Middle Pleistocene to Holocene activity of the Gondola Fault Zone (Southern Adriatic Foreland): Deformation of a regional shear zone and seismotectonic implications

Recent seismicity in and around the Gargano Promontory, an uplifted portion of the Southern Adriatic Foreland domain, indicates active E–W strike-slip faulting in a region that has also been struck by large historical earthquakes, particularly along the Mattinata Fault. Seismic profiles published in the past two decades show that the pattern of tectonic deformation along the E–W-trending segment of the Gondola Fault Zone, the offshore counterpart of the Mattinata Fault, is strikingly similar to that observed onshore during the Eocene–Pliocene interval. Based on the lack of instrumental seismicity in the south Adriatic offshore, however, and on standard seismic reflection data showing an undisturbed Quaternary succession above the Gondola Fault Zone, this fault zone has been interpreted as essentially inactive since the Pliocene. Nevertheless, many investigators emphasised the genetic relationships and physical continuity between the Mattinata Fault, a positively active tectonic feature, and the Gondola Fault Zone. The seismotectonic potential of the system formed by these two faults has never been investigated in detail. Recent investigations of Quaternary sedimentary successions on the Adriatic shelf, by means of very high-resolution seismic–stratigraphic data, have led to the identification of fold growth and fault propagation in Middle–Upper Pleistocene and Holocene units. The inferred pattern of gentle folding and shallow faulting indicates that sediments deposited during the past ca. 450 ka were recurrently deformed along the E–W branch of the Gondola Fault Zone.We performed a detailed reconstruction and kinematic interpretation of the most recent deformation observed along the Gondola Fault Zone and interpret it in the broader context of the seismotectonic setting of the Southern Apennines-foreland region. We hypothesise that the entire 180 km-long Molise–Gondola Shear Zone is presently active and speculate that also its offshore portion, the Gondola Fault Zone, has a seismogenic behaviour.     

Central Mediterranean tephrochronology between 313 and 366 ka: New insights from the Fucino palaeolake sediment succession

Thirty-two tephra layers were identified in the time-interval 313–366 ka (Marine Isotope Stages 9–10) of the Quaternary lacustrine succession of the Fucino Basin, central Italy. Twenty-seven of these tephra layers yielded suitable geochemical material to explore their volcanic origins. Investigations also included the acquisition of geochemical data of some relevant, chronologically compatible proximal units from Italian volcanoes. The record contains tephra from some well-known eruptions and eruptive sequences of Roman and Roccamonfina volcanoes, such as the Magliano Romano Plinian Fall, the Orvieto–Bagnoregio Ignimbrite, the Lower White Trachytic Tuff and the Brown Leucitic Tuff. In addition, the record documents eruptions currently undescribed in proximal (i.e. near-vent) sections, suggesting a more complex history of the major eruptions of the Colli Albani, Sabatini, Vulsini and Roccamonfina volcanoes between 313 and 366 ka. Six of the investigated tephra layers were directly dated by single-crystal-fusion ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating, providing the basis for a Bayesian age–depth model and a reassessment of the chronologies for both already known and dated eruptive units and for so far undated eruptions. The results provide a significant contribution for improving knowledge on the peri-Tyrrhenian explosive activity as well as for extending the Mediterranean tephrostratigraphical framework, which was previously based on limited proximal and distal archives for that time interval.     

Dependence of clinopyroxene composition on cooling rate in basaltic magmas: Implications for thermobarometry

The compositional variation of clinopyroxene and the partitioning of major elements between clinopyroxene and melt are estimated as a function of the cooling rate. Clinopyroxenes were crystallized under variable cooling regimes (15, 9.4, 3, 2.1, and 0.5 °C/min from 1250 down to 1000 °C) and at isothermal conditions of 1000 °C from a basaltic composition at a pressure of 500 MPa under anhydrous and hydrous (H₂O = 1.3 wt.%) conditions. The clinopyroxene chemistry shows that, as the cooling rate increases, crystals are progressively depleted in Ca, Mg, Fe²⁺ and Si and enriched in Na, Fe³⁺, Al (mainly Al^IV), and Ti. Di and Hd versus CaTs and CaFeTs form a continuous binary solid solution characterized by higher amounts of tschermakitic components with increasing cooling rate. Two parameters (DH = Di + Hd and TE = CaTs + CaFeTs + En) are calculated to describe the effect of cooling rate on the clinopyroxene composition. The variation of DH/TE with increasing cooling rate evidences the kinetic process induced by rapid cooling in basic rocks under hydrous and anhydrous conditions.Dynamic crystallization conditions affect the partitioning of major elements between clinopyroxene and melt; with increasing cooling rate, the value of crystal–melt partition coefficient departs from that obtained at the isothermal condition. However, in spite of these variations, the values of ^cpx–meltKd_Fe–Mg remain almost constant. Therefore, the Fe²–Mg exchange between clinopyroxene and melt is not suitable to prove the (dis)equilibrium conditions in basaltic cooling magmas, giving rise to possible mismatches in the application of thermobarometers. The results of our study are consistent with that observed at the margin of dikes or in the exterior portions of lavas, where the cooling rate is maximized and disequilibrium compositions of clinopyroxene have been found.     

Atmospheric Aerosol Characterization Over Naples During 2000–2003 EARLINET Project: Planetary Boundary-Layer Evolution and Layering

The evolution of the planetary boundary layer and the influence of local circulation phenomena over Naples (southern Italy, 40.838° N, 14.183° E, 118 m above sea level) have been studied by systematic lidar measurements of aerosol optical properties and vertical distributions carried out from May 2000 to August 2003, in the course of the EARLINET project. In particular, our data show the development of aerosol layers typically located in the range between 1,000 and 2,300 m, with variable thickness. The optical properties of the observed layers have been determined. In order to analyse the evolution of the planetary boundary layer, detailed observations of complete diurnal cycles have also been performed. The analysis of lidar measurements of vertical profiles of wind speed and wind direction and air mass back-trajectories allowed us to characterize the sea-breeze circulation influence on both the planetary boundary-layer evolution and the observed aerosol vertical distribution.