contemporaneous extension and compression in the northern apennines from earthquake fault plane solutions summary the northern apenninic arc belongs to the deformation zones surrounding the adriatic plate which behaves as a rigid block it is a ne verging fold and thrust belt which developed since the miocene with the migration of an extensional compressional pair previous seismological data are roughly in agreement with this deformation picture although the outer compressional front was not clearly defined by the few available solutions in this work we confirm the existence of two adjacent zones of contemporaneous extension and compression in the northern apennines defining the extent of these two zones and their interim1 deformation better than was previously done this is accomplished through the analysis of 125 new focal mechanisms of earthquakes 2 6 md 4 8 recorded by the national network of the lstituto nazionale di geofisica in the period 1988 1995 the two deformation zones are clearly separated and lie very close to each other with a partial overlapping in the emilian tuscan apennines strikeslip events are scattered in most of the study area thrust faulting earthquakes are located in the internal part of the most recently active thrust front middle upper pleistocene there is a general trend of the compressional p axes of thrust fault and strike slip solutions to be perpendicular to the apenninic direction in the external zone while the tensional axes of the normal fault and strike slip solutions in the belt do not show a uniform orientation however clearly evident is the ene direction of extension in the peri tyrrhenian region consistent with the direction of shmln in the quaternary volcanoes of this region inferred from borehole breakouts and microearthquake fault plane solutions we determined the orientation of the stress tensor in the two main deformation zones by inversion of the 125 fault plane solutions determined in this study we found that the external belt is characterized by ne sw compression ol horizontal oriented n45 e while a normal faulting regime with o3 e w oriented is characteristic of the umbria tuscany back arc region

modification of a linear bar trough system by a standing edge wave abstract detailed fluid motions and bathymetric changes in the lacustrine nearshore zone at wymbolwood beach georgian bay canada were monitored during storms to test theoretical postulates about the importance of low frequency wave motions to nearshore circulation of water and sediments eighteen continuous resistance wave staffs and two electromagnetic current meters were deployed along one shore normal and two shore parallel instrument arrays over a period of two months during one intense storm a mode 3 standing edge wave at 0 035 hz was the predominant low frequency motion prior to the storm the bathymetry was characterized by linear bar trough systems and during the storm these features migrated onshore and became rhythmic in response to the length scales and relatively fixed locations of nodal and antinodal lines of the standing edge wave however a well defined crescentic bar as predicted by the model under the condition of zero net sediment flux divergence did not evolve because the hydrodynamic forcing ceased before an equilibrium condition could be attained nevertheless the location of scour and accretion features demonstrated the tendency towards such a crescentic form the offshore and alongshore irregularities of the post storm bathymetry are not readily explained by alternative hydrodynamic interactions

longshore bar and trough systems in a microtidal storm wave dominated coast the ebro delta northwestern mediterranean abstract the ebro delta coast is a microtidal sandy shoreline affected by a low energy mean wave climate consecutive topographical and bathymetrical surveys during the years 1990 and 1991 have allowed us to identify nine major longshore bar and trough systems as the main morphological feature of the ebro coast bar systems show high mobility both cross shore and longshore the cross shore migration of these systems may be landward or seaward with mean migration rates of up to 0 25 m day the longshore migration is produced by the longitudinal growth of the bar systems in the downdrift direction with rates of up to 11 m day the major morphological changes in the nearshore zone occurred during storm periods when the nearshore profile is modified as a consequence of shoreline erosion and the cross shore migration and longshore growth of the bar systems produced by these events the modifications in the nearshore profile may continue during some months after the storm before attaining a new equilibrium profile a descriptive model relating the shoreline displacement with the cross shore migration and the longshore growth of the bar and trough systems is proposed

suspended sediment transport and nearshore bar formation on a shallow intermediate state beach abstract estimates of cross shore suspended sediment flux were obtained during a 3 day storm event on the north sea coast of denmark the suspended sediment flux estimates were correlated with volumetric beach change as registered at 28 permanently deployed survey rods crossing the intertidal beach and inner surf zones during this storm a nearshore bar initially migrated onshore and welded to the beach face at its updrift end subsequently a new bar formed on the seaward slope of the former suspended sediment transport recorded using optical backscatter sensors and electromagnetic current meters corresponded well qualitatively with the morphological evolution indications are that such measurements may account for a significant fraction of the actual cross shore sediment transport the onshore migration of the nearshore bar was the result of onshore directed mean currents associated with a cell circulation renewed bar formation took place when this circulation was locally replaced by an offshore directed mean current undertow suspended sediment transport due to oscillatory waves at incident and infragravity frequencies was generally subordinate to the mean transport

tectono sedimentary analysis of a complex extensional neogene basin formed on thrust faulted northern apennines hinterland radicofani basin italy abstract large nw se oriented neogene quaternary structural depressions up to about 200 km long and 25 km wide have developed on the western side hinterland of the northern apennines over thrust substrate the depressions are now for the most part laterally bounded by normal faults and are longitudinally separated into basins by transfer zones a debate exists in the literature as to whether these basins have developed as half graben under a predominantly extensional regime since late miocene or as thrust top basins under a predominantly compressional regime that has continued until the pleistocene the radicofani basin is one of the best preserved basins it developed mainly during the late miocene early pliocene in the southern half of the siena radicofani structural depression and is now bounded on the east by normal faults that transect a thrust anticline nose in the substrate to the north by a substrate high or transfer zone and to the south and west by quaternary igneous volcanic edifices the basin experienced variable differential tectonic and associated sedimentation along linking normal boundary faults along its eastern margin it shows the development of thick 600 m alluvial fans that developed in relay areas between boundary faults and transverse faults and transfer zones well exposed sections generally show upward transitions from conglomeratic alluvial fans to shoreface sandstone to offshore mudstones locally the transition is marked by deltas primarily characterised by thick gravelly sandy stacked cross sets the thicker sandy gravel to gravelly sand cross sets 5 8 m thick are interpreted as gilbert type deltas interstratified thinner 0 5 1 m thick generally openwork gravelly strata are part of delta topset assemblages and probably represent prograding fluvial bars tectonic movements provided the accommodation space for the total 2700 m thick basin fill sea level fluctuations that led to the repeated development of the cross sets may also have been influenced by climatic or eustatic changes possibly related to the effects of early antarctic glaciations some features of the radicofani basin can be found in both extensional and compressional basins however the position of the basin in the mountain chain and the development of alluvial fans fandeltas and associated deposits along the main boundary fault combined with structural evidence from seismic lines show that during the early pliocene this basin best conforms to existing models of half graben

a new view of italian seismicity using 20 years of instrumental recordings in this paper we show the seismicity of the past 20 years that occurred in italy and surrounding regions hypocentral locations have been obtained by using p and s wave arrival times from the ingv national and several regional permanent seismic networks more than 48 000 events selected from an original data set of about 99 780 are used to reconstruct the most complete seismic picture of the italian region so far the seismicity distribution allows inference on seismotectonics of this complex region of subduction versus continental collision our results clearly reveal the geometry of the adria and the ionian subduction and a continuous normal fault belt in the upper crust following the apennines mountain range the depth of the seismogenic layer is computed from the cut off of seismicity at depth and shows large variations along and across the seismic active regions earthquakes are generated by the different velocity of slab retreat and the subsequent asthenospheric upwelling d 2004 elsevier b v all rights reserved

extensional and strike slip tectonics across the monte amiata monte cetona transect northern apennines italy and seismotectonic implications abstract this paper deals with the structural evolution along a transect across the inner northern apennines monte amiata volcano geothermal area monte cetona mainly focussing on the post orogenic middle miocene quaternary structures the tectonic setting of the study area derives from the superimposition of three main faulting events the first and second events developed during the middle late miocene and early middle pliocene respectively and took place in response to extensional tectonics the third faulting event developed in a transcurrent transtensional setting during the quaternary quaternary faults mainly strike ne sw and show left lateral kinematics with a minor dip slip normal component they caused the monte amiata volcanic eruptions 300 190 ka and controlled the widespread pleistocene and present hydrothermal fluids circulation quaternary strike slip faults have been documented in the monte amiata monte cetona area for the first time in this paper correlation with the adjoining areas e g vulsini region identifies the quaternary strike slip faulting recognised in the study area as a feasible source for the seismic activity in the monte amiata region where the origin of diffuse low magnitude seismicity is still under debate and poorly understood

geological structure of a long living geothermal system larderello italy we have examined the data of 600 geothermal wells and re interpreted approximately 500 km seismic profiles through the field of larderello italy we conclude that the two main seismic reflectors present below the geothermal area host two different fluids 1 superheated steam in the upper h horizon reached by drillholes and 2 supercritical fluid in the deeper k horizon reached by few unproductive or damaged wells the superheated steam has the physical and chemical connotation of the geothermal fluid exploited so far at larderello whereas the supercritical fluid represents a potential unconventional deep seated resource still to be assessed the high temperatures existing in correspondence of the k horizon suggest that the silica rich rocks are close to a plastic state and the fluids should remain confined in a medium sealed to the confining rocks unless occasional fluid overpressure and abrupt high strain rates occur

wave energy saturation on a natural beach of variable slope time series of flow were measured across the inner surf zone during a storm these data were used to quantify the dependence of wave height transformed from measured flow and velocity on local slope and depth similar to previous studies as incident waves broke and propagated into the surf zone wave energy became saturated and wave height was strongly dependent on depth however the ratio of rms wave height to local depth rms was found not to be constant but to vary between 0 29 and 0 55 rms increased with local slope and was independent of deepwater wave steepness thus the surf zone similarity parameter the ratio of slope to the square root of steepness did not adequately parameterize rms

restricted rifting and its coexistence with compressional structures results from the crop 3 traverse northern apennines italy a geological interpretation of the deep seismic reflection line crop 3 italian program crosta profonda deep crust profile no 3 which crosscuts the northern apennines from the tyhrrenian to the adriatic coast is presented the profile images the lithosphere up to 15 s twt and highlights several peculiarities a the lower crust is bedded by discontinuous sub parallel reflective markers which terminate at 7 s beneath the western side of the profile b in the same area a notable reflection is recognizable at 10 s and is interpreted as the top of the asthenosphere c east plunging shear zones are recognizable throughout the crust by contrast the adriatic outer side of this line shows a reflections deepening westward from 13 to 15 s twt related to the base of the crust 33 38 km depth b the absence of thick bedding of reflective markers within the lower crust and c tectonic structures affecting the basement which are different from those which deform the cover of the northern apennines geological interpretation is based on the eastward migration of ductile shear zones which have been recognized on the seismic line the bending of the outer zone crust is considered to be a consequence of the rifting process with the application of pushing forces against the adriatic lithosphere which cannot escape toward east

infragravity response to variable wave forcing in the nearshore 1 analysis of field observations of sea surface elevation reveals the role of time varying incident forcing and bound wave release mechanisms on the generation of infragravity waves on a barred beach observations of infragravity response were obtained during sea breeze and swell periods with wave height varying from 0 2 to 1 2 m and wave period from 3 to 16 s the observations show a stronger infragravity response to longer period incident swell than to short period wind sea during the peak of the sea breeze short period wind sea is conducive to long wave generation by breakpoint forcing under swell dominated conditions the frequency and wave number of incoming bound waves associated with wave groups may satisfy the linear dispersion relationship leading to resonant forcing of a free wave that appears to be released from the wave group the transition between long wave generation due to bound wave release and time varying breakpoint forcing agrees with the surf beat similarity parameter

the influence of long waves on macrotidal beach morphology the aim of the following paper is to demonstrate that standing long waves can generate intertidal morphological features in a dissipative macrotidal setting in this environment the tidal excursion can exceed the length scales associated with long waves this extends the work of simmonds et al 1995 in which it was shown that monochromatic long waves could generate sediment convergence patterns that bore a good similarity to observed topographic features namely ridges and runnels from a field site on the belgian coast the simulation is modified to include a band of long waves and it is found that a good correspondence with real topography can still be achieved on a tidally averaged basis by allowing for a degree of uncertainty in the breaking criterion it is also argued why the observed scales are more likely to correspond with the shorter end of the long wave spectrum the simulation helps to shed light on the conditions in which such features are known to form

the development and behaviour of low angle normal faults during cenozoic asymmetric extension in the northern apennines italy abstract movements on low angle normal faults lanf are not predicted by traditional anderson byerlee frictional fault mechanics our investigations centre on three normal fault systems active at distinct times during the regional extension of the northern apennines with each showing different degrees of crustal exhumation these are from e to w the altotiberina fault system umbria the radicofani fault system tuscan mainland and the zuccale fault system isle of elba regional extension has been a continuous process since middle miocene migrating progressively from west to east with deformation accommodated by a set of e to ne dipping lanf and more steeply sw dipping antithetic structures the lanf acted as regional detachments accommodating a majority of the extension in the northern apennines with individual faults exhibiting several kilometres of displacement regionally the stress field has been characterised by a vertical 1 and a ne sw tuscan mainland and umbria to e w elba trending 3 where exposed at the surface the main lanf detachments possess a well developed fault core of foliated fault rocks in which fluids have played a key role in weakening due to reaction softening and the onset of stress induced solution precipitation mechanisms we speculate that the e dipping normal faults initiated with relatively low angles of dip due to differential drag generated by mantle flow following slab retreat and roll back beneath the apennine chain

correlation between seismic reflectivity and rheology in extended lithosphere southern tuscany inner northern apennines italy abstract in southern tuscany inner zone of the northern apennines the lithosphere has been affected by extensional deformation since the middle miocene and is characterized by high heat flow 120 mw m 2 both local shallow and regional deep seismic reflection profiles clearly show the occurrence of a sharp reflector k horizon within the upper crust which is probably located at the top of a shear zone acting as the decollement horizon for the latest pliocene quaternary normal faults its depth varies between 3 and 6 km in geothermal areas and 9 and 12 km elsewhere borehole control in the geothermal areas shows that it occurs at a temperature of approximately 450 c the hypothesis that the k horizon represents the top of the brittle ductile transition agrees with two lines of evidence a it approximately follows the same isotherm over the whole region and b its depth coincides with rheological predictions of the brittle ductile transition for the range of high pore fluid pressures and strain rates estimated for southern tuscany it appears therefore that at least under specific conditions very high pore fluid pressures strain concentration the brittle ductile transition may have a seismic signature

sediment transport on dissipative intermediate and reflective beaches abstract in this paper we review and synthesize field measurements of suspended sediment transport on the shoreface of dissipative intermediate and reflective beach states the morphodynamic beach state continuum was originally established in the 1970s but at the time only hydrodynamic processes and morphologies in these various states were described since the early 1980s when sensors capable of resolving suspended sediment concentration at intra wave time scale became available many studies have examined suspended sediment transport by waves and currents on the shoreface the synthesis of this work shows that the two end states in the morphodynamic continuum which are the dissipative and reflective states exhibit relatively small rates of cross shore sediment transport and weak gradients in that transport which both ensure that the nearshore morphology is relatively stable the intervening intermediate beach states typically exhibit prominent bar topographies and in these states strong morphodynamic feedbacks between hydrodynamic processes and morphology create locally large transport rates and sharp transport gradients which is the reason for the dynamic nature of these beach states transport processes driving sediment onshore and offshore within beach states are discussed as well as the transport processes responsible for state transitions

crustal structures in the geothermal areas of southern tuscany italy insights from the crop 18 deep seismic reflection lines abstract two deep seismic reflection lines named crop 18a and 18b and roughly nnw sse oriented were acquired to investigate the crust between the larderello and the mt amiata geothermal areas both located in southern tuscany since the early middle miocene southern tuscany has been affected by extensional tectonics and since the pliocene by widespread magmatism presently extension is demonstrated by ne dipping normal faults and brittle shear zones which affect the crust down to the brittle ductile transition in the larderello area these shear zones are seismically evidenced by ne dipping weak reflections and by the loss of the k horizon reflectivity a regional mid crustal high amplitude reflector located at the top of the brittle ductile transition the crop 18a and 18b lines were reprocessed down to 10 s twt down to the crust mantle boundary their reflectivity results are closely related to the direction of the survey a clear decrease in reflectivity occurs when the survey plane intersects the crustal shear zones along strike nevertheless both lines display segments with low reflectivity and homogeneous acoustic impedance which indicate intrusive magmatic bodies at different crustal levels a wide partially crystallised granitoid may be sited at about 7 8 km depth underneath the larderello geothermal field in the lower part of the crust the crop 18a and 18b transects show group of bright reflections mainly related to the occurrence of pressurised fluids and or lithological differences the base of the crust is located at about 20 km depth

statistical occurrence analysis and spatio temporal distribution of earthquakes in the apennines italy abstract we present two examples of statistical analysis of seismicity conducted by integrating geological geophysical and seismological data with the aim to characterize the active stress field and to define the spatio temporal distribution of large earthquakes moreover our data will help to improve the knowledge of the seismogenic behavior of the areas and to provide useful information for seismic hazard evaluation the earthquakes are described by two non parametric statistical procedures integrating also tectonic physical parameters to study the spatio temporal variability the results show that the areas are characterized by 1 a stress regime with mainly extensional kinematics 2 tectonic structures mainly oriented with the active stress field s hmin n44 18 in the southern apennines and s hmin n50 17 in the central apennines 3 cluster distribution of seismicity and 4 a high probability of earthquake occurrence m 5 5 in the next 10 years

beach steps an evolutionary perspective abstract field observation of contrasting beach step behavior at canaveral national seashore on two subsequent days when incident wave conditions in the inner surf zone were similar prompted this re examination of our conceptual and quantitative understanding of beach steps these lower foreshore features are more complex than previously assumed evolving through erosional as well as accretional phases and displaying equifinality in geometric form but not necessarily internal sedimentary structure past and recent evidence is reviewed that links beach steps to incident waves at the surging plunging transition and to the action of a backwash vortex tides and low frequency waves likely play no direct role in beach step initiation although their presence can have pronounced influences on modulating nearshore hydrodynamics and thus on beach step maintenance and evolution a generalized conceptual model capturing these aspects of beach step dynamics is presented beach step initiation proceeds via step carving excavation or building depending on the erosional accretional character of the beach foreshore system subsequent evolution of the step form may take one of several alternative morphodynamic pathways including stepface retreat step drag down or step infilling elimination depending on tidal stage range or wave set up setdown additional data on equilibrium beach step forms and associated morphodynamic and hydrodynamic conditions in the field are necessary before quantitative models of beach step existence and evolution can be formulated with realistic results

coastal geomorphology through the looking glass abstract coastal geomorphology will gain future prominence as environmentally sound coastal zone management strategies requiring scientific information begin to supplant engineered shoreline stabilization schemes for amelioration of coastal hazards we anticipate substantial change and progress over the next two decades but we do not predict revolutionary advances in theoretical understanding of coastal geomorphic systems paradigm shifts will not occur knowledge will advance incrementally we offer predictions for specific coastal systems delineated according to scale for the surf zone we predict advances in wave shoaling theory but not for wave breaking we also predict greater understanding of turbulent processes and substantive improvements in surf zone circulation and radiation stress models very few of these improvements are expected to be incorporated in geomorphic models of coastal processes we do not envision improvements in the theory of sediment transport although some new and exciting empirical observations are probable at the beach and nearshore scale we predict the development of theoretically based two and three dimensional morphodynamical models that account for non linear time dependent feedback processes using empirically calibrated modules most of the geomorphic research effort however will be concentrated at the scale of littoral cells this scale is appropriate for coastal zone management because processes at this scale are manageable using traditional geomorphic techniques at the largest scale little advance will occur in our understanding of how coastlines evolve any empirical knowledge that is gained will accrue indirectly finally we contend that anthropogenic influences directly and indirectly will be powerful forces in steering the future of coastal geomorphology if you should suddenly feel the need for a lesson in humility try forecasting the future kleppner 1991 p 10

diverse subaerial and sublacustrine hot spring settings of the cerro negro epithermal system jurassic deseado massif patagonia argentina abstract the late jurassic 150 ma cerro negro volcanic epithermal geothermal system 15 km 2 area deseado massif patagonia argentina includes two inferred volcanic emission centers characterized by rhyolitic domes linked along nw se regional faults that are associated with deeper level au ag mineralization to the nw and with shallow epithermal quartz veins and mainly travertine surface hot spring manifestations to the se some travertines are silica replaced and siliceous and mixed silica carbonate geothermal deposits also are found five hot spring related facies associations were mapped in detail which show morphological and textural similarities to pleistocene recent geothermal deposits at yellowstone national park u s a the kenya rift valley and elsewhere they are interpreted to represent subaerial travertine fissure ridge mound deposits low flow spring discharge and apron terraces high flow spring discharge as well as mixed silica carbonate lake margin and shallow lake terrace vent conduit tubes stromatolitic mounds and volcano shaped cones the nearly 200 mapped fossil vent associated deposits at cerro negro are on a geographical and numerical scale comparable with subaerial and sublacustrine hydrothermal vents at mammoth hot springs and affiliated with yellowstone lake respectively overall the cerro negro geothermal system yields paleoenvironmentally significant textural details of variable quality owing to both the differential preservation potential of particular subaerial versus subaqueous facies as well as to the timing and extent of carbonate diagenesis and silica replacement of some deposits for example the western fault associated with the eureka epithermal quartz vein facilitated early silicification of the travertine deposits in the se volcanic emission center thereby preserving high quality microbial macro and micro textures of this silica replaced pseudosinter cerro negro provides an opportunity to reconstruct paleogeographic paleohydrologic and paleoenvironmental associations in a well exposed extensive and diverse fossil geothermal system this late jurassic hydrothermal deposit will likely contribute to a better understanding of the impact of depositional and post depositional history on the development and long term preservation potential of lagerstatte in epithermal settings and more generally in extreme environments of the geological record

volcanic spreading forcing and feedback in geothermal reservoir development amiata volcano italia abstract we made a stratigraphic structural and morphologic study of the amiata volcano in italy we find that the edifice is dissected by intersecting grabens that accommodate the collapse of the higher sectors of the volcano in turn a number of compressive structures and diapirs exist around the margin of the volcano these structures create an angular drainage pattern with stream damming and captures and a set of lakes within and around the volcano we interpret these structures as the result of volcanic spreading of amiata on its weak substratum formed by the late triassic evaporites burano anhydrites and the middle jurassic to early cretaceous clayey chaotic complexes ligurian complex regional doming created a slope in the basement facilitating the outward flow and spreading of the ductile layers forced by the volcanic load we model the dynamics of spreading with a scaled lubrication approximation of the navier stokes equations and numerically study a set of solutions in the model we include simple functions for volcanic deposition and surface erosion that change the topography over time scaling indicates that spreading at amiata could still be active the numerical solution shows that as the central part of the edifice sinks into the weak basement diapiric structures of the underlying formations form around the base of the volcano deposition of volcanic rocks within the volcano and surface erosion away from it both enhance spreading in addition a sloping basement may constitute a trigger for spreading and formation of trains of adjacent diapirs as a feedback the hot hydrothermal fluids decrease the shear strength of the anhydrites facilitating the spreading process finally we observe that volcanic spreading has created ideal heat traps that constitute todays exploited geothermal fields at amiata normal faults generated by volcanic spreading volcanic conduits and direct contact between volcanic rocks which host an extensive fresh water aquifer and the rocks of the geothermal field constitute ideal pathways for water recharge during vapour extraction for geothermal energy production we think that volcanic spreading could maintain faults in a critically stressed state facilitating the occurrence of induced and triggered seismicity

geochemical and petrological evidence of the subduction of delaminated adriatic continental lithosphere in the genesis of the neogene quaternary magmatism of central italy abstract serri g innocenti f and manetti p 1993 geochemical and petrological evidence of the subduction of delaminated adriatic continental lithosphere in the genesis of the neogene quaternary magmatism of central italy in m j r wortel u hansen and r sabadini editors relationships between mantle processes and geological processes at or near the earth s surface tectonophysics 223 117 147 the neogene quaternary magmatism of the northern apenninic arc took place in four phases separated in space and time which become progressively younger from west to east phase i 14 ma phase ii 7 3 6 0 ma phase iii 5 1 2 2 ma phase iv 1 3 0 1 ma this magmatism is the result of the activation of three physically separate sources 1 the adriatic continental crust extracted from the mantle in the late proterozoic 2 a strongly refractory recently k enriched harzburgitic mantle located in the mechanical boundary layer mbl of the lithosphere and 3 a recently metasomatized cpx rich mantle compositionally variable from iherzolite to wehrlite clinopyroxenite interpreted as an ephemerally k enriched asthenosphere the adriatic continental crust is the dominant source of the acid plutonic and volcanic rocks of the tuscan region the acid magmatism is mostly found inside an ellipsoidal area about 150 300 km centred on giglio island here defined as the tuscan crustal dome within this area mantle derived magmas unaffected by important crustal contamination processes and mixing with crustal anatectic melts have so far not been found pure crustal magmas are rare but are represented for example by some of the san vincenzo and roccastrada rhyolites virtually all the tuscan acid centres show evidence of mixing with potassic mantle derived magmas major and trace elements as well as 87 sr 86 sr and 143 nd 144 nd data on primitive rocks mg 65 reveal two groups of mantle derived magmas these define two distinct mantle enrichment trends both essentially due to the additions of k rich components which metasomatized separate compositionally diverse upper mantle sectors in both cases the most remarkable mineralogical effect of these enrichment processes is the production of variable amount of phlogopite through reaction between fluids and or melts with the mantle the rocks of group i ol hy and q normative lamproites ultrapotassic high mg latites ultrapotassic shoshonites and shoshonites saturated trend are considered to be derived by partial melting at low pressure 87 sr 86 sr 0 717 ce sr 0 3 and k 2 o na 2 o 6 7 and low ratios of 143 nd 144 nd 0 5121 0 5120 and ba la 87 sr 86 sr 0 712 and k 2 o na 2 o 8 9 values and low 143 nd 144 nd ba la 0 10 ratios these constraints do not allow to exclude a complete identity between the k rich components which metasomatized the mantle sources of the saturated and undersaturated trend magmas the geochemical and isotopic features of the components that metasomatized the mantle sources of the northern apenninic arc magmatism can be explained by a geodynamic process which causes a large amount of crustal materials to be incorporated within the upper mantle we propose that the delamination and subduction of the adriatic continental lithosphere related to the still ongoing northern apennine continental collision provide a viable mechanism to explain the genesis and eastward discontinuous migration of the magmatism in central italy the subduction of delaminated lithospheric mantle with lower crustal slivers would have exposed uppermost mantle adriatic mbl and crustal units previously imbricated in the apennine chain to the heating advected by the upwelling of a recently and ephemerally k enriched asthenospheric mantle wedge and by the underplating of magmas derived from it we consider that the diapiric uprising of a hot crustally contaminated asthenosphere occurs in the wake left above the sinking of the adriatic delaminated subducting continental lithosphere the delamination subduction process of the adriatic lithosphere has probably started in the early middle miocene but earlier than 15 14 ma ago as indicated by the age and petrologic characteristics of the first magmatic episode sisco lamproite of the northern apennine orogenesis

foreshock statistics and their possible relationship to earthquake prediction in the italian region this study focuses on the foreshocks of earthquake sequences recorded by the italian national seismological network between 1975 and 1991 we consider as foreshocks events exceeding a given threshold magnitude that follow a period of quiescence and come before a mainshock occurring within a given time distance range the total number of potential foreshocks identified by the algorithm depends on the size and the duration of the predefined quiescence area whereas the number of mainshocks preceded by foreshocks depends also on the size of the area in which the event is expected and the duration of the alarm period our aim was to optimize the choice of the parameters defining potential foreshocks as precursors of stronger earthquakes in order to improve their validity and reliability a preliminary investigation carried over the whole italian territory allowed the definition of zones where foreshocks mainshocks series are likely to occur one of these zones is an area of about 32 000 km2 in central italy including a total of 2671 events of m 2 5 where there is a significant tendency of moderate shocks to be followed at short distance and in short time by larger shocks our method would lead to issuing 63 alarms with the optimal definition of foreshocks as events of magnitude exceeding 3 0 after at least 80 days of quiescence in an area of 140 km radius the rate of occurrence for mainshocks of magnitude exceeding 4 0 during the following 48 hours in the specified area of 30 km radius is 6 of 23 events the corresponding probability gain is about 150 for comparison another larger zone po valley with 453 events of m 2 5 exhibits only a rate of 1 of 82 precursors in this area most events are single shocks our analysis shows that the foreshock activity can be regarded as a significant earthquake precursor so suggesting that real time observation of seismicity can be used to improve the quality of an earthquake prediction system

infragravity waves over a natural barred profile measurements of cross shore flow were made across the surf zone during a storm as a nearshore bar became better developed and migrated offshore measured infragravity band spectra were compared to synthetic spectra calculated numerically over the natural barred profile assuming a white run up spectrum of leaky mode or high mode edge waves as in earlier studies the spectra compared closely however for some frequencies the energy of the measured spectrum exceeded the energy of the synthetic spectrum suggesting that the run up spectrum was not white but had dominating frequencies utilizing cross shore flow data and synthetic spectra from a number of cross shore locations an equivalent run up spectrum was calculated for each day on the first day of the storm the equivalent run up spectrum indicated a dominant wave that had a node in velocity reasonably close to the bar crest later during the storm when the bar had migrated farther offshore there was no evidence for a dominant motion having a velocity node at the bar crest the structure of the equivalent run up spectrum compared well with spectra of direct measurements of run up obtained several hundred meters away we have no clear evidence in support of the theory that infragravity waves might form or force the offshore migration of a bar to confirm this finding longer records obtained synoptically over a developing bar are required the dominant wave observed early in the storm was consistent with symond and bowen s 1984 theoretical prediction of resonant amplification of discrete frequencies over a barred profile

imaging the complexity of an active normal fault system the 1997 colfiorito central italy case study 1 six moderate magnitude earthquakes 5 mw 6 ruptured normal fault segments of the southern sector of the north apennine belt central italy in the 1997 colfiorito earthquake sequence we study the progressive activation of adjacent and nearby parallel faults of this complex normal fault system using 1650 earthquake locations obtained by applying a double difference location method using travel time picks and waveform cross correlation measurements the lateral extent of the fault segments range from 5 to 10 km and make up a broad 45 km long nw trending fault system the geometry of each segment is quite simple and consists of planar faults gently dipping toward sw with an average dip of 40 45 the fault planes are not listric but maintain a constant dip through the entire seismogenic volume down to 8 km depth we observe the activation of faults on the hanging wall and the absence of seismicity in the footwall of the structure the observed fault segmentation appears to be due to the lateral heterogeneity of the upper crust preexisting thrusts inherited from neogene s compressional tectonic intersect the active normal faults and control their maximum length the stress tensor obtained by inverting the six main shock focal mechanisms of the sequence is in agreement with the tectonic stress active in the inner chain of the apennine revealing a clear ne trending extension direction aftershock focal mechanisms show a consistent extensional kinematics 70 of which are mechanically consistent with the main shock stress field

standing edge waves on a pocket beach field measurements of edge waves obtained on a narrow pocket beach are described the beach named usgo is located on the north coast of spain immediately to the west of the city of santander and is exposed to the atlantic ocean the edge wave field on this beach is analyzed utilizing data from a longshore array of current meters located in about 3 m of water depth frequency spectra of longshore velocities display several significant peaks suggesting that the edge wave field on this pocket beach consists of several dominant modes this is in contrast to observations on open coastal beaches e g oltman shay and guza 1987 which show the existence of a broad banded edge wave field we isolate four frequency peaks and examine the longshore variation of the motions at these frequencies and find convincing evidence of a nodal structure utilizing the measured bathymetry we compute the cross shore profiles and theoretical wavelengths of edge waves at the dominant frequencies using a numerical solution of the shallow water equations by howd et al 1992 we find that edge waves at these frequencies are theoretically confined between the headlands since their amplitudes decay to insignificant levels within a cross shore distance that is less than the offshore extent of the headlands in addition assuming perfect sidewall reflections the theoretical nodal locations closely correspond to those inferred from the measurements we conclude that discrete standing edge waves resulting from resonances related to the longshore width of the beach are present on usgo beach

mapping capable faulting hazard in a moderate seismicity high heat flow environment the tuscia province southern tuscany northern latium italy abstract this study is focused on potential evidence of capable faulting affecting southern tuscany northern latium a region of high heat flow and moderate to low seismicity here we refer to this region as tuscia the latin name for the land of the etruscans the review of the evidence for active tectonics in this area has allowed us to identify several potentially active capable faults mapped using a combination of analysis of digital terrain models with remote sensing and local geological information derived from bibliographic data and different scale maps active and capable faulting is certainly more evident in the eastern sector of tuscia chianti cetona ridge pienza amiata and bolsena caldera however even in the western tuscia e g colline metallifere and tyrrhenian coast capable faulting may be hypothesized along numerous structural elements the characterization of active faulting potential in terms of geometry slip types and rates in such a high heat flow environment beyond its usefulness in improving the assessment of fault displacement and earthquake hazard also helps to improve knowledge of the stress field and structural setting of the many geothermal fields in the area this allows new useful insights into geothermal exploitation and hazard e g induced triggered seismicity moreover this new knowledge of active tectonics and capable faults of the hinterland sector of the northern apennines may also provide useful insights into the siting processes of highly hazardous and strategic structures and more generally in land use planning and management of infrastructures especially during emergencies

upper crustal structure of the larderello geothermal field as a feature of post collisional extensional tectonics southern tuscany italy abstract reflection seismic profiles crossing the larderello geothermal field permit the distinction of three different seismic facies units in the upper continental crust the upper 3 4 km of the crust is characterized by low reflectivity its base corresponding to a reflector referred to as the k horizon and recognized in many other areas of southern tuscany beneath this reflector a seismic facies of 0 8 1 0 twt thickness is characterized by strong convergent and divergent reflections forming a lozange shaped geometry the lowermost seismic facies is characterized by almost horizontal reflections based on the distribution of the hypocentral microearthquakes temperature data recorded in deep boreholes and the geometry of normal faults the k horizon is explained here as a kinematically active rheological boundary which separates a brittle upper part from a ductile lower part according to this hypothesis the k horizon and the lozange reflections could originate from a mylonite band located at the contact between two geological bodies characterized by different rheological behavior it is inferred that this horizon acts as a decoupling plane in the upper continental crust it developed as a consequence of the extensional tectonics and the high heat flow which characterize southern tuscany

trends in research on beaches and dunes on sandy shores 1969 2019 abstract trends in research on morphologic changes on beaches and foredunes on sandy shores are identified from the 1960s to the present research during this period evolved from early descriptive explanation and classification of profile change to instrumented field investigations to modelling of landform change at larger scales research efforts have become increasingly more collaborative with increasing use of field instrumentation data acquisition systems and remote sensing rich datasets are resulting in more comprehensive computational models human altered systems are of increasing interest but knowledge of these systems lags far behind knowledge of natural systems research is becoming more relevant to societal needs as the vulnerability of coastal populations increases the need for investigation of understudied or unexplored environments including human altered ones is ongoing many basic research issues remain but future studies would profit from the development of new models rather than validating or reconfiguring old models collaboration between geomorphologists and engineers may open up research opportunities particularly in modifying beaches and dunes built for shore protection to provide natural values in restricted space application of models to enhance knowledge of effects of sea level rise and coastal storms would be useful to managers developing resiliency plans

the 1984 abruzzo earthquake italy an example of seismogenic process controlled by interaction between differently oriented synkinematic faults the evolution of the seismogenic process associated with the ms 5 8 sangro valley earthquake of may 1984 abruzzo central italy is closely controlled by the quaternary extensional tectonic pattern of the area this pattern is characterised by normal faults mainly nnw striking whose length is controlled by pre existing mio pliocene n100f10j left lateral strike slip fault zones these are partly re activated as right lateral normal oblique faults under the quaternary extensional regime and behave as transfer faults integration of re located aftershocks focal mechanisms and structural features are used to explain the divergence between the alignment of aftershocks wsw ene and the direction of seismogenic fault planes defined by the focal mechanisms nnw sse of the main shock and of the largest aftershock ms 5 3 the faults that appear to be involved in the seismogenic process are the nnw sse barrea fault and the e w m greco fault there is field evidence of finite quaternary deformation indicating that the normal barrea fault re activates the m greco fault as right lateral transfer fault no surface faulting was observed during the seismic sequence the apparently incongruent divergence between aftershocks and nodal planes may be explained by interpreting the m greco fault as a barrier to the propagation of earthquake rupturing the rupture would have nucleated on the barrea fault migrating along strike towards nnw the sharp variation in direction from the barrea to the m greco fault segments would have represented a structural complexity sufficient to halt the rupture and subsequent concentration of post seismic deformation as aftershocks around the line of intersection between the two fault planes fault complexities similar to those observed in the sangro valley are common features of the seismic zone of the apennines we suggest that the zones of interaction between nw se and nnw sse plio quaternary faults and nearly e w transfer faults extending for several kilometres in the same way as m greco does might act as barriers to the along strike propagation of rupture processes during normal faulting earthquakes this might have strong implications on seismic hazard especially for the extent of the maximum magnitude expected on active faults during single rupture episodes d 2002 elsevier science b v all rights reserved

skewness in the nearshore zone a comparison of estimates from marsh mcbirney current meters and colocated pressure sensors many of the field studies that have undertaken an investigation of surf zone dynamics e g nearshore sediment transport study canadian coastal sediment study have relied on marsh mcbirney electromagnetic current meters to measure the velocity field data from these instruments have been used to compute higher order moments of the velocity field which are used as an input in many sediment transport models however recent laboratory measurements by aubrey and trowbridge 1985 have raised questions regarding the suitability of marsh mcbirney current meters for surf zone studies and the accuracy of higher order velocity moments fortunately colocated pressure and velocity measurements were made during field programs in effect this provides a calibration check in the field of the performance of these instruments a cross spectral analysis indicates that colocated marsh mcbirney current meter measurements are highly coherent this is true for measurements from inside and outside the surf zone as a result normalized skewness estimates computed with the aid of the bispectrum from these colocated current meter measurements differ by only a few percent a cross spectral analysis between colocated pressure and velocity measurements show a similar distribution of variance for wind wave frequencies observed differences between normalized skewness estimates from colocated pressure and velocity measurements are shown to be consistent with the theoretical expectation that pressure has a nonlinear dependence on velocity these results suggest that the marsh mcbirney current meter is suitable for the estimation of nondimensional velocity moments even in breaking wave conditions

architecture and seismotectonics of a regional low angle normal fault zone in central italy information from surface geology subsurface geology boreholes seismic reflection and refraction profiles and seismicity are used to depict the geometry and the possible seismogenic role of the altotiberina fault af a low angle normal fault in central italy the af extends along the inner umbria region for a length of 70 km with an average dip of 30 and an horizontal displacement up to 5 km it emerges west of the inner border of the tiber basin and deepens beneath the umbria marche carbonate fold and thrust belt to a depth of 12 14 km close to the af surface trace low angle synthetic east dipping normal faults extensively outcrop whereas high angle antithetic west dipping normal faults prevail farther east integrating geological and seismologic information it can be stated that the af behaves as an active extensional fault zone and represents the basal detachment of the west dipping seismogenic normal faults of the umbria marche region the af belongs to a regional ne dipping low angle normal fault system etrurian fault system efs which extends for 350 km from northwestern tuscany to southern umbria early preliminary considerations suggest that the efs may play an important role in controlling active extension and related seismicity in northern central italy

frequency dependent cross shore suspended sediment transport 1 a non barred shoreface abstract the local time varying and time averaged suspended sediment transports across a marine non barred shoreface were obtained from field measurements of the near bed velocity and sediment concentration vectors using electromagnetic current meters and optical backscatterance suspended solids sensors co spectral analyses of velocity and sediment concentration revealed the contributions of waves of different frequencies to the total transport the transport attributable to quasi steady currents was determined from the product of the time averaged cross shore velocity and sediment concentration estimates of the local time integrated sediment volume flux total and net and the associated erosion or accretion were determined using depth of activity rods suspended sediment transport was associated with 1 local wind forced waves 2 swell 3 low frequency waves group bound long waves and 4 offshore directed mean currents undertow these transport components varied spatially and temporally in response to changes in the wave height to water depth ratio the local net oscillatory transport rate at wind wave and swell wave frequencies was directed onshore predominantly and increased as water depth decreased in association with wave shoaling the local mean sediment transport rate was predominantly offshore and dominated the net transport rate wherever wave induced components were weak relative to the mean currents under breaking waves the suspended sediment transport contribution associated with wind waves and swell waves was reduced as a result of dissipation the net suspended sediment transport rate exhibited a distinct vertical structure reflecting the balance at each elevation between the opposing mean and oscillatory components of transport the local time averaged total and net sediment volume flux and resulting erosion and accretion patterns support the hypothesis of a near balance in sediment flux for the complete storm event

upper crust tomographic structure of the central apennines italy from local earthquakes abstract we derived a three dimensional p and s waves velocity model of the first 9 km of crust in the central apennine from local earthquakes the data set used for the tomographic inversion was recorded from three component regional and local networks which operated in the region from 1979 to 1998 and consists of 984 earthquakes for these earthquakes we have at least eight phases a gap smaller than 200 and a total rms residual smaller than 0 6 s giving a total of 13190 p and 10257 s phases first arrivals the inversion is performed using the simulps12 code this technique iterates the estimated velocity model parameters defined at the nodes of a grid relocating the earthquakes with an approximate 3 d ray tracing a large positive p and s wave velocity anomaly is observed in correspondence to the main seismogenetic volume of the central apennines a synthetic test demonstrates that this anomaly is not artificially produced by the substantially higher density of earthquakes within the seismic velocity anomaly this anomaly corresponds to the carbonatic rocks that form the core of the fold and thrust central apennines belt these rocks are underlain by ductile evaporite formations which were justaposed during the tectonic evolution of the belt we suggest that the evaporite layers effectively decouple the upper crustal seismogenetic volume from the middle and lower crust we conclude that the accumulation of seismic energy could be induced by gravitational tectonic processes explaining the fact that most of the seismicity is confined above the evaporites

waves currents sediment flux and morphological response in a barred nearshore system abstract a shore normal array of seven bi directional electromagnetic flowmeters and nine surface piercing continuous resistance wave staffs were deployed across a multiple barred nearshore at wendake beach georgian bay canada and monitored for a complete storm cycle time integrated estimates of total itvf and net invf sediment volume flux together with bed elevation changes were determined using depth of activity rods the three bars ranging in height from 0 10 to 0 40 m accreted during the storm 0 03 m and the troughs were scoured 0 05 m sediment reactivation depths reached 0 14 m and 12 of the nearshore control volume was mobilized however the invf value for the storm was less than 1 of the control volume revealing a near balance in sediment volume in the bar system landward migration of the inner crescentic and second sinuous bars occurred in association with an alongshore migration of the bar form itself the outermost straight shore parallel bar remained fixed in location the surf zone was highly dissipative throughout the storm 3 8 10 2 192 10 2 and the wave spectrum was dominated by energy at the incident frequency spectral peaks at frequencies of the first harmonic and at one quarter that of the incident wave were associated with secondary wave generation just prior to breaking and a standing edge wave respectively the former spectral peak was within the 95 confidence band for the spectrum while the latter contributed not more than 10 to the total energy in the surface elevation spectrum even near the shoreline during the storm wave height exceeded 2 m h s and periods reached 5 s t p k orbital velocities exceeded 0 5 m s 1 u rm s and were above the threshold of motion for the medium to fine sands throughout the storm shore parallel flows in excess of 0 4 m s 1 were recorded with maxima in the troughs and minima just landward of the bar crest the rate and direction of sediment flux is best explained by the interaction of antecedent bed slopes with spatial gradients in the mean and asymmetry of the shore normal velocity field these hydrodynamic parameters represent steady flows superimposed on the dominantly oscillatory motion and assumed a characteristic spatial pattern from the storm peak through the decay period increases spatially in the magnitudes of both the mean flows and flow asymmetries cause an increasing net transport potential erosion decreases in these values spatially cause a decreasing net transport potential and thus deposition these transport potentials are increased or decreased through the gravity potential induced by the local bed slope shore parallel flow was important in explaining sediment flux and morphological change where orbital velocities mean flows and flow asymmetries were at a minimum

active tectonics in the central apennines and possible implications for seismic hazard analysis in peninsular italy abstract the central apennines fault system cafs of peninsular italy overprints earlier structures of a neogene fold and thrust belt and includes segments characterized by diffuse seismicity distributed within a nnw sse trending zone 50 60 km wide the system has been analysed by means of morphotectonic and structural analysis of exposed active fault segments the resulting fault structure consists of an interconnecting network of roughly n s trending left lateral strike slip segments and mostly nw se oriented transtensional to normal faults evidence for recent activity of cafs structures is provided by faulted middle pleistocene holocene deposits including 30 40 ka old pyroclastites and 40 ka old palustrine sediments fresh scarps in both bedrock and late quaternary continental deposits and decametric lateral offsets locally affecting the post wurmian drainage pattern of the area the regional stress field responsible for the development and evolution of the cafs as inferred from fault slip data is characterized by a nw se compression and by a ne sw extension the cafs pattern and its present day kinematics have been related to left lateral strike slip motion on north south trending crustal faults the existence of deep seated strike slip faults in the central apennines has implications for seismic hazard analysis motion along these structures suggests in fact that coseismic surface faulting is distributed and that cumulative displacements include normal transtensional and strike slip components the seismogenic potential of cafs structures can therefore be best described by multiple rupture models and be better analysed in terms of partial contributions of lower rank features constituting congruent structural associations within the system

the deep structure of the larderello travale geothermal field from 3d microearthquake traveltime tomography 1 with the aim of exploring the deep structure of the larderello travale lt geothermal field a high resolution 3 d tomographic inversion of microearthquake traveltimes has been performed results show that the deep part of the larderello travale field is characterized by the presence of a structure having a velocity range of 6 0 6 5 km s and a convex shape deepening towards the northeastern and the southeastern sides of the field earthquakes are mostly concentrated on the top of the high velocity structure and below the k horizon implying a transition of rheological properties at depth the reported dependence on time of ts tp observed at one station located above an earthquake cluster suggests that the variation in pore fluid pressure might be responsible for the transition of rheological properties along the contact in such an area changes in pore fluid pressure might be related to time dependent hydraulic mechanisms that are very effective in crustal rocks at elevated temperatures index terms 7215 seismology earthquake parameters 7280 seismology volcano seismology 8045 structural geology role of fluids 8180 tectonophysics tomography 8424 volcanology hydrothermal systems citation vanorio t r de matteis a zollo f batini a fiordelisi and b ciulli 2004 the deep structure of the larderello travale geothermal field from 3d microearthquake traveltime tomography geophys res lett 31 l07613

bowl shaped basin related to low angle detachment during continental extension the case of the controversial neogene siena basin central italy northern apennines abstract this paper deals with the tectonic evolution of a bowl shaped neogene basin siena basin located in the inner northern apennines and developed during an articulated tectonic evolution this basin was controversially interpreted by different authors as graben half graben or thrust top basin structural and stratigraphic data from the basin substratum and filling sediments integrated with the interpretation of reflection seismic profiles and borehole logs highlight that the siena basin consists of a tectonic depression with a complex internal architecture such a basin developed on a multilayered substratum deeply affected by extensional tectonics since the middle miocene extensional detachments produced a widespread thinning of the basin substratum and superimposed on contractional structures developed during the northern apennines collisional events extensional detachments accommodated within weak horizons and gave rise to the lateral segmentation of most competent stratigraphic horizons sediments filling the siena basin mainly deposited on the ligurian units the topmost tectonic units forming the tectonic pile in the gap between two laterally segmented geological bodies made up of the triassic siliciclastic succession of the verrucano group such a lateral segmentation produced a synformal structural depression not delimited by faults filled by late serravallian late messinian marine to continental sediments which deposited during the extensional faulting from the latest early pliocene to the middle pliocene the architecture of the basin was modified by an high angle normal fault system which affected the eastern side of the basin and produced new accommodation space for marine sediments in sum the siena basin consists of a sin tectonic basin developed on the hanging wall of staircase extensional detachments later affected by high angle normal to oblique faults the latter faults defined a half graben during the latest evolution of the basin the tectonic evolution of the siena basin made it possible to point out some differences with respect to the types of bowl shaped basins related to extensional detachments and named as supradetachment basins

hydrodynamics and sediment transport within the inner surf zone of a lacustrine multiple barred nearshore abstract it has become increasingly recognized that the typically unexpected behavior of the nearshore profile over a sequence of storm events is a response to strong feedback between the antecedent morphology and the incident wave field this paper systematically examines the suspended sediment transport and morphodynamics within the surf zone of a lacustrine multiple barred upper shoreface a range of significant wave heights h s and local relative wave heights h s h 1 h water depth are considered in order to describe and identify the limits to the feedback mechanisms that can dominate the nearshore response data from collocated concentration and velocity sensors indicate that the direction and magnitude of suspended sediment transport varies with the degree of local wave energy dissipation and the cross shore variation in these relationships depends partly on the local bed slope this dependence indicates the presence of a strong self organization at the scale of the individual bar within the inner surf zone these bar scale relationships are constrained by the shoaling transformations which occur over the outermost bar for ranges of incident wave height defined locally e g intermediate waves h s 0 4 to 0 9 m storm waves 0 9 to 1 4 m the innermost and middle bars remain in a state of self organized equilibrium for intermediate range waves this equilibrium is a consequence of wave height reduction over the outer bar through breaking and the generation of secondary harmonic waves for the storm wave range the equilibrium is maintained through a resonant amplification of discrete edge wave modes with the bars forced to a position coincident with the surface elevation antinodes these upper shoreface scale feedback mechanisms are weakened particularly for intermediate wave heights following threshold storms capable of moving the outermost bar offshore and lower on the profile this allows the middle and inner bars to be forced directly by variations in the offshore incident waves thus the bars respond in a cyclic manner the bar cycle

tertiary extensional tectonics in tuscany northern apennines italy abstract two extensional events have been recognized in the tertiary evolution of tuscany the first event occurred in the period between the late oligocene and late tortonian and caused a stretching of 120 or greater the second event occurred between the late tortonian and quaternary periods and caused a stretching not greater than 10 the first event is characterized by the exhumation of middle crust rocks and therefore by the development of core complexes the most significant structures of the first event are low angle normal faults which characterize the upper plate of the core complexes and ductile shear zones which characterize the lower plate the low angle normal faults tend to die out in the late triassic evaporite level which constitutes the main detachment of the core complexes the main structures of the second extensional event are high angle normal faults which dissect all the previous tectonic features these faults border tectonic depressions which were the site of clastic sedimentation from late tortonian to quaternary time these normal faults may tend to flatten in a seismic lozenge shaped band explained as an active extensional shear zone which is located at the brittle ductile boundary a similar explanation is given for the detachment located in the late triassic evaporite level during the first extensional event while the first extensional event is in the framework of the northern apennine post collisional evolution the second extensional event because it affects an already stretched crust could be attributed to the southern tyrrhenian opening which began during late tortonian

looking at fault reactivation matching structural geology and seismological data abstract we investigate fault reactivation that occurred during the 1997 colfiorito seismic sequence central italy matching detailed structural geology precise earthquake locations and mechanical models of fault interaction the colfiorito area within the northern apennines is characterised by a relatively recent inversion of the tectonic stress field from compression late miocene to extension late pliocene quaternary in september october 1997 the area experienced a protracted seismic sequence consisting of six moderate magnitude earthquakes 5 we analyse the coseismic elastic static stress changes due to the occurrence of the normal fault events in order to investigate the mechanical coupling and interaction between the nw se oriented normal fault system and the intervening n10 inherited fault we show that the elastic stress perturbation increased on the shallow portion of the activated volume where the n10 structure is located and promoted its reactivation with a strike slip motion the different amount of slip experienced along the two normal faults responsible for the greater mainshocks favoured the left lateral strike slip kinematics

extension and compression in the northern apennines italy hinterland evidence from the late miocene pliocene siena radicofani basin and relations with basement structures 1 the northern apennines na hinterland area is characterized by a complex neogene quaternary tectonics where both crustal extension associated with the tyrrhenian basin opening and crustal shortening in the onshore area took part in the deformation analysis of synorogenic deposits preserved in the nnw trending siena radicofani basin srb extending along a large part of the na hinterland documents the evolution of deformation of this sector during the last 9 ma information from subsurface geology deep seismic lines commercial seismic lines and deep wells surface geology mapping and structural analysis and from analogue modeling was integrated and used to infer the tectono sedimentary history of the srb and its relation with structures in the substratum as well as the possible implications for the evolution of the na hinterland the results we obtain indicate that the srb and the adjoining hinterland basins were bounded by thrust anticlines controlling basin development and deformation seismic lines across the srb display various examples of compressional structures affecting the basin fill and the substratum such as thrust anticlines and reverse faults notably these basin scale structures exhibit a good correlation with those observed in the field and are consistent with the kinematics of the outcrop scale compressional structures the thrust anticlines bounding the basins are often cored by triassic evaporites burano formation suggesting that this weak layer decoupling the sedimentary cover from the underlying crystalline basement controlled their evolution in this circumstance three series of scaled brittle ductile physical models have been used to investigate the development of a basement cover system with a decollement ductile layer at the base of the sedimentary cover these models simulate the evolution of the northern apennines hinterland where the basement is involved in the thrusting and the sedimentary cover is shortened above a basal ductile layer given by the burano formation longitudinal models cross sections display similar deformation patterns to those observed in the na hinterland such as characteristic wavelength of both basement and cover structures as well as detachment and fault propagation folding in the cover extensional tectonics is instead found to control sedimentation in the southern part of the srb at 8 ma or representing recent deformation the older extensional event is here related to the forelandward propagation of tyrrhenian related extension that could reactivate suitably oriented basement thrusts transfer zones produced a differential propagation of extension such that along strike sectors of the hinterland were eventually deformed by different stress fields analysis of the srb and of other adjoining basins reveals that the na hinterland experienced alternated periods of forward and backward migration of the compression extension transition in our interpretation the competition between extension and compression in the hinterland is related to the nnw directed africa pelagian indentation responsible for the lateral extrusion of the na and the contemporaneous opening of the tyrrhenian basin in the inner zone increased marginal loading at the foreland promoting reactivation of hinterland thrusts may have influenced this process as well

test of edge wave forcing during formation of rhythmic beach morphology 1 this paper reports on concurrent measurements of evolving rhythmic beach morphology and the associated water motion on a macrotidal coarse sandy beach beach cusps with a spacing of 19 m developed over a 3 day period of low energy swell after which they were destroyed by energetic wind waves the beach cusps were clearly accretionary features and developed mainly during the rising tide detailed hydrodynamic measurements were conducted at three locations in the swash and inner surf zone in the vicinity of a developing cusp horn and revealed that energetic standing mode zero subharmonic edge waves were not present during the initiation of the beach cusps specifically analysis of the hydrodynamic data indicated that 1 the amount of subharmonic energy was limited 10 of the total energy 2 none of the computed energy spectra exhibited a significant peak at the subharmonic frequency 3 the cross shore velocity amplitude at the subharmonic frequency was 2 3 times larger than the longshore velocity amplitude 4 the longshore current motion at the subharmonic frequency was barely coherent between adjacent locations in the surf zone and 5 the time series of pressure and cross shore current were in phase at either side of the developing cusp horn it is concluded that at least during this event of beach cusp formation energetic standing edge waves are not a prerequisite to initiate the development of rhythmic beach morphology

layered seismogenic source model and probabilistic seismic hazard analyses in central italy we defined a seismogenic model for central italy based on three layers of sources and computed the relative seismic hazard maps one layer is constituted by individual structures liable to generate major earthquakes m 5 5 we defined them as seismogenic boxes by using geological information in terms of plan projec tion of active faults the seismicity rates associated with an individual source are based on the geometry and kinematics of the fault the recurrence model is controlled by the earthquake source association and when possible we defined the occurrence time of the last major event using it in a time dependent approach another layer is given by the instrumental seismicity analysis of the past two decades which allows us to evaluate the background seismicity m 5 5 using a sliding window selec tion of events we defined a model of regular adjacent cells of variable a and b values of the gutenberg richter relation the last layer utilizes all the instrumental earth quakes and the historical events not correlated to known structures 4 5 m 6 by separating them into seismotectonic provinces shaped on a geological structural basis the seismic hazard computations first use this layered model in a traditional probabilistic scheme the results indicate a narrow belt of peak ground acceleration pga higher than 0 30g with standard deviation in attenuation functions in the axial part of the apennine chain with a maximum spot of pga 0 40g southeast of the area damaged by the 1997 1998 umbria marche sequence pga expected not to be exceeded in 50 years at 90 probability level the background seismicity gives a nonnegligible contribution to the hazard at least for first damage levels then a simplified time dependent hypothesis has been introduced for the individual sources alone computing the conditional probability of occurrence of characteristic earth quakes for each source by brownian passage time distributions adopting equivalent fictitious seismicity rates we obtained maps referring to the next 50 years by using traditional codes these results show that the contribution of the recently active sources vanishes and the most hazardous sites are now located south of l aquila and in the sulmona area we consider that the methodology and results obtained are useful for seismic risk reduction strategies

pleistocene strike slip tectonics in the lucanian apennine southern italy structural studies carried out in the lucanian apennines southern italy show that strike slip faulting was the principal mode of deformation of this area during middle upper pleistocene time w nw to e se trending left strike slip fault systems dissect the entire apennine mountain belt and affect the preexisting thrust geometry strike slip faults activated by a roughly e w shortening are characterized by different geometries representing the surface response to lateral motion occurring along deep seated structures the occurrence of different structural patterns which characterize different segments of strike slip system is related to 1 the depth of a major decoupling surface which separates the upper tectonic multilayered horizon apennines thrust belt system from the lower rigid horizon apulian belt in which strike slip structures have originated and 2 the geometric relationships between the strike slip faults and the thrust belt pattern which characterize the upper horizon the different segments of the strike slip system are interpreted as internal deformation developed within a crustal shear zone this zone which corresponds to the boundary between the apulian block and the apennine chain is characterized by sinistral movement as a response to the northwesterly convergent motion of the african plate with respect to europe

crustal velocity and strain rate fields in italy and surrounding regions new results from the analysis of permanent and non permanent gps networks summary we present a new geodetic velocity solution for italy and the surrounding areas obtained from an analysis of continuous and survey mode global positioning system observations collected between 1991 and 2002 we have combined local regional and global networks into a common reference frame velocity solution providing a new detailed picture of the regional scale deformation field in the central mediterranean our velocity estimates are computed with respect to a new stable eurasian reference frame constraining the kinematics of the greater african eurasian plate boundary system in the study area we provide strain rate values for the main seismotectonic districts which are in good agreement with the seismic deformation inferred from earthquake focal mechanisms the southern tyrrhenian area calabria the apennines the southeastern alps the southern dinarides and the albanides display deformation rates at the order of 20 30 nanostrain yr 1 the corsica sardinia block moves according to eurasian plate motions and there is no indication that the opening of the tyrrhenian is still active the pelagian and sicilian domains are separated by a northwest southeast discontinuity the sicily channel rifted area and marginally significant relative motion between the pelagian plateau and the african plate is also observed the southern tyrrhenian is affected by north south compression and accommodates up to 50 per cent of the africa eurasia relative plate motion whereas the calabrian arc exhibits 2 mm yr 1 northwest southeast extension the observed deformation pattern suggests the presence of a major approximately north south tectonic discontinuity separating the sicilian and calabrian domains an extensional boundary observed along peninsular italy coincides with the distribution of seismogenic faults along the axis of the apennines this boundary separates a tyrrhenian and an adriatic domain with diverging velocities orientated north nnw ward and northeastward respectively the apennines are extending perpendicularly to the chain axis at rates of less than 3 mm yr 1 and only in the outer northern apennines indications of active shortening are observed insignificant deformation is observed in the western po plain and the western alps while the central and eastern alps display north south shortening the eastern adriatic domain is shortening perpendicular to the dinaric front with strain rates increasing from north to south the locus of collision between the aegean balkan system and the adriatic and ionian domains is marked by the kephalonia fault system which accommodates up to 20 1 mm yr 1 of right lateral motion the deformation pattern observed in the peri adriatic domain is well described by a counter clockwise rotation of the adriatic microplate around a pole located in the western alps

beach morphodynamics in a strong wind bay a low energy environment abstract the morphodynamic behaviour of a multibarred beach in a fetch limited strong wind bay seaford beach se australia was examined during both high and low energy conditions and considered in the context of a definition of low energy provided in the literature measurements of nearshore waves currents and morphology revealed a bimodal behaviour under initial low energy conditions the beach exhibited a low tide terrace state and waves and currents were of very low magnitude during subsequent high energy conditions the beach demonstrated dynamic behaviour through the formation of a transitional transverse bar and rip rhythmic bar and beach and migration of the middle bar with the morphology remaining in an arrested high energy state during intervening low energy periods although broadly conforming to the morphodynamic model the beach did exhibit some distinct characteristics attributable to its fetch limited location limited progression through the morphodynamic model and the importance of wind direction and magnitude in governing morphodynamic behaviour furthermore rip currents were not significant in driving beach change through intermediate states the presence of infragravity energy in the storm wave spectra a dissipative multibarred surf zone dynamic inner and middle bars and the attainment of a transitional transverse bar and rip rhythmic bar and beach state during rising wave conditions underline seaford beach as bimodal exhibiting process and morphologic features of both higher and lower energy beaches as an example of a beach in a strong wind bay seaford illustrates that not all fetch limited beaches are low energy furthermore the presence of infragravity energy in a highly fetch limited environment indicates that infragravity energy may occur commonly in fetch limited environments that are subject to periodic strong winds a process that has remained largely unrecognised

crustal section based on crop seismic data across the north tyrrhenian northern apennines adriatic sea abstract using deep seismic reflection data from the italian lithospheric exploration project crop in the central mediterranean region a 400 km long section composed of three different profiles crossing the northern tyrrhenian sea crop m 12a profile the northern apennines crop 03 and the adriatic sea crop m 16 is reconstructed and discussed new data allow us to outline a seismically consistent tectono stratigraphic setting for the crust and upper mantle of the northern apennines thrust belt system and its adriatic foreland time space analysis of the deformation of the investigated chain and identification of existing macrostratigraphic crustal intervals and tectonic units allow a reasonably controlled interpretation of the geodynamic evolution and of the main orogenic stages careful seismic reprocessing and application of advanced techniques to key zones of the explored area such as the tuscan archipelago were determinants in obtaining fundamental information for understanding of the complex lithospheric structures and their evolution profile interpretation supports that the northern apennine chain is dominated by a compressive thrust system crustal extension assumed by some authors as the dominating tectonic process for the whole tuscan apennine area represents a subordinate geodynamic event of the last stage tyrrhenian in the early cretaceous late jurassic the paleogeographic framework consisted of the europe and adria plates separated by the alpine tethys ocean during the late cretaceous early eocene adria europe convergence eo alpine stage and subduction beneath the adria plate closed the alpine tethys sea with the tethyan slab being clearly seismically imaged the first apenninic geodynamic stage occurred in the late oligocene early miocene with the opening of the balearic basin which generated a first lithospheric root of the apenninic chain in the tuscan archipelago area this root is represented by adria verging thrust faults that progressively flatten eastward upper parts of the west verging eo alpine thrust blocks were truncated by the east verging thrust faults of the balearic stage a deeper seismic reflector attributed to the top of the asthenosphere forms a mantle high below the elba island from the late miocene to present the corsica basin and western hinterland area were affected by extensional tectonics related to the tyrrhenian opening whereas compressional tectonics continued in the eastern hinterland and mostly on the eastward migrating foreland with development of a second lithospheric root constituted by high angle thrust faults these faults give rise to a huge basement culmination below the main apennines watershed impressive e directed gravity sliding of sedimentary blocks over their sloping basement occur generating the umbria marche shallow seismicity crustal shortening of the apennines system amounts to 170 km 14 km of which are due to the eo alpine stage 71 km to the balearic and 85 km to the tyrrhenian one in the frame of africa europe convergence the tyrrhenian apennines tectonodynamics were mainly conditioned by the mesozoic paleogeography

nearshore water motion and mean flows in a multiple parallel bar system abstract measurements of surface waves and nearshore water motion were made with wave staffs and electromagnetic currentmeters across the straight outer bars of a multiple parallel bar system at wasaga beach georgian bay ontario three sets of experiments were carried out between 1983 and 1985 and this paper examines the characteristics of spatial and temporal variations in incident waves and mean flows incident wave spectra during storms are typical of fetch limited conditions with a prominent peak in the wind wave frequency and a sharp cut off towards lower frequencies there is little evidence of significant energy at infragravity frequencies mean flows perpendicular to the shoreline during storms measured at 0 1 m above the bed are offshore with speeds of 0 04 0 10 m s 1 during moderate storms and 0 25 m s 1 during intense fall storms longshore currents are relatively weak and their direction closely follows changes in the incident wind angle about shore perpendicular there is no evidence of rip cell development and offshore return flow occurs as an undertow uniformly alongshore forming a simple two dimensional net circulation pattern the presence of the undertow very close to the bed is an important control on the direction of suspended sediment transport and thus in maintaining the equilibrium of the nearshore bars

the structure of the monte amiata volcano geothermal area northern apennines italy neogene quaternary compression versus extension the tectonic evolution of the mt amiata volcano geothermal area is under discussion some authors state that this region as well as the hinterland of the northern apennines were affected by compression from the cretaceous to the quaternary in contrast most authors believe that extension drove the tectonic evolution of the northern apennines from the early miocene to the quaternary field data seismic analyses and borehole logs have been integrated in order to better define the structural features of the continental crust in the mt amiata geothermal area in this paper i propose the hypothesis that the structure of the crust in the mt amiata volcano geothermal area derives from two main geological processes 1 contractional tectonics related to the stacking of the northern apennines cretaceous early miocene 2 subsequent extensional collapse of the hinterland of the mountain chain and related opening of the northern tyrrhenian sea early miocene quaternary compressional and extensional structures characterise the mt amiata region although extensional structures dominate its geological framework in particular the extension produced a middle late miocene boudinage of the previously stacked tectonic units b pliocene quaternary normal faulting which favoured the emplacement of a magmatic body in the middle upper crust and c the eruption of the mt amiata volcano which gave rise to an acid and intermediate volcanic complex 0 3 0 19 ma the extension produced the space necessary to accommodate the middle late miocene marine and continental sediments pliocene and quaternary normal and transtensional faults dissected the previous structures and influenced the early middle pliocene marine sedimentation within the structural depressions neighbouring the mt amiata volcano the magmatic body was emplaced at depth about 6 7 km during the pliocene extension and produced the eruption of the mt amiata volcano during the late pleistocene this gave rise to local uplift presently reaching about 3 000 m as well as a negative bouguer anomaly 16 mgal both centred on the mt amiata area the crustal dome shows a good correspondence with the convex shape of the regional seismic marker known as the k horizon which corresponds to the 450 c isotherm and the areas with greatest heat flow this is probably a consequence of the above cited magmatic body presently in the process of solidification a late pleistocene eruption occurred along a crustal fissure striking n50 mt amiata fault which crosscuts the crustal dome hydrothermal circulation proven by the occurrence of thermal springs and gas vents mainly co2 and h2s mainly occurs along the mt amiata fault both in the northeastern ans southwestern sides of the volcano

a kinematic model for the plio quaternary evolution of the tyrrhenian apenninic system implications for rifting processes and volcanism abstract during the frontal accretion due to the late miocene quaternary thrusting the interior of the apenninic chain underwent large scale extension which produced the opening of the tyrrhenian oceanic basin a back arc basin in respect to the late cenozoic apenninic chain and the onset of the quaternary volcanic activity in the campanian plain and more generally in the tyrrhenian area to outline the space time distribution and the geotectonic setting of the tyrrhenian volcanics we approached the problem from a kinematic point of view a synthesis of the available geological and geophysical data leads us to suggest that the progressive migration of the apenninic arcs is responsible for the extension phenomena which took place during the last 5 ma at first the extension resulted from the kinematic interaction between the northern apenninic arc and the southern apenninic arc during the late pliocene then from the early pleistocene the extension was controlled by the se migration of the southern arc only and therefore it can be regarded as part of the general southern tyrrhenian extension phenomenon due to the intense thinning the isotherms migrated upward very rapidly within the toscana latium and campania lithosphere where the melting point was reached giving rise to the onset of volcanic activity at the end of the early pleistocene

the role of extensional tectonics at different crustal levels on granite ascent and emplacement an example from tuscany italy abstract the role of regional extension on the rise and emplacement of granites in the crust is still debated pluton ascent and emplacement widely occurred in tuscany italy since late miocene during the post orogenic collapse of the inner apennines and are presently occurring in the geothermal areas of amiata and larderello tuscany offers a preferred test site to study the role of regional extension on pluton ascent and emplacement at different crustal levels ductile extension enhanced the segregation and ascent of granitic melts in the lower crust controlling pluton emplacement in correspondence with the brittle ductile transition in the brittle crust magma ascent occurred through subvertical faults and fractures compatible with the regional extension direction pluton emplacement mainly occurred by means of roof lifting the case of tuscany suggests that the extensional structures enhance melt segregation and ascent in the ductile crust but are not efficient alone to provide a pathway for the ascent of granitic magmas in the brittle extending crust the estimated magmatic strain rates due to pluton emplacement in the geothermal areas are much larger than the regional tectonic strain rates this suggests that regional tectonics did not control magma emplacement in the brittle crust and explains why nontectonic processes roof lifting accommodated the space required for pluton emplacement

morphodynamics of a bar trough surf zone abstract a field study was made of the distinguishing morphodynamic processes operating in a surf zone which perennially exhibits accentuated bar trough topography the longshore bar trough and rhytmic bar and beach states as described by wright and short 1984 characteristic features of the morphology include a shallow bar with a steep shoreward face a deep trough and a steep beach face this morphology which is favored by moderate breaker heights and small tidal ranges strongly controls the coupled suite of hydrodynamic processes in contrast to fully dissipative surf zones the bar trough surf zone is not at all saturated and oscillations at incident wave frequency remain dominant from the break point to the subaerial beach the degree of incident wave groupiness does not change appreciably across the surf zone infragravity standing waves which in dissipative surf zones dominate the inshore energy remain energetically secondary and occur at higher frequencies in the bar trough surf zone analyses of the field data combined with numerical simulations of leaky mode and edge wave nodal antinodal positions over observed surf zone profiles indicate that the frequencies which prevail are favored by the resonant condition of antinodes over the bar and nodes in the trough standing waves which would have nodes over the bar are suppressed sediment resuspension in the surf zone appears to be largely attributable to the incident waves which are the main source of bed shear stress in addition the extra near bottom eddy viscosity provided by the reformed non breaking waves traversing the trough significantly affects the vertical velocity profile of the longshore current whereas the bar is highly mobile in terms of onshore offshore migration rates the beach face and inner regions of the trough are remarkably stable over time

bar formation due to wave groups and associated long waves abstract field observations reveal that waves propagating onto a beach from deeper water have a grouped structure associated with this pattern of alternating high and low waves is a long wave forced by radiation stress variations due to the changing short wave height as the wave groups propagate onshore the relationship between the variation in the short wave height and the long wave motion is complicated by breaking of the short waves reflection of the long wave and the generation of a free long wave by time variation of the breakpoint position nevertheless there may still be a fixed phase relation between the short wave envelope and the long wave motion at any particular location resulting in a net transport of sediment over the timescale of the short wave groups this transport arises from sediment grains mobilised by short waves and moved by the long wave motion model predictions of wave group propagation onto a beach and the associated long wave motions are presented which suggest that sediment transport due to short wave long wave coupling may result in the formation of a bar within the inner surf zone and the possibility of additional bars further offshore outside the surf zone this mechanism for bar formation may provide a new framework for understanding bar morphodynamics

highly extended terrains lateral segmentation of the substratum and basin development the middle late miocene radicondoli basin inner northern apennines italy 1 this paper deals with the evolution of sedimentary basins not delimited by normal faults with a substratum characterized by an upward concave shape and with infilling sediments synclinally deformed we describe the middle late miocene radicondoli basin representing an example of such bowl shaped basins its tectonic origin is controversial being related both to compression and extension these opposite interpretations bear significant consequences on the geodynamic context in which the inner northern apennines developed during the middle late miocene the results of our structural studies carried out in the substratum and infilling sediments indicate that the radicondoli basin is an example of a hanging wall basin developed in an extensional setting extensional tectonics determined the lateral segmentation of the substratum competent levels i e tuscan nappe and verrucano group and the consequent collapse of overlying less competent levels i e the ligurian units with the formation of a bowl shaped tectonic depression here the syntectonic sediments serravallian late messinian are deformed in a large syncline characterized by minor gravity driven folds with vergences toward the depocenter and traces of their axial planes parallel to the basin margins this paper highlights the role of the competence contrast during the postcollisional tectonic evolution and the influence of substratum lateral segmentation for the accommodation of syntectonic sediments

on time delays in the nearshore zone between onshore and longshore currents at incident wave frequencies observations of horizontal velocities just outside the surf zone on two natural beaches show unexpected time lags between the onshore offshore currents and the longshore currents at incident wave frequencies these time lags typically around 20 s appear to have been first noticed by katoh 1981 in data from a beach in japan a number of possible hypotheses to explain these time lags are examined of these propagation of secondary waves formed by reflection or diffraction at a point alongshore from the measurement site seems most able to explain the observations this suggests a significance for reflected diffracted waves some distance from breakwaters or headlands which has not previously been recognized in field studies however a number of questions remain that will only be resolved by further field data particularly from beaches far removed from end effects

polyphase metamorphic sedimentary xenoliths from mt amiata volcanics central italy evidence for a partially disrupted contact aureole metasedimentary inclusions in the crustal anatectic rhyodacites of mt amiata volcanic complex can be subdivided into a silica poor group rich in aluminous minerals and a small silica rich group containing abundant quartz textural observations supported by mineral chemistry provide evidence for three metamorphic events the regional metamorphic m0 is often associated with deformation and two subsequent progressive thermometamorphic events m1 and m2 are caused by the magmatic heat mineral assemblages of m1 are indicative for the pyroxene hornfels facies and assemblages of m2 in combination with evidence for partial melting and sanidinization suggest sanidinite facies conditions the inclusions are interpreted mainly as xenolithic fragments of a contact aureole which were remetamorphosed after incorporation by the magma the aureole formed in pre mesozoic formations during accumulation of the melt in a magmachamber constraints on pressure conditions for m1 indicate the possibility of a fairly large depth of the heat source giving rise to mt amiata geothermal field

waves long waves and nearshore morphology abstract recent field measurements on beaches of different slopes have established that wave motion at periods substantially longer than the incident waves dominates the velocity field close to the shore analysis of a number of extensive data sets shows that much of this long wave motion is in the form of progessive edge waves though forced wave motion standing edge waves and free waves propagating away from the shore may also contribute to the energy theoretically the drift velocities in bottom boundary layers due to edge waves show spatial patterns of convergence and divergence which may move sediment to form either regular crescentic or cuspate features when only one edge wave mode dominates or a bewildering array of bars bumps and holes when several phase locked modes exist together convincing field demonstration of the link between nearshore topography and edge waves only exists for the special case of small scale beach cusps on steep beaches formed by edge waves at the subharmonic twice the period of the incident waves at longer periods the link is proving more difficult to establish due to the longer time scales of topographic changes the interaction between pre existing topography and the water motion and the observation of broad banded edge wave motion which is not readily linked to topography with a well defined scale these ideas are however central to the study of nearshore processes as most of the plausible alternate hypotheses do not seem to lead to quantitative predictions clearly further theoretical and observational work is essential

field observations of surf beat 1 progressive edge waves nineteen biaxial electromagnetic current meters have been used to determine the longshore and on offshore structure of currents at surf beat periods 1 4 min the sensors formed two linear arrays a long shore array within the surf zone and an on offshore array stretching from the shoreline to well beyond the breaker line analysis of the longshore current components yields a clear picture of progressive low mode edge waves with frequency wave number dispersion relations which are in remarkably good agreement with predictions some separation of edge wave modes is found with mode zero energy dominating in the frequency band 0 006 and 0 011 hz and mode one between 0 015 and 0 025 hz on offshore currents present a rather different picture which while not inconsistent with the longshore currents suggests that other sources of energy are also important to the on offshore currents these include standing edge waves probably formed by reflections at nearby scripps canyon and motions which are nonresonantly forced by incoming wave groups

extensional shear zones as imaged by reflection seismic lines the larderello geothermal field central italy the larderello geothermal field is located in the inner northern apennines in an area which has been subject to extension since the early miocene the latest extensional episode pliocene present has resulted in the formation of nw trending nedipping listric normal faults whose geometry is controlled down to f3 km by borehole data in this paper we integrate a new interpretation of seismic reflection lines with existing seismic field and borehole data to analyse the relations among listric normal faults the top of the brittle ductile transition and the migration of geothermal fluids in accordance with previous interpretations we consider the strong reflector k horizon marking the top of the reflective mid lower crust and located at a depth of 3 5 km in the geothermal area to represent the top of the brittle ductile transition its reflectivity most probably derives from the presence of overpressured fluids we identify three main nw trending nedipping extensional brittle shear zones showing listric geometry and soling out in the vicinity of the k horizon the latter appears to be dislocated in correspondence of the soling out of the shear zones these shear zones because of the associated intense fracturing represent the most natural channels of upward migration of geothermal fluids from the magmatic sources located below the k horizon we suggest that these two conclusions that listric normal faults root at or near the brittle ductile transition and that they act as preferential upward migration paths for magmatic fluids may be of general validity for geothermal fields located in extensional settings d 2002 elsevier science b v all rights reserved

neogene quaternary evolution of the central apennine orogenic system italy a structural and palaeomagnetic approach in the molise region abstract we report on new palaeomagnetic and magnetic fabric analyses of mainly upper miocene sedimentary sequences from the external central apennine fold and thrust belt molise area where the principal compressive structures are clearly non coaxial the sampling was carried out on the e w oriented matese frosolone thrust sheet that for its geographical position and structural setting superposition of thrusting strike slip and extensional tectonics since late miocene to present day represents a key structure for the comprehension of the neogene quaternary evolution of the entire molise area palaeomagnetic results suggest that the matese frosolone thrust sheet counterclockwise rotated at least 35 after messinian times these data confirm that the present day trend variability observed in the main compressional structures in the apennine chain can be related to rotations about vertical axes rather than to changes in the stress field orientation at least since late miocene times magnetic fabric analyses indicate that the studied sediments were subjected to very mild deformation suggesting that the surface emergence of the thrust front of the matese frosolone unit is located farther north far from the studied area well defined magnetic lineations of tectonic origin were only observed in sites close to localised belts of strike slip deformation

equilibrium slopes and cross shore velocity asymmetries in a storm dominated barred nearshore system abstract the near bed 0 10 m elevation horizontal velocities were measured across a two barred lacustrine shoreface during a storm and reveal a spatially coherent but temporally variable pattern in the low order moments of the velocity field large cross shore velocity asymmetries indicated 1 1 spatially extensive and temporally persistent offshore mean flows up to 0 18 m s 1 across the landward slope of the linear outer bar reflecting an undertow driven by a wave induced setup 2 2 an onshore directed skewness opposing the mean flow of wind wave origin and persistent under propagating bores in the inner bar system long after this asymmetry had disappeared from the outer bar extensive sediment reactivation with near zero net sediment flux over the whole of the upper shoreface indicated a sediment prism in a steady state volumetrically over the storm cycle uniform depths of sediment reactivation with zero bed elevation change over the storm cycle revealed local slopes in a steady state in the outer linear bar however time integration of the near bed velocity field at this location indicated an offshore net flux of water while sedimentary structures indicated bedform migration and thus at least bedload almost uniformly onshore when ripples and megaripples were present the sediment transport giving rise to the local equilibrium cannot be explained therefore on the basis of the mean properties of the near bed velocity vector but requires knowledge of the time varying instantaneous sediment transport vector onshore migration of the inner bar correlated well with the large and persistent onshore skewness of the velocity distribution in the inner surf zone associated with translatory surf bores throughout the storm decay period low frequency oscillations were only significant close to the shoreline but may have influenced the development of a sinuous three dimensional inner bar form as it migrated onshore

vertical and horizontal structure in cross shore flows an example of undertow and wave set up on a barred beach greenwood b and osborne p d 1990 vertical and horizontal structure in cross shore flows an example of undertow and wave set up on a barred beach coastal eng 14 543 580 eulerian measurements of the horizontal cross shore velocity field in the lowermost meter of the water column in association with measurements of waves and the mean elevation of the water surface across a nontidal low relief barred surf zone reveal a spatially coherent patterns of the timeaveraged first second and third moments of the velocity field which vary temporally in direct response to the incident waves b large asymmetries in the flow field with offshore directed mean flows upto 0 20 m s a and onshore directed velocity skewness the third moment normalized by the standard deviation upto 0 60 c mean flows decrease and oscillatory flows measured by the standard deviation of the velocity field increase towards the water surface d a fourth order polynomial provides the best fit to the cross shore set up reflecting the influence of variable energy dissipation due to topographic controls on wave breaking e significant linear correlations exist between the cross shore mean velocities and the maximum set up of the still water surface near to the shoreline upto 82 of the observed variability in the former can be accounted for by linear regressions f set up is highly correlated with the incident wave height 86 of the observed variability in the former can be accounted for by a linear regression g gradients in the mean water surface are significantly less than those predicted by a linear function of beach slope as originally proposed by bowen et al even using an appropriate breaking criterion 0 4 0 6 for the spilling breakers recorded cross shore circulation over the low relief barred nearshore slope is predominantly two dimensional over the outer bar in this case study the near bed mean flow is an undertow responding to the balance between the wave generated depth dependent momentum flux directed onshore the stress induced by the onshore mass transport under waves and wind and the hydraulic pressure gradient induced by set up of the mean water level

inversion of source parameters from near and far field observations an application to the 1915 fucino earthquake central apennines italy we use a nonlinear inversion approach for determining source parameters of the fucino m s 6 9 earthquake that occurred along central apennines italy in 1915 taking into account both near field surface deformations and far field first motion polarities this event was one of the most destructive in italy this century causing over 30 000 casualties altitude and leveling measurements were performed before 1862 and after 1917 the event along a circular route consisting of 18 benchmarks polarities of first arrivals do not constrain a unique fault plane solution while the one obtained by inverting geodetic data with relevant constraints provided by neotectonic data disagrees with p wave polarities our joint inversion based on a robust fitting technique has resulted in only one well defined solution satisfying geophysical data as well as surface faulting distribution and paleoseismological information

modification of edge waves by barred beach topography a numerical model to calculate edge wave profiles and wavelengths for arbitrary bottom profiles and given frequency was developed utilizing the model wave equation of berkhoff 1972 following smith and sprinks 1975 surface profiles and longshore wave numbers were found for fixed wave periods using an eigenvalue approach the model was verified by calculating profiles and dispersion for a plane beach of mild slope and comparing results with the analytic solution of eckart 1951 and ursell 1952 the model was then applied to the case of a beach with multiple offshore bars with bar positions determined by the antinodal positions of a standing incident wave of a set frequency calculation of surface profiles for a range of frequencies using a fixed beach indicated that antinodes of the edgewave profiles tend to be trapped by the bars suggesting the possibility that bars affect the long wave climate in such a way as to lead to self maintenance over extended periods no effect of the bars on the dispersion relationship was found and it was concluded that for the particular beach profile used the edge waves respond to the mean beach slope over the offshore length of the profile

refraction and reflection of infragravity waves near submarine canyons 1 the propagation of infragravity waves ocean surface waves with periods from 20 to 200 s over complex inner shelf water depths from about 3 to 50 m bathymetry is investigated with field observations from the southern california coast a wave ray path based model is used to describe radiation from adjacent beaches refraction over slopes smooth changes in bathymetry and partial reflection from submarine canyons sharp changes in bathymetry in both the field observations and the model simulations the importance of the canyons depends on the directional spectrum of the infragravity wave field radiating from the shoreline and on the distance from the canyons averaged over the wide range of conditions observed a refraction only model has reduced skill near the abrupt bathymetry whereas a combined refraction and reflection model accurately describes the distribution of infragravity wave energy on the inner shelf including the localized effects of steep walled submarine canyons

heat flow deep temperatures and extensional structures in the larderello geothermal field italy constraints on geothermal fluid flow the larderello geothermal field is located in the inner northern apennines southern tuscany an area which has been affected by extensional tectonics since the early middle miocene the structure of the larderello field is characterised by nw trending ne dipping pliocene to present normal faults their geometry down to depths of 4 5 km is constrained by field borehole and reflection seismic data an association between extensional structures and heat flow maxima up to 1000 mw m2 is recognisable from detailed surface heat flow mapping in order to investigate the relationships among extensional structures and heat flow subsurface isotherms were traced subject to borehole control along variously oriented geological cross sections the isotherms show vertical displacements associated with the recent normal faults and related deformation zones which reach the brittle ductile transition estimates of the relative importance of convective and conductive components of heat flow suggest that fluid circulation is particularly important in correspondence with the normal faults accounting for the correlation between isotherm perturbations and extensional structures in this view extensional shear zones are interpreted as the main structural pathways for the flow of hot geothermal fluids

edge waves on the sydney coast pressure and current oscillations at periods of 40 s to 17 min observed during storm conditions at two locations separated by 560 m in the alongshore direction in the coastal ocean near sydney australia indicate the existence of infragravity waves having amplitudes of 20 cm and velocities of 10 cm s 1 the observed infragravity waves appear to be locally forced by the wind wave envelope through radiation stress yet the observed alongshore phase differences of the infragravity waves are consistent with those predicted from free edge wave theory for low mode edge waves travelling northward and the relationship of pressure to velocity at each location is also consistent with free edge wave theory as a function of time the infragravity wave spectral energy grows and decays in step with the longer period wind waves suggesting a continuous transfer of energy the infragravity waves appear to contain energy in both directly forced and freely propagating edge wave oscillations the edge waves may be generated either by radiation stress as outlined above by a resonant triad mechanism or by a combination of the two

formation of the maturin foreland basin eastern venezuela thrust sheet loading or subduction dynamic topography 1 the maturin basin in eastern venezuela is considered a good example of a peripheral foreland basin earthquake and tomographic data indicate that eastern venezuela is affected by the oblique subduction of the south american plate underneath the caribbean plate new forward flexural isostatic modeling of eastern venezuela has been carried out in order to determine whether the maturin basin was generated purely by thrust sheet loading from the serrania and monagas foreland thrust belts a sequence of forward models from middle miocene to present was generated for 3 profiles across the serrania del interior thrust belt the monagas foreland thrust belt and the maturin foreland basin the predictions of these models are constrained using seismic reflection and well data the flexural isostatic modeling shows that thrust sheet loading associated with the serrania del interior and monagas foreland thrust belts is insufficient to generate the observed subsidence within the maturin basin dynamic fluid flow modeling of subduction related dynamic topography of eastern venezuela has been used to investigate the influence of south american plate subduction on the generation of the accommodation space observed in the maturin basin fluid flow modeling of subduction related dynamic topography suggests that the subduction of the south american lithospheric mantle caused downward deflection of the south american crust affecting the maturin basin and the serrania thrust belt this modeling suggests that the maturin basin subsidence has two components 55 related to thrust sheet loading and 45 driven by continental subduction

background seismicity in the central apennines of italy the abruzzo region case study abstract we investigate background seismic activity of the abruzzo region a 5000 km2 area located within the central apennines of italy where in the past 600 years at least 5 large earthquakes i xi x have occurred between april 2003 and september 2004 a dense temporary seismic network composed of 30 digital three component seismic stations recorded 850 earthquakes with 0 9 the seismicity occurs at a low and constant rate of 2 6 e 04 events day km2 and is sparsely distributed within the first 15 km of the crust minor increases in the seismicity rate are related to the occurrence of small and localised seismic sequences that occur at the tip of major active normal faults along secondary structures we observe that during the 16 months of study period the fucino fault system responsible for the 1915 fucino earthquake ms 7 0 and the major normal faults of the area did not produce significant seismic activity fault plane solutions evaluated using p wave polarity data show the predominance of normal faulting mechanisms 55 with ne trending direction of extension coherent with the regional stress field active in this sector of the apennines around 27 of the focal solutions have pure strike slip mechanisms and the rest shows transtensional faulting mechanisms that mainly characterise the kinematics of the secondary structures activated by the small sequences we hypothesize that the largest known nw trending normal faults are presently locked and we propose that in the case of activation the secondary structures located at their tips may act as transfer faults accommodating a minor part of the extensional deformation with strike slip motion

subcrustal earthquakes in the northern apennines italy evidence for a still active subduction previously unreported subcrustal earthquakes have been located up to 90 km depth beneath the northern apennines italy these earthquakes occur beneath a zone of abundant upper crustal seismicity mostly confined to the upper 20 km of the crust although there are relatively few well located subcrustal earthquakes there appears to be a general southwestward deepening of the hypocenters from the adriatic to the tyrrhenian sea consistent with other geophysical data which suggest that the adriatic lithosphere is presently subducting beneath the northern apennines

active oblique extension in the central apennines italy evidence from the fucino region the fucino basin is a flat quaternary depression within the central apennines it is surrounded by active normal faults with small oblique slip components surface faulting was observed along the east side of the basin during the ms 7 0 avezzano earthquake of 1915 in order to understand the kinematics of recent strain better and to assess the seismic hazard of this region we carried out a detailed geomorphic and structural study of the faults around the basin fault scarp heights were accurately measured with total station profiles and vertical slip rates were estimated assuming slope offsets to post date the end of periglacial abrasion 14 4 kyr bp to the north the most prominent fault the magnola fault appears to have an average postglacial throw rate of 0 7 0 3 mm yr 1 and together with the velino fault to be capable of generating earthquakes of maximum magnitudes of 6 9 7 3 with recurrence intervals of 1000 3000 yr east of the basin the serrone parasano and ventrino faults form a right stepping horsetail of the giovenco fault current vertical slip rates on the three former faults appear to be between 0 5 and 1 4 0 5 and 1 0 and 0 3 and 1 1 mm yr 1 respectively infrequent maximum magnitude earthquakes on them may also exceed 7 particularly in the case of coupled rupture with loosely constrained recurrence intervals up to several thousand years the right lateral slip components implied by the most recent slickensides and by geomorphic offsets on the nw se trending normal faults of the area suggest that the blocks they bound rotate counterclockwise consistent with oblique left slip on the nnw sse trending giovenco and ovindoli faults to the east sinistral shear parallel to the latter faults the maximum relief across the magnola fault and the postglacial slope offsets measured suggest that the extension rate across the central apennines might be of the order of 6 3 mm yr 1 in a n20 10 e direction more northerly than hitherto inferred

pleistocene changes in the central apennine fault kinematics a key to decipher active tectonics in central italy integrated structural geomorphological and stratigraphic data have permitted the definition of the quaternary structural evolution of some tectonically generated basins in the central apennines available data indicate that some n130 140 trending quaternary normal faults have not been active since the middle pleistocene while along some other faults with the same trend left lateral strike slip or oblique slip movements are superimposed on normal movements pure normal movements were found to affect only n125 to e w trending faults this structural evolution indicates that fault kinematics in the central apennines changed markedly between the early and middle pleistocene current models infer that this change may have been a response to the bending which caused the arcuate shape of the apennine orogen the deformation related to the bending added to the effects of the regional stress field as a result post early pleistocene fault kinematics were due to an extension that locally was not perfectly perpendicular to the inherited normal faults and that is consistent with models of oblique slip tectonics processes of arc formation and related incompatibility between inherited quaternary faults and post early pleistocene extension have significant implications regarding research on active tectonics in fact some nonactive faults show misleading features typical of recent activity while some active faults are poorly visible owing to the recent age of the present regime this kinematic evolution therefore represents one of the major factors others being the low slip rates and the fragmented structural setting which hinders the definition of reliable active faulting schemes for the apennine chain

bars bumps and holes models for the generation of complex beach topography in shallow water any two waves of the same frequency are shown to produce complex patterns of drift velocity above the sea bed if the longshore components hi h of the wave numbers of the two waves are different these steady flow patterns exhibit a longshore periodicity of wave number hi h irrespective of whether the waves propagate in the same direction say hi he positive or in opposite directions he negative the interaction of two edge wave modes is examined in detail the drift velocities are calculated and a simple sediment transport model is used to predict the beach topography that would be in equilibrium with these flow patterns as expected crescentic sand bars are produced by the special case of standing edge waves hi h intriguingly for all other cases a combination of complex transverse bars plus meandering or straight offshore bars result patterns that are surprisingly reminiscent of many published descriptions of complex rhythmic topography the extension of the model to three or more waves produces topography that appears to be very irregular although the pattern should repeat over sufficiently long distances along the beach even with only three waves these distances may be very large compared to the scale of the bars

space accommodation by roof lifting during pluton emplacement at amiata italy the amiata area is characterized by an uplift attributed to pluton emplacement during the pliocene epoch the shape of the buried pluton is constrained by gravity data fieldwork was carried out to identify possible deformations within the overburden in order to evaluate the mechanism of emplacement the attitudes of lower pliocene marine sediments deposited immediately before the uplift were measured also the overall pattern of the deposits defines a dome approximately 2 5 km high and 35 50 km wide consistency between these field data and the existing geophysical data suggests that the dome results from the emplacement of a laccolith like intrusion which was responsible for lifting and flexuring the overburden the amiata case shows that roof lifting is a viable process by which space in the upper crust to a depth of 7 km can be accommodated during pluton emplacement