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In this paper, we introduce a project for the realization of the first European real-time urban seismic network based on Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology. MEMS accelerometers are a highly enabling technology, and nowadays, the sensitivity and the dynamic range of these sensors are such as to allow the recording of earthquakes of moderate magnitude even at a distance of several tens of kilometers. Moreover, thanks to their low cost and smaller size, MEMS accelerometers can be easily installed in urban areas in order to achieve an urban seismic network constituted by high density of observation points. The network is being implemented in the Acireale Municipality (Sicily, Italy), an area among those with the highest hazard, vulnerability and exposure to the earthquake of the Italian territory. The main objective of the implemented urban network will be to achieve an effective system for post-earthquake rapid disaster assessment. The earthquake recorded, also that with moderate magnitude will be used for the effective seismic microzonation of the area covered by the network. The implemented system will be also used to realize a site-specific earthquakes early warning system.

The HVSR method applied to seismic noise can be a very useful technique to map the site effects of the territory, to identify the thickness of the soft covering and so the depth of the seismic bedrock. The case of the urban area of Oliveri is presented. Because of its high seismic hazard this area has been subject of first level seismic microzonation. The town lies on a large coastal plain made of mixed fluvial/marine sediments, overlapping a deformed substrate. In order to identify points on the area probably suffering of relevant site effects and to define a preliminary Vs subsurface model, 23 HVSR measurements were performed. A clustering technique of continuous signals has been used to optimize the calculation of the HVSR curves and 42 reliable peaks, in the frequency range 0.1-20 Hz, have been identified. A second clustering technique has been applied to the set of 42 vectors, containing coordinates, frequency and amplitude of each peak, to identify subsets attributed to the same seismic discontinuities. Three main clusters have been identified. The two characterized by lower frequencies have been considered in the HVSR data inversion, as stratigraphic peaks probably caused by the seismic bedrock. Finally, the morphology of the top of the seismic bedrock has been mapped. The deepening of the seismic bedrock below the mouth of the Elicona Torrent suggests the possible presence of a buried paleo-valley.

The results of an integrated stratigraphic, structural, geophysical, and geochemical study reveal the presence of a crustal discontinuity in western Sicily that, at present, runs roughly N-S along a band from San Vito Lo Capo to Sciacca (SVCS). The boundary between the two zones of this discontinuity is nearly orthogonal to the main thrust propagation of the Sicilian thrust-and-fold belt. The different Permian to Tertiary sedimentary evolution recorded by the two zones appears related to this discontinuity, with thick carbonate platforms in the western sector facing deep-water successions in the eastern one. The presence of Upper Triassic reefs, huge megabreccias bodies, and widespread submarine volcanisms along the transition zone suggest the presence of a long lasting weakness zone. This zone has been reactivated episodically as transpressional and/or transtensional faults in relation to the different geodynamic stress acting in central Mediterranean area in different epochs. We speculate that this transition zone has represented a segment of the passive margin of the Ionian Tethys. During the Maghrebian convergence a different style of deformation has affected the two sectors floored by different sedimentary multilayers. The orthogonal-to-oblique differential convergence between the two sectors has resulted in right-lateral transpressional motions, leading to oblique thrusting of deep-water-derived thrusts onto platform-derived thrusts associated with clockwise rotations. The oblique convergence is still ongoing as demonstrated by the seismicity of the area, by the geothermal field with high mantle-derived helium fluxes and by the GPS measurements collected by different authors.

Traditional electrode arrays such Wenner-Schlumberger or dipole-dipole are still widely used thanks to their well-known properties but the array configurations are generally not optimized for multi-channel resistivity measures. Synthetic datasets relating to four different arrays, dipole-dipole (DD), pole-dipole (PD), Wenner-Schlumberger (WS) and a modified version of multiple gradient (MG), have been made for a systematic comparison between 2D resistivity models and their inverted images. Different sets of array configurations generated from simple combinations of geometric parameters (potential dipole lengths and dipole separation factors) were tested with synthetic and field data sets, even considering the influence of errors and the acquisition velocity. The purpose is to establish array configurations capable to provide reliable results but, at the same time, not involving excessive survey costs, even linked to the acquiring time and therefore to the number of current dipoles used. For DD, PD and WS arrays a progression of different datasets were considered increasing the number of current dipoles trying to get about the same amount of measures. A multi-coverage MG array configuration is proposed by increasing the lateral coverage and so the number of current dipoles. Noise simulating errors both on the electrode positions and on the electric potential was added. The array configurations have been tested on field data acquired in the landfill site of Bellolampo (Palermo, Italy), to detect and locate the leachate plumes and to identify the HDPE bottom of the landfill. The inversion results were compared using a quantitative analysis of data misfit, relative model resolution and model misfit. The results show that the trends of the first two parameters are linked on the array configuration and that a cumulative analysis of these parameters can help to choose the best array configuration in order to obtain a good resolution and reliability of a survey, according to generally short acquisition times.

A set of horizontal to vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) and multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) measurements, carried out in the Altavilla Milicia (Sicily) area, is analyzed to test a geological model of the area. Statistical techniques have been used in different stages of the data analysis, to optimize the reliability of the information extracted from geophysical measurements. In particular, cluster analysis algorithms have been implemented to select the time windows of the microseismic signal to be used for calculating the spectral ratio H/V and to identify sets of spectral ratio peaks likely caused by the same underground structures. Using results of reflection seismic lines, typical values of P-wave and S-wave velocity were estimated for each geological formation present in the area. These were used to narrow down the research space of parameters for the HVSR interpretation. MASW profiles have been carried out close to each HVSR measuring point, provided the parameters of the shallower layers for the HVSR models. MASW inversion has been constrained by extrapolating thicknesses from a known stratigraphic sequence. Preliminary 1D seismic models were obtained by adding deeper layers to models that resulted from MASW inversion. These justify the peaks of the HVSR curves due to layers deeper than MASW investigation depth. Furthermore, much deeper layers were included in the HVSR model, as suggested by geological setting and stratigraphic sequence. This choice was made considering that these latter layers do not generate other HVSR peaks and do not significantly affect the misfit. The starting models have been used to limit the starting research space for a more accurate interpretation, made considering the noise as a superposition of Rayleigh and Love waves. Results allowed to recognize four main seismic layers and to associate them to the main stratigraphic successions. The lateral correlation of seismic velocity models, joined with tectonic evidences, allowed to plot two geological sections, showing the main pattern of geological formations and tectonic structures.

We plan to deploy in the Taranto Gulf some Ocean Bottom broadband Seismometer with Hydrophones. Our aim is to investigate the offshore seismicity of the Sibari Gulf. The seismographic network optimization consists in the identification of the optimal sites for the installation of the offshore stations, which is a crucial factor for the success of the monitoring campaign. In this paper, we propose a two steps automatic procedure for the identification of the best stations geometry. In the first step, based on the application of a set of a priori criteria, the suitable sites to host the ocean bottom seismic stations are identified. In the second step, the network improvement is evaluated for all the possible stations geometries by means of numerical simulation. The application of this procedure allows us to identify the best stations geometry to be achieved in the monitoring campaign.

In 2009 December, the OBSLab-INGV (Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia) deployed an Ocean Bottom Seismometer with Hydrophone (OBS/H) near the epicentral area of the main shock of the Palermo seismic sequence of 2002. The monitoring activity had a total duration of about 8 months. During this experiment, the OBS/H recorded 247 very local microearthquakes, whose local magnitude is between -0.5 and 2.5 and TS - TP delay time between 0.2 and 5 s, almost all ofwhichwere undetected by the Italian National Seismic Network. This local microseismicity has been analysed using an innovative clustering technique that exploits the similarity between the waveforms generated by different events. The clustering technique implemented, based on hierarchical agglomerative algorithms, nearest neighbour technique and dendrogram representation, allowed us to identify nine distinct multiplets characterized by a high degree of similarity between the waveforms. The microevents were located through an improved single-station location (SSL) technique based on the polarization analysis of the 3C signals and on the estimation of the TS - TP time. In the new SSL technique, an unbiased covariance matrix was defined and a ray tracer-based determination of the epicentral distance and hypocentral depth was proposed. All the multiplets were generated by events with hypocentres that were very close to each other. However, not all the identified clusters are also clustered in the time-magnitude domain. It was also observed that some multiplets have clouds of hypocentres overlapping each other. These clusters, indistinguishable without the application of a waveforms clustering technique, show differences in the waveforms that must be attributed to differences in the focal mechanisms which generated the waveforms. The local seismic events recorded are typical of a seismicity generated by a volume characterized by a highly complex fracturing pattern and by an important role in the dynamics of fluid systems that, given the great depth of some multiplets, could come from the mantle. This picture is in agreement with the geometric characterization of the Palermo 2002 seismogenic volume. © The Authors 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Royal Astronomical Society.

The selection of the elementary analysis windows in continuous noise recordings for optimal estimation of the mean horizontal‐to‐vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) curve is generally performed by visual inspection of HVSR curves considered as functions of time. Starting from full‐length records, HVSR curves are determined in consecutive time windows of appropriate lengths. Time windows with HVSR curves that are anomalous on the basis of a simple visual inspection are generally ignored in the computation of the average HVSR curve. It is often very difficult to optimize the selection of time windows to be used for the calculation of the HVSR curve representative of a site. The use of nonobjective selection criteria produces results which depend on personal opinions of the operator and for which reliability cannot be assessed with quantitative parameters. We implemented an automatic procedure, based on cluster analysis, for the determination of the optimal window subset for the computation of the average HVSR curve. The procedure is based on the application of the agglomerative hierarchical clustering, using a measure of proximity of the standard correlation between HVSR curves and, as a rule for merging clusters, the average linking criterion. The procedure has been applied to 814 measures of seismic noise, carried out for the first‐level microzonation of 20 municipalities of Eastern Sicily characterized by high seismic hazard. A critical comparison of the results obtained by the clustering procedure implemented with those previously obtained by processing the same recordings with a technique based on the visual comparison of the spectral ratios of all the analysis windows has shown that the automatic clustering procedure seems to be capable of achieving a better partitioning of a set of HVSR curves and thus provides effective help in the process of distinguishing between peaks mainly linked to the site effects and others mainly related to the source effects.

SUMMARY In this study we have determined detailed Vp and Vs seismic velocity models of the Ionian lithosphere subducting beneath the Tyrrhenian basin and of the surrounding mantle, by applying a post-processing technique to a large sample of local earthquake tomography studies. Our seismic velocity models permit us to infer the presence of low velocity anomalies within the slab, which we interpret as regions that are partially hydrated by fluids released during the subduction process. A petrological interpretation of the velocity anomalies gives new details on the magmatism of the volcanic Aeolian arc. Furthermore our velocity models provideamoredetaileddescriptionoftheboundaryoftheslabanditsconnectionwiththelarge seismically active Tindari-Letojanni strike slip system. Finally these results allow describing in detail some features of the slab as the presence of lateral and vertical tears. In conclusion, the obtained models provide some constraints for inferences on mantle circulation, and on the geodynamical evolution of the central-western Mediterranean.

A properly organized seismic network is a valuable tool for monitoring seismic zones and assessing seismic hazards. In this paper we propose a new method (seismic network evaluation through simulation, SNES) to evaluate the performance of hypocenter location of a seismic network. The SNES method gives, as a function of magnitude, hypocentral depth, and confidence level, the spatial distribution of the number of active stations in the location procedure and their relative azimuthal gaps, along with confidence intervals in hypocentral parameters. The application of the SNES method also permits evaluation of the magnitude of completeness ( M C ), the background noise levels at the stations, and assessment of the appropriateness of the velocity model used in location routine. Italy sits on a tectonically active plate boundary at the convergence of the Eurasian and African lithospheric plates and has a high level of seismicity. In this paper, we apply the SNES method to the Italian National Seismic Network (Rete Sismica Nazionale Centralizzata dell’Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, RSNC–INGV) which has monitored Italian seismicity since the early 1980s, following the destructive 1980 Irpinia earthquake. In recent years, the RSNC–INGV has grown significantly. In fact, in February 2010, it received signals from 305 seismic stations, 258 with wideband three-component sensors. We constructed SNES maps for magnitudes of 1.5, 2, 2.5, and 3, fixing the hypocentral depth at 10 km and the confidence level at 95%. Through the application of the SNES method, we show that the RSNC–INGV provides the best monitoring coverage in the Apennine Mountains with errors that for M 2, are less than 2 and 4 km for epicenter and hypocentral depth, respectively. At M 2.5 this seismic network is capable of constraining earthquake hypocenters to depths of about 150 km for most of the Italian Peninsula. This seismic network provides a threshold of completeness down to M 2 for almost the entire Italian territory.

This paper deals with a comparison among recent structure and seismicity in the hinge zone between northern Sicily and southern Tyrrhenian, corresponding to both emerged and submerged northern portion of the Maghrebian chain. This hinge zone is part of a wider W–E trending right-lateral shear zone, mainly characterized by both a synthetic NW-SE/W–E oriented, and antithetic left-lateral N–S/NE-SW fault systems, which has been affecting the tectonic edifice, since the Pliocene. The inland structures have been mapped using aerial-photo interpretation, geological mapping and mesostructural analysis to reconstruct the stress regime in the study area. On the contrary, the offshore structures have been inferred from the available morpho-bathymetric and geological maps of the southern Tyrrhenian basin. A seismological analysis was carried out on a data set of about 11,000 seismic events occurred between January 1981 and December 2005 in the study area. The observed local magnitude is mainly comprised between 2.0 and 2.3, reaching in places peak values greater than 5.5. The distribution of the hypocenters allowed to recognize three major seismogenic zones. The deepest events (down to about 600 km) of the easternmost area are related to the Ionian lithospheric slab subducting beneath the Calabrian arc. A set of events is substantially depending by the Etna volcano activity. The third set of events is heterogeneously distributed mainly in the southern Tyrrhenian and in the eastern Sicily. This latter seismogenic zone is strictly connected to the deformation field active within the hinge zone. A statistical analysis of the seismological data allowed to individuate several clusters of events occurred in the hinge zone, which have been subsequently relocated with a relative location method. Furthermore, the seismogenic processes, relative to the most numerous clusters, were characterized in the space, time and magnitude domains with statistical techniques. The collected focal mechanisms, even if highlight the complexity of the relationships between seismogenic volumes of the clusters and single dislocations, also show some spatial trends useful to the seismotectonic analysis. On the whole, both structural and seismological data seem to be consistent with a neotectonic model related to NW-SE trending maximum compressional stress axis producing a non-coaxial strain, even if in particular areas different seismogenic conditions are possible, due to the accommodation of rock volumes leading a marked mechanical heterogeneity.

The ocean bottom seismometer with hydrophone deployed on the flat top of the Marsili submarine volcano (790 m deep) by the Gibilmanna OBS Lab (CNT–INGV) from 12th to 21st July, 2006, recorded more than 1000 transient seismic signals. Nineteen of these signals were associated with tectonic earthquakes: 1 teleseismic, 8 regional (located by INGV) and 10 small local seismic events (non located earthquakes). The regional events were used to determine sensor orientation. By comparing the signals recorded with typical volcanic seismic activity, we were able to group all the other signals into three categories: 817 volcano–tectonic type B (VT-B) events, 159 occurrences of high frequency tremor (HFT) and 32 short duration events (SDE). Small-magnitude VT-B swarms, having a frequency band of 2–6 Hz and a mean length of about 30 s, were almost all recorded during the first 7 days. During the last 2 days, the OBS/H mainly recorded HFT events with frequencies of over 40 Hz and of a few minutes in length. Signals that have similar features in frequency and time domain are generally associated with hydrothermal activity. During the last two days a signal was recorded that had a frequency content similar to that of VT-B events was recorded. It will be referred to as continuous volcanic tremor (CVT). The SDE signals, characterized by a quasi-monochromatic waveform and having an exponential decaying envelope, may have been generated by oscillations of resonant bodies excited by magmatic or hydrothermal activity. By applying polarization and parametric spectral analyses, we inferred that the VT-B were probably multi P-phase events having shallow sources that were situated in narrow azimuthal windows in relation to the positions of the OBS/H. The parametric spectral analysis of the SDE signals allowed us to determine their dominant complex frequencies with high accuracy; these frequencies are distributed in two distinct clusters on the complex plane.

In recent times the use of microtremor techniques for subsoil investigation increased significantly. The use of HVSR (Horizontal to Vertical Spectral Ratio)technique for seismic microzoning studies allows in many case to obtain detailed reconstruction of the roof of the seismic bedrock and to identify areas with similar seismic behaviour. Two different algorithms of clusteringhave been tested on a HVSR datasets acquired for studies of seismic microzoning in various Sicilian urban centers. HVSR data were previously properly processed to extract frequency and amplitude of peaks by a code based on clustering of HVSR curves determined in sliding time windows.To select an optimal set of time windows we have implemented a cluster procedure based on Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering algorithms.After defining the average HVSR curves a second multi-parametric clustering procedurehas been used to group peaks tobe attributed to the same origin (stratigraphic, tectonic, topographic, anthropogenic or other sources). A nonhierarchical centroid-based algorithm has been implemented. The comparison of the HVSR pattern with the information about outcropping formations allowed to assess the geological hypotheses on the heavily urbanized investigated areas.

A new filtering technique for single-fold wide-angle reflection/refraction seismic data is presented. The technique is based on the wavelet decomposition of a set of adjacent traces followed by coherence analysis. The filtering procedure consists of three steps. In the first, a wavelet decomposition of traces into different detail levels is performed. In the second, the coherence attributes for each level are evaluated by calculating cross-correlation functions of detail portions contained in a space–time moving window. Finally, the filtered traces are obtained as a weighted reconstruction of the trace details. Each weight is obtained from the coherence-attributes distribution estimated in a proper interval. A sequence of tests is then conducted in order to select possible optimum or unsuitable wavelet bases. The efficiency of the filter proposed was assessed by calculating some properly designed parameters in order to compare it with other standard de-noising techniques. The proposed method produced a clear signal enhancement in high-density wide-angle seismic data, thus proving that it is a useful processing tool for a reliable correlation of seismic phases.

— A maximum-likelihood (ML) estimator of the correlation dimension d 2 of fractal sets of points not affected by the left-hand truncation of their inter-distances is defined. Such truncation might produce significant biases of the ML estimates of d 2 when the observed scale range of the phenomenon is very narrow, as often occurs in seismological studies. A second very simple algorithm based on the determination of the first two moments of the inter-distances distribution (SOM) is also proposed, itself not biased by the left-hand truncation effect. The asymptotic variance of the ML estimates is given. Statistical tests carried out on data samples with different sizes extracted from populations of inter-distances following a power law, suggested that the sample variance of the estimates obtained by the proposed methods are not significantly different, and are well estimated by the asymptotic variance also for samples containing a few hundred inter-distances. To examine the effects of different sources of systematic errors, the two estimators were also applied to sets of inter-distances between points belonging to statistical fractal distributions, baker's maps and experimental distributions of earthquake epicentres. For a full evaluation of the results achieved by the methods proposed here, these were compared with those obtained by the ML estimator for untruncated samples or by the least-squares algorithm.

This paper introduces a new technique for clustering seismic events based on processing, in time-frequency domain, the waveforms recorded by seismographs. The detection of clusters of waveforms is performed by a k-means like algorithm which analyzes, at each iteration, the time-frequency content of the signals in order to optimally remove the non discriminant components which should compromise the grouping of waveforms. This step is followed by the allocation and by the computation of the cluster centroids on the basis of the filtered signals. The effectiveness of the method is shown on a real dataset of seismic waveforms.

SUMMARY An application of HVSR inversion is presented in order to verify the effectiveness of this technique for purposes of geological reconstruction of the subsoil finalized to studies of seismic microzonation of heavily urbanized areas, where few stratigraphic and geophysical constraints are available and most of the information are derived from the geological maps. In such cases the uncertainty of the results is is enhanced by doubts on the nature of the H/V peaks, not always caused by stratigraphic discontinuities, and to the subjective choices done especially in the step of signal preprocessing. The investigated area (Altavilla Milicia, Sicily) includes the town center and the adjacent coastal plain, characterized mainly by outcrops of marine terraces and continental Pleistocene deposits that do not indicate directly the oldest geological formations, which, however, outcrop in the surrounding areas. However in order to constrain the inversion of the HVSR curves we uses only the detailed knowledge of the geological formations outcropping in the surrounding area and of the tectonic history, together with the typical seismic velocity of the formation outcropping in the area. In spite of this two geological sections have been constructed, showing the main pattern of geological formations and tectonic structures.

Horizontal to Vertical Spectral Ratio (HVSR) datasets acquired for studies of seismic microzoning in various urban centers of Sicilian towns, have been used to test clustering analysis through a nonhierarchical centroid-based algorithm. In this context clustering techniques may be useful to identify areas with similar seismic behaviour through HVSR data. Centroid-based algorithms generally require the number of clusters, k, and the initial centroid coordinates to be specified in advance. This aspect is considered to be one of the biggest drawbacks of these algorithms. The proposed algorithm doesn’t limit the number of k clusters and choose the initial centroids automatically from the data set. Azimuthal variation of the H/V peaks was also taken into account. Finally different partitions obtained using the centroid-based algorithm were superimposed on the geological map of the analyzed sites to identify possible correlations with geology and topography. The obtained results underline how the most appropriate clustering algorithm for a particular site often needs to be chosen experimentally. In fact in many cases the choice of the partition is strongly linked to the choice of parametric distance and to geological knowledge, while in other cases, the results showed similar results regardless of a priori choices.

Geophysical surveys are carried out in the coastal area of Petrosino (south-western Sicily) to study the time evolution of seawater contamination of the coastal aquifer, probably increased due to human impact. The overexploitation of the aquifer, due to an intensive agricultural use has affected significantly the natural hydro-geochemical state of the basin. The study is based on a processing and integrated analysis of hydrogeological, geochemical and geophysical data. In particular in the last two years seasonal time-lapse electrical resistivity tomographies (ERT), new TDEM soundings and Multi-Analysis Surface Wave soundings (MASW) have been carried out. The interpretation of the total set of previously existing and new geophysical data made it possible to reconstruct a threedimensional model of the electrical resistivity of the aquifer, aimed at defining the extent and geometry of the seawater intrusion. Furthermore, the execution of a series of high-resolution timelapse electrical tomographies and a correlation analysis between geophysical measures and geochemical, geological and hydrogeological data allowed to discriminate the effects of the salt concentration in the groundwater and the porosity and saturation degree of the rock on the time variations of the measured electrical resistivity. Finally, the average porosity of the rocks forming the reservoir was determined.

Because of its high seismic hazard the urban area of Oliveri has been subject of first level seismic microzonation. The town develops on a large coastal plain made of mixed fluvial/marine sediments, overlapping a complexly deformed substrate. In order to identify points on the area probably suffering relevant site effects and define a preliminary Vs subsurface model for the first level of microzonation, we performed 23 HVSR measurements. A clustering technique of continuous signals has been used to optimize the calculation of the HVSR curves. 42 reliable peaks of the H/V spectra in the frequency range 0.6–10 Hz have been identified. A second clustering technique has been applied to the set of 42 vectors, containing Cartesian coordinates, central frequency and amplitude of each peak to identify subsets which can be attributed to continuous spatial phenomena. The algorithm has identified three main clusters that cover significant parts of the territory of Oliveri. The HVSR data inversion has been constrained by stratigraphic data of a borehole. To map the trend of the roof of the seismic bedrock, from the complete set of model parameters only the depth of the seismic interface that generates peaks fitting those belonging to two clusters characterized by lower frequency has been extracted. The reconstructed trend of the top of the seismic bedrock highlight its deepening below the mouth of the Elicona Torrent, thus suggesting the possible presence of a buried paleo-valley.

We present 3-D models of the P- and S-wave velocity distributions in the crust and uppermost mantle beneath Sicily, Calabria (Southern Italy), and surrounding submerged areas, obtained by tomographic inversion of traveltimes of regional body waves phases. Our method combines double-difference tomographic inversion with a post-processing procedure [Weighted Average Model method (WAM)]. This procedure was applied to a set of models consistent with the experimental data. We tested the ability of the WAM procedure to mitigate the uncertainty associated with the arbitrary nature of the many input parameters required for each inversion. The local reliability and resolution of the obtained models have been assessed through: synthetic tests, experimental tests carried out with independent data sets and unconventional tests based on the analysis of the internal consistency of the P- and S-velocity models. The tomographic images provide a detailed sketch of P- and S-wave velocity anomalies. These clearly show the shape of the Sicilian-Maghrebian belt beneath Sicily and Calabrian Arc at different depths. Low VP and Vs bodies are imaged beneath Stromboli and Marsili volcanoes in the southern Tyrrhenian, whereas high and low seismic velocities alternate beneath the Etna giving inferences on the possible depth of the mantle melting feeding the volcano. In the upper crust, the main sedimentary basins and tectonic features are also well imaged. Finally, tomographic cross sections show the trend of the Moho in the study area, where its depth ranges between 35 and 40 km beneath the Sicilian belt and between 15 and 22 km in the southern Tyrrhenian basin and Ionian Sea. © The Authors 2013 Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Royal Astronomical Society.

In order to find similarity between multidimensional curves, we consider the application of a procedure that provides a simultaneous assignation to clusters and alignment of such functions. In particular we look for clusters of multivariate seismic waveforms based on EM-type procedure and functional data analysis tools.

In this paper we introduce a simple procedure to identify clusters of multivariate waveforms based on a simultaneous assignation and alignment procedure. This approach is aimed at the identification of clusters of earthquakes, assuming that similarities between seismic events with respect to hypocentral parameters and focal mechanism correspond to similarities between waveforms of events. Therefore we define a distance measure between seismic curves in R^d d>=1, in order to interpret and better understand the main features of the generating seismic process.

The complexity of volcano-hosted hydrothermal systems is such that thorough characterization requires extensive and interdisciplinary work. We use here an integrated multidisciplinary approach, combining geological investigations with hydrogeochemical and soil degassing prospecting, and resistivity surveys, to provide a comprehensive characterization of the shallow structure of the southwestern Ischia's hydrothermal system. We show that the investigated area is characterized by a structural setting that, although very complex, can be schematized in three sectors, namely, the extra caldera sector (ECS), caldera floor sector (CFS), and resurgent caldera sector (RCS). This contrasted structural setting governs fluid circulation. Geochemical prospecting shows, in fact, that the caldera floor sector, a structural and topographic low, is the area where CO2-rich (>40 cm3/l) hydrothermally mature (log Mg/Na ratios 150 g m−2 d−1), is clearly captured by electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and transient electromagnetic (TEM) surveys as a highly conductive (resistivity 10,000 mg/l) and poorly conductive meteoric-derived (TDS < 4,000 mg/l) waters are observed, respectively. We finally integrate our observations to build a general model for fluid circulation in the shallowest (

An analysis is conducted on a catalogue containing more than 2000 seismic events occurred in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea between 1988 and October 2002, as an attempt to characterise the main seismogenetic processes active in the area in space, time and magnitude domain by means of the parameters of phenomenological laws. We chose to adopt simple phenomenological models, since the low number of data did not allow to use more complex laws. The two main seismogenetic volumes present in the area were considered for the purpose of this work. The first includes a nearly homogeneous distribution of hypocentres in a NW steeply dipping layer as far as about 400 km depth. This is probably the seismological expression of the Ionian lithospheric slab subducting beneath the Calabrian Arc. The second contains hypocentres concentrated about a sub-horizontal plane lying at an average depth of about 10 km. It is characterised by a background seismicity spread all over the area and by clusters of events that generally show a direction of maximum elongation. The parameters of the models describing seismogenetically homogeneous subsets of the earthquake catalogue in the three analysis domains, along with their confidence intervals, are estimated and analysed to establish whether they can be regarded as representative of a particular subset.

We obtained a high-resolution seismic tomography of the Ionian lithosphere subduction using a new approach based on: (a) the Double-Difference technique for inversions and (b) the statistical post-processing of a great number of preliminary models (Weighted Average Model, WAM method); the latter was used to increase reliability and resolution. In the tomographic model, the high-velocity portion of the steeply dipping Ionian slab is well imaged, as is an underlying low-Vp (≈7.0 km/s) aseismic region. We propose that the low-velocity region can be assigned to a partially hydrated (serpentinized) mantle of the subducting Ionian slab, which progressively dehydrates with depth in dense high-pressure phases. In the mantle wedge overlying the slab, large areas, characterized by low-Vp (≤7.0 km/s) and high Vp/Vs (≥1.85), have been imaged beneath the Stromboli and Marsili volcanoes down to a maximum depth of 180 km. We have interpreted these areas as being regions where mantle partial melts form and accumulate and which then feed the present-day Aeolian Archipelago magmatism

In this paper we propose a clustering technique, based on the maximization of the likelihood function defined from the generalization of a model for seismic activity (ETAS model, (Ogata (1988))), iteratively changing the partitioning of the events. In this context it is useful to apply models requiring the distinction between independent events (i.e. the background seismicity) and strongly correlated ones. This technique develops nonparametric estimation methods of the point process intensity function. To evaluate the goodness of fit of the model, from which the clustering method is implemented, residuals process analysis is used.

The northern coast of Sicily and its offshore area represent a hinge zone between a sector of the Tyrrhenian Basin, characterized by the strongest crustal thinning, and the sector of the Sicilian belt which has emerged. This hinge zone is part of a wider W-E trending right-lateral shear zone, which has been affecting the Maghrebian Chain units since the Pliocene. Seismological and structural data have been used to evaluate the seismotectonic behavior of the area investigated here. Seismological analysis was performed on a data set of about 2100 seismic events which occurred between January 1988 and October 2002 in the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea. This paper focuses in particular on a set of data relating to the period from 6th September 2002, including both the main shock and about 540 aftershocks of the Palermo seismic sequence. The distribution of the hypocenters revealed the presence of two main seismogenic zones. The events of the easternmost zone may be related to the Ionian lithospheric slab diving beneath the Calabrian Arc. The seismicity associated with the westernmost zone is closely clustered around a sub-horizontal regression plane contained within the thinned Southern Tyrrhenian crust, hence suggesting that this seismogenic zone is strictly connected to the deformation field active within the hinge zone. On the basis of both structural and seismological data, the brittle deformation pattern is characterized by high-angle faults, mainly represented by transcurrent synthetic right-lateral and antithetic left-lateral systems, producing both restraining/uplifting and releasing/subsiding zones which accommodate strains developing in response to the current stress field (characterized by a maximum axis trending NW-SE) which has been active in the area since the Pliocene. The cluster of the seismic sequence which started with the 6th September 2002's main shock is located within the hinge zone. The distribution of the hypocenters relative to this sequence emphasizes the presence of a high-angle NE-SW-oriented deformation belt within which several shear surfaces are considered to be found sub-parallel to that established for the main shock. The kinematics of all these structures is consistent with a compressive right-lateral focal mechanism.

Estimates of the fractal dimension of hypocentral distributions require evaluating the range of independent variables in which fractal parameters exhibit a power law. Systematic and accidental errors are produced mainly by the subjective selection of this range, the insufficiency of data sets as well as by hypocenter mislocations. Therefore it is very important to determine the confidence intervals which are associated with fractal dimension estimates. The effects of various sources of errors are studied using different geometric clusters of epicenters, which have been synthetically generated using a multicluster algorithm with different hierarchical levels, so as to reproduce some characteristics of the patterns typical of real epicenter distributions. Subsequently, groups of differently sized subsets of synthetic epicenters were obtained by randomly sampling each distribution. Confidence intervals of fractal dimensions were thus calculated using all the estimates obtained for the various subsets. This procedure was also tested on real seismic data, consisting of epicentral distributions in three Sicilian areas and five clusters of mining-induced seismic events (Wujek coal mine, Poland). In that analysis both correlation dimensions and their confidence intervals were taken into account.

Here is presented an approach to carry out a fast construction of pseudosections using resistivity data. The purpose of the procedure is to obtain maps and sections which match as closely as possible the geometry of the structures which are investigated. Even if such a procedure is not a real inversion but only an arrangement of the experimental data, it can nevertheless be used as a useful tool in their interpretation or, at least, as a first step before the inversion, that is in the choice of a preliminary inversion model. In principle the method works like a back-projection in a pixel grid, which is performed by arranging the experimental data in a sort of a sets of convolutions using 2D or 3D filters. The coefficients can be calculated depending on the geometry (type, size, relative position and direction) of the electrode array which is used. Consequently the filters for pole-pole and pole-dipole arrays are presented. Furthermore some aspects of the method are discussed together with some applications, using both synthetic as well as experimental data. The former ones were calculated for a simple model (a buried resistive sphere) while the latter ones concerned some resistivity profiles acquired in Sardinia and in Tuscany, in the course of some archaeological investigations. Key words: pseudosection, resistivity profile, pseudo-depth section, pseudo-inversion, electric tomography, pole-pole andpole-dipole arrays.

In this paper further adjustments are presented regarding the method given by Cosentino et al. (1995, 1997) to construct rapidly 3D tomographic pictures from resistivity data. The purpose of the procedure (a filtered back-projection of the experimental data) is to obtain 2D or 3D pictures which match as closely as possible the geometry of the structures which are being investigated. In order to optimize the target some problems should be solved. Firstly, one should try to detect correctly the depth of electrical discontinuities (or anomalous bodies); secondly and not less important, one should try to determine the size as weIl the shape of the structures which are buried. In this paper we study the conneetion between the resistivity of the anomalous bodies and their effect on the apparent resistivity distribution. The results suggest that is best to optimize the values of the filters using also the negative values of the influence coefficients; they give also some information which appear useful to improve the estimate of both the depth and geometry of the bodies.

In this paper an example is given of an application of statistical techniques to the Bouguer anomalies analysis in order to design a simple crustal model using few a priori assumptions. All gravity measurements carried out in Sardinia have been collected and processed. The Bouguer anomalies have been calculated according to local density estimates. Spectral analysis of the Bouguer anomalies has been carried out along selected profiles in order to estimate the mean depth of the Moho discontinuity and that of an infracrustal discontinuity. The use of this technique inferred the presence of a discontinuity at a mean depth of ~ 28 km, interpreted as Moho and the likely presence of an infracrustal discontinuity at a mean depth of ~18 km, interpreted as the upper-lower crust transition. In order to roughly reconstruct the shape of these interfaces, 2D inversion techniques were applied to the large wavelength components of the Bouguer anomalies, relative to profiles oriented along the E-W direction, extracted from low-pass filtered Bouguer anomaly maps. The density model obtained is compatible with some velocity models achieved from the interpretation of the seismic refraction profiles carried out within the European Geotraverse project.

This paper presents a solution to the inverse electrical problem for the interpretation of apparent resistivity anomalies due to empty buried cavities of quasi-spherical shape when tripotential measures are carried out. The anomalies of the apparent resistivities ra,rb andrg,and the composed resistivitiesrmand rt were previously calculated for a sufficient class of spherical models of resistivity anomalies. Then, for the whole class of models, some functionals of spatial distribution of the apparent and composed resistivity were identified and analyzed. They represent the average characteristics of the anomalies and, depending in a simple way on the fundamental parameters of the sources of the anomalies (average diameter and depth), they allow reliable estimates to be determined. Among the studied functionals, those allowing the most stable and less biased estimates of the anomaly source parameters are identified by numerical simulations with random noise perturbed data. Finally the trend of standard deviation and bias of the estimates of the unknown parameters were analyzed by varying the source models and the set of functionals used for the inversion.

In this paper a focusing electrode arrangement proposed by Cosentino (1970) is analyzed. The response of this arrangement in presence of a buried conductive sphere has been calculated following Van Nostrand and Cook (1966), while some experiments have been carried out in order to control the arrangement on physical models (Cosentino and Ficarra , 1974).

Usual construction techniques of the pseudo-sections relative to d.c. resistivity profiles strongly distort the shapes of the anomalous buried bodies, whatever electrodic array is used (Fraser, 1981; Scurtu, 1972).

A systematic comparison is presented between some 2D resistivity models and their images by the inversion of synthetic datasets relating to three different arrays, suitable for multichannel data acquisitions (dipole-dipole (DD), Wenner-Schlumberger (WS) and multiple gradient (MG)). The goal is to study how the measurement errors affects the resolution of the tomographic models and the ability to retrieve correct information on buried targets. We considered different data acquisition patterns, gradually increasing the complexity of the combinations of potential spacing and dipolar distance. To this end we increased the number of current dipoles to obtain approximately the same amount of measures, increasing the investigation time. Results from noise-free and noisy data are discussed and compared with those from field data. The results show that: the quality of the inversion models, for a fixed noise level, depends significantly on the data acquisition pattern; the information recovery and the resolution, being equal the number of measurements, is overall better for WS and worse for DD; the decrease of sensitivity with depth is lower for particular acquisition patterns that allow to better resolve deeper targets; the MG array can be preferred because it provides comparable results, using a smaller number of current electrodes.

This paper presents the results obtained from a geoelectrical study carried out on the Himera plane for archaeological research. Both the tripotential method and the dipole-dipole profile method have been used on a 40 m ´ 40 m investigation area in order to obtain several resistivity maps. The latter show different geoelectrical anomalies, the shape of which allows us to interpret simple archaeological structures, consistent with current knowledge of ancient Himera sites. Furthermore, the study of the whole set of data in the resistivity domain has allowed us to infer some other characteristics from the subsequent geological process of alluvial covering of the site.

In this paper we propose a clustering technique set up to separate and find out the two main components of seismicity: the background seismicity and the triggered one. We suppose that a seismic catalogue is the realization of a non homogeneous space-time Poisson clustered process, with a different parametrization for the intensity function of the Poisson-type component and of the clustered (triggered) component. The method here proposed assigns each earthquake to the cluster of earthquakes, or to the set of independent events, according to the increment to the likelihood function, computed using the conditional intensity function estimated by maximum likelihood methods and iteratively changing the assignment of the events; after a change of partition, MLE of parameters are estimated again and the process is iterated until there is no more improvement in the likelihood.

The Horizontal to Vertical Noise Spectral Ratio (HVNSR) method is nowadays widely used to estimate the resonance frequencies of geological structures. In the HVNSR method, seismic noise is considered as a stationary stochastic process. However, especially in industrialized/urbanized area, this is a very strict assumption seldom occurred. Several sources of noise can generate non stationary and anisotropic microtremor fields. To investigate the stationarity of microtremor, we have carried out several long-term measures of seismic noise with broad-band seismic sensors, in areas where the main source of anthropogenic noise is well known. The signals acquired have been analyzed both in frequency and in time domain. Our analysis have showed as the shape of the HVNSR curves can be strongly conditioned by the presence of near anthropogenic sources of noise. Useful information can be derived by the analysis of the data spectral density and by checking the azimuthal dependence of the HVNSR. The first one allows to easy identify different sources of seismic noise while the second one, in particular its time variability, is a useful instrument to evaluate the reliability of the data to estimate resonance frequencies of geological structures.

In landfills, changes in resistivity and chargeability can be related to the characteristics of the waste and they can be abrupt and considerable within short distances. These physical properties are function of generation, mobility and degree of saturation of the leachate, gas generation, compaction density and variability. These relationships mean that it can be possible to get an overall image of the quantity and characteristics of the waste from surface electrical measurements over the landfill. In this paper, we present and discuss the results of three electrical tomographies carried out in the landfill site of Bellolampo (Palermo, Italy). The main aim of these surveys was to check the integrity of the geomembrane. The application of the geoelectrical methods have allowed to obtain useful information to check the integrity of the geomembrane at the base of the new landfill built in the waste site of Bellolampo, unfortunately on fractured limestones and at high risk of pollution. The comparison between ERT and IPT, performed upstream, above and downstream of the landfill, allowed to identify the electrical properties of the rock, waste and leachate, and detect the possible presence of plumes of pollutant nearby and below the landfill.

Continuous gravity observations performed in the last few years, both at Mt. Etna and Stromboli, have prompted the need to improve the tidal analysis in order to acquire the best corrected data for the detection of volcano related signals. On Mt. Etna, the sites are very close to each other and the expected tidal factor differences are negligible. It is thus useful to unify the tidal analysis results of the different data sets in a unique tidal model. This tidal model, which can be independently confirmed by a modeling of the tidal parameters based on the elastic response of the Earth to tidal forces and the computation of the ocean tides effects on gravity, is very useful for the precise tidal gravity prediction required by absolute or relative discrete gravity measurements. The change in time of the gravimeters’ sensitivity is also an important issue to be checked since it affects not only the results of tidal analysis but also the accuracy of the observed gravity changes. Conversely, if a good tidal model is available, the sensitivity variations can be accurately reconstructed so as to retune observed tidal records with the synthetic tide, since the tidal parameters are assumed to be constant at a given location.

date de rédaction: 2008/07-2009/01 date d'envoi aux rapporteurs: 2009/02; The seismicity beneath the southern Italy and Tyrrhenian sea is mostly linked to the subduction process of the Ionian oceanic lithosphere into the Tyrrhenian mantle down to about 500 km in depth. The tomographic techniques applied up to now showed a lack of detail does not allow for discriminating the smaller structures within the larger ones living open many questions on the geodynamic evolution of the area. In this thesis I presented a detailed study of the lithospheric and intra-mantellic structures of the southern Tyrrhenian region by performing a high resolution Local Earthquake Tomography (LET). During this study I developed a post-processing technique called WAM (Weighted Average Model) allows the reconstruction of reliable velocity models of P and S waves. Thanks to WAM it was possible to describe the 3D shape of the Ionian slab and to suggest a new geodynamic scenario of the region based on some petrological inferences.; La sismicité sous la mer Tyrrhénienne méridionale et le sud de l'Italie est essentiellement attribuée à la subduction de la lithosphère océanique Ionienne qui s'enfonce dans le manteau Tyrrhénien jusqu'à 500 km de profondeur. Les tomographies proposées à ce jour n'ont pas une résolution suffisante pour distinguer les différentes structures géologiques à grande profondeur, laissant donc encore de nombreuses questions ouvertes concernant la géodynamique régionale. Dans ce travail on a en développé des aspects méthodologiques qui mettent en œuvre une nouvelle technique de post-processing appelée WAM (Weighted Average Model). Cette méthode nous a permis d' obtenir des modèles de vitesse à haute résolution de la région sud Tyrrhénienne en réalisant une tomographie sismique 3D des ondes P et S. Avec WAM on a ainsi pu reconstruire la géométrie 3D du slab Ionien et proposer un nouveau scenario géodynamique pour la région basé sur de considérations pétrologiques.

The seismicity beneath the southern Italy and Tyrrhenian sea is mostly linked to the subduction process of the Ionian oceanic lithosphere into the Tyrrhenian mantle down to about 500 km in depth. The tomographic techniques applied up to now showed a lack of detail does not allow for discriminating the smaller structures within the larger ones living open many questions on the geodynamic evolution of the area. In this thesis I presented a detailed study of the lithospheric and intra-mantellic structures of the southern Tyrrhenian region by performing a high resolution Local Earthquake Tomography (LET). During this study I developed a post-processing technique called WAM (Weighted Average Model) allows the reconstruction of reliable velocity models of P and S waves. Thanks to WAM it was possible to describe the 3D shape of the Ionian slab and to suggest a new geodynamic scenario of the region based on some petrological inferences., La sismicité sous la mer Tyrrhénienne méridionale et le sud de l'Italie est essentiellement attribuée à la subduction de la lithosphère océanique Ionienne qui s'enfonce dans le manteau Tyrrhénien jusqu'à 500 km de profondeur. Les tomographies proposées à ce jour n'ont pas une résolution suffisante pour distinguer les différentes structures géologiques à grande profondeur, laissant donc encore de nombreuses questions ouvertes concernant la géodynamique régionale. Dans ce travail on a en développé des aspects méthodologiques qui mettent en œuvre une nouvelle technique de post-processing appelée WAM (Weighted Average Model). Cette méthode nous a permis d' obtenir des modèles de vitesse à haute résolution de la région sud Tyrrhénienne en réalisant une tomographie sismique 3D des ondes P et S. Avec WAM on a ainsi pu reconstruire la géométrie 3D du slab Ionien et proposer un nouveau scenario géodynamique pour la région basé sur de considérations pétrologiques.