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    The relationships between regional Quaternary uplift, deformation across active normal faults and historical seismicity in the upper plate of subduction zones: The Capo D’Orlando Fault, NE Sicily

    Meschis, Marco and Roberts, Gerald P. and Robertson, Jennifer and Briant, Rebecca (2018) The relationships between regional Quaternary uplift, deformation across active normal faults and historical seismicity in the upper plate of subduction zones: The Capo D’Orlando Fault, NE Sicily. Tectonics 37 (5), pp. 1231-1255. ISSN 0278-7407.

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    Abstract

    In order to investigate deformation within the upper plate of the Calabrian subduction zone we have mapped and modelled a sequence of Late Quaternary palaeoshorelines tectonically-deformed by the Capo D’Orlando normal fault, NE Sicily, which forms part of the actively deforming Calabrian Arc. In addition to the 1908 Messina Strait earthquake (Mw 7.1), this region has experienced damaging earthquakes, possibly on the Capo D’Orlando Fault, however, it is not considered by some to be a potential seismogenic source. Uplifted Quaternary palaeoshorelines are preserved on the hangingwall of the Capo D’Orlando Fault, indicating that hangingwall subsidence is counteracted by regional uplift, likely because of deformation associated with subduction/collision. We attempt to constrain the relationship between regional uplift, crustal extensional processes and historical seismicity, and we quantify both the normal and regional deformation signals. We report uplift variations along the strike of the fault and use a synchronous correlation technique to assign ages to palaeoshorelines, facilitating calculation of uplift rates and the fault throw-rate. Uplift rates in the hangingwall increase from 0.4 mm/yr in the centre of the fault to 0.89 mm/yr beyond its SW fault tip, suggesting 0.5 mm/yr of fault related subsidence, which implies a throw-rate of 0.63 ± 0.02 mm/yr, and significant seismic hazard. Overall, we emphasise that upper plate extension and related vertical motions complicate the process of deriving information on the subduction/collision process, such as coupling and slip distribution on the subduction interface, parameters that are commonly inferred for other subduction zones without considering upper plate deformation.

    Metadata

    Item Type: Article
    Additional Information: Accepted for publication. Copyright American Geophysical Union. Further reproduction or electronic distribution is not permitted.
    Keyword(s) / Subject(s): Quaternary, palaeoshorelines, uplift‐rate, normal‐faulting, synchronous correlation method, sea‐level changes
    School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Natural Sciences
    Research Centres and Institutes: Earth and Planetary Sciences, Institute of
    Depositing User: Gerald Roberts
    Date Deposited: 31 May 2018 15:22
    Last Modified: 02 Aug 2023 17:42
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/22605

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