Aeolian Islands Research Articles

Surviving Volcanic Environments—Interaction of Soil Mineral Content and Plant Element Composition

Different plant species were investigated from two Aeolian Islands located in close vicinity, one with fumarolic activity (Vulcano) and one without (Lipari). On Vulcano, elevated concentrations of SO2/H2S determined in ambient air indicated the need of plants to adapt to harmful sulphur concentrations by detoxification strategies. The current study was focused on evaluating the element composition of plant leaves in relation to soil mineral contents. The soil of Volcano was characterised by a significantly lower pH on all three sampling sites as well as very high amounts of sulphur and plant available sulphate due to volcanic activities, compared to Lipari. By contrast, a general difference in the composition of trace elements in the soil was not observed between the islands, apart from arsenic, which was increased at all three sampling sites on Vulcano. Element accumulation in the leaves differed between the two islands. The tested species showed a significant higher accumulation of numerous elements (Al, B, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Ni, and Zn) on Vulcano compared to Lipari, while excluding Ca and Mo. These differences in element accumulation in the leaves between the islands may be caused by the lower soil pH on Vulcano. Extreme sulphur accumulation was found for all tested species on Vulcano, but was lower in woody species with higher dry matter content compared to herbaceous species with lower dry matter content. This caused a significantly negative correlation between plant sulphur and dry matter content. From these results, it is concluded that species with higher dry matter contents possess a more effective protection against extreme sulphur accumulation. Strategies to cope with other potentially toxic elements in the soil ranged from exclusion to hyper-accumulation. Hierarchical cluster analyses of the leaf element content revealed a clear separation between two groups: First, herbaceous perennial plants as strong accumulators; and second, woody perennial plants such as shrubs or trees as less strong accumulators, with the primordial species Fumaria capreolata representing an outside group.

Multi-stage formation of La Fossa Caldera (Vulcano Island, Italy) from an integrated subaerial and submarine analysis

The analysis of multibeam bathymetry, seismic profiles, ROV dive and seafloor sampling, integrated with stratigraphic and geological data derived from subaerial field studies, provides information on the multi-stage formation and evolution of La Fossa Caldera at the active volcanic system of Vulcano (Aeolian Islands). The caldera is mostly subaerial and delimited by well-defined rims associated to three different collapse events occurred at about 80, 48–24, and 13–8 ka, respectively. The NE part of the caldera presently lies below the sea-level and is delimited by two partially degraded rim segments, encompassing a depressed and eroded area of approximately 2 km2. We present here further morphological and petrochemical evidence linking the subaerial caldera rims to its submarine counterparts. Particularly, one of the submarine rims can be directly correlated with the subaerial eastern caldera border related to the intermediate (48–24 ka) collapse event. The other submarine rim cannot be directly linked to any subaerial caldera rim, because of the emplacement of the Vulcanello lava platform during the last 2 millennia that interrupts the caldera border. However, morphological interpretation and the trachyte composition of dredged lavas allow us to associate this submarine rim with the younger (13–8 ka) caldera collapse event that truncated the trachyte-rhyolite Monte Lentia dome complex in the NW sector of Vulcano. The diachronicity of the different collapse events forming the La Fossa Caldera can also explain the morpho-structural mismatch of some hundreds of meters between the two submarine caldera rims. A small part of this offset could be also accounted by tectonic displacement along NE–SW trending lineaments breaching and dismantling the submarine portion of the caldera. A network of active erosive gullies, whose headwall arrive up to the coast, is in fact responsible of the marked marine retrogressive erosion affecting the NE part of the caldera, where remnants of intra-caldera volcanic activity are still evident. Submarine morphological features associated to the entrance of subaerial lava flow units into the sea are presented, particularly related to the construction of the La Fossa Cone and Vulcanello. More generally, this study demonstrates the utility of integrated marine and subaerial studies to unravel the volcano-tectonic evolution of active insular volcanoes.

Acmonidesite, a new ammonium sulfate chloride from La Fossa crater, Vulcano, Aeolian Islands, Italy

AbstractThe new mineral acmonidesite, (NH4,K,Pb2+,Na)9Fe42+(SO4)5Cl8, was found in an active fumarole (fumarole FA, temperature ~250°C) at La Fossa crater, Vulcano, Aeolian Islands, Sicily, Italy. It occurs on a pyroclastic breccia as brown prismatic crystals up to 0.10 mm long, in association with salammoniac, alunite and adranosite. The mineral is orthorhombic, space group C2221 (no. 20) with a = 9.841(1), b = 19.448(3) c = 17.847(3) Å, V = 3415.7(9) Å3 and Z = 4. The six strongest reflections in the powder X-ray diffraction pattern are: [dobs in Å(I)(hkl)] 8.766(100)(110), 1.805(88)(390), 5.178(45)(131), 4.250(42)(221), 2.926(42)(330) and 2.684(32)(261). The empirical formula (based on 28 anions per formula unit [pfu]) is (NH4)5.77K1.42Pb0.62Na1.24Fe3.96Mn0.08S5.04O20.16Cl7.97Br0.08. The idealised formula is (NH4,K,Pb2+,Na)9Fe42+(SO4)5Cl8. The calculated density is 2.551 g cm–3. Using single-crystal diffraction data, the structure was refined to a final R(F) = 0.0363 for 4614 independent observed reflections [I > 2σ(I)]. The structure contains two independent, distorted octahedral iron sites, Fe1 and Fe2, with the iron atoms in the 2+ oxidation state, as confirmed by the interatomic distances and bond-valence calculations (2.06 and 1.94 vu, respectively). Fe1 is surrounded by two chlorine atoms and four oxygens of the sulfate ions, with the following average distances (Å): Fe1–O 2.125 and Fe1–Cl 2.472; and Fe2 is surrounded by three chlorine atoms and three oxygens of the sulfate ions, with the following average distances (Å): Fe2–O 2.110 and Fe2–Cl 2.531. Three independent sulfate anions are also present and are connected with the iron polyhedra to form a three-dimensional structure containing voids occupied by four independent ammonium ions (two of them partially replaced by K+), one Na+/Pb2+ site and one Cl– ion.

Geochemistry and isotope composition (Sr, Pb, δ66Zn) of Vulcano fumaroles (Aeolian Islands, Italy)

We present and discuss temperatures, major and trace element gas geochemistry, radiogenic isotopes (Pb, Sr) and the first Zn isotope data of fumarole condensates and altered rocks from the Vulcano fumarolic field. The fumaroles of the La Fossa cone, sampled on 5th May 2015, have temperatures ranging between 233 and 427 °C. They plot compositionally on the mixing trend between the magmatic and hydrothermal end-members defined by previous studies, but are strongly displaced towards the hydrothermal component. Correlations of radiogenic (Sr, Pb) and stable isotopes of Zn with δ13CCO2 and several trace elements of the fumarolic acid condensates support mixing between the above mentioned distinct (magmatic and hydrothermal) fluids. The magmatic end-member has a less radiogenic Sr (87Sr/86Sr ~0.7045) and heavier Zn isotope composition (δ66Zn ~0.3‰). The hydrothermal fluid end-member has a more radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr signature (>0.7055), which could be due to leaching of radiogenic Sr from the crystalline basement rocks or reflect seawater Sr. It is also characterized by lighter Zn isotope composition (δ66Zn < −0.3), most likely reflecting equilibrium fractionation of Zn isotopes during precipitation of sphalerite (ZnS) from the hydrothermal fluid. Nonetheless, some scatter in the correlation trends suggests either the involvement of additional (subordinate) source(s) or temporal variations in isotopic and chemical compositions of the two above end-members.Pb isotope compositions of the fumaroles sampled in this study show a shift towards less radiogenic values compared to pre-2001 fumaroles. This could indicate either a change in the hydrothermal circulation pattern (leading to leaching of rocks with different isotopic compositions) or the involvement of a new, isotopically distinct, magmatic fluid.The alteration zones around the fumarole vents are also characterized by systematic correlations of Pb and Zn isotopes with major and trace elements. We interpret these as the result of the addition onto the substratum volcanic rock of Pb and Zn from the fumaroles. Zn isotope signatures of the alteration zones are significantly heavier than those of the corresponding fumaroles (δ66Zn = 0.3–1.6) probably due to equilibrium fractionation occurring during sphalerite precipitation at the vent discharge.

Rapid mixing and short storage timescale in the magma dynamics of a steady-state volcano

Steady-state volcanic activity implies equilibrium between the rate of magma replenishment and eruption of compositionally homogeneous magmas, lasting for tens to thousands of years in an open conduit system. The Present-day activity of Stromboli volcano (Aeolian Islands, Southern Italy) has long been recognised as typical of a steady-state volcano, with a shallow magmatic reservoir (highly porphyritic or hp-magma) continuously refilled by more mafic magma (with low phenocryst content or lp-magma) at a constant rate and accompanied by mixing, crystallisation and eruption. Our aim is to clarify the timescale and dynamics of the plumbing system at the establishment of the Present-day steady-state activity (<1.2 ka) to pinpoint the onset of the steady-state regime. We investigated the Post-Pizzo (PP) pyroclastic sequence (∼1.7–1.5 ka) and one of the Early Paroxysms (EP) of the Present-day activity, focusing on the clinopyroxene population.Whole rock and clinopyroxene compositional variation among the PP and EP magmas is consistent with the time progression of the Stromboli system towards more mafic and lower 87Sr/86Sr compositions, pointing to the chemical and isotopic signature of the Present-day activity. Clinopyroxenes from both PP and EP record a complex history with compositional zoning that reflects growth in three different melt domains: a high-Mg# proto-lp recharging magma, a low-Mg# proto-hp resident magma, and a transient intermediate-Mg# magma. These are the result of complex turbulent flow fields and mixing regimes produced by repeated injections of the proto-lp magma in the shallow proto-hp magma reservoir. During the PP period the magmatic system was already able to regain the pre-input proto-hp composition, gradually changing toward a less evolved signature after the injection(s) of the more mafic proto-lp magma, owing to efficient (days to a few years) stirring and melt homogenisation (i.e., homogenisation time < residence time).Based upon Fe–Mg diffusion in clinopyroxene the total residence time during PP and EP periods, from the arrival of the mafic magma in the shallow system until the eruption, ranges from 1 to ∼50 years. Longer residence times (up to 150 years) have been recorded in the initial phase of the PP sequence, possibly testifying to the transition from a closed- to the open-conduit, steady-state regime of the Present-day activity.Some clinopyroxenes from the PP recorded the mafic triggering event of the feeding proto-lp magma occurring within few months to a few days before eruption. Remarkably, other clinopyroxene portions crystallised and captured the rapid timescales (a few days) of the on-going mixing and homogenisation process between the proto-lp and the proto-hp magmas leading to the eruption.The modelling of clinopyroxene zoning events at Stromboli provides evidence for growth and storage in three different melt domains, and sets robust constraints on their residence time from lp-magma recharge(s) to eruption, along with the timescales of melt homogenisation and triggering events. The lifetime history captured by Fe–Mg zoning of Stromboli clinopyroxenes suggests that the interplay between rapid mixing and short storage timescales can be a key parameter controlling the dynamics of the plumbing system of steady-state volcanoes.

The marine isotope stage 1–5 cryptotephra record of Tenaghi Philippon, Greece: Towards a detailed tephrostratigraphic framework for the Eastern Mediterranean region

The iconic climate archive of Tenaghi Philippon (TP), NE Greece, allows the study of short-term palaeoclimatic and environmental change throughout the past 1.3 Ma. To provide high-quality age control for detailed palaeoclimate reconstructions based on the TP archive, (crypto)tephra studies of a peat core ‘TP-2005’ have been carried out for the 0–130 ka interval. The results show that the TP basin is ideally positioned to receive tephra fall from both the Italian and Aegean Arc volcanic provinces. Two visible tephra layers, the Santorini Cape Riva/Y-2 (c. 22 ka) and the Campanian Ignimbrite (CI)/Y-5 (c. 39.8 ka) tephras, and six primary cryptotephra layers, namely the early Holocene E1 tephra from the Aeolian Islands (c. 8.3 ka), the Campanian Y-3 (c. 29 ka) and X-6 tephras (c. 109.5 ka), as well as counterpart tephras TM-18-1d (c. 40.4 ka), TM-23-11 (c. 92.4 ka) and TM-33-1a (c. 116.7 ka) from the Lago Grande di Monticchio sequence (southern Italy), were identified along with repeatedly redeposited Y-2 and CI tephra material. Bayesian modelling of the ages of seven of the primary tephra layers, 60 radiocarbon measurements and 20 palynological control points have been applied to markedly improve the chronology of the TP archive. This revised chronology constrains the age of tephra TM-18-1d to 40.90–41.66 cal ka BP (95.4% range). Several tephra layers identified in the TP record form important isochrons for correlating this archive with other terrestrial (e.g., Lago Grande di Monticchio, Sulmona Basin and Lake Ohrid) and marine (e.g., Adriatic Sea core PRAD 1-2 and Aegean Sea core LC21) palaeoclimate records in the Mediterranean region.

Fracture and damage localization in volcanic edifice rocks from El Hierro, Stromboli and Tenerife

We present elastic wave velocity and strength data from a suite of three volcanic rocks taken from the volcanic edifices of El Hierro and Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain), and Stromboli (Aeolian Islands, Italy). These rocks span a range of porosity and are taken from volcanoes that suffer from edifice instability. We measure elastic wave velocities at known incident angles to the generated through-going fault as a function of imposed strain, and examine the effect of the damage zone on P-wave velocity. Such data are important as field measurements of elastic wave tomography are key tools for understanding volcanic regions, yet hidden fractures are likely to have a significant effect on elastic wave velocity. We then use elastic wave velocity evolution to calculate concomitant crack density evolution which ranges from 0 to 0.17: highest values were correlated to the damage zone in rocks with the highest initial porosity.

Combining Spherical-Cap and Taylor Bubble Fluid Dynamics with Plume Measurements to Characterize Basaltic Degassing

Basaltic activity is the most common class of volcanism on Earth, characterized by magmas of sufficiently low viscosities such that bubbles can move independently of the melt. Following exsolution, spherical bubbles can then expand and/or coalesce to generate larger bubbles of spherical-cap or Taylor bubble (slug) morphologies. Puffing and strombolian explosive activity are driven by the bursting of these larger bubbles at the surface. Here, we present the first combined model classification of spherical-cap and Taylor bubble driven puffing and strombolian activity modes on volcanoes. Furthermore, we incorporate the possibility that neighboring bubbles might coalesce, leading to elevated strombolian explosivity. The model categorizes the behavior in terms of the temporal separation between the arrival of successive bubbles at the surface and bubble gas volume or length, with the output presented on visually-intuitive two-dimensional plots. The categorized behavior is grouped into the following regimes: puffing from (a) cap bubbles; and (b) non-overpressurized Taylor bubbles; and (c) Taylor bubble driven strombolian explosions. Each of these regimes is further subdivided into scenarios whereby inter-bubble interaction does/does not occur. The model performance is corroborated using field data from Stromboli (Aeolian Islands, Italy), Etna (Sicily, Italy), and Yasur (Vanuatu), representing one of the very first studies, focused on combining high temporal resolution degassing data with fluid dynamics as a means of deepening our understanding of the processes which drive basaltic volcanism.

Geochemical caper fingerprints as a tool for geographical origin identification.

The identification of geographical origin of food products is important for both consumers and producers to ensure quality and avoid label falsifications. The caper plant (Capparis spinosa L., Brassicales Capparidaceae), a xerophytic shrub common in the Mediterranean area, produces buds and fruits that are commercialized in brine at high price. Those grown in Italy in the Aeolian Islands are renowned for their high quality. This study is aimed to establish a correlation between the geological and geochemical features of soil and the chemical composition of caper buds grown in two Aeolian Islands, Lipari and Salina. Major and trace elements were investigated by X-ray fluorescence and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry in soil and caper samples from three localities in Lipari and Salina, and data from the three sites were compared by a nonparametric test, a correlation test and multivariate statistics (principal component analysis). The results allowed to discriminate soils according to geolithological characteristics of each area and detect a statistically significant correspondence between soil and caper samples for the elements Co, Fe, Mg and Rb, identifying thus possible geochemical caper fingerprints of origin. These results may also be useful to protect the high quality of Aeolian caper products by a suitable "Made in Italy" trademark and avoid falsifications and frauds.

The Early and Middle Bronze Age Textile Tools from the Aeolian Islands (Italy)

The Aeolian ceramic textile tools dated to the advanced Early and Middle Bronze Age (c. 1600-1250 BC) comprise the only evidence for textile manufacture and are a unique source of information about the technology of textile production used in the Early-Middle Bronze Age (EBA-MBA) in the Aeolian Archipelago (province of Messina, Italy). A recent re-examination of 76 out of over 140 of these tools has shown that heavier spindle whorls (71-153 g) dominate in the more numerous MBA material. The high weight values of the Aeolian spindle whorls, uncommon in the area and epoch, could point to the prevalent use of long staple animal fibres, e.g. wool, which requires heavier implements in order to be spun, in yarn manufacture in the archipelago. A group of very heavy tools (165-199/222 g), difficult to classify, has been identified in the MBA material as well. It is suggested that these particular implements were potential heavy spindle whorls used primarily for spinning long hard plant fibres, such as flax, and plying yarns or producing twines

Physicochemical and Sensory Characterization of Malvasia Wines from Different Mediterranean Areas

The identity of different Mediterranean Malvasia wines from Lipari (Aeolian Islands), Sardinia, Crete, and the Canaries by correlating sensory attributes with physicochemical parameters was determined. The Malvasia wines from Lipari had a wide and harmonic aromatic profile with floral, fruity, and exotic fruit aromas in addition to honey, fruit, and raisin flavors. The similarity of sensory characteristics between the Lipari and Crete samples may have originated from the geographic proximity and from the frequent cultural exchanges between Southern Italy and Greece. The Sardinian Malvasia wines had their own identity based on the prevailing citrus aroma, wood aroma and flavor, high alcohol content, and distinctive color parameters. The Canary Malvasia wine was characterized by high clearness and acidity without particular aromatic attributes.

Classificazione della ceramica e analisi dei contesti all’inizio dell’età del Bronzo: la capanna F del villaggio di Filo Braccio (Filicudi, Isole Eolie)

Classificazione della ceramica e analisi dei contesti all’inizio dell’età del Bronzo: la capanna F del villaggio di Filo Braccio (Filicudi, Isole Eolie)

Water Saving and Cost Analysis of Large-Scale Implementation of Domestic Rain Water Harvesting in Minor Mediterranean Islands

This paper describes a novel methodology to evaluate the benefits of large-scale installation of domestic Rain Water Harvesting (RWH) systems in multi-story buildings. The methodology was specifically developed for application to small settlements of the minor Mediterranean islands characterized by sharp fluctuations in precipitation and water demands between winter and summer periods. The methodology is based on the combined use of regressive models for water saving evaluation and of geospatial analysis tools for semi-automatic collection of spatial information at the building/household level. An application to the old town of Lipari (Aeolian islands) showed potential for high yearly water savings (between 30% and 50%), with return on investment in less than 15 years for about 50% of the installed RWH systems.

Navigare necesse est, vivere non est necesse: razmišljanja o prapovijesnoj plovidbi Mediteranom i Jadranom

Spoznaje o prvim plovnim ekspedicijama Mediteranom u posljednjih su petnaestak godina značajno porasle, kako uglavnom indirektnim dokazima o plovidbi tako i saznanjima kada su one najranije poduzimane. U ovome se radu donosi pregled dosadašnjih spoznaja o najranijoj plovidbi Mediteranom te razmatra kada je do prvih takvih poduhvata moglo doći na Jadranu kao specifičnom dijelu Sredozemnog prostora. Naglašena je problematika plovidbe između italske i hrvatske obale u okvirima pretpostavki kako su te maritimne ekspedicije mogle biti ostvarivane u neolitičkom razdoblju temeljem distribucije opsidijana s Eolskih otoka. Također, navedena su praktična razmišljanja o pitanju uporabe plovila pogonjenih na vjetar u doba kasnog neolitika.

Green, grey and black: A comparative study of Sierra de las Navajas (Mexico) and Lipari (Italy) obsidians

Sierra de Las Navajas (State of Hidalgo, Mexico) and Lipari (Aeolian Islands, Italy) were among the most important sources for obsidian trade in Mesoamerica and in the Mediterranean during the Stone Age. In this paper obsidians from these two localities were compared in terms of their aspect, chemical composition, microcrystallinity and microvesiculation. In Sierra de las Navajas, the typical deep green obsidian with a golden hue has been analyzed together with a less common dark grey, porphyritic variety. Lipari obsidian is commonly black, but a light grey variety also occurs. Obsidian of both varieties was analyzed for this paper. Microvesicularity was investigated through Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) observation, microporosimetry and, for Sierra de las Navajas green obsidian, through a preliminary X-ray computed microtomographic study. Crystallinity and micro- or nano-crystallinity were investigated through X-Ray Powder Diffraction and EDS (Energy Dispersion System) microanalyses. Finally, the chemical composition in terms of major and trace elements, including rare earth elements, was determined using X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). The comparison of samples of different colors suggests that the characteristic green color of Sierra de las Navajas obsidians could be related to their relatively high iron content, and to the occurrence of many elongated and iso-oriented vesicles which may also be responsible for the obsidian's golden hue. Low iron and an absence of vesicles give Lipari obsidian its “normal” black color. The light grey obsidian from Lipari probably owes its color and imperfect conchoidal fracture to numerous bubbles of less than 1 μm in size and to nano-crystallinity.Sierra de las Navajas obsidians show a significant chemical variability in terms of trace elements, that can be explained by common evolutionary processes in the magma chamber. However, this variability is also internal to a single volcanic complex and this makes the trace element contents unsuitable to differentiating between the different sub-sources of the same area. On Lipari, our data do not allow us to distinguish between the two sub-sources of Vallone del Gabellotto and Canneto Dentro on the basis of major and trace elements. On the whole, our study suggests that caution should be used for both Lipari and Sierra de las Navajas when identifying obsidian sub-sources on the basis of trace element contents.

Role of karst denudation on the accurate assessment of glacio-eustasy and tectonic uplift on carbonate coasts

Abstract Quaternary glacio-eustasy has traditionally been determined in part by the examination of fossil coral reefs on carbonate islands and coasts uplifted by tectonics. These studies do not properly account for dissolutional denudation, which is cumulative, making higher and therefore older terraces exist at elevations far below their assumed depositional elevation. Karst pedestals (karrentische) on Guam reveal the extent of the denudation ( c. 50 mm ka −1 ) and demonstrate that theoretical denudation models can be accurately applied to eogenetic carbonates in tropical settings. Aeolian calcarenite islands such as the Bahamas have been used as tectonically stable sea-level calibrations for other islands, which may not be correct. Flank margin caves, forming in the distal margin of the freshwater lens within a carbonate island, are excellent sea-level indicators. Analysis of flank margin cave elevations indicates that the Bahamas have had past sea-level highstands &gt;6 m, perhaps up to 15 m or more, for which no fossil coral data exist. Denudational removal of these older corals has biased the record to younger events and only flank margin caves remain as viable terrestrial signatures of these older sea-level highstands.

A long-term perspective on the exploitation of Lipari obsidian in central Mediterranean prehistory

Of the four major island sources of obsidian in the central Mediterranean, Lipari raw materials have the widest distribution, being found at over 200 archaeological sites throughout mainland Italy, southern France, northern Africa, and Sicily. As a means of contextualizing the importance of Lipari obsidian within broader cultural processes, this paper discusses the long-term exploitation of the island's raw materials from the sixth to second millennia BC, in turn emphasizing the reflexive relationship between the movement of Lipari obsidian and the broader circumstances that mediated its use.Over the past 50 years, a large number of studies have been published on obsidian in the central Mediterranean, the majority of which relate to the sourcing of archaeological objects. In total, over 10,000 artifacts have been elementally or visually characterized from well over 400 archaeological sites. Using a newly compiled database of prior obsidian studies, this paper highlights the importance of Lipari obsidian within wider networks of interaction. Through a diachronic overview of the distribution of Lipari obsidian along with a consideration of how these materials were consequently reduced and used, this paper highlights the impact of the spread of Neolithic lifeways on the establishment of large-scale obsidian circulation networks as well as the effects that shifting value regimes associated with the adoption and proliferation of metal technology had on the collapse of long-distance exchange networks. By the second millennium BC, the use of Lipari obsidian becomes a localized phenomenon largely restricted to sites on Sicily and increasingly associated with human burials. While it is easy to explain the continued use of obsidian in these areas as being the result of its ease of procurement, the last vestiges of a dying practice, this paper demonstrates that the situation is slightly more complex.In many ways, the exploitation history of Lipari obsidian mirrors that of other central Mediterranean sources. However, this paper brings to light unique factors that allowed raw materials from a relatively small Aeolian island to become an object of value throughout the entire central Mediterranean.

Seismotomographic detection of major structural discontinuity in northern Sicily

We present the results of tomographic inversion computed with the use of the LOTOS code for Sicily and surroundings, a region of great geodynamic interest located on the Nubia-Europe margin where previous analyses have progressively improved the knowledge of seismic velocity structure without, however, permitting fine detection of tectonic units and structural discontinuities. We used LOTOS's devices for inversion, grid rotation and adaptation to ray density for application to a dataset of 7105 local earthquakes of the period 1990-2012. Our tomographic model highlights a previously undocumented major discontinuity which is located approximately along the northern coast of Sicily and is characterized by a sudden transition from low velocity imbricate thrust sheets and accretionary wedge in mainland Sicily (to the south) to relatively high velocity Tyrrhenian continental crust (to the north). Combining this finding with available geological and geodynamic information, we conclude that this northern Sicily seismic velocity discontinuity, which approximately corresponds to a regional fault system known as Kumeta-Alcantara, may have played a major role in the Miocene to Middle Pliocene, when lithosphere tearing occurred between the Tyrrhenian sea and Sicily in response to trench retreat. The more recent geodynamic settings of northern Sicily and the southern Tyrrhenian can be unravelled from Quaternary geological observations, seismicity and GPS data, which indicate that (i) the northern Sicily discontinuity has ceased to be active in more recent times; and (ii) the reorganized slow convergence of Nubia with respect to Europe is currently accommodated ~100 km north of Sicily, along the east-trending seismogenic belt enclosing Ustica and the Aeolian Islands.

Structural architecture and active deformation pattern in the northern sector of the Aeolian-Tindari-Letojanni fault system (SE Tyrrhenian Sea-NE Sicily) from integrated analysis of field, marine geophysical, seismological and geodetic data

Framed in the current geodynamics of the central Mediterranean, the Aeolian-Tindari-Letojanni fault system is part of a wider NW-SE oriented right-lateral wrench zone which accommodates diverging motion between regional-scale blocks located at the southern edge of the Calabrian Arc. In order to investigate the structural architecture and the active deformation pattern of the northern sector of this tectonic feature, structural observations on-land, high and very-high resolution seismic reflection profiles, swath bathymetry and seismological and geodetic data were merged from the Lipari-Vulcano volcanic complex (central sector of the Aeolian Islands) to the Peloritani Mountains across the Gulf of Patti. Our interpretation shows that the active deformation pattern of the study area is currently expressed by NW-SE trending, right-transtensional en-echelon fault segments whose overlapping gives rise to releasing stepover and pull-apart structures. This structural architecture has favored magma and fluid ascent and the shaping of the Lipari-Vulcano volcanic complex. Similarly, the Gulf of Patti is interpreted as an extensional relay zone between two overlapping, right-lateral NW-SE trending master faults. The structural configuration we reconstruct is also supported by seismological and geodetic data which are consistent with kinematics of the mapped faults. Notably, most of the low-magnitude instrumental seismicity occurs within the relay zones, whilst the largest historical earthquakes (1786, Mw=6.2; 1978, Mw=6.1) are located along the major fault segments.

Pigments characterization of polychrome vases production at Lipára: New insights by noninvasive spectroscopic methods

One of the most impressive Sicilian pottery production is attributed to the so‐called Lipari Painter and his followers, whose vessels—found in the archeological site of Lipari (Aeolian Island, Sicily)—are decorated with characteristic blue, red, and white figures. From the archeological point of view, these artworks keep open many questions concerning dating, production technique, and cultural background. In this context, new data on the manufacture procedures and on the raw materials used for the pigments may contribute to a deeper comprehension of this early Hellenistic vase tradition. The preciousness of the vessels, exhibited at the Archeological Museum of Lipari, imposed the use of in situ nondestructive methods to address new insights on the nature of the colored layers. Thus, analyses by Raman and X‐ray fluorescence spectroscopy have been performed with portable instruments on a selection of vessels certainly attributed to Lipari Painter and to some others of his followers. The results of this study testify the use of different pigments: kaolin and gypsum, probably supplied locally, for white layers; Egyptian blue for blue hues; red ochre for brown‐reddish hues; and cinnabar for pink and red‐purple nuances. The identification of both Egyptian blue and cinnabar opens an interesting discussion about dating and circulation of the raw materials.