Plio-Quaternary tectonic evolution of the Northern Apennines thrust fronts(Bologna-Ferrara section, Italy): seismotectonic implications

The outermost, NE-verging fronts of the Northern Apennines (Italy) are overlain by a thick syntectonic sedimentary wedge filling up the basin beneath the Po Plain. Due to fast sedimentation rates and comparatively low tectonic rates, the fronts are generally buried. Evidence for their activity includes scattered historical and instrumental earthquakes and drainage anomalies controlled by growing buried anticlines. The largest earthquakes, up to M w 5.8, are associated with active compression, with a GPS-documented shortening rate