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GPS horizontal velocities and their 95% confidence ellipses in a European fixed reference frame
| Project Summary | The Adriatic region is an ideal natural laboratory for studying plate boundaries because of the wide variety of tectonic processes it displays. These include continental collision, subduction of continental and oceanic lithosphere, major continental faults. However, the region has been investigated mainly at a local scale, so we have only a limited understanding of its deformation field. Considerable uncertainty surrounds the present kinematics of this region. Is the Adriatic block still closely connected with the African continent, or does it behave as an independent microplate or is it an area of continuous deformation? The distribution of seismicity in the Adriatic region is distinguished by extremely low seismicity in the plate interior compared to intense activity in the high topographic belts that border the region on southwest, northwest and northeast. The project main steps are: (1) Analysis of continuous GPS data from the EUREF and ASI network to estimate the regional deformation field. (2) Setting up a continuous GPS network to determine the distribution of deformation in northeast Italy (Friuli). One of the strongest clusters of seismic activity characterizes the greater Friuli area. (3) Episodic occupations of geodetic networks with GPS to better determine the local and regional deformation field. (4) Development of kinematics and dynamics models of the Adriatic and Friuli area. |
| Tools | GPS, mathematical models |
| Geographic Location | Italy, Central Mediterranenan |
| Group Members Involved | Maurizio Battaglia [E-mail]
[web page]
Mark H. Murray, Roland Bürgmann |
| Project Duration | 2 years. Project started in 2002. |
| More Information | Geodetic monitoring of the Friuli Seismic Zone |
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