Plane Dipping Research Articles

A Bayesian rupture model of the 2007 Mw 8.1 Solomon Islands earthquake in Southwest Pacific with coral reef displacement measurements

On 1st April 2007 a Mw 8.1 megathrust earthquake occurred in the western Solomon Islands of the Southwest Pacific and generated a regional tsunami with run-up heights of up to 12m. A Bayesian inversion model is constructed to derive fault dip angle and cumulative co-seismic and early post-seismic slip using coral reef displacement measurements, in which both data misfit and moment magnitude are used as constraints. Results show three shallow, high-slip patches concentrated along the trench from west of Ranongga Island to Rendova Island on a fault plane dipping 20°, and a maximum dip slip of 11.6m beneath Ranongga Island. Considerable subsidence on Simbo Island outboard of the trench on the subducting plate is not well explained with this model, but may be related to the effects of afterslip and/or Simbo Island’s location near the triple junction among the Australia, Woodlark and Pacific plates.

Lateral structure variations and transient swarm revealed by seismicity along the Main Himalayan Thrust north of Kathmandu

The midcrustal seismicity along the Main Himalayan Thrust in Nepal presents lateral variations along the rupture of the 2015 Gorkha earthquake. In order to resolve these variations, we relocate the seismicity north of Kathmandu, during a period well covered by the Nepal National Seismological Network, using a double-difference algorithm. The 550 relocated events highlight a complex pattern of clustered seismicity within the unstable-stable transition zone. Part of the seismicity is densely clustered on a southward dipping plane which ruptured on January 31st 1997 (ML=5.8), activating a backthrust with a geometry consistent with the centroid moment tensor of this event calculated in this study. At its eastern end, the midcrustal cluster is offset by 20km to the south suggesting the presence of a tear fault. The analysis of the time sequence allows constraining a scenario involving stress transfer between these local midcrustal structures, beginning more than one month before the 1997 main shock. The temporal evolution of the seismicity is strikingly similar for two other transient seismic swarm episodes which developed hundreds of kilometers apart along the Main Himalayan Thrust at the same time. The local stress field appears responsible for the higher sensitivity of these regions to subtle strain transients developing along the Main Himalayan Thrust.

Evidence of Complex Faulting near the Huangcheng‐Shuangta Fault, Gansu, China, from the 11 May 2012Mw 4.8 Sunan Earthquake

We determined the mainshock source parameters, relocated aftershocks, and modeled broadband waveforms from 14 stations within 300 km of the 11 May 2012 M w 4.8 Sunan earthquake. The focal mechanism, determined by the cut‐and‐paste method, is predominantly strike slip with a component of thrust and occurred at a depth of 5.1 km; the shallow focal depth likely contributed to the strong shaking in the epicentral area. The strike and dip of nodal plane I are consistent with the strike and dip of the Huangcheng‐Shuangta fault, which may have hosted the devastating 1927 M s 8.0 Gulang earthquake and the surface trace for which is <2 km northeast of the Sunan epicenter. We used the double‐difference location method to relocate aftershocks and found that they occurred at depths from 4 to 7 km on a well‐defined plane dipping to the northwest. This plane closely corresponds with nodal plane II of our focal mechanism. The dip of the relocated aftershocks is consistent with the dip of nodal plane II. Therefore, this earthquake likely occurred on a secondary fault, in a region undergoing transpression, which indicates that deformation is not restricted to the Huangcheng‐Shuangta fault.

Monitoring and early warning of the 2012 Preonzo catastrophic rockslope failure

In this paper, we describe the investigations and actions taken to reduce risk and prevent casualties from a catastrophic 210,000 m3 rockslope failure, which occurred near the village of Preonzo in the Swiss Alps on May 15, 2012. We describe the geological predisposition and displacement history before and during the accelerated creep stage as well as the development and operation of an efficient early warning system. The failure of May 15, 2012, occurred from a large and retrogressive instability in gneisses and amphibolites with a total volume of about 350,000 m3, which formed an alpine meadow 1250 m above the valley floor. About 140,000 m3 of unstable rock mass remained in place and might collapse partially or completely in the future. The instability showed clearly visible signs of movements along a tension crack since 1989 and accelerated creep with significant hydromechanical forcing since about 2006. Because the active rockslide at Preonzo threatened a large industrial facility and important transport routes located directly at the toe of the slope, an early warning system was installed in 2010. The thresholds for prealarm, general public alarm, and evacuation were derived from crack meter and total station monitoring data covering a period of about 10 years, supplemented with information from past failure events with similar predisposition. These thresholds were successfully applied to evacuate the industrial facility and to close important roads a few days before the catastrophic slope failure of May 15, 2012. The rock slope failure occurred in two events, exposing a compound rupture plane dipping 42° and generating deposits in the midslope portion with a travel angle of 39°. Three hours after the second rockslide, the fresh deposits became reactivated in a devastating debris avalanche that reached the foot of the slope but did not destroy any infrastructure. The final run-out distance of this combined rock collapse–debris avalanche corresponded to the predictions made in the year 2004.

Seismic moment tensor inversion using 3D velocity model and its application to the 2013 Lushan earthquake sequence

Source inversion of small-magnitude events such as aftershocks or mine collapses requires use of relatively high frequency seismic waveforms which are strongly affected by small-scale heterogeneities in the crust. In this study, we developed a new inversion method called gCAP3D for determining general moment tensor of a seismic source using Green's functions of 3D models. It inherits the advantageous features of the “Cut-and-Paste” (CAP) method to break a full seismogram into the Pnl and surface-wave segments and to allow time shift between observed and predicted waveforms. It uses grid search for 5 source parameters (relative strengths of the isotropic and compensated-linear-vector-dipole components and the strike, dip, and rake of the double-couple component) that minimize the waveform misfit. The scalar moment is estimated using the ratio of L2 norms of the data and synthetics. Focal depth can also be determined by repeating the inversion at different depths. We applied gCAP3D to the 2013 Ms 7.0 Lushan earthquake and its aftershocks using a 3D crustal-upper mantle velocity model derived from ambient noise tomography in the region. We first relocated the events using the double-difference method. We then used the finite-differences method and reciprocity principle to calculate Green's functions of the 3D model for 20 permanent broadband seismic stations within 200 km from the source region. We obtained moment tensors of the mainshock and 74 aftershocks ranging from Mw 5.2 to 3.4. The results show that the Lushan earthquake is a reverse faulting at a depth of 13–15 km on a plane dipping 40–47° to N46° W. Most of the aftershocks occurred off the main rupture plane and have similar focal mechanisms to the mainshock's, except in the proximity of the mainshock where the aftershocks' focal mechanisms display some variations.

Transpressional structures and hydrocarbon potential along the Romanche Fracture Zone: a review

Abstract The Romanche Fracture Zone was originally a corridor of Aptian-age dextral transtensional rifting along the Equatorial Atlantic margins. Late Albian plate tectonic compression occurred due to a change in plate vectors, when the African and South American continents were still in contact across a 500 km-long section of the Romanche Fracture Zone. This dextral compression produced reactivation of the rift faults to produce asymmetric landward-vergent anticlines and thrusts that trend ENE to NE. Fold-axial planes dip seaward, parallel to the rift faults. Minor asymmetric anticlines were developed on the long seaward-dipping fold limbs and these have subvertical axial planes. The asymmetry of the minor folds is due to the southward stratal dip having been oblique to the horizontal maximum principal stress during the Albian inversion. The folds on the African margin were subsequently tightened by compression in Santonian and Oligo-Miocene times. Aptian-age ENE strike-slip faults were reactivated during the compression phases to produce broad positive flower structures up to 30 km wide that formed topographical ridges along the original strike-slip faults. The intervening and broader flat-bottomed synclines do not appear to be associated with rift faults. The folding and thrust faulting created seabed relief of 1–2 km at the end of the Albian; evidenced by the amount of subsequent erosion that removed the better-quality reservoirs in the upper Albian sequence from the major fold crests. Consequently, there has been a significant number of failed oil exploration wells drilled along the fold crests. The fold ridges would have diverted turbidite channels in the onlapping Cenomanian–Campanian sequence and these will be preferentially located on the landward side of the anticlinal crests. Late Cretaceous stratigraphic and structural traps located between the major anticlines have not yet been explored for hydrocarbons along the Romanche Fracture Zone margins.

Heavy-rainfall-induced catastrophic rockslide-debris flow at Sanxicun, Dujiangyan, after the Wenchuan Ms 8.0 earthquake

This paper uses the catastrophic rockslide at Sanxicun village in Dujianyan city as an example to investigate the formation mechanism of a rapid and long run-out rockslide-debris flow of fractured/cracked slope, under the application of a rare heavy rainfall in July 2013. The slope site could be affected by the Wenchuan Ms 8.0 Earthquake in 2008. The sliding involved the thick fractured and layered rockmass with a gentle dip plane at Sanxicun. It had the following formation process: (1) toppling due to shear failure at a high-level position, (2) shoveling the accumulative layer below, (3) forming of debris flow of the highly weathered bottom rockmass, and (4) flooding downward along valley. The debris flow destroyed 11 houses and killed 166 people. The run-out distance was about 1200 m, and the accumulative volume was 1.9 × 106 m3. The rockslide can be divided into sliding source, shear-shoveling, and flow accumulative regions. The stability of this fractured rock slope and the sliding processes are discussed at four stages of cracking, creeping, separating, and residual accumulating, under the applications of hydrostatic pressure and uplift pressure. This research also investigates the safety factors under different situations. The double rheological model (F-V model) of the DAN-W software is utilized to simulate the kinematic and dynamic processes of the shear-shoveling region and debris flow. After the shear failure occurred at a high-level position of rock, the rockslide moved for approximately 47 s downward along the valley with a maximum velocity of 35 m/s. This is a typical rapid and long run-out rockslide. Finally, this paper concludes that the identification of the potential geological hazards at the Wenchuan mountain area is crucial to prevent catastrophic rockslide triggered by heavy rainfall. The identified geological hazards should be properly considered in the town planning of the reconstruction works.

Controls on bedrock bedform development beneath the Uummannaq Ice Stream onset zone, West Greenland

This paper investigates the controls on the formation of subglacially eroded bedrock bedforms beneath the topographically confined region upstream of the Uummannaq Ice Stream (UIS). During the last glacial cycle, palaeoglaciological conditions are believed to have been similar for all sites in the study, characterised by thick, fast-flowing ice moving over a rigid bedrock bed. Classic bedrock bedforms indicative of glacially eroded terrain were mapped, including p-forms, roches moutonnées, and whalebacks. Bedform long axes and plucked face orientations display close correlation (parallel and perpendicular) to palaeo-ice flow directions inferred from striae measurements. Across all sites, elongation ratios (length to width) varied by an order of magnitude between 0.8:1 and 8.4:1. Bedform properties (length, height, width, and long axis orientation) from four subsample areas, form morphometrically distinct populations, despite their close proximity and hypothesised similarity in palaeoglaciological conditions.Variations in lithology and geological structures (e.g., joint frequency; joint dip; joint orientation; bedding plane thickness; and bedding plane dip) provide lines of geological weakness, which focus the glacial erosion, in turn controlling bedform geometries. Determining the relationship (s) between bedding plane dip relative to palaeo-ice flow and bedform shape, relative length, amplitude, and wavelength has important ramifications for understanding subglacial bed roughness, cavity formation, and likely erosion style (quarrying and/or abrasion) at the ice-bed interface. This paper demonstrates a direct link between bedrock bedform geometries and geological structure and emphasises the need to understand bedrock bedform characteristics when reconstructing palaeoglaciological conditions.

Elucidating the geometry of the active Shanchiao Fault in the Taipei metropolis, northern Taiwan, and the reactivation relationship with preexisting orogen structures

The Shanchiao Fault is an active normal fault with documented paleoearthquakes in the Taipei metropolis, Taiwan. While posing direct seismic threat on the multimillion population, its crustal-scale fault plane configuration has not been constrained. This study presents the first attempt to resolve the fault plane dip changes of the Shanchiao Fault within the upper crust by forward modeling late Quaternary deformation. Tectonic subsidence over the last ~23 ka is estimated from vertical displacements of a rapidly formed alluvial fan horizon deformed into a dramatic rollover monocline. A 2-D profile across the Shanchiao Fault is chosen for elastic half-space dislocation modeling, and the results suggest that the fault is listric in the shallow crust with an abrupt change from subvertical ramp (85°–75°) to near-horizontal flat (10°–15°) at 3–4 km depth, consistent with an origin from the inversion of an orogen-related thrust detachment. Given the presence of rift-related fabrics in the underthrust Chinese Continental Margin basement beneath the Taiwanese orogenic wedge, listric ramp-flat-ramp models with a second deeper bend to 60° dip are also tested. Reasonable fits with the geological observations are produced when the lower ramp is located at greater than 8 km depth, which correlates with the hypocentral location of a moderate earthquake in 2004. Joint reactivation of preexisting thrust and rift faults by the Shanchiao Fault is therefore plausible with implications for seismic hazard in the Taipei area.

The Rupture Process and Location of the 2003 Zemmouri–Boumerdes Earthquake (Mw 6.8) Inferred from Seismic and Geodetic Data

This work is a study of the earthquake (Mw 6.8) that occurred on May 21, 2003 in Zemmouri–Boumerdes (Algeria) using methodology based on teleseismic data, uplift measurements, and synthetic aperture radar data. As a starting point, we fix the two source fault models obtained in this work (Solution 1: strike = 64°, dip = 50°, and rake = 97°; Solution 2: strike 256°, dip 40°, and rake = 91°) with a length of 60 km and width of 20 km to calculate the slip distribution that best explains the seismic and geodetic observations. The interferometric fringes revealed a strong displacement in the satellite direction (~53 cm) along the coast of Algeria between the cities of Boumerdes and Zemmouri. The inversion of teleseismic body waves for the two focal solution types (one plane dipping to the SE and the second plane dipping to the NW) showed distinct ruptures. However, both bilateral ruptures included two asperities, one near the hypocentre and the other at a shallower location. The maximum slip (Solution 1 = 3.8 m and Solution 2 = 4.0 m) occurred near the hypocentre in both seismic source models. The surface displacement model was obtained with Okada’s equations using the EDCMP algorithm. The three components of the displacements calculated were projected regarding the satellite direction (LOS—line-of-sight) for comparison with the interferogram. The geographic location of the fault plane was determined by comparing the uplift measurements with the vertical displacement models calculated with the source at several locations. The surface displacements calculated from these source models indicate that the model based on the SE plane and the epicentre location at 36.846°N and 3.660°E produces results closer to the interferogram and the uplift measurements.

Determination of the dip angles of Karayaka and Gokçe fault planes in Turkey by seismic reflection method

Along its track between Samsun and Adana, an oil pipeline was planned to cross two active faults among others: Gokce Fault located at 7 km south of Tokat and Karayaka Fault located at 45 km northeast of Tokat. Geological investigations suggest that both faults reveal reverse fault properties. Determination of the dip angles of the fault planes is crucial in pipeline construction. Fault plane dip angles can be best determined by seismic reflection methods. Although first few metres from the Earth’s surface are important in pipeline construction, few hundred metres of penetration depth are required for reliable fault identifications and fault-parameter computations. Two seismic profiles were accomplished on Gokce and Karayaka faults. Computations based on seismic depth sections obtained in this study reveal that the apparent dip angle of Gokce Fault is 84.6°, and the apparent dip angle of Karayaka Fault is 72.4°.

Failure Mode Analysis of Bedding Rock Slope Affected by Rock Mass Structural Plane

Based on the discrete element numerical simulation, the change of failure modes of slope influenced by parameters of rock mass structural plane is studied. It is shown the failure modes shift gradually from the bedding sliding failure modes to the sliding-bending failure modes with the increase of the strength of the rock mass structural plane; The slope failure modes are mainly sliding failure modes with the increasing of the normal and shear stiffness and spacing of rock structural plane. Failure modes shift from shearing slip failure modes to shearing slip and buckling failure modes and finally to the tilting failure modes with the increase of the rock structural plane dip angle. The impact of the rock structural plane cohesion to the slope stability is the greatest, and the stiffness is the least.

Magnetic Fabrics in Jingzhuba‐Shiwo Section of Foreland Fold Belt of the South Dabashan: Constraints on Its Tectonic Evolution

AbstractA detailed investigation of the structural geometry and magnetic fabrics together with rock magnetism has been carried out along Jingzhuba‐Shiwo section located in the foreland fold belt of the South Dabashan, which aims to shed light on the superimposed deformation and tectonic evolution. As a whole, the intensity of deformation decreases from the northeast to the southwest, and the axial planes dip northeastward and the hinges of large‐scale folds plunge northwestward at small angle. Moreover, the maximum principal stress indicates that the compression of the South Dabashan is dominant as per palaeostress analysis. The sampling horizons before the Late Jurassic are mainly characterized by magnetic fabrics in deformed rocks, whereas the sampling horizons ranging from the Late Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous are characterized by incipient magnetic fabrics in weakly deformed rocks. The magnetic lineations are dominantly oriented NW‐SE and remain almost parallel to the main tectonic structures of the section, suggesting that AMS can be ascribed to tectonic processes. Also there are two types of unusual magnetic fabrics revealed. The first one merely occurring in the northeast section is characterized by an oblique magnetic foliation with respect to bedding, which is related with parallel‐bedding simple shear during fold growth. The other one caused by tectonic superimposition is characterized by an oblique magnetic lineation with respect to bedding strike. The plunges of Kmin increase with decreasing deformation intensity from northeast to southwest along the section, which can be taken as a gauge to distinguish the deformation intensity of weakly‐deformed sedimentary rocks according to the relativity. Consequently it can be concluded that the superimposed structure of the section was formed by the combined compression which arose from the South Dabashan primarily and the Micangshan and the eastern Sichuan fold belt secondly during the Late Jurassic. Afterwards the compression from the South Dabashan was still dominant, the compression from the other two directions, however, became much weaker in the Early Cretaceous than in the Late Jurassic. Furthermore, the effects resulting from Qinling intracontinental orogeny during J3‐K1 and Xuefeng intracontinental deformation could be reflected by the results mentioned above, which can also provide evidences for exploration of continental dynamics.

Constraining fault friction by re-examining earthquake nodal plane dips

We have assembled a catalogue of well-constrained focal mechanisms for earthquakes that occurred on continental dip-slip faults that have experienced only small displacements during their current phase of activity. Nodal planes for both reverse- and normal-faulting events are seen to vary between ∼30° and ∼60°, and are concentrated towards the centre of this range. The observed distributions suggest the reactivation of structures with a low coefficient of friction (less than ∼0.3, and possibly as low as ≤0.1). We propose that this low coefficient of friction corresponds to the presence of weak materials in pre-existing fault zones.

Seismic activity beneath the Nankai trough revealed by DONET ocean-bottom observations

We conducted a detailed investigation of seismic activity from January 2011 to February 2013 along the Nankai trough off the Kii Peninsula, central Japan, by using data obtained from the DONET ocean-bottom observation network. The hypocenters are mostly within the subducting Philippine Sea (PHS) plate, although a few are along the plate boundary or in the sedimentary wedge below the Kumano forearc basin. The seismic activity can be separated into events above and below 20 km depth, which corresponds approximately to the Moho. The hypocenter distributions are distinctly different for these groups. The seismic activity in the oceanic crust can be further separated into three clusters. Most of the seismic activity recorded in our data represents aftershocks of the 2004 off the Kii Peninsula earthquakes (M JMA = 7.1, 7.4, and 6.5), which occurred in the PHS plate. The hypocenter distribution in the oceanic crust correlates well with the location of the Paleo-Zenisu ridge, which is formed by a chain of seamounts that is subducting beneath the forearc basin. The hypocenters in the uppermost mantle are aligned on a plane dipping to the southeast, consistent with the existence of a thrust fault cutting through the lithosphere of the oceanic plate. The focal mechanisms of the earthquakes show that the axis of compressive stress in the PHS plate is oriented N–S, almost perpendicular to the direction of plate convergence, indicating a complex tectonic regime in this region. These results suggest that intraplate shortening may be occurring in the subducting oceanic plate.

Dating brittle tectonic movements with cleft monazite: Fluid‐rock interaction and formation of REE minerals

AbstractTwo millimeter‐sized hydrothermal monazites from an open fissure (cleft) that developed late during a dextral transpressional deformation event in the Aar Massif, Switzerland, have been investigated using electron microprobe and ion probe. The monazites are characterized by high Th/U ratios typical of other hydrothermal monazites. Deformation events in the area have been subdivided into three phases: (D1) main thrusting including formation of a new schistosity, (D2) dextral transpression, and (D3) local crenulation including development of a new schistosity. The two younger deformational structures are related to a subvertically oriented intermediate stress axis, which is characteristic for strike slip deformation. The inferred stress environment is consistent with observed kinematics and the opening of such clefts. Therefore, the investigated monazite‐bearing cleft formed at the end of D2 and/or D3, and during dextral movements along NNW dipping planes. Interaction of cleft‐filling hydrothermal fluid with wall rock results in rare earth element (REE) mineral formation and alteration of the wall rock. The main newly formed REE minerals are Y‐Si, Y‐Nb‐Ti minerals, and monazite. Despite these mineralogical changes, the bulk chemistry of the system remains constant and thus these mineralogical changes require redistribution of elements via a fluid over short distances (centimeter). Low‐grade alteration enables local redistribution of REE, related to the stability of the accessory phases. This allows high precision isotope dating of cleft monazite. 232Th/208Pb ages are not affected by excess Pb and yield growth domain ages between 8.03 ± 0.22 and 6.25 ± 0.60 Ma. Monazite crystallization in brittle structures is coeval or younger than 8 Ma zircon fission track data and hence occurred below 280°C.

Relocation of the mainshock and aftershock sequences of M S7.0 Sichuan Lushan earthquake

The mainshock of April 20, 2013 Sichuan Lushan M S7.0 earthquake was relocated using a 3-D velocity model. Double difference algorithm was applied to relocate aftershock sequences of Lushan earthquake. The locations of 2405 aftershocks were determined. The location errors in E-W, N-S and U-D direction were 0.30, 0.29 and 0.59 km on average, respectively. The location of the mainshock is 102.983°E, 30.291°N and the focal depth is 17.6 km. The relocation results show that the aftershocks spread approximately 35 km in length and 16 km in width. The dominant distribution of the focal depth ranges from 10 to 20 km. A few earthquakes occurred in the shallow crust. Focal depth profiles show fault planes dip to the northwest, manifested itself as a listric thrust fault. The dip angle is steep in the shallow crust and gentle in the deep crust. Although the epicenters of aftershocks distributed mainly along both sides of the Shuangshi-Dachuan fault, the seismogenic fault may be a blind thrust fault on the eastern side of the Shuangshi-Dachuan fault. Earthquake relocation results reveal that there is a southeastward tilt aftershock belt intersecting with the seismogenic fault with y-shape. We speculate it is a back thrust fault that often appears in a thrust fault system. Lushan earthquake triggered the seismic activity of the back thrust fault.

Geometry and kinematics of the Montelanico-Carpineto Backthrust (Lepini Mts., Latium) in the hangingwall of the early Messinian thrust front of the central Apennines: implications for the Apennine chain building

The paper updates knowledge on the Montelanico-Carpineto Backthrust, which is confined in the Lepini Mts. thrust sheet, at the hangingwall of the Neogene Latina Valley Thrust Front.The local stratigraphic setting consists of a pre-orogenic succession of Mesozoic carbonates from the Latium-Abruzzi platform Auct. The carbonates are paraconformably overlain by Miocene ramp limestones, which evolve upwards into planktonic marls. The Sub-Ligurian unit thrusted over this dominantly carbonate succession.In the Latina Valley, siliciclastic turbidites (Frosinone Formation Auct.), which evolved from the above-mentioned Miocene units, constitute the upper Tortonian foredeep deposits, now preserved in the footwall of the Lepini Mts. thrust sheet. In the Segni-Montelanico area, conglomerates, unconformably overlying the carbonatebedrock and coeval with the Frosinone Formation, are interpreted as late Tortonian thrust-top deposits (Gavignano and Gorga unit). The Lepini Mts. ridge has two series of distinctive tectonic features: the first is related to the Neogene shortening events due to the Apennine chain building; the other results from Plio-Quaternary extensional events associated with the collapse of the Tyrrhenian margin.The Montelanico-Carpineto Backthrust, as evidenced by the structural survey, is a compressive fault plane dipping 45°-50° towards NE with a SW-verging dip-slip kinematics. The fault has an offset of about 700 m, ramp geometries and a cut-off of about 20°. The Montelanico-Carpineto Backthrust and the Latina Valley Thrust Front define a pop-up structure. The presumable age of the Montelanico-Carpineto Backthrust is the early Messinian, because the lateTortonian Gavignano and Gorga unit is involved in its brittle shear zone. This implies that the formation of the Montelanico-Carpineto Backthrust and of the related pop-up structure is coeval with the early Messinian thrusting of the Lepini Mts. thrust sheet upon the geodynamic propagation of the central Apennine chain-foredeep-foreland system.

Estimating Bedding Orientation From High-Resolution Digital Elevation Models

A high-resolution digital elevation model (DEM), generated from airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) remote sensing data, is used here to estimate the 3-D orientation of bedding planes. Methods for enhancement, manual identification and extraction of lineaments, and estimation of best fit planes representing bedding are presented and evaluated for a study area in folded metasedimentary rocks in northeast Tasmania, Australia. Estimated bedding plane dip directions are shown to be accurate and reliable when compared with field-based observations. The same cannot be said for dip angle estimates. It is likely that small errors in the location of a manually digitized lineament will affect dip estimation more than dip direction estimation, particularly for steeply dipping structures. Fold axis orientations calculated from the stereographic analysis of estimated bedding closely correspond to orientations determined from field data. The mean absolute differences $\pm$ standard error for 12 of the 14 regularly spaced domains located within the study area were $8.7^{\circ} \pm 1.2^{\circ}$ for the fold plunge and $4.9^{\circ} \pm 0.9^{\circ}$ for the fold trend. The techniques described here for the extraction of bedding plane orientations from high-resolution DEMs complement field-based geological mapping and can assist structural interpretations.

Buried active faults in the Zafferana Etnea territory (south-eastern flank of Mt. Etna): geometry and kinematics by earthquake relocation and focal mechanisms

&lt;p&gt;We relocated seismicity that occurred from 2000 to 2005 inside a sector of Mt. Etna, comprising the town of Zafferana Etnea, using the double-difference technique. This approach revealed some spatial clusters of events at depths of 3.0 km to 5.5 km b.s.l., which suggested NE-SW-oriented and NNW-SSE-oriented active structures located west and north-west with respect to Zafferana Etnea. We also calculated 64 fault plane solutions, and azimuth and dip distributions of maximum compression P axes. The data include eight events with magnitudes between 3.1 and 3.7 that caused damage to Zafferana Etnea. This approach has allowed the definition of the geometry of structures that show no surface evidence, but are potentially hazardous for this territory. These faults might be linked to the regional tectonics, although they were activated by stress changes related to a general pressurizing of the Mt. Etna magma system between 2000 and 2005.&lt;/p&gt;