Discovered by INGV researchers a hitherto unknown volcanic complex near the Tyrrhenian coast of Calabria which, divided into two macro-areas, would have developed along a fault in the earth's crust
The study “Magmatism Along Lateral Slab Edges: Insights From the Diamante‐Enotrio‐Ovidio Volcanic‐Intrusive Complex (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea)” was selected as research spotlight of the month of September of the EOS – Earth & Space Science News magazine the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) starts together with the University of Palermo, Messina, Catania, Rome Sapienza and the Institute of Environmental Geology and Geoengineering of the CNR.
The research, which recently appeared in the prestigious journal "Tectonics" of the AGU (American Geophysical Union), has made it possible to identify one of the largest Italian submarine volcanic complexes just 15 km from the Calabrian Tyrrhenian coast, which developed from the fusion of material from the mantle along and, in particular, by a deep fracture of the earth's crust.
This volcanic complex, made up of the Diamante, Enotrio and Ovidio volcanoes, would have formed over the last 780.000 years. The work is based on the use of various geophysical techniques: multibeam sonar bathymetry, seismic reflection, magnetic anomalies and seismic tomography. The analysis of the data has clearly highlighted the presence of a large area characterized by numerous magma bodies solidified at different depths which go up to the seabed forming volcanic edifices.
"The geological evolution of the western Mediterranean during the Cenozoic era was mainly controlled by the dynamics of the sliding Adriatic-Ionian plate (so-called subduction) under the Eurasian plate", explains Riccardo De Ritis, INGV researcher and first author of the article. “The segmentation and fracturing of the oceanic lithosphere are processes that commonly occur in subducting systems and involve the formation of portions of plates that immerse themselves in the mantle (so-called "slab").
In the eastern Tyrrhenian Sea, the formation of chain volcanoes located near the edge of the Adriatic-Ionian plate seems to be associated with the upwelling of magma caused by the flow of material from the mantle, induced by subduction. The recently published study highlights the magmatic processes that occur along the edges of the "slabs" influencing the geo-hazards associated with them, which have not yet been widely documented to date.
“The volcanic complex identified in the Tyrrhenian Sea”, continues De Ritis, “has been divided into two portions. A western part, more distant from the coast, whose volcanic buildings present an uneven morphology deformed by tectonic structures.
The eastern part, closer to the coast, instead has rounded volcanic buildings with a flat top, caused by the interaction between volcanism and changes in sea level which has generated cycles of erosion and sedimentation over time. Our research - concludes the author - sheds new light on the existence of important volcanic complexes on the seabed at much lower distances from the coast than previously known".
Link to publication on Tectonics:
Link to publication on EOS:
High-resolution bathymetry of the study area where the large volcanic-magmatic complex was discovered which developed along the STEP fault associated with the subduction of the Adriatic-Ionian micro-plate under the Calabro Peloritano Arc.
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