Multiparametric data analysis for seismic source identification in the Campanian area: merging of seismological, structural and gravimetric data.

This paper deals with an interdisciplinary research that has been carried out toinvestigate the neotectonic activity of the Campanian plain and surrounding areas(southern Italy), affected by Plio-Pleistocene tectonics and volcanic activity. Threethematic data sets have been generated for this area, “fault”, “earthquake” and“gravimetric” data sets, respectively. These data sets allow an integrated analysis of thestructural, seismic and gravimetric data in GIS environment with the aim ofidentifying the active structural lineaments that accommodate the local stress throughseismic activity. In detail, an original map with Plio-Quaternary tectonic structures ofthe Campanian plain and its margins, constrained by morpho-structural analysisand/or geophysical exploration data, is presented. The available earthquake data setshave been merged in a single data set, including seismicity in the Campanian areafrom 217 b.C. to 2010; processing of seismic data for new precise earthquakelocations have been carried out for some clusters of events with poor data, for betterconstraining existence and activity of some outcropping and buried tectonicstructures. As regards the gravimetric data set, a Multiscale Derivative Analysis(MDA) of the gravity field of the area has been performed, relying on the highresolution properties of the Enhanced Horizontal Derivative (EHD). MDA of gravitydata allowed localization of several linear and close trends, identifying anomalysources whose presence was not previously detected. Our integrated analysis showsthat a strong correlation occurs among the new hypocentral locations of the seismicclusters matching the fault systems of the Massico Mt. and Avella Mts., and the MDAlineaments from gravity data relative to the same tectonic structures.