CNR ExploRA

Articolo in rivista, 2022, ENG, 10.5194/nhess-22-2445-2022

A morphotectonic approach to the study of earthquakes in Rome

Marra F.; Frepoli A.; Gioia D.; Schiattarella M.; Tertulliani A.; Bini M.; De Luca G.; Luppichini M.

Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Rome, Italy; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Rome, Italy; CNR-ISPC, Potenza, Italy; Università degli Studi della Basilicata, Dipartimento delle Culture Europee e del Mediterraneo (DiCEM), Matera, Italy; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Rome, Italy; Università di Pisa, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Pisa, Italy; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Rome, Italy; Università di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Florence, Italy

Rome has the world's longest historical record of felt earthquakes, with more than 100 events during the last 2600 years. However, no destructive earthquake has been reported in the sources, and all of the greatest damage suffered in the past has been attributed to far-field events. While this fact suggests that a moderate seismotectonic regime characterizes the Roman area, no study has provided a comprehensive explanation for the lack of strong earthquakes in the region. Through the analysis of the focal mechanism and the morphostructural setting of the epicentral area of a "typical" moderate earthquake (M-1 = 3.3) that recently occurred in the northern urban area of Rome, we demonstrate that this event reactivated a buried segment of an ancient fault generated under both a different and a stronger tectonic regime than that which is presently active. We also show that the evident structural control over the drainage network in this area reflects an extreme degree of fragmentation of a set of buried faults generated under two competing stress fields throughout the Pleistocene. Small faults and a present-day weaker tectonic regime with respect to that acting during the Pleistocene might explain the lack of strong seismicity in the long historical record, suggesting that a large earthquake is not likely to occur.

Natural hazards and earth system sciences (Print) 22 (7), pp. 2445–2457