The Italian peninsula across
the Mediterranean Sea is part of the tectonic plate
boundary - the accommodation zone -- between the
Eurasian and the African plates, which continue to
move closer to each other. This motion controls the
long-term evolution of the boundary, but recent geologic
changes suggest a more rapid tectonic event superimposed
on the slow motion of the big plates and localized
to the Apennine arc. This signature event of the
Italian peninsula is most dramatically manifested
in the current deformation along the Calabrian portion
of the arc and is the main focus of this project.
Researchers from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, in conjunction with
researchers from the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, are
working to deploy 50 portable digital broadband seismographs throughout
southern Italy. These instruments will record both global and regional
earthquakes for 18 months. Researchers are also working to deploy an additional
10 digital broad-band ocean-bottom seismometers (OBS) offshore for a period
of 12 months. Researchers will use signals from distant earthquakes to
develop a catscan, or a three dimensional image, of the Earth's crust and
mantle beneath the Italian Peninsula of the earth. read
more background information on project |
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| A blizzard
provides new challenges to the researchers searching
for station sites for their digital broadband seismographs. |
Report 1: Snow Falling on Station Sites(read
report 1) (2) (3) (4) (5)
by Nano Seeber, Seismologist
at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Finding ones' way in the web of twisty
roads is challenging enough in sunny Italy; try it
in a blizzard! Today we made it across Volturara Pass
behind a snowplow. The going is indeed getting tougher
as the winter sets in the southern Apennines with unusual
fierceness. But Italy seems to abound in those little
indispensable surprises, such as the lady at the petrol
station half buried in snow that took the time to explain
how foolish we were... and she showed us the only negotiable
way. In any case, the warmth of our Italian hosts is
amply compensating for the un-Italian weather.
Today we installed a station in the
Tyrrenian coast town of Cetraro, provincia di Cosenza.
This is our second station in Calabria and the second
one with a direct view to the island of Stromboli.
After building the thermal protection for our broadband
sensor out of the floor scrap in an abandoned pigpen,
we found ourselves invited to an impromptu lunch, where
elegance and taste could melt any amount of snow and
ice. We were guests of Mr. and Mrs. Tundis and their
daughter Simona, a student at the Cosenza University,
who kindly led us to Agostino, the uncle down the street,
who owns the ideal station site. That broad band has
no choice but to do a great job.
This joint project involves researchers
from Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO):
Michael Steckler, Leonardo Seeber, Arthur Lerner-Lam,
and Maya Tolstoy; and researchers from the Istituto
Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV): Alessandro
Amato, Gianni B. Cimini, Claudio Chiarabba, Marco Cattaneo,
and President Enzo Boschi. Support provided by the
Continental Dynamics Program of the US National Science
Foundation. Additional support provided by the NSF
EAR Instrumentation and Facilities program through
IRIS, and the OCE MG&G program through the OBS
deployments and support of the OBSIP facility.
Additional collaborators include:
Universita di Cosenza (Prof. Ignazio Guerra); Protezione
Civile (government agency and local volunteer networks);
Comuni (Town governments); Grottaminarda; San Andrea
in Conza; Montella (Avellino); Venosa (Foggia); San
Giovanni a Piro; Craco (Matera).
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