Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship Grant agreement ID: 839779 

https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/839779

Plain language summary

With approximately 500 000 earthquakes each year and as many as 100 000 of those being felt, seismic events are a major hazard for humanity. Contributing to this field, the EU-funded SLIP project studies the Northern Apennines of Italy to better constrain fossil seismic phenomena that occurred at mid-crustal depths along ductile shear zones. To do this, the project will draw upon various approaches, techniques and tools including fieldwork, thermodynamic modelling, optical and scanning electron microscope analyses, microtomography, age dating and isotopic signature determination. The research of SLIP will further our understanding of shallow to mid-crustal earthquakes, current seismic patterns and crustal behaviour, fluid pathways and fluid–rock interaction processes.

Scientific summary

Deformation zones may localize seismicity not only at upper crustal levels along brittle faults, but also at greater depth along ductile shear zones. The latter is at odds to classic rheological models predicting shear zones to creep and behave aseismically. Cycles of frictional and viscous deformation and brittle precursors to ductile deformation have been proposed as possible explanation.

The “SLIP” action will contribute to better constrain seismic localization at mid-crustal depths along ductile shear zones by studying key areas of the Northern Apennines of Italy (NA). SLIP relies on the hypothesis that exhumed brittle-ductile shear zones of the inner NA represent the fossil analogue of the still seismically active deformation zones in the central and external portions of the orogen. SLIP will investigate microstructures in a multidisciplinary action to derive constraints upon the seismic deformation mechanisms steering the orogen seismic activity.

The objectives of this proposal are to: 1) Unravel the pressure-temperature-time-deformation histories of exhumed fossil shear zones; 2) Define the role of fluids in triggering metamorphic reactions, enhancing deformation and steering the transient rheology of the shear zones; 3) Determine the provenance of the metamorphic fluids; 4) Reconstruct the tectonic evolution and the conceptual seismotectonic model of the NA.

To achieve the above defined specific objectives, a multidisciplinary approach has been designed including fieldwork, optical and scanning electron microscope analyses, Raman spectroscopy, electron probe micro-analyser, laser ablation mass spectrometry, thermodynamic modelling, and age dating of deformation fabrics. SLIP will contribute to our understanding of shallow to mid-crustal earthquakes and its results will remarkably assist in better interpreting current seismic patterns and crustal behaviours. It will also shed new light on the fluid pathways and fluid-rock interaction processes in the crust.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 839779. 

Scientific publications

1. Giuntoli, F., Viola, G., & Villa, I. M. (2024). Dating syn-orogenic exhumation of subducted continental crust: The case of the Northern Apennines. Lithos, 488–489, 107801. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lithos.2024.107801

2. Giuntoli, F., Viola, G., & Sørensen, B. E. (2022). Deformation Mechanisms of Blueschist Facies Continental Metasediments May Offer Insights Into Deep Episodic Tremor and Slow Slip Events. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 127(10). https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JB024265    

3. Giuntoli, F., Viola, G. (2022) A likely geological record of deep tremor and slow slip events from a subducted continental broken formation. Scientific Reports, 12, 4506.   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-08489-2

4. Giuntoli F., Viola G. (2021). Cyclic brittle-ductile oscillations recorded in exhumed high-pressure continental units: A record of deep episodic tremor and slow slip events in the Northern Apennines. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 22. e2021GC009805 https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GC009805

Conference abstracts

Giuntoli F., Viola G. & Sørensen B. E. (2023). Cyclic brittle-ductile oscillations recorded in exhumed high-pressure continental units: a record of deep episodic tremor and slow slip events? Invited presentation. EGU 2023, Wien, Austria. 

Giuntoli F., Viola G., Sørensen B. E., Villa M. I., Boschi C. & Rubatto D. (2023). Shear zones in blueschist facies continental metasediments: a tool to disclose potential fossil deep episodic tremor and slow slip events. Invited presentation. SIMP-SGI-SOGEI-AIV 2023, Potenza .

Giuntoli F., Viola G. & Eske Sørensen B. (2022). Insights into deep episodic tremors and slip events from High-Pressure continental metasedimentary successions of the Northern Apennines. Oral presentation. SGI-SIMP 2022, Torino. 

Giuntoli F., Viola G. (2021). Brittle-ductile deformation in high-pressure continental units and deep episodic tremors and slip events.  Oral presentation. Congresso SGI 2021, Trieste, Italia.

Giuntoli F., Viola G. (2021). Cyclic brittle-ductile behaviour recorded in high-pressure continental units of the Northern Apennines and deep episodic tremor and slow slip events. Poster. Waiting for Yorsget, 2021.

Giuntoli F., Viola G. (2021). Brittle-ductile deformation in high-pressure continental units and deep episodic tremor and slip. vPICO. EGU 2021, Wien, Austria. https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-320 

 Giuntoli F., Viola G. (2020). Brittle-ductile deformation in high-pressure continental units of the Northern Apennines reveal deep episodic tremor and slip. Oral presentation. GSA 2020. https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2020AM/webprogram/Paper354060.html 

Giuntoli F., Viola G. (2020). Cyclic brittle-ductile behaviour recorded in exhuming high-pressure continental units of the Northern Apennines. Display presentation. EGU 2020, Wien, Austria.  https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-6923 

Giuntoli F., Viola G. (2020). Cyclic brittle-ductile behaviour recorded in exhuming high-pressure continental units of the Northern Apennines. Understanding earthquakes using the geological record. The Royal Society scientific meeting. London, United Kingdom.

Outreach activities

European Researchers' Night, Bologna, Italy. Title of the activity: “Conosci i ricercatori della Marie Curie Alumni Association”.

09/2021

European Researchers' Night, Bologna, Italy. Title of the activity: “A TU PER TU con i ricercatori!”. Organizers: researchers of the Marie Skłodowska – Curie actions.

11/2020

European Researchers' Night, Bologna, Italy. Title of the activity: “Ma Senti Che Attività!”. Organizers: researchers of the Marie Skłodowska – Curie actions.

09/2019