TITLE:
Possible Location of the Next Major Earthquakes in the Northern Apennines: Present Key Role of the Romagna-Marche-Umbria Wedge
AUTHORS:
Enzo Mantovani, Marcello Viti, Daniele Babbucci, Caterina Tamburelli, Nicola Cenni
KEYWORDS:
Peri-Adriatic Seismicity, Northern Apennines, Romagna-Marche-Umbria, Seismotectonics
JOURNAL NAME:
International Journal of Geosciences,
Vol.8 No.11,
November
9,
2017
ABSTRACT: It is argued that in some zones of the Northern Apennines, in particular the
Rimini-Ancona thrust system, the Romagna Apennines and the Alta Valtiberina
trough, the probability of major earthquakes is now higher than in other
Apennine zones. This hypothesis is suggested by the comparison of the
present short-term kinematics of the Romagna-Marche-Umbria wedge in the
Northern Apennines, deduced by the distribution of major shocks in the last
tens of years, with the previous repeated behavior of the same wedge, evidenced
by the distribution of major earthquakes in the last seven centuries.
The seismotectonics of the Apennine region here considered is closely connected
with the larger context that involves the progressive migration (from
south to north) of seismicity along the peri-Adriatic zones. The information
provided by this study can be used to better manage the resources for prevention
in Italy.