Abstract
The central Adriatic is the foreland of two orogenic systems - the Dinarides on the northeast and the Apennines on the southwest. In addition to specific foreland tectonics, this area is also marked by numerous salt diapirs, which have mostly been shown differently on published overview maps and illustrated geological cross-sections, and only sporadically on interpreted seismic cross-sections. Salt diapirs form imposing subsurface structures that in places emerge on the surface and thus affect the morphology (bathymetry) of that area. Salt structures of the central Adriatic are scientifically underexplored, as well as the cause-and-effect relationship between the salt diapirs and moderate seismic activity that characterizes this area. It is assumed that the activity of the diapirs are related to the neotectonic reactivation of Mesozoic faults, some of which are probably still active. The project intends to interpret the latest 2D seismic cross-sections recorded in the area, to define the main faults, and to 3D model the geometry of selected diapiric structures. Efforts will be made to better define the structural-tectonic setting of the offshore islands of the central Adriatic. By comparing the spatial arrangement of epicenters and hypocenters of recorded earthquakes with interpreted geological structures, an attempt will be made to clarify the connection between active tectonics and salt diapirs. Focused research on the salt rocks from the diapirs will be made with a goal to define the depositional environment and the age of these key-deposits, while dating of the overlaying Cenozoic deposits could reveal the timing of the appearance of salt diapirs and the associated rocks on the surface.
Project objectives:
O1. Database and interpretation of major horizons and faults on 2D seismic profiles (leader: Ana Kamenski)
O2. Sequence stratigraphy and basin analysis, and modeling of subsurface geological structures (leader: David Rukavina)
O3. Investigation and dating of evaporites and some Cenozoic rocks (leader: Chahreddine Neji)
O4. Origin of aeolian sands, dating of colluvial and marine (Quaternary) deposits (leader: Lara Wacha)
O5. Structural-tectonic framework of the islands in the Central Adriatic (leader: Damir Palenik)
O6. Defining earthquakes hypocenter locations and partial seismic hazard assessment (leader: Snježana Markušić)
O7. Regional geological evolution of the researched area, administration, coordination and dissemination (leader: Tvrtko Korbar)