SEISMOFAULTS 2017 is underway, a scientific project conducted by CNR, INGV and Sapienza University of Rome
Exploration of the universe now expands to Saturn and beyond, but the ocean floors of our planet, even those closest to man-made areas, are generally unknown. Yet, these depths host and conceal volcanoes and long fractures in the crust (faults) which can be the cause of violent earthquakes, eruptions, underwater landslides and tidal waves, putting life and the socio-economic fabric in the nearby inhabited centers at risk.
For example, the Strait of Messina region and the nearby Ionian Sea have been the source areas of major earthquakes and tidal waves over the last few centuries causing death and destruction. We recall, among the catastrophic seismic events, those of 1908 (Messina and Reggio Calabria), 1905 (southern Calabria), 1783 (southern Calabria), 1693 (Val di Noto), 1169 (eastern Sicily) and 362 AD (eastern Sicily and Calabria southern). Only in 1908 the victims were more than 80.000. The seismo-tectonic and morphological structures from which the earthquakes and tidal waves mentioned above originated are still totally or partially unknown.
Since May 2017, a new scientific project (SEISMOFAULTS), signed by the National Research Council (CNR of Rome and Bologna), the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV of Rome, Palermo and Gibilmanna) and Sapienza University of Rome, aims to monitor and explore the seismic faults of the Ionian Sea and the Strait of Messina up close. In May, during the SEISMOFAULTS 2017 oceanographic campaign, the SEISMOFAULTS scientific team (CNR, INGV and Sapienza), with the assistance of the vessel Minerva Uno and its maritime crew managed by Sopromar, installed on the seabed of the Ionian Sea, at depths up to about 2600 m, eight seismometers and two modules with geochemical sensors. The instruments are very close to potential earthquake epicenters and will record ground movements in the event of seismic events and gaseous emissions from the ion bed for about 12 months. At the end of this period, the instruments will be released from the ballast that keeps them anchored at the bottom of the sea with an acoustic command sent from the surface of the sea and will float to the surface where they will be recovered for possible reuse elsewhere.
With the new data collected, it will not only be possible to identify and define the faults potentially originating catastrophic earthquakes and tsunamis, but also to collect information for the study of earthquake precursor phenomena, such as anomalies in the methods of outgassing from the seabed, in order to to explore the predictability of earthquakes. The two seabed geochemical modules were installed precisely for this latter purpose.
The scientific and informative material is available on the website: www.seismofaults.it.
Figure 1: Bathymetric map of the study area and positions of the 8 Ocean Bottom Seismometers and Hydrophones (OBS/H), of the 2 multiparameter geochemical modules (GeoC) and of the cores taken from the seabed
Figure 2: Ocean Bottom Seismometers and Hydrophones (OBS/H) deposited in the Ionian Sea during the SEISMOFAULTS 2017 oceanographic campaign (May 11-23)
Figure 3: Multiparameter geochemical (GeoC) modules deposited in the Ionian Sea
Figure 4: Recovery phase of the coring operation
Links to videos
https://we.tl/AfnvON7PjE
https://we.tl/6jIOZwNcnj
https://we.tl/FClgSKVyS6
https://we.tl/crM0JmNUlL