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RATES OF LATE NEOGENE DEFORMATION ALONG THE SOUTHWESTERN MARGIN OF ADRIA, SOUTHERN APENNINES OROGEN, ITALY

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The Adria Microplate: GPS Geodesy, Tectonics and Hazards

Part of the book series: Nato Science Series: IV: Earth and Environmental Sciences ((NAIV,volume 61))

Abstract

During latest Miocene to Early Pleistocene deformation of the southwestern margin of Adria, the frontal thrust of the Southern Apennines orogen migrated toward the foreland rapidly (~16 mm/yr) and was accompanied by subsidence with the frontal thrust belt and foredeep remaining at or below sea level. In contrast, the orogenic hinterland experienced extension, which was accompanied by uplift at ~0.3 mm/yr along the eastern transition to the contractional belt but net subsidence and formation of the Tyrrhenian basin farther west. Through time, the extensional belt progressively widened toward the northeast at the same rate as the encroachment of the thrust front on the Adriatic foreland. Following a mid-Pleistocene reduction in horizontal displacement rate associated with impingement of the thrust belt on thick crust of the Adriatic interior, the frontal thrust belt and foreland experienced uplift at ~0.5 mm/yr as contraction stepped to deeper structural levels. Uplift of the eastern margin of the extensional hinterland continued at ~0.3 mm/yr and is followed by tectonic subsidence along the Tyrrhenian coast of southern Italy. Today, the pattern of mid-Pleistocene displacements continues, as suggested by seismicity and GPS velocities.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Universitá di Napoli Federico II, Napoli, 80138, Italy

    Luigi Ferranti

  2. Department of Geological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, 83844-3022, USA

    John S. Oldow

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  1. Luigi Ferranti
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  2. John S. Oldow
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, U.S.A.

    Nicholas Pinter

  2. Satellite Geodetic Observatory, Penc, Hungary

    Grenerczy Gyula

  3. Grand Valley State University, Allendaale, MI, U.S.A.

    John Weber

  4. Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, U.S.A.

    Seth Stein

  5. University of Zagreb, Croatia

    Damir Medak

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Ferranti, L., Oldow, J.S. (2006). RATES OF LATE NEOGENE DEFORMATION ALONG THE SOUTHWESTERN MARGIN OF ADRIA, SOUTHERN APENNINES OROGEN, ITALY. In: Pinter, N., Gyula, G., Weber, J., Stein, S., Medak, D. (eds) The Adria Microplate: GPS Geodesy, Tectonics and Hazards. Nato Science Series: IV: Earth and Environmental Sciences, vol 61. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4235-3_08

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