Evidences of a trancurrent orogen in the northern

34th International Geological Congress
Unearthing our Past and Future — Resourcing Tomorrow
Evidences of a trancurrent orogen in the northern central Apennines, Italy
Rita Katharina KRAUS 1,2∗ , Franco Marco ELTER 1 , Elena EVA 2 , Matteo PADOVANO 1 and
Stefano SOLARINO 2
1
2
Dipartimento per lo Studio del Territorio e delle sue Risorse, University of Genova, Italy
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, CNT, Genova, Italy
∗
[email protected]
The aim of this work is to propose an alternative model for the Pliocene-Quaternary to present evolution
of the Northern-Central Apennines, Italy, by combining geometrical requirements (Riedel system) with
existing structural and geological geometries (fault systems and tectonic associations).
We define three sectors characterized by different seismological, geodetic, geothermal and geological
signatures: the North-Western Sector (NWS), the Western Central Sector (WCS) and the Eastern
Central Sector (ECS). They result from the fragmentation of the northern-central Italian peninsula due
to the NW-SE push of the African plate against Europe. According to GPS data the three blocks act
independently from each other as the result of the coeval forces acting in the Mediterranean area and
the blocking effect of the fixed Alpine Chain.
The independent movement of the different blocks lead to the development of several strike-slip faults
and related geometrical and geological structures, such as releasing and restraining bends. The
resulting geodynamic model enhances the role of the strike-slip kinematics among the introduced
blocks, which allows us to define the Apennines Chain as a “transcurrent orogen”.
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