Imaging the structural style of an active normal fault through multidisciplinary geophysical investigation: A case study from the MW 6.1, 2009 L'Aquila earthquake region (central Italy)

Geophysical Journal International

Volumn 200, Issue 3, 2015, Pages 1676-1691

  Villani, Fabio ^a   Pucci, Stefano ^a   Civico, Riccardo ^a   De Martini, Paolo Marco ^a   Nicolosi, Iacopo ^a   Caracciolo, Francesca D'Ajello ^a   Carluccio, Roberto ^a   Di Giulio, Giuseppe ^a   Vassallo, Maurizio ^a   Smedile, Alessandra ^a   Pantosti, Daniela ^a  

^a ISTITUTO NAZIONALE DI GEOFISICA E VULCANOLOGIA   (Italy)

Author keywords

Continental neotectonics; Fractures and faults; Magnetic and electrical properties; Seismic tomography; Seismicity and tectonics; Site effects

Indexed keywords

BOREHOLES; EARTHQUAKES; FAULT SLIPS; MAGNETOMETERS; MAPPING; SEISMIC WAVES; SURFACE WAVES;

CONTINENTAL NEOTECTONICS; FAULT NETWORKS; FAULT SYSTEM; FRACTURES AND FAULTS; L'AQUILA EARTHQUAKES; MAGNETIC AND ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES; SEISMIC TOMOGRAPHY; SEISMICITY AND TECTONICS; SITE EFFECTS; STRUCTURAL STYLES;

LANDFORMS;

ACTIVE FAULT; EARTHQUAKE EVENT; ELECTRICAL PROPERTY; MAGNETIC PROPERTY; NEOTECTONICS; NORMAL FAULT; SEISMIC TOMOGRAPHY; SEISMICITY; SITE EFFECT;

ABRUZZI; ITALY; L'AQUILA;

AQUILA;

EID: 84928186325     PISSN: 0956540X     EISSN: 1365246X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1093/gji/ggu462     Document Type: Article

References (72)

1. Ahmad, J., Schmitt, D.R., Rokosh, C.D. & Pawlowicz, J.G., 2009. Highresolution seismic and resistivity profiling of a buried Quaternary subglacial valley: Northern Alberta, Canada, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 121, 1570-1583.
2. Atzori, S. et al., 2009. Finite fault inversion of DInSAR coseismic displacement of the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake (central Italy), Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L15305, doi:10.1029/2009GL039293.
3. Bertini, T. & Bosi, C., 1993. La tettonica quaternaria della conca di Fossa (L'Aquila), Il Quaternario, 6, 293-314.
4. Blakely, R.J.&Simpson, R.W., 1986. Approximating edges of source bodies from magnetic or gravity anomalies, Geophysics, 51, 1494-1498.
5. Blakely, R.J., Wells, R.E., Yelin, T.S., Madin, I.P. & Beeson, M.H., 1995. Tectonic setting of the Portland-Vancouver area, Oregon andWashington:constraints from low-altitude aeromagnetic data, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 107(7), 1051-1062.
6. Boncio, P., Pizzi, A., Brozzetti, F., Pomposo, G., Lavecchia, G., DiNaccio, D. & Ferrarini, F., 2010. Coseismic ground deformation of the 6 April 2009 L'Aquila earthquake (central Italy, Mw 6.3), Geophys. Res. Lett., 37, L06308, doi:10.1029/2010GL042807.
7. Bonnefoy-Claudet, S., Cécile, C., Pierre-Yves, B., Fabrice, C., Peter, M., Jozef, K. & Fäh, D., 2006. H/V ratio: a tool for site effects evaluation. Results from 1-D noise simulations, Geophys. J. Int., 167(2), 827-837.
8. Bosi, C. & Bertini, T., 1970. Geologia della media valle dell'Aterno, Mem. Soc. Geol. It., 9, 719-777.
9. Bosi, C., Galadini, F., Giaccio, B., Messina, P. & Sposato, A., 2003. Plio-Quaternary continental deposits in the Latium-Abruzzi Apennines: the correlation of geological events across different intermontane basins, Il Quaternario, 16(1Bis), 55-76.
10. Bruno, P.P., Castiello, A., Villani, F. & Improta, L., 2013. High-resolution densely spaced wide-aperture seismic profiling as a tool to aid seismic hazard assessment of fault-bounded intramontane basins: application to Vallo di Diano, Southern Italy, Bull. seism. Soc. Am., 103(3), 1969-1980.
11. Burjánek, J., Gassner-Stamm, G., Poggi, V., Moore, J. R. & Fäh, D., 2010. Ambient vibration analysis of an unstable mountain slope, Geophys. J. Int., 180(2), 820-828.
12. Carafa, M.M.C. & Barba, S., 2011. Determining rheology from deformation data: the case of central Italy, Tectonics, 30, TC2003, doi:10.1029/2010TC002680.
13. Centamore, E. et al., 2006. Note illustrative della Carta Geologica d'Italia alla scala 1:50.000, Foglio 359 "L'Aquila", APAT - Servizio Geologico d'Italia e Regione Abruzzo - Servizio Difesa del Suolo, S.EL.CA., Firenze.
14. Chiarabba, C. et al., 2009. The 2009 L'Aquila (central Italy) Mw 6.3 earthquake:main shock and aftershocks, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L18308, doi:10.1029/2009GL039627.
15. Chiarabba, C., Jovane, L. & DiStefano, R., 2005. A new view of Italian seismicity using 20 years of instrumental recordings, Tectonophysics, 305, 251-268.
16. Chiaraluce, L., Valoroso, L., Piccinini, D., Di Stefano, R. & De Gori, P., 2011. The anatomy of the 2009 L'Aquila normal fault system (central Italy) imaged by high resolution foreshock and aftershock locations, J. geophys. Res., 116, B12311, doi:10.1029/2011JB008352.
17. Cinti, F.R. et al., 2011. Evidence for surface faulting events along the Paganica fault prior to the 6 April 2009 L'Aquila earthquake (central Italy), J. geophys. Res., 116(B7), 2156-2202.
18. Civico, R., Pucci, S., Pantosti, D.&DeMartini, P.M., 2014. Morphotectonic analysis of the long-term surface expression of the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake fault (Central Italy) using airborne LiDAR data, Tectonophysics, doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2014.12.024.
19. Constable, S.C., Parker, R.L. & Constable, C.G., 1987. Occam's inversion:a practical algorithm for generating smooth models from electromagnetic sounding data, Geophysics, 52(3), 289-300.
20. Demanet, D., Renardy, F., Vanneste, K., Jongmans, D., Camelbeeck, T. & Meghraoui, M., 2001. The use of geophysical prospecting for imaging active faults in the Roer Graben, Belgium, Geophysics, 66-1, 78-89.
21. Devoti, R., Esposito, A., Pietrantonio, G., Pisani, A.R. & Riguzzi, F., 2011. Evidence of large scale deformation patterns from GPS data in the Italian subduction boundary, Earth planet. Sc. Lett., 311, 230-241.
22. Di Giulio, G., Cara, F., Rovelli, A., Lombardo, G. & Rigano, R., 2009. Evidences for strong directional resonances in intensely deformed zones of the Pernicana fault, Mount Etna, Italy, J. geophys. Res., 114(B10), doi:10.1029/2009JB006393.
23. Dorn, C. et al., 2010. High-resolution seismic images of potentially seismogenic structures beneath the northwest Canterbury Plains, New Zealand, J. geophys. Res., 115, B11303, doi:10.1029/2010JB007459.
24. EMERGEOWorking Group, 2010. Evidence for surface rupture associated with the Mw 6.3 L'Aquila earthquake sequence of April 2009 (central Italy), Terra Nova, 22(1), 43-51.
25. Fäh, D., Kind, F. & Giardini, D., 2001. A theoretical investigation of average h/v ratios, Geophys. J. Int., 145, 535-549.
26. Falcucci, E. et al., 2009. Surface faulting due to the L'Aquila earthquake of April 6th 2009, Seismol. Res. Lett., 80(6), 940-950.
27. Galadini, F. & Galli, P., 2000. Active tectonics in the central Apennines (Italy)-input data for seismic hazard assessment, Nat. Hazards, 22, 225-270.
28. Galli, P., Giaccio, B. & Messina, P., 2010. The 2009 central Italy earthquake seen through 0.5 Myr-long tectonic history of the L'Aquila faults system, Quart. Sci. Rev., 29(27-28), 3768-3789.
29. Galli, P., Giocoli, A., Peronace, E., Piscitelli, S., Quadrio, B. & Bellanova, J., 2013. Integrated near surface geophysics across the Mount Marzano Fault System (southern Italy): seismogenic hints, Int. J. Earth Sci., 103, 315-325.
30. Ghisetti, F. & Vezzani, L., 1999. Depths and modes of Pliocene-Pleistocene crustal extension of the Apennines (Italy), Terra Nova, 11, 67-72.
31. Giaccio, B. et al., 2012. Fault and basin depocentre migration over the last 2 Ma in the L'Aquila 2009 earthquake region, central Italian Apennines, Quarter. Sci. Rev., 56, 69-88.
32. Gibson, P.J, Lyle, P. & George, D.M., 1996. Environmental applications of magnetometry profiling, Environ. Geol., 27, 178-183.
33. Giocoli, A., Galli, P., Giaccio, B., Lapenna, V., Messina, P., Peronace, E., Romano, G. & Piscitelli, S. 2011. Electrical resistivity tomography across the Paganica-San Demetrio fault system (L'Aquila 2009 earthquake), B. Geofis. Teor. Appl., 52-3, 457-469.
34. Griffiths, D.H. & Barker, R.D., 1993. Two-dimensional resistivity imaging and modelling in areas of complex geology, J. appl. Geophys., 29, 211-226.
35. Gupta, A. & Scholz, C.H., 2000. A model of normal fault interaction based on observations and theory, J. Struct. Geol., 22(7), 865-879.
36. Hallof, P.G., 1957. On interpretation of resistivity and induced polarization measurements, PhD thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
37. Herrero, A., Improta, L., Zollo, A., Dell'Aversana, P. & Morandi, S., 2000. 2-D nonlinear traveltime tomography by multi-scale search: Imaging an overthrust structure in the southern Apennines, EOS, Trans. Am. geophys. Un., 81, 418-910.
38. Improta, L., Zollo, A., Herrero, A., Frattini, R., Virieux, J. & Dell'Aversana, P., 2002. Seismic imaging of complex structures by non-linear traveltime inversion of dense wide-angle data: application to a thrust belt, Geophys. J. Int., 151, 264-278.
39. Improta, L. et al., 2010. Detecting young, slow-slipping active faults by geologic and multidisciplinary high-resolution geophysical investigations:a case study from the Apennine seismic belt, Italy, J. geophys. Res., 115, B11307, doi:10.1029/2010JB000871.
40. Improta, L. et al., 2012. High-resolution controlled-source seismic tomography across the Middle Aterno basin in the epicentral area of the 2009, Mw6.3, L'Aquila earthquake (central Apennines, Italy), Italian J. Geosci., 131(3), 373-388.
41. Kvaerna, T. & Ringdahl, F., 1986. Stability of various f-k estimation techniques, semiannual technical summary, NORSAR Scientific Report, 29-40.
42. Loke, M.H. & Barker, R.D., 1995. Least-square inversion of apparent resistivity pseudosections, Geophysics, 60, 1682-1690.
43. Loke, M.H. & Dahlin, T., 2002. A comparison of the Gauss-Newton and quasi-Newtonmethods in resistivity imaging inversion, J. appl. Geophys., 49, 149-162.
44. Mancini, M., Cavuoto, G., Pandolfi, L., Petronio, C., Salari, L. & Sardella, R., 2012. Coupling infill history and mammal biochronology in a Pleistocene intramontane basin: the case of western L'Aquila Basin (central Apennines, Italy), Quatern. Int., 267, 62-77.
45. McCalpin, J.P. (ed.), 2009, Paleoseismology, 2nd edn, Academic Press.
46. Meghraoui, M., Camelbeeck, T., Vanneste, K., Brondeel, M. & Jongmans, D., 2000. Active faulting and paleoseismology along the Bree fault, lower Rhine graben, Belgium, J. geophys. Res., 105(B6), 13 809-13 841.
47. Meju, M.A., Gallardo, L.A. & Mohamed, A.K., 2003. Evidence for correlation of electrical resistivity and seismic velocity in heterogeneous near-surface materials, Geophys. Res. Lett., 30(7), 1373, doi:10.1029/2002GL016048.
48. Montone, P., Mariucci, M.T. & Pierdominici, S., 2012. The Italian presentday stress map, Geophys. J. Int., 189, 705-716.
49. MS-AQ Working Group, 2010. Microzonazione sismica per la ricostruzione dell'area aquilana. Regione Abruzzo - Dipartimento della Protezione Civile, L'Aquila, 1-796 (in Italian), Available at: http://www.protezionecivile.gov.it/jcms/it/view_pub.wp?contentId=PUB25330, last accessed December 2014.
50. Nakamura, Y., 1989. A method for dynamic characteristics estimation of subsurface using microtremor on the ground surface, Q. R. Rail. Tech., 30(1), 25-33.
51. Ohrnberger, M., Schisselé, E., Cornou, C., Bonnefoy-Claudet, S., Wathelet, M., Savvaidis, A., Scherbaum, F. & Jongmans, D., 2004 Frequency wavenumber and spatial autocorrelation methods for dispersion curve determination from ambient vibration recordings, in Proceedings of the 13th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, 1-6 August 2004, paper no. 0946.
52. Patacca, E., Scandone, P., DiLuzio, E., Cavinato, G.P. & Parotto, M., 2008. Structural architecture of the central Apennines: interpretation of the CROP 11 seismic profile from the Adriatic coast to the orographic divide, Tectonics, 27, doi:10.1029/2005TC001917.
53. Pischiutta, M., Salvini, F., Fletcher, J., Rovelli, A. & Ben-Zion, Y., 2012. Horizontal polarization of ground motion in the Hayward fault zone at Fremont, California: dominant fault-high-angle polarization and faultinduced cracks, Geophys. J. Int., 188(3), 1255-1272.
54. Podvin, P. & Lecomte, I., 1991. Finite difference computation of traveltimes in very contrasted velocity model: a massively parallel approach and its associated tools, Geophys. J. Int., 105, 271-284.
55. Pucci, S. et al., 2014. Quaternary geology map of the Middle Aterno Valley, 2009 L'Aquila earthquake area (Abruzzi Apennines, Italy), J. Maps, doi:10.1080/17445647.2014.927128.
56. Roberts, G.P. et al., 2010. Shallow subsurface structure of the 2009 April 6 Mw 6.3 L'Aquila earthquake surface rupture at Paganica, investigated with ground-penetrating radar, Geophys. J. Int., 183, 774-790.
57. Rovida, A., Camassi, R., Gasperini, P. & Stucchi, M. (eds.), 2011. CPTI11, the 2011 version of the Parametric Catalogue of Italian Earthquakes. Milano, Bologna, last release 2011-12-23, Available at:http://emidius.mi.ingv.it/CPTI, doi:10.6092/INGV.IT-CPTI11.
58. Salvi, S., Cinti, F.R., Colini, L., D'Addezio, G., Doumaz, F. & Pettinelli, E., 2003. Investigation of the active Celano-L'Aquila fault system, Abruzzi (central Apennines, Italy) with combined ground-penetrating radar and paleoseismic trenching, Geophys. J. Int., 155, 805-818.
59. Sheley, D., Crosby, T., Zhou, M., Giacoma, J., Yu, J., He, R. & Schuster, G.T., 2003. 2-D seismic trenching of colluvial wedges and faults, Tectonophysics, 368, 51-69.
60. Shuhab, D.K., Stewart, R.R., Otoum, M. & Chang, L., 2013. A geophysical investigation of the active Hockley Fault System near Houston, Texas, Geophysics, 74(4), B177-B185.
61. Socco, L.V. & Strobbia, C., 2004. Surface-wave method for near-surface characterization: a tutorial, Near Surf. Geophys., 2, 165-185.
62. Speranza, F., Nicolosi, I., Ricchetti, N., Etiope, G., Rochette, P., Sagnotti, L., DeRitis, R. & Chiappini, M., 2009. The "Sirente crater field", Italy, revisited, J. geophys. Res., 114, B03103, doi:10.1029/2008JB005759.
63. Spudich, P., Hellweg, M. & Lee, W.H.K., 1996. Directional topographic site response at Tarzana observed in aftershocks of the 1994 Northridge, California, earthquake: implications for mainshock motions, Bull. seism. Soc. Am., 86(1B), S193-S208.
64. Storz, H., Storz, W. & Jacobs, F., 2000. Electrical resistivity tomography to investigate geological structures of the Earth's upper crust, Geophys. Prospect., 48, 455-471.
65. Tokimatsu, K., 1997. Geotechnical site characterization using surface waves, in Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Earthquake and Geotechnical Engineering, ed. Ishihara, Balkema, pp. 1333-1368.
66. Valoroso, L., Chiaraluce, L. & Collettini, C., 2014. Earthquakes and fault zone structure, Geology, 42, 343-346.
67. Valoroso, L., Chiaraluce, L., Piccinini, D., Di Stefano, R., Schaff, D. & Waldhauser, F., 2013. Radiography of a normal fault system by 64 000 high-precision earthquake locations: the 2009 L'Aquila (Central Italy) case study, J. geophys. Res., 118, 1156-1176.
68. Vittori, E. et al., 2011. Surface faulting of the 6 April 2009 M-w 6.3 L'Aquila earthquake in Central Italy, Bull. seism. Soc. Am., 101(4), 1507-1530.
69. Wathelet, M., Jongmans, D.&Ohrnberger, M., 2004. Surfacewave inversion using a direct search algorithm and its application to ambient vibration measurements, Near Surf. Geophys., 2, 211-221.
70. Wessel, P. & Smith, W.H.F., 1998. New, improved version of generic mapping tools released, EOS, Trans. Am. geophys. Un., 79(47), 579-579.
71. Wise, D.J., Cassidy, J. & Locke, C.A., 2003. Geophysical imaging of the Quaternary Wairoa North Fault, New Zealand: a case study, J. appl. Geophys, 53, 1-16.
72. Xia, J., Miller, R.D. & Park, C.B., 1999. Estimation of near-surface shearwave velocity by inversion of Rayleigh waves, Geophysics, 64, 691-700.