Deep structure from seismic tomography

Abstract

The scientific debate among Earth scientists on whether the Apennines thrust and fold belt originated by subduction-related processes or by different mechanisms has been ongoing for many years. One of the reasons for this has been the poor knowledge of the crust and upper mantle structure, and the lack of precise information on the occurrence of intermediate and deep earthquakes beneath the Italian peninsula. In this chapter we describe the advancement in seismological research in the last fifteen years, since the modern seismic networks became operational in Italy. In this period, millions of seismic waveforms have been recorded from mostly natural events (earthquakes) and to a less extent from artificial sources (explosions). Modern seismological tools, exploiting this huge dataset, have helped to unravel the complex structure of the lithosphere—asthenosphere system of the Mediterranean, and, thus, have contributed to a better understanding of the geodynamic evolution of the region.