Friuli Earthquake

In July 2020 I spent a week of vacation in the Alps in Friuli (North-Eastern Italy). On July 13th an earthquake was felt in the area and my friends started to wonder what could have been the cause for it. So I thought of preparing a 3D model, collecting a few maps and sections, with the aim of representing the geological framework that might have generated the earthquake.

I started by collecting the earthquake main data published by INGV  and OGS : magnitude 3.5-3.7, 7 km SW of "Forni di Sotto", 10-11 km below sea level.

Then I selected the images of some useful maps and cross-sections, both at regional and local scale, from these two papers:

• A. Castellarin et al., 2006, "Structure of the lithosphere beneath the Eastern Alps (southern sector of the TRANSALP transect)"

• M. Ponton, 2010, "Architettura delle Alpi Friulane" 

Then I identified and modeled the fault that possibly generated the earthquake and finally I combined everything using the software Blender and Sketchfab.

The result is a 3D model that represents the geology from regional to local scale, allowing to appreciate the link from plate tectonics to local faults.

Additionally, I have included also the data for the major earthquake occurred in May 1976, that caused nearly 1000 deaths. The data are published by ASMI: magnitude 6.5, 14 km E of Gemona, 5.7 km below sea level.

It appears that the faults that generated the two earthquakes (in 1976 and 2020) are part of a system of adjacent structures that characterize the frontal part of the Friuli Alps. These faults are represented on the geological map as a series of consecutive lineaments: Arba-Ragogna,  Susans-Tricesimo and Cividale, from west to east.

More details on this topic are available from DISS (Database of Individual Seismogenic Sources). 

You can access the 3D model and play with it from the link below.

I have also added two videos discussing what can be observed in the model (the videos are in italian, but they should be useful also for non italian speakers, to see how to manipulate the different elements in the model).