults in the Messina Strait (Italy)

It is widely recognized that since the Early–Middle Pleistocene, the Messina zone, the site of strong earthquakes, has undergone extension, but the geodynamic context which determined this deformation is still a matter of debate. This work suggests that such a tectonic event was caused by the interaction of northern Calabria with the continental Adriatic domain. The suture of that consuming boundary produced major changes in the microplate mosaic and the related kinematic pattern in the Southern Italian zones, which was triggered by the activation of the Sibari and Vulcano faults. In the new context, the Peloritani belt sector, dragged by the Hyblean block, rotated clockwise and then moved northward, causing its divergence from southern Calabria. The normal faults which have accommodated that separation may be the main seismogenic source in the Messina Strait.

Geodynamics of the South Balkan and Northern Aegean Regions Driven by the Westward Escape of Anatolia

The Plio-Quaternary deformation pattern of the northern Aegean and south Balkan regions is interpreted as an effect of the interaction between the Anatolian-Aegean-Pelagonian system (Tethyan belt), undergoing westward extrusion and strong deformation, and the surrounding plates (Nubia, Europe and Adriatic). Since the middle-late Miocene, the collision of the Tethyan belt with the continental Adriatic domain has caused strong E-W shortening in the outer Hellenides and Albanides, also involving the southward extrusion of the Peloponnesus wedge, at the expense of the Ionian oceanic domain. The roughly E-W extension recognized in the western South Balkan zones (Macedonia and eastern Albania) is related to the divergence between the Pelagonian belt (Albanides and Hellenides) and the Rhodope-Moesia domain. Stressed by the westward displacement of the central Anatolian plateau and by the southward bowing of the Cycladic Arc, the northern Aegean zone has contemporaneously undergone E-W compression and N-S extension, which has generated a series of dextral shear faults, delimiting a number of slats. The westward displacement and deformation of such slats can explain the morphological features of the northern Aegean zone. During this phase, the push of the central Anatolian plateau also caused the separation of the Rhodope massif from the Moesian European domain, with the consequent formation of the upper Thrace basin. This hypothesis can explain the Plio-Quaternary compressional deformations recognized in a sector of the North Anatolian fault system, the Ganos-Gelibolu zone. The proposed geodynamic/tectonic interpretation may help to explain some features of the time-space distribution of major earthquakes in the study area.

Seismic deformation in the Adriatic Sea region

We present an overall analysis of the recent seismic activity occurred in the Adriatic Sea region, a strongly debated sector of the Mediterranean area, where several authors have proposed different models of plate configuration and kinematics. In the past, seismic investigations of this marine area have been strongly hampered by non-optimal network geometries, but data quality increase and recent methodological improvements lay the groundwork to attempt more accurate analyses including proper evaluations of result reliability. On these grounds, we investigated the seismic activity of the last decades by means of new hypocenter locations, waveform inversion focal mechanisms and seismogenic stress fields. We used the Bayloc non-linear probabilistic algorithm to compute hypocenter locations for the most relevant seismic sequences by carefully evaluating location quality and seismolineaments reliability. We also provided an updated database of waveform inversion focal mechanisms including original solutions estimated by applying the waveform inversion method Cut And Paste and data available from official catalogs. Then, focal mechanism solutions have been used to estimate seismogenic stress fields through different inversion algorithms. Seismic results indicate a relevant degree of fragmentation and different patterns of deformation in the Central Adriatic region. In particular, our analyses depicted two NW-SE oriented, adjacent volumes: (i) a pure compressive domain with NNE-trending axis of maximum compression characterizes the northeastern volume where the seismic activity occurs on W-to-NW oriented seismic sources; (ii) a transpressive domain with NW-trending axis of maximum compression characterizes the southwestern sector where thrust faulting preferentially occurs on ENE-to-NE oriented planes and strike-slip faulting on E-W ones. Joint evaluation of seismic findings of the present study and kinematic models proposed in the literature indicates just in the Central Adriatic region the presence of a broad deformation zone, accommodating a still evolving fragmentation of the Adriatic domain in two blocks rotating in opposite directions. On these grounds, the obtained results not only furnish new seismological evidence supporting the "two-blocks model" proposed by previous authors, but they also provide additional constraints, useful for better understanding and modeling the seismotectonic processes occurring in the Adriatic region. Data availabilityData used in the present study were collected from catalogs and bibliographic sources indicated in detail in the article. Waveform inversions performed in this study used data available in the database EIDA, http://orfeus-eu.org/webdc3/ (accessed February 2022)

Late Burdigalian to early Messinian environmental and climatic evolution of the central paleo Adriatic domain from the shallow water sedimentary record (Bolognano Fm, Eastern Majella, Central Apennines)

During the Miocene, Earth's climate evolved from a prolonged phase of global warmth into a colder mode. In the same time interval, the Mediterranean area was affected by important geodynamic and oceanographic changes evolving from a wide open basin to small enclosed basins. This work aims identifying the controlling factors of the paleoadriatic basin evolution, in one of the enclosed basins of the Mediterranean analyzing the ramp succession in the eastern Majella (Central Apennines).The stratigraphic architecture of the investigated succession shows an initial regressive phase, testified by the deposition of middle to outer ramp deposits followed by a long lasting transgressive phase between late Burdigalian to Tortonian during which hemipelagic to outer ramp sediments were deposited. At the end of the Tortonian a drop in sea level caused an erosional unconformity, reworking and deposition of inner ramp sediments. The succession evolves upward to alternating bioclastic and fine laminated organic rich deposits showing a deepening upward trend interrupted by a major sea level drop linked to the Messinian Salinity Crisis. The lower Messinian portion of the succession shows high TOC values, Al and redox-sensitive trace elements correlated with laminated sediments interpreted as deposited under anoxic conditions. The lithological alternation (bioclastic and laminated deposits) of the early Messinian interval, was likely produced in an astronomically-controlled humid and arid climate fluctuation. The increase of the terrigenous fraction coincides with an increase of Al concentrations that is associated with terrestrial organic matter. The increasing terrigenous input in the sediments is related to approaching Adriatic foredeeps during the early Messinian, promoting the progressive decay of environmental conditions in the basin.

Deep structure of the crust in the area of the 2016–2017 Central Italy seismic sequence from receiver function analysis

We compute a high-resolution topographic model of the Moho beneath the fault system activated during the 2016–2017 Central Italy seismic sequence, using Receiver Function (RF) analyses. We document that Ps conversions recorded in RF data-set varies abruptly at very short distance across the crustal lineament called Ancona-Anzio Line (AAL). Moho depth varies from about 25-30 km in the Tyrrhenian domain on the West to 35-40 km in the Adriatic domain in the East. Where the two domains are juxtaposed along the AAL, Moho depth values cluster around 50 km depth, in a stripe-like area 20 km wide. Such unique feature marks the deformation zone in the lithosphere and testifies the abrupt change in delamination style in the two sectors of the Apennines. Intermittent large normal faulting earthquakes driven by across-belt extension break through such inherited strong structural changes, conditioned by localized barriers to fluids migration and overpressuring.

Generation and Disruption of Subducted Lithosphere in the Central-Western Mediterranean Region and Time-Space Distribution of Magmatic Activity Since the Late Miocene

The long migration of the Balearic Arc (Alpine-Apennine and Alpine-Maghrebian belts) in the Early-Middle Miocene caused the formation of a subducted lithospheric edifice in the western and central Mediterranean regions. Then, since the Late Miocene, this slab was almost completely disrupted, only maintaining a narrow and deformed remnant beneath the southernmost Tyrrhenian basin. This work describes a tentative reconstruction of the tectonic processes that caused the formation of major tears and breakoffs in the original slabs and the consequent disruption of the subducted lithosphere. In particular, it is suggested that this relatively fast process was produced by the collision between the Anatolian-Aegean system and the continental Adriatic domain, which triggered a number of extrusion processes. Possible connections between the proposed tectonic evolution and the spatio-temporal distribution and geochemical signatures of magmatic activity are then discussed. It is supposed that such activity has been mainly conditioned by the occurrence of transtensional tectonics in the wake of escaping orogenic wedges.

Possible Multiple Sources of the Strong 1117 Po Plain Earthquake, Inferred from the Plio-Quaternary Evolution of the Northern Adriatic Area

The strongest documented seismic disaster ever occurred in the Po Plain area (January 3, 1117, M = 6.5) involved significant damage over a large zone. The genetic mechanism of such an event, most probably caused by more than one earthquake, is still an object of debate. Above all, the sources so far proposed cannot account for significant features of the observed macroseismic field. In this work, we suggest that the damage in the Verona zone was caused by the activation of a fault in the Lessini tectonic district, while damage in the central Po Plain may be related to a thrust fault located beneath the Giudicarie belt. The effects felt in northern Tuscany might derive from the seismic activation of the presumed SW-ward buried prolongation of the Giudicarie fault. The presence of such transpressional lithospheric discontinuity in the Adriatic domain since the upper Miocene and its reactivation (Pliocene-Pleistocene) as a thrust zone is mainly suggested by an accurate analysis of the observed deformation pattern in the central Mediterranean region. The proposed Giudicarie source may also help to explain the damage observed in the central Po Plain on December 25, 1222, which is not compatible with the seismic sources so far proposed.

Crustal Thickness Beneath the Dinarides and Surrounding Areas From Receiver Functions

AbstractKnowledge about the crustal thickness is one of the key elements in the reconstruction of the regional tectonic history. The Dinaric mountain belt is one of the most enigmatic segments of the Alpine‐Mediterranean collision zone, characterized by large variations in crustal thickness and not studied sufficiently. We present a new Moho depth map for the wider Dinarides region which was created using teleseismic earthquake recordings from 87 permanent and temporary seismic stations in the region. Teleseismic data were analyzed using the receiver function method to extract converted P to S waves.The resulting Moho topography fits well within a structural framework comprising a thicker crust under the Dinarides, which gradually becomes thinner toward the Pannonian and Adriatic domains. The profiles crossing the northwestern Dinarides are marked by a relatively sharp decrease in crustal thickness north of the main thrust front. This transition is followed by significant crustal thinning toward the Pannonian basin. The Mohorovičić discontinuity lies the deepest in the central and southern Dinarides, at depths of over 55 km. Here similarly to the northwestern segment we observe a jump in the crustal thickness when transitioning toward the Internal Dinarides, which hints at possible underthrusting (or subduction) of the Adria plate in this region. Moho depths in the transition zone toward the Pannonian basin and in the Pannonian basin proper vary between 25 and 35 km. In the Adriatic domain, we find crustal thickness ranging from 30 km to more than 45 km around the Central Adriatic islands.

A new surface heat flow map of the Northern Apennines between latitudes 42.5 and 44.5 N

A revised surface heat flow map of a sector of the Northern Apennines is presented, constrained by recently available thermal and petrophysical logs from 174 wells drilled for geothermal and hydrocarbon exploration purposes. The borehole temperatures have been corrected for drilling, inclination, and palaeoclimate effects. The corrected temperature data, combined with petrophysical parameters for each individual formation, have been used to derive shallow geotherms (down to a maximum depth of 8 km), which have yielded site-specific heat flow values. These values, once corrected for palaeoclimatic topographic and erosion/sedimentation effects, have been contoured by a kriging procedure to obtain the heat flow map.The map shows a clear distinction between a western zone (the Tyrrhenian Domain) of high heat flow (>150 mW m−2), with closely spaced heat flow isolines, and an eastern zone (the Adriatic Domain) of relatively low (<70 mW m−2), spatially uniform heat flow. The boundary between the two zones is roughly parallel to the axis of the Apennines.Five crustal geotherms (extending to the Moho) and the corresponding rheological profiles confirm that the 70 mW m−2 isoline corresponds to a major tectonic boundary, across which the thermal, structural, and seismic properties of the lithosphere go through a significant change.

How and why the present tectonic setting in the Apennine belt has developed

The building of the Apennine belt slowed down or ceased around the Early Pleistocene. Since then, the belt has undergone strong uplift and considerable distortion. This change, from belt-normal to belt-parallel shortening, has been determined by the fact that the continental Adriatic domain (Adria) was almost completely surrounded by buoyant orogenic structures. In that context, the mobility of Adria underwent a considerable reduction, whereas uplift and deformation of its southern part was strongly emphasized as an effect of the convergence of the confining plates. Around the middle Pleistocene, the deformation pattern in the peri-Adriatic zones changed again, in response to acceleration of Adria. The outer (Adriatic) sector of the Apennine belt underwent belt-parallel shortening, accommodated by uplift and outward escape of upper crustal wedges. The separation between the extruding wedges and the almost stable inner belt has generated a series of extensional or transtensional fault systems along the axial part of the Apennines, which now correspond to the main seismogenic sources. The spatio-temporal distribution of major tectonic events in the study area can plausibly be explained as an effect of the least-action principle. Thematic collection: This article is part of the ‘Apennines and Tyrrhenian system’ collection available at: https://www.lyellcollection.org/cc/the-apennines-tyrrhenian-system

Wind Over the Adriatic Region in CORDEX Climate Change Scenarios

AbstractNear‐surface winds over the Adriatic region are examined under present‐day and future climate conditions for two greenhouse gas scenarios (Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5 and Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5) with an ensemble of high‐resolution (0.11°) Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) simulations. The influence of particular combinations of regional climate models and global climate models and emission scenarios on the future changes in the near‐surface wind field has been explored in more detail. Starting with the seasonal climate change signal in large‐scale flow over the entire CORDEX domain, we focus on regional daily wind fields over the Adriatic domain and subdaily features of well‐known regional winds (Bora and Sirocco winds). The analysis reveals the strong sensitivity of the climate change signal in the simulated wind flow to (i) the choice of the global climate model that provides the boundary conditions and (ii) the analyzed locations across the Adriatic region. The results of the 21st‐century projections indicate that the changes in synoptic activity have an impact on the wind field at the (sub)daily time scale. We found a reduction in the number of Bora events and increase in the number of Sirocco events in northern Adriatic during the winter season, with an increase in pressure in the middle of the 21st century. Overall, the mean wind speed during Bora and Sirocco events is reduced, except for Bora in northern Adriatic. For the summer season, we found a large increase in the number of thermally induced flows, which is probably caused by the weakening of the Azores High.

The dismantling of the Apulian carbonate platform during the late Campanian – early Maastrichtian in Albania

The Apulian carbonate margin is widely preserved across the Adriatic domain and has been extensively studied in the south of Italy. In Albania, Oligocene–Pliocene fold-and-thrust tectonics led to widespread exposure of the Apulian Platform and associated Ionian Basin carbonates. However, the portion linking the platform to the basin is missing, preventing a direct reconstruction of the platform margin. Syn-sedimentary folding and faulting are recognized in the uppermost part of both the platform and basinal/slope series. Mass transport deposits (MTDs) occur within the platform succession incorporated into well-bedded intertidal (stromatolites) to shallow-subtidal (rudist packstones) sedimentary sequences. They display significant lateral variability which is accompanied by both rigid and soft deformation structures. Spectacular slumps made up of sediment density flow deposits are recognized in the adjacent Ionian Basin. The lateral extent of basal shear surfaces, syn-sedimentary faults and folds evidenced in the Ionian Basin points toward multiple regional tectonic triggering events affecting the Apulian Platform margin at that time. Bio- and chrono-stratigraphic analyses suggest that the triggers occurred during the late Campanian – early Maastrichtian. Beyond the obvious interest from a stratigraphic point of view, the study of these events recording the dismantling of the Apulian carbonate platform allows for a better understanding of the triggering mechanisms and the sedimentary characteristics of MTDs and slumps at a basinal scale.

Italian and Alpine three‐dimensional crustal structure imaged by ambient‐noise surface‐wave dispersion

AbstractWe derive the 3‐D crustal structure (S wave velocity) underneath Italy and the Alpine region, expanding and exploiting the database of ambient noise Rayleigh‐wave phase‐ and group‐velocity of Verbeke et al. (2012). We first complement the database of Verbeke et al. (2012) with a dense set of new ambient‐noise‐based phase‐velocity observations. We next conduct a suite of linear least squares inversion of both phase‐ and group‐velocity data, resulting in 2‐D maps of Rayleigh‐wave phase and group velocity at periods between 5 and 37 s. At relatively short periods, these maps clearly reflect the surface geology of the region, e.g., low velocity zones at the Po Plain; at longer periods, deeper structures such as Moho topography under Alps and Apennines, and lower‐crust anomalies are revealed. Our phase‐ and group‐velocity models are next inverted via the Neighbourhood Algorithm to determine a set of one‐dimensional shear‐velocity models (one per phase/group‐velocity pixel), resulting in a new three‐dimensional model of shear velocity (vS) parameterized in the same way as the European reference crustal model EPcrust. We also show how well vS is constrained by phase and group dispersion curves. The model shows the low velocity area beneath the Po Plain and the Molasse basin; the contrast between the low‐velocity crust of the Adriatic domain and the high‐velocity crust of the Tyrrhenian domain is clearly seen, as well as an almost uniform crystalline crust beneath the Alpine belt. Our results are discussed from the geological/geodynamical standpoint, and compared to those of other, interdisciplinary studies.

Present Velocity Field in the Italian Region by GPS Data: Geodynamic/Tectonic Implications

The analysis of geodetic observations carried out by 478 continuous GPS stations in the Italian region since 2001 has allowed a fairly good definition of the ongoing horizontal velocity field with respect to Eurasia. It is argued that such evidence can provide important insights into the geodynamic context in the central Mediterranean area. Numerous velocity vectors in the Apulia zone coherently indicate that the southern Adriatic domain is moving roughly NE ward. Since no significant decoupling zone between this domain and Nubia has so far been recognized, one could expect that the kinematics of these two plates is compatible. However, this condition is not fulfilled if the Nubia-Eurasia relative motion is taken from the global kinematic models, either deduced by long-term evidence [1] or short-term geodetic data [2] [3]. This problem is considerably reduced if the alternative Nubia-Eurasia rotation pole suggested by [4] is taken into account. This choice is also suggested by other major long-term evidence in the Mediterranean region. The numerous geodetic vectors available in two Adriatic sectors, the Apulia zone and the Venetian plain, would imply an Adria-Eurasia rotation pole incompatible with all Nubia-Eurasia Eulerian poles so far proposed. Since a significant relative motion between these plates is not compatible with the absence of a tectonic decoupling zone, we suppose that the short-term kinematics of Adria might be influenced by a transient non-rigid behaviour of that plate. This hypothesis is compatible with the expected effects (post seismic relaxation) of the major decoupling earthquakes that have occurred along Periadriatic zones in the past tens of years. The compatibility of the GPS kinematic pattern in the Apennine belt, Calabria Arc and Sicily with the implications of the geodynamic/tectonic interpretations so far proposed for the central Mediterranean area is then discussed.

New insights into crustal structure, Cenozoic magmatism, CO2 degassing, and seismogenesis in the southern Apennines and Irpinia region from local earthquake tomography

AbstractWe present high‐resolution Vp and Vp/Vs models of the southern Apennines (Italy) computed using local earthquakes recorded from 2006 to 2011 with a graded inversion scheme that progressively resolves the crustal structure, from the large scale of the Apennines belt to the local scale of the normal fault system. High‐Vp bodies defined in the upper crust and midcrust under the external Apennines are interpreted as extensive mafic intrusions revealing anorogenic magmatism episodes that broadened on the Adriatic domain during Paleogene. Under the mountain belt, a low‐Vp region, annular to the Neapolitan volcanic district, indicates the existence of a thermal/fluid anomaly in the midcrust, coinciding with a shallow Moho and diffuse degassing of deeply derived CO2. In the belt axial zone, low‐Vp/Vs gas‐pressurized rock volumes under the Apulian carbonates correlate to high heat flow, strong CO2‐dominated gas emissions of mantle origin, and shallow carbonate reservoirs with pressurized CO2 gas caps. We hypothesize that the pressurized fluid volumes located at the base of the active fault system influence the rupture process of large normal faulting earthquakes, like the 1980 Mw6.9 Irpinia event, and that major asperities are confined within the high‐Vp Apulian carbonates. This study confirms once more that preexisting structures of the Pliocene Apulian belt controlled the rupture propagation during the Irpinia earthquake. The main shock broke a ~30 km long, NE dipping seismogenic structure, whereas delayed ruptures (both the 20 s and the 40 s subevents) developed on antithetic faults, reactivating thrust faults located at the eastern edge of the Apulian belt.

Active tectonics of the outer northern Apennines: Adriatic vs. Po Plain seismicity and stress fields

The recent earthquake sequences of 2012 (northern Italy) and 2013 (Marche offshore) provided new, fundamental constraints to the active tectonic setting of the outer northern Apennines. In contrast to the Po Plain area, where the 2012 northern Italy earthquakes confirmed active frontal thrusting, the new focal mechanisms obtained in this study for the 2013 Marche offshore earthquakes indicate that only minor thrust fault reactivation occurs in the Adriatic domain, even for a theoretically favourably oriented maximum horizontal compression. Recent seismicity in this domain appears to be mainly controlled by transcurrent crustal faults dissecting the Apennine thrust belt. The along-strike stress field variation from the Po Plain to the Adriatic area has been quantitatively investigated by applying the multiple inverse method (MIM) to the analysis of the entire seismicity recorded from January 1976 to August 2014, from the top 12km of the crust (fault plane solutions from 127 earthquakes with MW≥4), allowing us to obtain a comprehensive picture of the state of stress over the outer zone of the fold and thrust belt. The present-day stress field has been defined for 39 cells of 1.5°×1.5° surface area and 12km depth. The obtained stress field maps point out that, although the entire outer northern Apennines belt is characterized by a sub-horizontal maximum compressive axis (σ1), the minimum compression (σ3) is sub-vertical only in the Po Plain area, becoming sub-horizontal in the Adriatic sector, thus confirming that the latter region is dominated by an active tectonic regime of strike-slip type.

The 2013 Marche offshore earthquakes: new insights into the active tectonic setting of the outer northern Apennines

A seismic sequence offshore the Marche region sheds new light on the active tectonic setting of the outer northern Apennines, revealing the existence of a previously unknown transcurrent seismogenic structure. In contrast to the Po Plain area, where vigorous seismicity testifies to active frontal thrusting, the seismotectonic setting of the Adriatic domain is characterized by the occurrence of active crustal strike-slip faults dissecting the thrust belt. As recent studies suggest that thrust faults represent the unique seismogenic sources characterizing the Adriatic sector of the outer northern Apennines, our results pose new challenges to the identification of seismogenic structures in the region.

Mapping Moho depth variations in central Italy from PsMoho‐P delay times: Evidence of an E‐W transition in the Adriatic Moho at 42°N latitude

Along the Italian peninsula adjoin two crustal domains, peri‐Tyrrhenian and Adriatic, whose boundary is not univocal in central Italy. In this area, we attempt to map the extent of the Moho in the two terrains from variations of the travel time difference between the direct P wave and the P‐to‐S wave converted at the crust‐mantle boundary, called PsMoho. We use teleseismic receiver functions computed at 38 broad‐band stations in this and previous studies, and assigned each of the recording sites to the Adriatic or peri‐Tyrrhenian terrains based on station location, geologic and geophysical data and interpretation, and consistency of delays with the regional Moho trend. The results of the present study show that the PsMoho arrival time varies from 2.3 to 4.1 s in the peri‐Tyrrhenian domain and from 3.7 to 5.5 s in the Adriatic domain. As expected, the lowest time difference is observed along the Tyrrhenian coastline and the largest values are observed in the axial zone of the Apennine chain. A key new result of this study is a sharp E‐W boundary in the Adriatic domain that separates a deeper Moho north of about 42°N latitude from a shallower Moho to the south. This feature is constrained for a length of about 40 km by the observations available in this study. The E‐W boundary requires a revision of prior mapping of the Moho in central Italy and supports previous hypotheses of lithosphere segmentation.

Deriving thrust fault slip rates from geological modeling: Examples from the Marche coastal and offshore contraction belt, Northern Apennines, Italy

We present a reconstruction of the central Marche thrust system in the central-northern Adriatic domain aimed at constraining the geometry of the active faults deemed to be potential sources of moderate to large earthquakes in this region and at evaluating their long-term slip rates. This system of contractional structures is associated with fault-propagation folds outcropping along the coast or buried in the offshore that have been active at least since about 3 Myr. The ongoing deformation of the coastal and offshore Marche thrust system is associated with moderate historical and instrumental seismicity and recorded in sedimentary and geomorphic features. In this study, we use subsurface data coming from both published and original sources. These comprise cross-sections, seismic lines, subsurface maps and borehole data to constrain geometrically coherent local 3D geological models, with particular focus on the Pliocene and Pleistocene units. Two sections crossing five main faults and correlative anticlines are extracted to calculate slip rates on the driving thrust faults. Our slip rate calculation procedure includes a) the assessment of the onset time which is based on the sedimentary and structural architecture, b) the decompaction of clastic units where necessary, and c) the restoration of the slip on the fault planes. The assessment of the differential compaction history of clastic rocks eliminates the effects of compaction-induced subsidence which determine unwanted overestimation of slip rates. To restore the displacement along the analyzed structures, we use two different methods on the basis of the deformation style: the fault parallel flow algorithm for faulted horizons and the trishear algorithm for fault-propagation folds. The time of fault onset ranges between 5.3 and 2.2 Myr; overall the average slip rates of the various thrusts are in the range of 0.26–1.35 mm/yr.

Structural setting of the Adriatic basin and the main related petroleum exploration plays

Most of the oil and gas resources located within the Adriatic domain are genetically linked to the flexure of the Adria continental margin and to the evolution of the Apennines fold and thrust belt. The source rocks contained in the pre-flexure epi-continental successions reached the maturity window during the flexural subsidence or, alternatively, the flexural accommodating siliciclastic flysch themselves generated and stored hydrocarbons. The petroleum exploration plays of the Adriatic domain are tentatively classified in this paper, according to their geological evolution with respect to the Apennines fold and thrust belt.The description of the geological evolution of these structures and related petroleum plays are described, including plays set in undeformed or poorly deformed foreland areas. A new isochrones map showing the structural setting of the substratum at the level of the Fucoidi Fm. is presented. Several different groups of structures can be recognized in the Adriatic domain, that can be connected to the final phases of deformation of the Apennines, or to the interaction with the Dinarides fold and thrust belt front to the east.