18 results on '"Spatola, D."'
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2. The Graham Bank (Sicily Channel, central Mediterranean Sea): Seafloor signatures of volcanic and tectonic controls
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Spatola, D., Micallef, A., Sulli, A., Basilone, L., Ferreri, R., Basilone, G., Bonanno, A., Pulizzi, M., and Mangano, S.
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- 2018
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3. A scenario-based assessment of the tsunami hazard in palermo, northern sicily, and the southern tyrrhenian sea
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Dignan, J., Micallef, A., Mueller, C., Sulli, A., Zizzo, E., Spatola, D., A. Georgiopoulou, L. A. Amy, S. Benetti, J. D. Chaytor, M. A. Clare, D. Gamboa, P. D. W. Haughton, J. Moernaut, J. J. Mountjoy, Jack Dignan, Aaron Micallef, Christof Mueller, Attilio Sulli, Elisabetta Zizzo and Daniele Spatola, Dignan J., Micallef A., Mueller C., Sulli A., Zizzo E., and Spatola D.
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Settore GEO/02 - Geologia Stratigrafica E Sedimentologica ,tsunami, submarine landslide ,earthquake ,Settore GEO/03 - Geologia Strutturale ,Settore GEO/04 - Geografia Fisica E Geomorfologia ,multibeam ,tsunami ,Sicily ,geo-hazard - Abstract
Palermo is a populous city situated on the northern coast of Sicily, bordered by the Tyrrhenian Sea. This central part of the Mediterranean Sea features dramatic bathymetry, numerous subaqueous landslides and is also the epicentre to many subaqueous earthquakes. As such, the region is an area prone to tsunamis. This investigation uses the Cornell Multi-Grid Coupled Tsunami (COMCOT) tsunami modelling package to simulate five near-field landslides, and five near-field earthquakes regarded as worst-case credible scenarios for Palermo. The seismic simulations produced waves on a very small scale, the largest being c. 5 cm at its maximum height, and none of the earthquake-generated tsunami waves produced any measurable inundation. The landslide simulations produced larger waves ranging from 1.9 to 12 m in maximum height, two of which resulted in inundation in areas surrounding the Port of Palermo. Sensitivity analysis identified that fault width and dislocation as well as landslide-specific gravity did have significant influence over maximum wave height, inundation and maximum run-up wave height. There are methodological issues limiting the extent to which this study forms a comprehensive tsunami hazard assessment of Palermo, such as gaps in bathymetric data, computational restrictions and lack of a probabilistic element. These issues are counteracted by the fact that this study does serve as a robust first step in identifying that landslides in the region may produce larger tsunami waves than earthquakes, and that the directionality of mass movement is critical in landslide-driven tsunami propagation in the southern Tyrrhenian region.
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- 2020
4. Caratterizzazione e Habitat mapping del Coralligeno di piattaforma lungo il margine continentale della Sicilia nord-occidentale
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Zizzo, E., Sulli, A., AGATE M, ., LO IACONO, C., Spatola, D., Sulli, A, Ceramicola, S, Gamberi, F, Senatore, MR, Francesco L. Chiocci, FL, Budillon, F, and ZIZZO E., SULLI A,. AGATE M., LO IACONO C., SPATOLA D.
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Settore GEO/02 - Geologia Stratigrafica E Sedimentologica ,Coralligeno di piattaforma, Habitat mapping, Maxent - Abstract
Il Coralligeno di piattaforma è un indicatore ambientale e hotspot di biodiversità nelle zone marine costiere. Poiché esso viene considerato un ecosistema marino vulnerabile, numerose sono le azioni volte alla sua completa caratterizzazione e mappatura. L'obiettivo del lavoro è di confrontare differenti metodologie utilizzate nell’analisi della distribuzione del Coralligeno di piattaforma, applicate al settore offshore della Sicilia nord-occidentale. Il focus del lavoro consiste nell’evidenziare come l’approccio multidisciplinare sia fondamentale nelle fasi di individuazione, caratterizzazione e predizione statistica della distribuzione delle associazioni biocenotiche, al fine di eseguire una mappatura degli habitat costieri. L'area di studio si trova nel tratto di piattaforma continentale antistante i Monti di Palermo e compreso tra Isola delle Femmine e Capo Gallo. Le mappe di distribuzione degli habitat possono essere ottenute attraverso tre approcci metodologici differenti. Il primo proviene dallo studio geologico-geofisico dei fondali, che ha permesso di cartografare le comunità bentoniche sulla base dei caratteri morfo-batimetrici. In questo senso il Coralligeno di piattaforma è stato classificato secondo Ballesteros (2006) e Giaccone (2007), differenziandolo in banchi ed orli e infralitorale e circalitorale, rispettivamente. Il secondo approccio è quello biologico che consiste nel calibrare le facies acustiche ricavate dall’interpretazione dei dati Side Scan Sonar con i dati di campioni di fondo e validati attraverso immagini ROV; in questo modo vengono mappati e descritti i depositi di coralligeno con i relativi parametri quantitativi. Il terzo approccio è quello statistico, basato sul modello di massima entropia (MaxEnt) che permette di ipotizzare la distribuzione della specie sulla base di dati di presenza (presence-only) e di parametri ambientali mappati per l’intera area di indagine (Fig. 1). I parametri considerati sono: batimetria, acclività, esposizione, presenza di fluidi, aree ad erosione, sedimentologia. Oltre alla predizione sulle presenze della specie considerata, l’analisi statistica ha consentito di individuare i fattori che controllano la distribuzione del coralligeno lungo il margine, quali: fondali sabbiosi e, in subordine, sabbioso-limosi e substrato roccioso, inclinazione elevata, assenza di processi erosivi in atto ed emissione di fluidi. L’integrazione di dati provenienti da tre diversi approcci ha reso possibile definire con maggiore dettaglio la distribuzione dei vari generi che costituiscono l’associazione a coralligeno dell’infralitorale (Rhodophyta, Cnidaria e Chlorophyta), che si distribuiscono prevalentemente lungo il limite piattaforma interna-piattaforma esterna (coralligeno di orlo), ad esclusione di alcune associazioni in banchi (probabilmente legati ad emissioni di fluidi. Questo approccio può costituire uno strumento utile nell’individuazione e monitoraggio di aree marine da sottoporre a tutela ambientale.
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- 2018
5. SEISMOTECTONIC MAP OF THE NORTHERN SICILY CONTINENTAL MARGIN (NSCM) AND IMPLICATIONS FOR GEOHAZARD ASSESSMENT
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Sulli A., Zizzo E., Gasparo Morticelli M., Spatola D., Micalelf A., D'Amico, S, Galea, P, Bozionelos, G, Colica, E, Farrugia D, Agius, MR, and Sulli A., Zizzo E., Gasparo Morticelli M., Spatola D., Micalelf A.
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seismotectonics, seismicity, active tectonics, Geohazard - Abstract
The Sicily dominates the central Mediterranean Sea. The Northern Sicily Continental Margin (NSCM) is a segment of the Appeninic-Tyrrhenian System whose upbuilding refers to both the postcollisional convergence between Africa and a very complex “European” crust (Bonardi et al., 2001) or AlKaPeKa (sensu Boullin, 1986) and the opening of the Tyrrhenian back-arc basin. Seismostratigraphic and structural analysis of a large number of available (from ViDePi project) and unpublished (from Department of Earth and Marine Science of the University of Palermo) multichannel seismic reflection profiles acquired across the NSCM, allow us to produce an accurate seismotectonic map, in order to obtain a useful tool for the assessment of the seismic hazard of the sea-land region. This first seismotectonic map has been realised from the overlapping of different geological layers that represent the main identified seafloor and sub-seafloor features, such as tectonic elements (normal and revers faults), earthquakes, heat flow, gravimetric (Bouguer) and magnetometric anomalies, Moho depth, masswasting, fluid escape structures (e.g. pockmarks, mounds, gas flares, and gas chimneys), sedimentary successions, and lateral and vertical motions. The NSCM is suitable to test this approach because it is located in a transitional area between the Sicilian-Maghrebian chain to the south and the Tyrrhenian back-arc basin to the north. Along this transect the Moho depth ranges from about 10 km, in the Marsili bathyal plain, to about 40 km, towards the northern Sicily coast. The Bouguer anomalies change from 180 mGal in the Tyrrhenian region to negative anomalies in central Sicily (-100 mGal), while positive magnetic anomalies characterize the volcanic edifices, both submerged and buried. While, the heat flow shows very high values across the southern Tyrrhenian Sea (200 mW/m-2) that decrease (30- 40 mW/m-2) towards the stable sector of the foreland area (Iblean plateau in SE Sicily). Along the NSCM, we distinguished, at a regional scale, different shallow and deep seismogenetic volumes. The eastern part of the Sicilian continental margin is characterised by a deeper seismicity related to the Ionian subduction, which is prevailingly linked both to extensional fault systems (Pollina, Messina strait) and to rightlateral NW-SE transcurrent systems (Vulcano- Lipari and Tindari-Giardini). While the western region shows shallow earthquakes (up to 25 km) of low to moderate magnitude (max Mw 5.9 on September 2002) occurring along an E-W trending belt and resulting from the brittle deformation of the Maghrebian chain. The focal mechanisms related to the main seismic shocks are in agreement with a dominant NW-SE compressive offset direction, with a right strike-slip component, and an antithetic NE-SW fault trend. Evidences of mass-wasting processes have been identified across the continental shelf and the continental slope and their spatial distribution, geometry, and seismic character suggest that the fluid seepage, oceanographic processes and the slope oversteepening could be important preconditioning factors, while the tectonic activity showing fault displacements during earthquakes is the main trigger. During the last 125 ky tectonic activity is evidenced by an uplift/subsidence patterns, decreasing from E to W. The continental regions are raised while offshore areas are subsiding, suggesting the occurrence of vertical differential movements. The GPS measurements document the active deformation with differential movements of individual blocks northwarddirected, in agreement with the shallow seismicity, as well as with the convergence between Sicily and Sardinia, with values of about 2-6 mm/y. The first step of this work produced the detailed seismotectonic map between the Castellammare and Palermo gulfs, including both the terrestrial and marine areas. Across the NSCM, we defined two main seismogenetic volumes that are produced by a NW-SE oriented compressional stress field defining an intraplate shallow seismogenetic zone. Though these results are only preliminary, we are developing a scientific product that can provide useful information in terms of seismic hazard in a complex region that includes both continental and marine sectors. Therefore, the identified geological features may be potentially geohazard elements for the neighbouring population and for the near goods, as well as submarine infrastructures (i.e. cables) and our seismotectonic map represent an important tool for monitoring the potentially seismogenic structures and assessing geohazards in marine and coastal environments.
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- 2018
6. Nature and origin of fault-controlled fluid seepage across the Maltese Islands
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Spatola D., Micallef A., Italiano F., D’Amico S., Caracausi A., Pascale F., Facchin L., Petronio L., Coren F., Blanos R., Pavan A., Paganini P., Sapiano M., Schembri M., Petti, FM, Carmina, B, Cirrincione, R, Monaco, M, and Spatola D.*, Micallef A., Italiano F., D’Amico S., Caracausi A., Pascale F., Facchin L., Petronio L., Coren F., Blanos R., Pavan A., Paganini P., Sapiano M., Schembri M.
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Environmental management ,Settore GEO/02 - Geologia Stratigrafica E Sedimentologica ,Hydrology -- Malta ,Geotechnical engineering -- Malta ,Seepage, fault ,Hydrogeology -- Malta - Abstract
The Maltese Islands are intersected by two major fault systems associated with two diverse rifting episodes affect the islands. The first and most widespread system is Early Miocene to mid-Pliocene in age, and consists of faults that are orientated ENE-WSW. The most distinct of these faults is the Great Fault (known also as the Victoria Lines Fault). The younger system of faults (Late Miocene-Early Pliocene) is still active and consists of faults striking NW to SE that often cross-cut the first generation of faults. The most extensive of these faults is the Maghlaq Fault, located along the southern coastline of the Maltese Islands., peer-reviewed
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- 2018
7. Nature and origin of fault-controlled fluid seepage across the Maltese Islands
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Spatola, D., Micallef, A., Italiano, F., D’Amico, S., Caracausi, A., Pascale, F., Facchin, L., Petronio, L., Coren, F., Blanos, R., Pavan, A., Paganini, P., and Sapiano, M.
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Settore GEO/02 - Geologia Stratigrafica E Sedimentologica ,Seepage, fault - Published
- 2018
8. Seismostratigraphic reconstruction of the Messinian palaeotopography across the Northern Sicily Continental Margin (NSCM) and an overlying Zanclean megaflood deposit
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Zizzo, E., Spatola, D., Sulli, A., Micallef, Aaron, and CONGRESSO SGI-SIMP 2018
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Physical geography ,Carbonate rocks ,Mineral resources ,Nature conservation ,Geomorphology - Abstract
During the Messinian salinity crisis (MSC) (from 5.97 to 5.33 Ma), the Mediterranean Sea became disconnected from the world's oceans and a fast and continuous evaporation resulted in its partial desiccation. One of the theories for the end of the MSC postulates that a large volume of Atlantic waters entered the Mediterranean Sea through the Gibraltar Strait and rapidly refilled the Mediterranean basin in an event welldocumented known as the Zanclean Flood. The pathway of the Zanclean flood during its passage from the western to the eastern Mediterranean Sea is unclear. The aim of this study is to understand the effects of the Messinian palaeotopography of the southern Tyrrhenian Sea on the dynamics of the Zanclean flood. We analysed a large number of multichannel seismic reflection profiles acquired in the Northern Sicily Continental Margin (NSCM), calibrated with stratigraphic log from the Agip/ENI wells, and high-resolution multibeam data showing the present-day morphology., peer-reviewed
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- 2018
9. Volcano- and neoectonic-related slope failures in the north-western Sicily Channel (central Mediterranean Sea): Implications for understanding and assessing geohazard risk
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Spatola D., Sulli A. 1, Micallef A., Basilone L. 1, Pennino V., Interbartolo F., Zizzo E., Basilone G., Mangano S., Giacalone G., Fontana I., Gargano A., and Spatola D., Sulli A.1, Micallef A., Basilone L.1, Pennino V., Interbartolo F., Zizzo E., Basilone G., Mangano S.,Giacalone G., Fontana I., Gargano A.
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Settore GEO/02 - Geologia Stratigrafica E Sedimentologica ,Settore GEO/03 - Geologia Strutturale ,Seafloor mapping, Geo-hazard, Tsunami - Abstract
The southern Sicily coasts represent an important contribution to Italian tourism and marine geological processes in the Sicily Channel could pose a significant risk to neighbouring populations and goods. In this work, we are presenting the first results of the data collection that allowed us to identify and map several geological elements that can be used to assess submarine geohazards in the Sicily Channel. By using multibeam data and high-resolution seismic reflection profiles acquired during the ACUSCAL 2015 Cruise, we defined the characteristics of the morphostructural highs, and the morphology of slope failures and the stratigraphy of the mass transport deposits (MTD). In particular, we studied in detail the Graham Bank, which is located in a shallow sector of the north-western Sicily Channel at a distance of 45 km from the Sicilian coastline, where seven seamounts (M1-M7) have been identified and studied in detail within a small area, between 10 and 350 m deep. Their morphometric parameters allowed classification to be implemented on a shape basis. The volcanoes are 115-180 m high and 500-1500 m wide. M2 and M3 (3.5 km X 2.8 km) form the Graham Bank. Most of them show strongly inclined flanks with an average slope of 30°. Most of these seamounts are aligned along two trends (NW-SE and N-S), parallel to the main tectonic structures of the Sicily Channel. The identified structures show physical characteristics, which are very similar to several submarine volcanoes described elsewhere on the seafloor, allowing to conclude that they are volcanic seamounts. In this regard, it is important to highlight that the Graham Bank was affected in the last 100 years, by many eruptions (Colantoni et al. 1975). Furthermore, we distinguished slope failures relating to different mechanisms. In the western flanks of the M2 and M3, volcanic activity and concurrent up-slope triggered mass failures. In the eastern flank M2 gravitational collapse of volcanic edifices is mainly linked to neotectonic activity and volcanism. In the central part of the study area, a MTD is linked to neotectonic activity and to the rise up of volcanic rocks. These MTDs were mapped and described as potential tsunamigenic elements and their volumes were estimated. This work allowed us to understand geological features and processes in a tectonic-volcanic environment, which may represent a threat for coastal areas of the southern Sicily.
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- 2016
10. NEOTECTONIC ACTIVITY AND EMISSION OF FLUIDS IN THE NORTHWEST SICILY CHANNEL
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Spatola, D., Spatola, D., SULLI, Attilio, and AIUPPA, Alessandro
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Settore GEO/02 - Geologia Stratigrafica E Sedimentologica ,Graham Bank, neotectonics, active tectonics, seamounts, pockmarks, mass movements, mass transport deposits, soft-sediment deposition structures, rock falls, debris avalanches, volcanic and tectonics triggers, Sicily Channel, seepage plumes, mounds, active tectonics, submarine volcanic edifice, fluid escape - Abstract
The southern Sicilian coast represents an important contribution to Italian tourism, the Sicily Channel is an important communication path because at the top of its seafloor there are many pipelines, and submarine communication cables which are laid to carry signals, and which are very important to the minor islands. In this work, we are presenting results of the detailed geomorphological and seismostratigraphic analysis based on new very high-resolution dataset (multibeam and CHIRP) acquired during the ACUSCAL 2015 Cruise. We also used low resolution bathymetric and seismic data provided from online database (ViDEPI, GEBCO, EMODnet). This study allows us to reconstruct the tectonic volcanic mass movement and bottom current processes and to identify and map several relative geological elements (e.g. fluid escape structures, gravity driven deposits, volcanic morphologies) which were used to describe the geological setting of the study area. The latter is a small area (approx 100 km2) located in a shallow sector of the north-western Sicily Channel, at a distance of 45 km from the Sicilian coastline, where seven seamounts (M1-M7) have been identified and studied between 10 and 350 m in depth. In the study area, the interaction of the sedimentary multilayer (e.g. Holocene sedimentary body, Messinian Evaporites) and the volcanic context (i.e. Graham Bank) with the tectonic activity (shallow and deep) creates a complex and highly geological framework hosting seafloor seepage. The main focus is the description of the fluid escape structures suggesting a possible model for the origin of the fluid and the mechanisms by which it is transferred to the seafloor. Another important aim is the reconstruction of the relationship between the deep tectonic structures and the fluid escape structures in the north-west Sicily Channel. Seafloor seepage is a widespread phenomenon in the global ocean forming important seafloor morphologies. It affects the global carbon cycle and provides the basis for abundant chemosynthetic organisms living in and on the seafloor. In this Ph.D. project, detailed investigation about the geological setting of such sites and the controlling factors for spatial and temporal distribution of the fluid escape structures were indispensable to understand the “fluid flow system functions” This work is a prime example of these interactions and their influence on seafloor seepage in the Western part of the Sicily Channel. Many pockmarks, mounds and some active seafloor seepages (i.e. hydro acoustic anomalies) have been identified and investigated using both stratigraphic information provided by AGIP/ENI Wells in conjunction with various geophysical data primarily multibeam and Chirp and secondarily multichannel seismic profiles and low resolution bathymetric data. The accurate bathymetric surveying by multibeam instruments allowed us to recognise several positive (mounds) and negative morphologies (pockmarks) linked at the fluid escape phenomena. The bathymetric data revealed an increase in size of the pockmarks with increasing distance to the elongated channel located in the central part of the study area and also that both pockmarks and mounds are isolated, aligned or clustered. CHIRP profiles imaged the presence of several recent faults affecting the Holocene sedimentary body and the occurrence of hydro-acoustic anomalies in the water column, located mainly at the top of the recognised volcanoes. The Multichannel seismic profiles that were correlated with the Agip/Eni wells, showed several acoustic anomalies (often from the Messinian Evaporites) and sub vertical normal fault systems, which affect gas migration in the sub-seafloor. In the western part of the study area, the Messinian Evaporites rise up to the seafloor with a jagged seafloor topography of the MES deforming the complete geological succession. Additionally, the volcanic context supplies large volumes of material to the seafloor, which are distributed as seamounts. The uplift of Messinian deposits concurrently with the formation of sub vertical normal faults leads to gases/fluids migration towards the seafloor forming a field at pockmarks of different sizes. In the eastern part, the rise up of volcanic material through the sub vertical normal faults leads to gases/fluids migration towards the top of the seamounts forming vertical plumes. The first study case of this work revealed a strong tectonic control on the development and distribution of the seepage features in the study area. The aim of the second study case of this work was the identification, description and classification of different examples of gravity driven deposits. The recognised gravity driven deposits in the study area using CHIRP and Multibeam data are: (i) soft-sediment depositional structures (SSDSs), (ii) rock falls and (iii) large debris avalanches. We however estimated the main pre-conditioning geomorphological factor, which could have induced sediment instability and the trigger mechanisms often linked to different geological processes. This second study case revealed that these geomorphological structures are characterised by a genesis probably linked to elevate slopes of the seabed as well as trigger different factors. Finally, mainly using the multibeam data and secondarily the CHIRP data, a cluster of seamounts that was recognised within the study area have been investigated and studied in detail. Their main dimensions and relative physical parameters have been measured and tabulated, allowing a morphometric and morphologic classification on the basis of their shapes. Several restrictive criteria were applied in order to be ceratin of their volcanic origin (conical shape with maximum height, basal ratio, aspect ratio) obtaining finally what can be classified as volcanic seamounts. These structures are very similar to submarine volcanoes described elsewhere on the seafloor. Some show at the top plain morphologies interpreted as marine terraces, others show a typical cone shape of the volcanoes one of which is characterised by a complex shape. On the basis of their morphological features these have been subdivided into three categories.
11. Gathering different marine geology data (seismics, acoustics, sedimentological) to investigate active fluid seepage (AFS) in the southern region of the central Mediterranean Sea
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Spatola, D., Aaron Micallef, Sulli, A., Basilone, L., Basilone, G., Spatola, Daniele, Micallef, Aaron, Sulli, Attilio, Basilone, Luca, and Basilone, Gualtiero
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Settore GEO/02 - Geologia Stratigrafica E Sedimentologica ,Mechanical Engineering ,Settore GEO/03 - Geologia Strutturale ,geological data ,geoscientists ,geophysical techniques ,Central Mediterranean ,fluid seepages ,continental shelves ,continental margin ,seafloor morphologies ,Electrical and Electronic Engineering ,Instrumentation - Abstract
Active Fluid Seepage (AFS) at the seafloor is a global phenomenon associated with seafloor morphologies in different geodynamic contexts. Advances geophysical techniques have allowed geoscientists to characterise pockmarks, mounds and flares associated with AFS. We present a range of marine geological data acquired in the central Mediterranean Sea (northern Sicily continental margin, northwestern Sicily Channel and offshore the Maltese Islands), which allow us to identify AFSs. The AFSs are spatially distributed as clusters, aligned or isolated at different depths, ranging from few decametres offshore the Maltese Islands, up to 400 m offshore north Sicily and in the northwestern Sicily channel. Mounds have heights ranging from 2 to 15 m and form hummocky surfaces. Pockmarks with sub-circular planform shapes and U/V-shaped cross-sections are found in sizes ranging from 5 to 530 m. Gas flares occur on both the continental shelf and upper slope.
12. Seismic stratigraphy of the north-westernmost area of the Malta Plateau (Sicily Channel): The Middle Pleistocene-Holocene sedimentation in a tidally influenced shelf
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Simona Todaro, Attilio Sulli, Daniele Spatola, Gualtiero Basilone, Salvatore Aronica, Todaro S., Sulli A., Spatola D., Basilone G., and Aronica S.
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Quaternary ,Geochemistry and Petrology ,Sand sheet ,Infralittoral prograding wedge ,Bedforms ,Coastal dune system ,Malta Plateau ,Geology ,Bedforms, Coastal dune system, Infralittoral prograding wedge, Malta Plateau, Quaternary, Sand sheet ,Oceanography - Abstract
In this study we present the results of a seismic-stratigraphic analysis of sub-bottom profiles in the north-westernmost area of the Malta Plateau in order to define the depositional mechanisms for the upper Quaternary sequences. During this interval the morphology of the Malta Plateau was characterized by a ramp and bathymetries not exceeding 200 m. Two major unconformities, related to MIS 6 and MIS 2 (the latter corresponding to the Last Glacial Maximum, LGM), characterize the upper Quaternary sequences. The geometries of the recognized seismic units indicate as depositional mechanisms were controlled by subsidence and sea-level fluctuations. In detail, deposits related to the last glacial event were recognized through their seismic pattern and have been interpreted as formed by the interaction between tide and wave dynamics. Contrary to the northern Sicilian continental margin, in the Malta Plateau ramp no LGM-related lowstand prograding wedge was recognized due to the absence of an effective shelf edge. It is considered as a consequence of the morphology and the dominant deposition processes in the Malta Plateau. Afterwards the ramp morphology allowed a rapid drowning of the Malta Plateau instead with the formation and preservation of transgressive deposits revealed as bedforms. The highstand deposits appear as prograding bodies and have been classified as infralittoral prograding wedge.
- Published
- 2022
13. Growth and geomorphic evolution of the Ustica volcanic complex at the Africa-Europe plate margin (Tyrrhenian Sea)
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Maurizio Gasparo Morticelli, Elisabetta Zizzo, Attilio Sulli, Fabrizio Pepe, Daniele Spatola, Claudio Lo Iacono, Gaspare Ciaccio, Mauro Agate, Francesco Gargano, Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale, Servizio Geologico d'Italia, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Dipartimento della Protezione Civile, Agencia Estatal de Investigación (España), Sulli A., Zizzo E., Spatola D., Gasparo Morticelli M., Agate M., Lo Iacono C., Gargano F., Pepe F., and Ciaccio G.
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Tyrrhenian Sea ,Settore GEO/02 - Geologia Stratigrafica E Sedimentologica ,010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,Lava ,Pyroclastic rock ,Seamounts ,Mass wasting ,Escarpment ,Fault (geology) ,Geo-hazard ,010502 geochemistry & geophysics ,01 natural sciences ,Ustica Island ,Paleontology ,Continental margin ,Slope instability ,Active tectonics, Geo-hazard, Seamounts, Slope instability, Submarine geomorphology, Tyrrhenian Sea, Ustica Island ,Active tectonics ,Submarine geomorphology ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Earth-Surface Processes ,geography ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,Tectonics ,Volcano ,Geology - Abstract
18 pages, 13 figures, 1 table, We present here for the first time a morpho-structural study of the submarine sector of the Ustica volcanic edifice, located in the south-western Tyrrhenian Sea, considered as an inactive volcanic system, middle Pleistocene in age. The main aim of this research study is to unravel the submarine dynamics along the slope sectors of the Ustica volcano, in order to provide new insights on one of the most tectonically active regions of the Central Mediterranean during the Quaternary. We analysed and interpreted an integrated seismo-acoustic data set consisting of multibeam swath-bathymetry, sub bottom profiles, single-channel seismic reflection records, all of them acquired during the last two decades. The seismostratigraphic analysis indicates that the Ustica volcano is composed by a sequence of lava flows and pyroclastic products, whose geometry can be interpreted as the consequence of combined upward growing and northward shifting of the volcanic centers. The mapped geomorphological elements distributed along the submerged slopes were classified based on their specific morphogenetic process. The achieved results reveal that volcanic, tectonic, oceanographic and gravity processes interacted in shaping the complex current physiography of the volcanic edifice, which is characterized by extremely uneven submarine flanks. The northern region is characterized by the widespread occurrence of well-preserved cones, probably linked to the last submarine volcanic activity of the area. Along the eastern sector, elongate gullies and linear furrows locally incise the shelf break and develop downward producing slope failures. Furrows and gullies represent the main conduits for flushing sediments through various types of flows and mass wasting, from the shallow sectors to the bathyal plain. Along the southern and eastern region slope failures processes carve almost totally of the shelf edge and mainly propagate through retrograding collapses. Further on, the southern region is mainly shaped by E-W and N-S trending fault escarpments that may have triggered the largest slope failures of the area. The main results of this study contribute to improve the understanding of the geological processes and geodynamic activity between the Northern Sicily Continental Margin and the Tyrrhenian Basin and represent a baseline for assessing the geo-hazard potential on the Ustica Island, We acknowledge the CARG Project (Geological Maps of Italy) funded by the ISPRA-Italian Geological Survey and the Italian National Research Projects MaGIC (Marine Geological Hazard along the Italian Coast) funded by the Italian Civil Protection Department.-- With the funding support of the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S), of the Spanish Research Agency (AEI)
- Published
- 2021
14. First Evidence of Contourite Drifts in the North-Western Sicilian Active Continental Margin (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea)
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Daniele Casalbore, Francesco Latino Chiocci, Daniele Spatola, Attilio Sulli, Spatola D., Sulli A., Casalbore D., and Chiocci F.L.
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seismic reflection data ,Settore GEO/02 - Geologia Stratigrafica E Sedimentologica ,Settore GEO/03 - Geologia Strutturale ,Settore GEO/04 - Geografia Fisica E Geomorfologia ,Naval architecture. Shipbuilding. Marine engineering ,VM1-989 ,Ocean Engineering ,GC1-1581 ,Oceanography ,Paleontology ,Mediterranean sea ,Continental margin ,Aggradation ,Mediterranean Sea ,continental slope ,moat ,Holocene ,Water Science and Technology ,Civil and Structural Engineering ,geography ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,Continental shelf ,contourites ,Contourite ,Seafloor spreading ,language.human_language ,language ,bottom currents ,Sicilian ,Geology - Abstract
We present the results of an integrated geomorphological and seismo-stratigraphic study based on high resolution marine data acquired in the north-western Sicilian continental margin. We document for the first time five contourite drifts (marked as EM1a, EM2b, EM2, EM3a, and EM3b), located in the continental slope at depths between ca. 400 and 1500 m. EM1a,b have been interpreted as elongated mounded drifts. EM1a,b are ca. 3 km long, 1.3 km wide, and have a maximum thickness of 36 m in their center that thins northwards, while EM1b is smaller with a thickness up to 24 m. They are internally characterized by mounded seismic packages dominated by continuous and parallel reflectors. EM2 is located in the upper slope at a depth of ca. 1470 m, and it is ca. 9.3 km long, more than 3.9 km wide, and has a maximum thickness of ca. 65 m. It consists of an internal aggradational stacking pattern with elongated mounded packages of continuous, moderate to high amplitude seismic reflectors. EM2 is internally composed by a mix of contourite deposits (Holocene) interbedded with turbiditic and/or mass flow deposits. EM1a,b and EM2 are deposited at the top of an erosional truncation aged at 11.5 ka, so they mostly formed during the Holocene. EM3a,b are ca. 16 km long, more than 6.7 km wide, and have a thickness up to 350 m. Both EM2 and EM3a,b have been interpreted as sheeted drift due to their morphology and seismic features. The spatial distribution of the contourite drifts suggests that the drifts are likely generated by the interaction of the LIW, and deep Tyrrhenian water (TDW) on the seafloor, playing an important role in the shaping this continental margin since the late Pleistocene-Holocene. The results may help to understand the deep oceanic processes affecting the north-western Sicilian continental margin.
- Published
- 2021
15. Depositional mechanism of the upper Pliocene-Pleistocene shelf-slope system of the western Malta Plateau (Sicily Channel)
- Author
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Daniele Spatola, Attilio Sulli, Aaron Micallef, Gualtiero Basilone, Simona Todaro, P. Di Stefano, Todaro S., Sulli A., Spatola D., Micallef A., Di Stefano P., and Basilone G.
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010506 paleontology ,geography ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,Plateau ,Messinian salinity crisis ,Evaporite ,Continental shelf ,Stratigraphy ,Plio-Quaternary ,Geology ,Subsidence ,010502 geochemistry & geophysics ,01 natural sciences ,Sedimentary depositional environment ,Paleontology ,Sedimentary rock ,Malta Plateau ,Sicily ,Progradation ,Sea level ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences - Abstract
A high resolution seismic stratigraphic study of the western edge of the Malta Plateau (central Mediterranean Sea) was conducted to reconstruct the depositional mechanisms of the shelf-slope system since the end of the Messinian salinity crisis (MSC; 5.3 Ma). The accurate interpretation of a large grid of variable-resolution seismic reflection profiles (multichannel and Sub Bottom) allows us to identify and map a Plio-Quaternary sedimentary sequence overlying the Messinian evaporites. The stratal pattern of this sequence is the result of a clinoform prograding system that constitutes the internal structure of a sedimentary shelf developed in a ramp about 2° slope with bathymetries that do not exceed 200 m. This type of shelf is a physiographic feature where the shelf edge separates littoral from bathyal realms, differing from the definition of continental shelf that implies the presence of a continent-ocean margin. The evolution of the western edge of Malta Plateau differs from adjacent sectors. Unlike to the nearby Gela Basin, where the Plio-Quaternary sedimentary sequences were affected by the thrusting of the Sicilian-Maghrebian chain until Middle Pleistocene, in the Malta Plateau the post-Messinian sedimentation was mainly controlled by subsidence and sea level fluctuations. In particular, the Malta Plateau represents a back bulge depozone where moderate fluvial sediment supply together with continuous subsidence favoured the progradation of the upper Pliocene-Pleistocene shelf-slope system at bathymetries not exceeding 200 m.
- Published
- 2021
16. The Graham Bank (Sicily Channel, central Mediterranean Sea). Seafloor signatures of volcanic and tectonic controls
- Author
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Rosalia Ferreri, Gualtiero Basilone, Maurizio Pulizzi, Luca Basilone, Attilio Sulli, Salvatore Mangano, Daniele Spatola, Aaron Micallef, A. Bonanno, Spatola, D., Micallef, A., Sulli, A., Basilone, L., Ferreri, R., Basilone, G., Bonanno, A., Pulizzi, M., and Mangano, S.
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010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,Settore GEO/02 - Geologia Stratigrafica E Sedimentologica ,Settore GEO/03 - Geologia Strutturale ,Seamount ,010502 geochemistry & geophysics ,01 natural sciences ,Fluid seepage ,Paleontology ,Mediterranean sea ,Echo sounding ,Slope instability ,14. Life underwater ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Earth-Surface Processes ,geography ,Graham Bank ,Volcanic seamount ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,Fluid seepage Slope instability Volcanic seamount Graham Bank ,Seafloor spreading ,Tectonics ,Volcano ,Sedimentary rock ,Channel (geography) ,Geology - Abstract
Graham Bank is a dominant physiographic element of the NW Sicily Channel (central Mediterranean Sea), affected in the last 100 years by numerous well-documented volcanic eruptions. We present the first results of a geomorphological study where the Graham Bank region in the depth interval 7–350 m was mapped for the first time with multi-beam echosounder and high-resolution seismic and multi-channel seismic reflection profiles. We describe in high resolution the detailed geomorphological features of Graham Bank, and how the superficial expression of different process and dynamics occurring in the sub-seafloor evidence volcanic and tectonic controls on seafloor morphology across a relatively small area. The north-eastern part of the study area is dominated by seamounts with heights ranging from 97 to 152 m and auxiliary small cones, reaching heights of 2–10 m, on the whole forming a hummocky surface. In this region, fluid seepages are an important expression of the volcanic processes affecting the study area. The western region comprises a flat seafloor covered by Upper Pleistocene-Holocene outer shelf sedimentary deposits; here aligned mounds and pockmarks are predominantly oriented NW–SE or NNW-SSE, running parallel to the main structural trend of the Sicily Channel. The pockmarks have sub-circular planform shapes and U-shaped cross-section and different depths and mean axis lengths. Numerous Mass Transport Deposits (MTDs) are distributed across the study area. Graham Bank is 45 km from the coast of Sicily and is intersected by submarine cables. Consequently, the mapped volcanic seamounts, pockmarks and MTDs could pose a significant economic risk to the submarine cables.
- Published
- 2018
17. New foundings of contourite deposits in an active continental margin (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea)
- Author
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Spatola, Daniele, Pennino, Valentina, Sulli, Attilio, Spatola, D, Pennino, V, and Sulli, A
- Subjects
Contourites, Bottom Currents, Loop Current - Published
- 2014
18. Evidence of the Zanclean megaflood in the eastern Mediterranean Basin.
- Author
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Micallef A, Camerlenghi A, Garcia-Castellanos D, Cunarro Otero D, Gutscher MA, Barreca G, Spatola D, Facchin L, Geletti R, Krastel S, Gross F, and Urlaub M
- Abstract
The Messinian salinity crisis (MSC) - the most abrupt, global-scale environmental change since the end of the Cretaceous - is widely associated with partial desiccation of the Mediterranean Sea. A major open question is the way normal marine conditions were abruptly restored at the end of the MSC. Here we use geological and geophysical data to identify an extensive, buried and chaotic sedimentary body deposited in the western Ionian Basin after the massive Messinian salts and before the Plio-Quaternary open-marine sedimentary sequence. We show that this body is consistent with the passage of a megaflood from the western to the eastern Mediterranean Sea via a south-eastern Sicilian gateway. Our findings provide evidence for a large amplitude drawdown in the Ionian Basin during the MSC, support the scenario of a Mediterranean-wide catastrophic flood at the end of the MSC, and suggest that the identified sedimentary body is the largest known megaflood deposit on Earth.
- Published
- 2018
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