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Insights into the September 8, 2023, MW 6.8 earthquake in Morocco: a deep transpressive fault along the High Atlas Mountain belt
No full textOn September 8, 2023, a magnitude 6.8 earthquake impacted the High Atlas Mountains in western Morocco, approximately 70 km southwest of Marrakesh, resulting in significant devastation and casualties. This study delves into a comprehensive geodetic dataset, utilizing interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) measurements to analyze the fault segment accountable for the seismic occurrence. Our findings propose two potential fault scenarios: a transpressive NNW-dipping high-angle fault (70°), associated with the Tizi n'Test alignment, or a transpressive SSW-dipping low-angle fault (22°) linked to the North Atlas Fault, where slip (up to 2.2 m) is observed predominantly in deeper sections of the fault. Although seismic catalogs were inconclusive regarding the dip direction of the fault, evidence from mainshock locations, gravity and heat-flow data, along with modeling, and the active shortening direction, collectively indicate the activation of a low-angle, southwesterly dipping oblique thrust of the North Atlas fault during the 2023 Moroccan earthquake. Integrating interferometric analyses with geological, tectonic, and seismological data could be crucial for resolving ambiguities in satellite-based models. This study therefore underscores the complexity of fault identification and the need for a multidisciplinary approach in understanding seismic events.Publishe
Improving performance of seismic networks in the Montefeltro region: historical seismographs and current local network
No full textSeismology, which had previously relied on descriptive and observational methods, began incorporating appropriate instrumentation and effective techniques for the parametric and theoretical analysis of seismic data starting in the mid-nineteenth century. Alessandro Serpieri, rector of the Raffaello College in Urbino from 1857 to 1884, was a pioneering figure who first proposed the creation of a seismic network in Italy. A significant contribution also came from Luigi Guidi (1824-1883), director from 1861 to 1883 of the Valerio Observatory in Pesaro. Today, comprehensive coverage of study areas is essential for the high-resolution analysis of low-magnitude seismic events. To this end, a temporary seismic network was established in the Montefeltro region in December 2018 as part of a collaborative project between the University of Urbino and the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology. The aim was to acquire new seismic data to supplement those recorded by the National Seismic Network. The Montefeltro area, with Urbino as its provincial capital, has recently experienced seismic activity with magnitudes below 4. Data analysis indicates that the region is characterized by a seismically active basin with microseismicity, while the surrounding areas show more concentrated seismic activity in three zones: Rimini, Forlì, and along the Apennine belt. In this contribution, we review the evolution of seismological studies in the broad Montefeltro region since the seminal work of Serpieri up to present times.PublishedJCR Journa
Long-lasting fault control on the Tiber River channel in Rome: did an ancestor of the Tiber Island exist in Pleistocene times?
No full textIn the present paper we have reconstructed the geologic substrate in the area of Rome comprised between the Capitoline Hill and the Colosseum. The analysis of the stratigraphic logs of a large number of boreholes allowed us to highlight the occurrence of a buried fluvial channel of the Paleo- Tiber River, the geometry of which mimics, almost exactly, the fluvial bend hosting the present-day Tiber Island. Several 40Ar/39Ar dates allowed at discriminating two aggradational successions filling this paleo-channel, deposited during two consecutive glacio-eustatic cycles corresponding to Glacial Termination VIII (621 ka) and VII (534 ka). The buried paleo-channel corresponds with a partially obliterated NW-SE morpho-structural lineament affecting the present morphology, parallel to another, more marked lineament, hosting a tributary valley of the Tiber River, the Murcia Valley, 1 km to the southwest. Such lineaments match with the direction of the main Pleistocene extensional faults on the Tyrrhenian Sea margin of central Italy, which are re-activated under the present-day tectonic regime, exerting a close structural control on the drainage network of the Tiber River catchment in the area of Rome. The activity of one of these faults, running along the Murcia Valley, has been recognized to be responsible for the diversion of the Tiber course and the birth of the Tiber Island during the 6th century BCE. We conclude that a long-lasting structural control existed on this portion of the Tiber valley, which caused the repeated diversion of the river channel, around 650 ka and 550 ka, and ultimately in the 6th century BCE, creating the conditions for the origin of a fluvial island in correspondence with the fault-controlled river bend.PublishedJCR Journa
Cation disordering in ankerite as a function of Fe content
No full textOrder-disorder transitions in minerals are of significance for technological applications and for the development of models that aid the understanding of the dynamics and composition of the Earth's interior. The present study investigates the effect of Fe content in ankerite, Ca(Fe x Mg 1−x)(CO 3) 2 (0 ≤ x ≥ 0.7, R 3 space group), on the distribution of cations in its crystal structure as a function of temperature. This investigation was conducted using ex situ experiments in a piston cylinder apparatus performed at 2-3 GPa and variabletemperature conditions (450-1000 °C). Crystal structure refinements, using single-crystal X-ray diffraction data, indicate that the temperature of the order-disorder phase transition in ankerite, when the space group changes from R 3 to R 3c, is significantly influenced by the amount of Fe in the mineral's crystal structure, being full disordering conditions attained at 1000 and 800 °C in ankerites with x = 0.3 and x = 0.7, respectively. Prior to undergoing the order-disorder phase transition, it is shown that Fe exhibits a greater aptitude than Mg to exchange in the place of Ca (and vice versa). Mg, conversely, has a tendency to be bound at the M2 site or to exchange in smaller quantities than Fe. Furthermore, the significance of Fe as a parameter influencing the chemo-physical behavior of ankerite, as well as the temperature and character of the disordering process, is highlighted. This has the potential to significantly impact the mineral physics of ankerite under non-ambient conditions, particularly with regard to compressibility, phase stability, thermal and electric conductivity, and its role in the Earth's mantle geophysical modeling.PublishedJCR Journa
Assessing probabilistic hazard and risk for building, road network, and ecosystems: the case study of La Florida municipality, Galeras Volcano, Colombia
No full textVolcanic activity can cause severe damage to buildings, transport networks, ecosystems, and critical infrastructure, making quantitative approaches that integrate hazard, exposure, and vulnerability essential for informed decisionmaking. This study introduces the Volcanic Risk Metric (VRM), a systematic framework for volcanic risk quantification, aligned with the National Guide for Risk Analysis and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, and applies it to La Florida Municipality, Colombia, part of which lies within the highhazard zone of Galeras Volcano. Probabilistic hazard curves were generated for each pixel of a digital elevation model and combined with vulnerability curves tailored to buildings, road networks, and ecosystems. For each hazard-asset pair, a risk curve was calculated and multiplied by the replacement cost of the asset to estimate expected physical loss. By identifying, for each pixel, the maximum risk value among all hazards, an integrated volcanic risk map was developed, highlighting zones of greatest expected loss, particularly in areas with dense infrastructure and population within the volcano's high-hazard zone. This map provides valuable information for planning, mitigation, and emergency response in La Florida Municipality, and the VRM approach is transferable to other volcanic regions, offering a practical tool for risk-informed land-use planning and enhancing disaster resilience.PublishedOSV4: Preparazione alle crisi vulcanicheJCR Journa
Selection of hydrosensitive to seismicity sites for radon monitoring in the Abruzzo aquifers (central Italy) within the European ArtEmis project
No full textRadon is increasingly recognized as a geogas tracer for geodynamic processes and a potential earthquake precursor. The European ArtEmis project aims to investigate earthquake hydrogeology, utilizing a European network of advanced, low-cost sensors to explore radon concentration pre-, co-and post-seismic changes and anomalies, in groundwater of key seismogenic sites. In Italy, this project focuses on monitoring radon concentration in groundwater of Abruzzo region chosen for its high seismicity. The selection process of the hydrosensitive to seismicity sites in Abruzzo, where sensors will be installed, is outlined in this study. As radon concentrations in groundwater are believed to be less susceptible to the shallow phenomena than radon measurements in soil gas, radon monitoring will be carried out only within carefully selected high-discharge springs. Site selection prioritized hydrosensitive to seismicity locations, considering source rock properties, hydrogeological and seismotectonic settings and seismic activity, viewed as main factors influencing radon release. Potential sites, including carbonate aquifers, intermontane plains, and spa areas, were identified due to their interaction with main seismogenic faults, high-discharge springs, and potential geogas upwelling. These springs are representative of large rock volumes crossed by seismogenic faults, reflecting deep processes, such as the radon upwelling, minimally influenced by shallow or seasonal water cycle variations.PublishedJCR Journa
Introduction
No full textThis book brings together reflections from the session “Geoethics at the Heart of All Geoscience: Serving the Public Good,” held under the theme “Geoethics and Societal Relevance of Geosciences” at the 37th International Geological Congress (IGC) in Busan, Republic of Korea. The session was co-sponsored by the International Association for Promoting Geoethics (IAPG) and the Commission on Geoethics (CG) of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS). The wealth of contributions presented, rooted not only in the broad field of geosciences but also intersecting with diverse scientific, humanistic, and social disciplines, makes this volume a representative and insightful compendium. It exemplifies the cultural and technical-scientific diversity of perspectives that geoethics inspires within the geoscientific community, highlighting its ability to foster interdisciplinary dialogue and address complex global challenges through an ethical lens.OS: Terza mission
Source characteristics of the June 21, 2022 (Mw 6.1) Khost earthquake, Afghanistan
No full textThe June 21, 2022, Khost earthquake in southeastern Afghanistan impacted a rural area housing multiple inadequately constructed towns and villages. Reports indicated over 3600 injuries and a minimum of 1163 fatalities. Historical records did not document any significant seismic events in the area prior to this incident. To examine the rupture process of the earthquake, we conducted multiple analyses using teleseismic and InSAR data, employing separate and joint slip inversion. Given that the 2022 earthquake only slightly ruptured the near-surface crust, the results imply that significantly larger earthquakes might occur again in the same location. The main stress was released as an impulsive rupture that lasted only two to three seconds.PublishedJCR Journa
The International Geoethics Research Infrastructure
No full textThis article is includes in the Special Issue "25 Years of Advancing Geoethics and Social Geosciences at INGV " of the Journal of Geoethics and Social GeosciencesThe development of geoethics has made remarkable progress in recent years, involving a growing number of scholars from various disciplines. This has led to the creation of spaces dedicated to sharing reflections, points of view, and study material. The network of relationships between scholars has significatively incremented both physical and virtual spaces for discussions strengthened conceptual coherence in geoethical thought, anchoring reflections in the historical evolution of the discipline and promoting further developments through open analysis.
At the heart of this network is the International Association for Promoting Geoethics (IAPG), founded in 2012. More recently, two new bodies have joined this network: the Commission on Geoethics of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), established in February 2023, which serves as the supporting branch of the IAPG to the IUGS and is the official body addressing geoethics and social geosciences for the Union; and the Chair on Geoethics of the International Council for Philosophy and Human Sciences (CIPSH), established in January 2024, whose aim is to broaden the international research network by promoting interdisciplinary initiatives that integrate geosciences, humanities, and social sciences through geoethics.
These three bodies together represent the International Geoethics Research Infrastructure (IGRI), built over years of activity in geoethics at the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), Rome, Italy. It also includes the School on Geoethics and Natural Issues (the “Schola”), founded in 2019, and two editorial initiatives.
This paper provides an overview of the foundations of geoethics and outlines the progressive development of the international research infrastructure supporting it.Published1-20OS: Terza missioneN/A or not JC
Local earthquake tomography of the Alpine region from 24 years of data
No full textWe present a new 3-D crustal P-wave velocity (VP) model for the greater Alpine region (GAR).
We use and merge three different high-quality datasets for local earthquake tomography cov-
ering 24 yrs, starting from 1st January 1996, up to 31st December 2019. We processed and
repicked the waveforms from the events reported by the European–Mediterranean Seismo-
logical Centre with M > 3.0 inside the greater Alpine region for the period between May
2007 and December 2015 using a recently developed automated arrival time-picking proce-
dure (ADAPT framework). This allows bridging the data gap between previously published
(pre-2007) datasets and the recently published AlpArray research seismicity catalogue and
thus provides a high-quality, highly consistent set of P-wave arrival times covering 24 yrs.
With this dataset we derived a new minimum 1-D VP model and associated station delays cov-
ering the entire GAR. Subsequently, we performed a series of local-earthquake-tomography
(LET) inversions obtaining a 3-D VP model with a horizontal node spacing of 20×20 km
and between 7 and 15 km variable vertical spacing in the well-resolved area of investigation,
thus improving the spatial and uniformly high-resolution coverage compared to previous LET
studies in the area. For well-known major crustal structures, such as, for example, the geo-
physical Ivrea body, deep foreland basins and main orogenic crustal roots, our tomographic
results correlate well with features documented by various previous seismic studies in the
region. This correlation increases our confidence in the model’s accuracy throughout the well-
resolved area. Additionally, our model reveals previously poorly known, or unknown crustal
features and it documents details in the Moho topography throughout the region. Eventually,
we present a LET-Moho map (VP isoline of 7.25 km s−1) for the GAR with spatially nearly
uniform resolution and document its comparison with previously published Moho maps. The
new regional 3-D VP crustal model also correlates well with a previously published VS crustal
model obtained by ambient noise tomography. These comparisons document the new LET
results of combined 3-D VP crustal velocities and Moho topography being intrinsically consis-
tent and reliable within the region of high resolution. Hence, in addition to further improving
our understanding of crustal structure geometries in the GAR, our results also provide pivotal
information for a future reference seismic 3-D crustal model of the region.PublishedJCR Journa