Detailed geophysical and geologic study in the Lampedusa Island : SIMIT project

Abstract

Recently, a joint Italo-Maltese research project (Costituzione di un Sistema Integrato di Protezione Civile Transfrontaliero Italo-Maltese, SIMIT) was financially supported by the European community with the aim to improve the geological and geophysical information in the area between the south-eastern Sicilian coast and the islands of Lampedusa and Malta with a final purpose to mitigate natural hazards. Although this region lies on a seismically active domain of central Mediterranean, the Sicily Channel Rift Zone, knowledge about seismotectonic and local seismic response are at present poorly studied. In order to improve these, we investigated the island of Lampedusa (Pelagian archipelago) by means a multidisciplinary approach concerning structural, morphologic and lithologic analyses. Results of geological-structural surveys were used to understand local seismic response of the distinct outcropping rocks and its influence on the existing buildings. Ambient noise recordings were used as seismic input, processing the data collected through spectral ratio techniques. Polarization of the horizontal component of motion was also investigated in order to set into evidence possible directional effects. Current findings contribute to fill up the information gap on the seismic features of this territory.