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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| In
Campana, researchers placed a seismograph in this
crypt, located below the alter of a church. |
Report 4: A Collage of Portraits (read
report 1) (2) (3) (4) (5)
by Nano Seeber, Seismologist at the Lamont-Doherty
Earth Observatory
Each station we set up is a new window onto
a world of nuances and surprises — another facet of
the cultural and physiographic architecture of southern Italy.
In the chilly wind of the dying afternoon,
Francesco was frolicking alone in the little public garden
overlooking a deep chasm just east of Campana. His frail
figure moved in the graceful dance of a young person engaging
his growing body while lost in distant thoughts. His response
to my inquiry, however, was immediate and intelligent. First
he jumped over the fence to confirm that Don Salvatore was
not answering his iron bell at the gate because he was not
home. Then this 7th grader, one of five children whose mother
cooks for the old-folks home, shared the back seat of our
old Lancia, loaded with seismometers and assorted
cables, and guided us to the town's four churches in search
of Don Salvatore. Not finding him, he led us then to the
attractions, such as the door of 'Eternal Bliss' overlooking
the chasm at the southern edge of town and the switch-backs
of the mule path leading up from it; and the "whale
rock," sculpted by the wind in the sandstone across
the valley; and to the XVII century 'King's Palace' where
repairs started a decade ago, but never went beyond the scaffolding.
It was to be a museum, Francesco said with sadness. Although
sweetened by Francesco, our first evening in Campana was
a defeat and also an unfinished encounter.
So, we were back in Campana the next day.
We met Don Salvatore tiding up the altar of San Domenico
following afternoon Mass. He promptly led us through the
dark and narrow streets of the medieval town. Words and gestures
of greetings to the few who passed by in the cold penumbra
of the evening were subtle, but elegant. The unassuming façade
of Santa Maria Assunta overlooks a small rise surrounded
by roofless buildings covered with mosses and tall grass.
Don Salvatore opened the heavy door and disappeared into
the dark. He was looking at me, possibly for the first time,
as he switched on the light. The contrast between abandonment
outside and the care inside of the church was breathtaking.
The warm incandescent illumination revealed the hansom XIII
century Romanesque structure gently overprinted by baroque
friezes. A light terracotta floor blends softly with off-white
walls. Uniformity in tone contrasts with a symphony of shades
across uneven surfaces, reminders of handwork and age. The
stark baroque freezes in white are clear and elegant. Such
minimalist baroque style is common in southern Italy, but
it is almost a contradiction in terms for someone familiar
with Rome. Dark thick paneling sustain the pipe-organ above
the front door and thick and gnarled hand-honed beams high
above the semicircular Romanesque arches remind us again
that maximum strength is achieved when humans respect natural
shapes.
Love is written all over the freshly
painted walls of Santa Maria Assunta, generations of it — Don
Salvatore and his parishioners having recently added the last
layer, 50 proud euros at a time. Campana, this little town
perched on the Sila Greca, is behind many 'tornanti' from the
'superstrada.' It has a world-class view over the Ionian Sea
and an equally admirable determination to continue to add chapters
to its long history. Campana claims a Magna-Grecia origin,
in the V century BC town of Kalasarna. Countless breads, salamis,
and barrels of wine were extracted from small and steep fields
and produced in dark kitchens and cellars. Those Campanians
could not imagine that the best and most expensive gourmets
of future years would try hard to emulate them. After the Romans,
the Normans, and the Spanish, Campana is now facing the World.
First, men left for jobs in 'Europe', then young women did
too, instead of mothering children. The fields are overgrown
and the streets empty of young chatter. What next? Difficult
to say, but the spectacular 4D scenery of valleys, ridges,
and clouds and the commitment written in the beautiful communal
space of Santa Maria Assunta have probably something to do
with it. We left Campana that evening thinking that the earthquake
recorder we left in the crypt below the altar of that magnificent
church may contribute to a good future for Campana, as well.
| Stations
Successfully Established to Date |
 |
| Location |
Station Name |
Latitude (N) |
Longitude (E) |
| Grottaminarda |
GROM |
41.07273 |
15.05993 |
| Sant'Andrea di Conza |
SACO |
40.84334 |
15.37066 |
| Minervino |
SX11 |
41.06107 |
16.19686 |
| Pietragalla |
SX17 |
40.73606 |
15.84757 |
| Venosa |
VENO |
40.96443 |
15.82340 |
| San Giovanni a Piro |
SGIO |
40.04098 |
15.45745 |
| Cocozzello (Cosenza) |
CO22 |
39.49259 |
16.30505 |
| Capaccio Vecchio |
CAVE |
40.45000 |
15.00540 |
| San Marco la Catola |
|
41.51685 |
15.0076 |
| Montella |
|
40.83333 |
15.03333 |
| Casteldelmonte |
|
41.05000 |
16.25000 |
| Craco |
|
40.38333 |
16.43333 |
| Tricarico |
|
40.61667 |
16.15000 |
This joint project involves researchers
from Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO): Michael Steckler,
Leonardo Seeber, Arthur Lerner-Lam, and Maya Tolstoy; researchers
from the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV):
Alessandro Amato, Gianni B. Cimini, Claudio Chiarabba, Marco
Cattaneo, and President Enzo Boschi; and researchers from
the Universita di Cosenza, including Professor Ignazio Guerra.
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: Protezione
Civile (government agency and local volunteer networks);
Comuni (Town governments); Grottaminarda; Sant'Andrea di
Conza; Montella (Avellino); Venosa (Foggia); San Giovanni
a Piro;
Craco (Matera).
|
