The study of geo-hazards

ISMAR is engaged in researches and scientific services aimed at determining the geohazards, i. e. the risk for off-shore and on-shore structures and coastal population, associated with geological processes that occur in the submarine realm. ISMAR studies seismogenic faults in the marine environment along several structurally-different margins, including the Calabrian Arc subduction complex in the Ionian Sea (Italy), the North Anatolian Fault system below the Sea of Marmara (Turkey) and the fault systems dissecting the Gulf of Cadiz. These structures have caused destructive earthquakes in the Mediterranean during the last millennia, and are among the most hazardous tectonic features of our Planet. Another important aspect of seismogenic faults at sea is their potential of causing tsunamis, either by direct mass displacement, or through the generation of submarine landslides.
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EARTHQUAKES
Many of the largest and most devastating earthquakes that struck Italy in its recent history are due to rupture of faults located at sea, and are accompanied by large magnitude tsunamis. Notable and infamous examples are the 1627 Gargano, 1693 eastern Sicily, and 1908 Messina earthquakes. The tectonic structures that possibly originated these earthquakes have been investigated by ISMAR, using geophysical surveys, so as to define their size and geometry, in order to better assess their geological hazard.
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SEISMOGENIC FAULTS
ISMAR is studying seismogenic faults in the marine environment in a variety of continental margins, including the Calabrian Arc subduction complex in the Ionian Sea (Italy), the North Anatolian Fault system below the Sea of Marmara (Turkey), and the South Adriatic along the Gondola deformation belt. These structures have caused destructive earthquakes in the Mediterranean during the last millennia, and are among the most hazardous tectonic features of our Planet.
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SUBMARINE LANDSLIDES
The study of submarine landslides is carried out to determine the physical processes associated with the failure of sediment masses, a key issue in the assessment of their potential hazards. The spatial and temporal distribution of landslides is studied in order to determine the pre-conditioning factors and the triggers that favour sediment collapses along continental margins and to derive information on possible unstable areas where future failure events are to be expected.
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TSUNAMI
ISMAR is actively involved in the study of the tsunami generation and propagation mechanisms, both from theoretical and experimental point of view and in the design of new Tsunami Early Warning Systems and methods. In particular, the team developed a new instrument, the “tsunameter”, installed off the Gulf of Cadiz, for the real-time detection of tsunami waves. ISMAR is also working on tsunami generation models that take into account the compressibility.

SUBMARINE VOLCANOES
The submarine volcanoes and the volcanic islands of the Tyrrhenian Sea represent an additional potential source of hazard that ISMAR is actively investigating. The failure of the flanks of submarine volcanoes, rendered unstable by eruptive activity and loading, or weakened by hydrothermal alteration and rift fracture zones, may result in large-volume landslides with significant tsunamigenic potential. Eruptive styles, active volcanic processes, slope mapping and rock properties are some of the several fields of research involved.
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