Geological Society of America

Special Paper 409

2006

Coexisting geodynamic processes in the Sicily Channel

Giacomo Corti
Istituto di Geoscienze e Georisorse, CNR, Pisa, Italy
Marco Cuffaro
Carlo Doglioni*
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Universit La Sapienza, Roma, Italy
Fabrizio Innocenti
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Universit di Pisa, and
IGG-CNR Pisa, Italy
Piero Manetti
Istituto di Geoscienze e Georisorse, CNR, Pisa, Italy

ABSTRACT

The northwestern side of the Sicily Channel in the central Mediterranean has
been shaped by the occurrence of two independent tectonic processes that overlap
each other, the Maghrebides-Apennines accretionary prism and the Sicily Channel
rift. Since at least the Pliocene, these two processes have acted simultaneously, being
re-spectively related to the Apennines subduction and to the African rift. Thrust
sheets of the accretionary prism crosscut the almost orthogonal rift-related normal
faults and vice versa. Analogue modeling supports the kinematics inferred from
regional struc-tural data. Alkaline magmatism associated with the rift is more
pronounced in the foreland of the prism, where the extension is more concentrated.
This peculiar setting confirms how independently geodynamic processes can interact
in the same area at the same time, suggesting that plate boundaries are passive
features responding to far-field velocity fields of the lithosphere.

Keywords: Mediterranean, Sicily Channel, accretionary prism, rifting, coexisting tectonics

INTRODUCTION consider independent. The coexistence of four independent ge-

One of the paradigms of plate tectonics is that plate bound-
aries record the deformation related to the ongoing geodynamic
processes, assuming a single tectonic setting. This article deals
with an expansion of this concept, discussing the possibility that
in a given area multiple geodynamic processes work together,
overlapping each other and generating a deformational pattern
that represents the sum of distinct tectonic styles that we may
odynamic processes was proposed by Doglioni and Carminati
(2002) for northeastern Italy, where the Alpine and Dinaride
thrust belts interplayed in an area that was undergoing remote
subsidence due to the Apennines subduction and affected by the
Pannonian back-arc extension. In the western Mediterranean, the
Valencia rifting obliquely crosscut the coeval and independ-ent
Betic orogen (Doglioni et al., 1997, 1998, 1999). Along the San
Andreas system, two tectonic settings overlap where the

*E-mail: carlo.doglioni@uniroma1.it.

Corti, G., Cuffaro, M., Doglioni, C., Innocenti, F., and Manetti, P., Coexisting geodynamic processes in the Sicily Channel in Dilek, Y., and Pavlides, S., eds.,
Postcollisional tectonics and magmatism in the Mediterranean region and Asia: Geological Society of America Special Paper 409, p. 8396, doi:
10.1130/2006.2409(05). For permission to copy, contact editing@geosociety.org. 2006 Geological Society of America. All rights reserved.

83
84 G. Corti et al.
North America plate overrides the Pacific plate with a left lat- tral western Mediterranean (Fig. 1). Three main elements mark

eral transpression along the faster right lateral transtensional

the accretionary prism of Sicily and its off-shore continuation:
transfer zone connecting the Juan de Fuca Ridge and the Baja (A) a PliocenePleistocene northwest-dipping foreland mono-
California rift, as suggested by Doglioni and Harabaglia (1996).
cline generating the overlying foredeep; (B) a roughly ENE-
We propose here the case of the Sicily Channel (Figs. 1 and
WSW to east-west-trending thin-skinned imbricate wedge
2) as an archetype of an area where two geodynamic settings are
progressively emplaced from the earlymiddle Miocene to pres-
active at the same time, generating a peculiar structural style that
ent (e.g., Roure et al., 1990; Giunta, 1991; Catalano et al., 1996;
is a function of the related overlap. In this area, the subduction-
Giunta et al., 2000); and (C) northwest-trending normal faults
related Maghrebides-Sicily-Apennines accretionary prism is and a related graben or half graben. PliocenePleistocene rift-
crosscut by almost orthogonal normal faults due to an inde- ing (Figs. 2 and 3) collapsed the accretionary prism (Reuther and
pendent rifting affecting northern and northeastern Africa, both
Eisbacher, 1985; Argnani, 1990; Casero and Roure, 1994; Tri-
on-shore and off-shore (Figs. 1 and 2). The geologic model is cart et al., 1994; Torelli et al., 1995), leading to the development
supported by analogue model experiments and also focuses on of the Sicily Channel, which allows the western and eastern
the structural interference pattern and its relationship with the
parts of the Mediterranean Sea to connect (Fig. 1). The collapsed
related alkaline magmatism. accretionary prism has been detected in seismic reflection pro-
files (e.g., Tricart et al., 1994; Catalano et al., 1995, Catalano et
TECTONIC SETTING al., 2000a,b; Casero, 2004), showing thrusts and folds that de-
form the seafloor, indicating active deformation.
The Sicily Channel is located within a south central seg- To the northwest, the Sicily Channel rift appears connected
ment of the Apennines-Maghrebides belt developing in the cen- to the Campidano graben in southwest Sardinia (Fig. 3). The

RG
Car p EUROPE N

a
n
thi
a

Alps Pannonian s 0 200 km

D
i Basin
n
a
r
i
d

VT Pb Apennines
Adriatic
e
s Black Sea
Py Sea
CG TS
Fig 2
Aegean
SCh
SyCh extension
Maghrebides
CG: Campidano graben

GS: Gulf of Suez LS

LS: Libyan Sea
Pb: Provencal basin
Py: Pyrenees
RG: Rhine graben GS
SCh: Sardinia Channel
SyCh: Sicily Channel
Red
Sirte basins
TS: Tyrrhenian Sea
VT: Valencia Trough
AFRIC Sea
A
Figure 1. Schematic plate tectonic setting of the Mediterranean area. Extensional structures in the
Sardinia and Sicily Channels and in the Sirte region are reported in detail (after Bosworth, 1994; Skuce,
1994; Ahlbrandt, 2001). Note the normal fault systems, shown in white, that propagate from the Sicily
Channel toward the southeast into the Sirte basin, Libya, and northern Egypt, suggesting a connection
with the Red Sea rift. This extension crosscuts the Apennines-Maghrebides accretionary prism. Therefore,
it is clearly independent of the subduction system and the related back-arc extension in the Algerian and
Tyrrhenian basins. The inset shows the location of the study area, depicted in Figure 2.
 Coexisting geodynamic processes in the Sicily Channel 85
10 11 12 13 14 15

39 Tyrrhenian Sea 39
315 0
45

270

0
9
135
225

180
38 38

Sicily

37 Sicil Channe 37

y l
Pantelleria I. PG
Tunisia

MG
36 Malta I. 36

LG
Linosa I.

-4000 -3000 -2000 -10000 1000 2000 3000 4000

35 35
10 11 12 13 14 15

Figure 2. Bathymetry of the Sicily Channel and surrounding areas. PGPantelleria graben; LGLinosa graben; MG
Malta graben. Data from the GEBCO (General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans) Digital Atlas (IOC, IHO, and
BODC, 2003).

rifting is affecting the Pelagian shelf and Tunisia on-shore and
continues to the southeast into the Sirte basin (Bosworth, 1994;
Skuce, 1994; Ahlbrandt, 2001) (Fig. 1). Northwest-trending
normal faults and ENE-trending transfer zones continue on-shore
in Libya and Egypt, suggesting a link of the Sicily Chan-nel with
the Red Sea and the East African rift in general (Fig. 1).
Therefore, the rifting in the Sicily Channel seems to be unrelated
to the subduction process occurring beneath the Apennines-
Maghrebides accretionary prism. Stratigraphic columns of the
study area are reported in Figure 4.
Extension in the area gives rise to the presence of major
morphological structures defining deep tectonic depressions,
namely the Pantelleria, Malta, and Linosa grabens. Major
boundary faults and associated minor normal faults that control
the deep depressions are clearly observable in seismic lines (see,
for instance, the seismic profile in Figure 5 showing the exten-
sional structures bordering the Pantelleria graben). These faults
are northwest-southeast-directed; deviations from this principal
trend may be accommodated by the presence of transfer zones,
most probably controlled by east-west or north-south transver-sal
structures. Boundary faults of the grabens display variable
throws, which generally increase toward the southeast; esti-mated
displacements range, indeed, from the ~500 m displace-ment of
the Pantelleria graben to the ~1000 m displacement in
86 G. Corti et al.

Sardinia

Campidano Tyrrhenian back-arc basin

Basin

Sardinia Channel
Algerian
N-

38 Figure 3. Simplified tectonic map of the

Sicily Channel (modified after Tricart et
Sicily al., 1994). PliocenePleistocene tecton-
AP ics is marked both by the ENE-trending
P1b C Maghrebides-Sicily-Apennines accre-
GB tionary prism and by contemporaneous
NW-trending rift. The black and red ar-

Maghrebides Tunisia
* NB
rows indicate the direction of compres-
sion and extension, respectively. Lines
Pantelleria B AB and CD indicate the location of the
Vega 3
seismic profiles reported in Figures 5
36 Sicily Malta and 6. The stars indicate the main vol-
* LinosaChannel
canic centers of Linosa and Pantelleria.
APAdventure plateau; P1bPamela
A 1bis well; GBGraham Bank; NB
Nameless Bank.
Atlas D

34 Pelagian shelf
Sahara Platform

8 10 12 14

the Linosa and Malta grabens. Analogously, syntectonic sedi-
ments filling the tectonic depressions thicken toward the south-
east (e.g., Boccaletti et al., 1987, and references therein), even if
the development of the extensional structures seems to be syn-
chronous along the entire rift (Dart et al., 1993). Seismic and
gravimetric analysis of crustal structure indicates that the crust
has been tectonically thinned to less than 20 km in the Pantelle-
ria, Linosa, and Malta grabens with respect to the crustal thick-
ness of the Africa plate, ~30 km (Scarascia et al., 2000). The
thickness of the crust increases toward the accretionary prism,
where extensional structures, although still identifiable, are
clearly subordinated to thrust systems (Fig. 2). In the accre-
tionary prism north of Pantelleria, bathymetric analysis shows
higher topography with respect to regions farther southeast, as
crustal thickening related to the compressional process acts
against reduction in topography induced by extension (Fig. 2).
However, a northwest-southeast-directed depression propagates
farther northwest of Pantelleria within the accretionary prism,
testifying to the superposition of extensional structures on com-
pressional ones (Fig. 3). Thus, both extensional and compres-
sional structures are simultaneously active, as highlighted by the
deformation of the seafloor; seismic lines (e.g., CROP M24) ev-
idence the coexistence of active normal and reverse faults (Fig.
6). Interference between extension and compression generates
complex fault arrangements whose principal expression is a
prominent curvature of the major thrust systems approaching the
region affected by extension (Fig. 3).
SPACE GEODESY DATA ANALYSIS
The southern Italian GPS stations are included in the
Euro-pean Reference Frame network, EUREF (see http://www
.euref-iag.org), where plate motions are reported with
respect to a fixed Europe. For our space geodesy analysis in
the Sicily
 Coexisting geodynamic processes in the Sicily Channel 87
SICILY CHANNEL RIFT ACCRETIONARY PRISM FORELAND

PANTELLERIA MALTA HORST PAMELA 1BIS VEGA 3

RIFT BC 23-65
Sea G 50-160 Sea Level Sea Level
Level 156 Seabed 132 Seabed
Shales and marls 457 Clays with
>465 marls at the base
LC (Ribera Fm. - Pliocene)
Gypsum with shale
(Gessoso-Solfifera Fm. -
Seabed Messinian)
(Ribera Fm. - Pliocene) 710
Marls and shales (Tellaro
995 Fm. - Tortonian-Langhian)
PQ Plio-Quaternary 1335 Carbonates and marls
SIN-RIFT

0-1200 PQ

Succession (Ragusa Fm. - Oligocene)

Upper Coralline Cherty limestones (Amerillo
UC Limestone Fm. 1470 Wackeston/mudstone Fm. - Eocene-Upper
(Miocene) (Amerillo Fm. - Eocene
1583 Cretaceous)
Blue Clay 1744 -Upper Cretaceous)
LATE

UC
100-500 BC Marls
(Miocene) Marls and shales
(Hybla Fm. -
EARLYSIN-RIFT

(Hybla Fm. - Lower Cretaceous)

Globigerina Lower Cretaceous)
G Limestone Fm.
G

BC
-RIFT

50-30 2133 2145

(Miocene)
Dolostone 2329 Limestones (Chiaramonte Fm. -
Lower Coralline
Lower Cretaceous-Upper Tithonian)
LC LimestoneFm.
LC 300 (Paleogene-Oligocene) Marls (Buccheri Fm. - Malm-Dogger)
PRE

(Inici Fm. - 2468

Jurassic) Shallow carbonates
Naxxar Gp. (Syracuse Fm. -
K 2723 Dolostone
K (Cretaceous) Liassic)
(Taormina Fm. -
2973 Triassic)

Figure 4. Lithostratigraphic columns of the rift system and accretionary prism foreland. Data for the Pantelleria rift and Malta horst were
derived by integrating outcrop, well, and seismic data (after Dart et al., 1993); well data for Pamela 1bis and Vega 3 are from Barbier et al.
(2000) and AAVV (1987), respectively, and their locations are in Figure 3.

Channel, we used station velocities from Hollenstein et al. (2003)
derived from GPS acquisitions obtained in 1994, 1996, 2000, and
2001. These data were evaluated in the ITRF97 (Boucher et al.,
1998), and then the results were finally rotated from the absolute
frame to a Eurasia plate considered fixed, using the Eulerian
parameters (pole and angular velocity) from Sella et al. (2002).
In this reference frame, we selected two GPS stations, LAMP
(Lampedusa Isle, Sicily) and NOTO (Noto, Sicily), and
their motions relative to the fixed station of CAGL (Cagliari,
Sardinia) were computed (Fig. 7). This analysis shows the
northwestward convergence of Noto and Lampedusa relative to
Cagliari at 45 mm/yr. Cagliari has very slow motion relative to
fixed Eurasia (e.g., Hollenstein et al., 2003). This compression is
consistent with the Neogene to present Maghrebides-Sicilian belt.
Noto and Lampedusa have similar velocities (v LAMP = [3.677
0.806 mm/yr], vNOTO = [3.992 0.100 mm/yr]), but

B
A 10 km Plio-Quaternary
AFRICA SICILY s.l. NE
SW 0
(S)

0 E E M 1
(S)

1 K K K
2
TWT

2
TWT

3
3
Rollover anticline
4 After Torelli et al. (1995)4

Figure 5. Line drawing of a seismic section across the Sicily Channel, after Torelli et al. (1995). Emiddleupper Eocene; KCretaceous; M
Messinian.
 C D

CROP M24

SICILY off-shore
PELAGIAN shelf

CROP M24 NE
Figure 6. Seismic reflection profile of the Sicily Channel showing the coexistence of the rift and the accretionary prism, both processes de-
forming the seafloor (Seismic section CROP M24, Scrocca et al., 2003). Red lines normal faults, black lines thrust faults.

Figure 7. Velocity vector analysis in

the Sicily Channel. The blue vectors
rep-resent the velocities of GPS
stations reported in a fixed CAGL
(Cagliari) ref-erence frame (data
from Hollenstein et al., 2003), and
they imply active northwest-
southeast contraction of NOTO
(Noto) and LAMP (Lampedusa)
relative to CAGL in Sardinia. The red
vector is the relative motion velocity
of NOTO with respect to fixed LAMP,
and it represents the rifting rate in
the Sicily Channel. This confirms the
coexistence of two presently active
tectonic settings, such as a
northwest-southeast-trending
compres-sion and a northeast-
southwest-trending extension in the
same area. Map gener-ated with the
Generic Mapping Tools of Wessel
and Smith (1995).
 Coexisting geodynamic processes in the Sicily Channel 89

Noto has a more northerly azimuth than Lampedusa. This dif-
ferent trend generates extension between the two GPS sites.
Computing the relative motion of the NOTO station relative to
a fixed LAMP, the estimated rifting rate is v rel = (1.556
0.800) mm/yr with a northeastern direction (Fig. 7). This
confirms the coexistence of the two presently active tectonic
settings of a northwest-southeast-directed compression and a
northeast-southwest-oriented extension in the same area.
Calculations of the strain rate field from the GPS data
con-firm the northeast-directed extension in the Sicily Channel
rift-ing system (Hollenstein et al., 2003). Dextral shear strains
were observed only on faults trending oblique to the regional
stress fields; this component of movement can be a result of
the obliq-uity of fault segments to the regional extension
direction (e.g., Corti, 2004).
VOLCANISM IN THE SICILY CHANNEL
In the Sicily Channel, volcanic activity is concentrated
mainly on the islands of Pantelleria and Linosa. Minor subma-
rine volcanism took place in Adventure plateau and in Graham
and Nameless Banks. The oldest products have been found in a
submarine volcanic seamount located eastward of Nameless
Bank, where hawaiitic dredged samples gave a K-Ar age of 9.5
0.4 Ma (Beccaluva et al., 1981). However, the climax of the
volcanism occurred during the Pleistocene on the islands of
Linosa and Pantelleria; the volcanic centers recognized in Ad-
venture plateau (Anfitrite and Tetide) are also considered to be
of Plio-Pleistocene age (Calanchi et al., 1989). Historic activity
took place in the nineteenth century close to Pantelleria. On
Graham Bank, in A.D. 1831 a submarine volcano was con-
structed at a depth of ~200 m, giving rise to an ephemeral island
~65 m above sea level named Foerstner volcano. This volcano
erupted again in 1863. The youngest eruptions of the region took
place in 1891 ~5 km northwest of Pantelleria, where a subma-rine
volcanic eruption was recorded (Washington, 1909), and in 1941
at the Pinne Marine Bank at the southeastern wedge of Graham
Bank, where emissions of gases were observed (Cara-pezza et al.,
1979; Imb, 1965).
2
Pantelleria, with its 83 km of surface area, represents the
largest extent of emerged volcanic rocks of the Sicily Channel;
they were erupted between 0.324 and 0.003 Ma (Mahood and
Hidreth, 1983; Civetta et al., 1998). The structure of the island is
dominated by two nested calderas (Mahood and Hidreth, 1983).
Several tens (~40) of volcanic centers have been recog-nized in
and around the caldera structures: they are composed of
pyroclastic cones, domes, and cinder cones (Villari, 1974; Orsi et
al., 1991). The volcanological and structural evolution of the
island is considered an expression of the occurrence of small
magma reservoirs at shallow depths (Mahood and Baker, 1986).
The erupted products show an alkaline to peralkaline affinity and
consist mainly of alkali basalts, hawaiites, trachytes, and
peralkaline trachytes to peralkaline rhyolites (pantellerites). The
volcanic association is typically bimodal, with the evolved rocks
largely dominant (more than 95% of the outcropping materials)
(Fig. 8). The genesis of peralkaline-evolved rocks is still a de-

14

12

10 Figure 8. Total alkali silica diagram for

volcanic rocks from the Strait of Sicily.
Classification grid from Le Maitre
8 (2002). Dividing gray line between al-
kaline and subalkaline fields taken
from Irvine and Baragar (1971). Data
6 sources: Barberi et al. (1969); Villari
(1974); Carapezza et al. (1979); Becca-
luva et al. (1981); Mahood and Baker
4 (1986); Calanchi et al. (1989); Esper-
ana and Crisci (1995); Rossi et al.
(1996); Civetta et al. (1998); Prosperini
2 et al. (2000); Bindi et al. (2002);
Avanzinelli (2004).

Linosa Foerstner Vocano

Pantelleria Submarine volcanic centres
(Adventure Bank, Nameless Bank)
90 G. Corti et al.

bated problem. On the basis of petrological, geochemical, and Mantle

100
50
isotopic data, two main processes are competing, i.e., a crystal
fractionation starting from a transitional mildly alkaline basalt Primordial
Pantelleria
10
versus partial melting of an alkaline gabbro formed in a rela-
tively shallow magma chamber (Ferrara and Treuil, 1974; Ma-
hood and Baker, 1986; Lowenstern and Mahood, 1991;
Civetta et al., 1998; Avanzinelli et al., 2004).
5
The island of Linosa is much smaller than Pantelleria, ~6 /
2
km ; it was built up through three main stages of volcanic ac- Rock
tivity developed between 1.06 and 0.53 Ma (Lanzafame et al.,
1994) with either submarine or subaerial eruptions. Indeed, the
eruptive activity was characterized by the emission of hydro- 1
magmatic tuffs, locally palagonitized, and by the construction of
Rb Th Ta K Ce Pr P Hf Sm Ti Dy Y Yb
tuff rings associated with scoria cones, spatter cones, and lava Ba U Nb La Pb Sr Nd Zr Eu Gd Ho Er Lu
flows forming a small lava field. In some volcanic centers, one Mantle
100
can observe a transition from hydromagmatic to strombolian ac-
tivity, which produced the ejection of hydromagmatic tuffs
followed by basaltic scorias as the eruption advanced (Rossi et
50
al., 1996). The emitted products are mildly alkaline, scarcely
evolved rocks; they are dominated by alkali basalts and trachy- Primordial
Linosa
10
basalts. Rare trachyandesites and trachytes are mainly found as
xenoliths in pyroclastic rocks erupted during the oldest stage of
activity (Fig. 8).
The submarine volcanic centers sampled in Adventure
plateau and in Graham and Nameless Banks (Carapezza et al., / 5
1979; Beccaluva et al., 1981; Calanchi et al., 1989) are also
characterized by the eruption of scarcely evolved Na-alkaline Rock
products represented by alkali basalts and hawaiites. Only
some basic samples collected by Carapezza et al. (1979) and
consid-ered erupted by Foerstner volcano show Na2O K2O. 1
Rb Th Ta K Ce Pr P Hf Sm Ti Dy Y Yb
Overall, the volcanic products erupted in the Strait of Sicily
Ba U Nb La Pb Sr Nd Zr Eu Gd Ho Er Lu
constitute a bimodal sodic, moderately alkaline association. The
basic rocks, alkali basalts and hawaiites, are largely predomi-nant, Figure 9. Primordial mantle-normalized incompatible element dia-
and in many volcanic areas, as on the island of Linosa and in the grams for selected basalts from Pantelleria and Linosa. Data sources:
Civetta et al. (1998); Avanzinelli (2004). Ocean island basalts pattern
submarine volcanoes of Adventure plateau and Graham and
(gray line) and normalizing values from Sun and McDonough (1989).
Nameless Banks, are the only products found. Therefore, the
bimodal compositional distribution of the erupted products is
essentially due to the conspicuous presence of pantellirites,
pantelleritic trachytes, and trachytes outcropping only on the is- aly of Hf and K; the latter has been thought to reflect the pres-
land of Pantelleria. The general petrologic features of the vol- ence of a residual K-bearing phase (mica or amphibole) in the
canism of the Strait of Sicily point to an anorogenic magmatism mantle source (Wilson and Bianchini, 1999).
akin to that found in continental rift areas (Corti et al., 2003). The
trace element distribution is comparable with that observed in ANALOGUE MODELING
intraplate basalts or ocean island basalts. This is well illus-trated
in Figure 9, where primordial mantle-normalized multi-element Experimental Set-up
patterns are plotted for representative basalts from Linosa and
Pantelleria and compared with the pattern of ocean island basalts. Analogue modeling was used to investigate the structural
Even if the trace element patterns are similar in the two islands, pattern resulting from interaction between two coeval distinct
the basalts from Pantelleria display higher contents of
geodynamic processes, namely compression with a superim-
incompatible trace elements compatible with their relatively more
posed orthogonal extensional regime. Experiments were per-
+ +
evolved character; in fact, the Mgv (i.e., Mg/ (Mg Fe2 ) atomic formed in the Tectonic Modeling Laboratory of the CNR-IGG
ratio) of Pantelleria basalts varies between 50 and 53, whereas in [AQ1] (Consiglio Nazionale delle RicherceInstituto di Geo-
Linosa it ranges between 69 and 76. It is worth noting that all the scienze e Georisorse) settled at the Earth Sciences
samples exhibit a slight negative anom- Department of Florence University (Italy). Models with
dimensions of 40 cm
 Coexisting geodynamic processes in the Sicily Channel 91

45 cm 6 cm were built over the basal metal plate of the de-
formation apparatus; two orthogonal stepper motors controlled by
a central unit were used to drive compression with contem-
poraneous orthogonal extension (Fig. 10). In particular, short-
ening of the models was obtained by movement of a mobile wall
at a constant velocity of ~5 cm/h up to ~10 cm of compression
(~25% bulk shortening). Coeval extension was imposed on the
models by pulling a thin acetate sheet at the base of the model,
creating a central velocity discontinuity (VD) parallel to the di-
rection of compression (Fig. 10). Extension was applied at 1 cm/h
up to 2 cm of stretching (~5% bulk extension).
Models consisted of a single quartz sandpack simulating the
brittle behavior of upper-crustal rocks in nature. The sand had a
3 low amount of deformation, compression was taken up by a ma-
density of ~1500 kg m , a cohesion of ~65 Pa, and an angle of
internal friction of ~39. Experiments were conveniently
scaled such that 1 cm in the models represented 1 km in
nature, imply-ing that the models simulated a 5 kmthick layer
of upper-crustal rocks in nature. Because the brittle behavior
of sand is strain-rate independent, scaling for velocity was not
critical in these experiments. However, in order to closely
mimic the nat-ural example, compression was driven about
five times faster than extension.
Model Results
Figure 11 portrays the evolution of model SCh 03, which is
taken as representative of the whole experimental series. For a

A Compression
at 5 cm/hr
Mobile wall

22 cm
VD

cm

B
cm20
40

Extension A
at 1 cm/hr Figure 10. (A) Experimental set-up and
(B) model rheology. VDvelocity dis-
continuity. See text for details.

45 cm

Basal acetate sheet

Fixed wall

B A B

Sand
6 cm

VD

Basal acetate sheet

22 cm
 Compr: 0 mm
Ext: 0 mm
A

VD
VD
Compr: 27
mm
B Ext: 6 mm

VD

Figure 11. Analogue modeling results: top-

view photos for an increasing amount of
total compression and extension. Rulers are
in centimeters.
VD

Compr: 55
C mm
Ext: 12 mm
VD
VD

D Compr: 95
mm
Ext: 20 mm
VD
VD
 Coexisting geodynamic processes in the Sicily Channel 93
jor thrust system parallel to the moving wall and developing at

VD
~10 cm away from it. Extensional deformation localized in the A
A
correspondence of the basal VD, with the development of a cen-
tral depression orthogonal to the moving wall. This depression
was bordered by normal faults, clearly evident close to the fixed
wall of the deformation apparatus (Fig. 11B). For increasing de-
formation (Fig. 11C), thrust faults propagated toward the fore- G H
land portions of the model, with the development of a second
thrust system ~1820 cm from the moving wall. This thrust sys-
tem displayed an evident curvature in correspondence to the E F
central depression. Further extension was accommodated by in-
creased throw along major normal faults and by subsidence B
within the central graben.

VD
In the latest stages of deformation (compression 9.5 cm; C D
extension 2 cm; Fig. 11D) major thrust systems were charac-
terized by a complex arrangement resulting from the interac- B
tion with extensional structures. In particular, this interaction is A B
evidenced by (1) curvature of thrusts, (2) development of thrust
splays corresponding to the central depression, and (3) a lower
amount of rift subsidence in the regions affected by compres-
sive deformation.
The complex fault pattern resulting from the contempora-
neous compression and extension is also seen through analysis
of model cross-sections (Fig. 12). Away from the central VD, no
extensional structures developed, and deformation was taken up
by a regular array of thrusts and back-thrusts (Fig. 12, section
AB); conversely, close to the fixed wall in the regions not af- C D
fected by compressive deformation, the cross-section shows the
main graben above the VD, bordered by steep normal faults
(Fig. 12, section CD). In the central part of the model, the cross-
sections display the complex patterns of superposition between
compressional and extensional structures (Fig. 12, sections EF
and GH). In summary, interaction between thrust systems and
normal faults gave rise to a complicated 3-D geometry of main VD
structures. E F
COEXISTING GEODYNAMIC PROCESSES
IN THE SICILY CHANNEL
Structural and geophysical data suggest that the structural

pattern of the northwestern side of the Sicily Channel is charac-

terized by a northeast-southwest-striking accretionary prism VD
composed of thrusts and folds and a system of northwest-south- G H
east-trending normal faults and grabens. Analysis of seismic
profiles suggests that both thrusts and folds related to the accre-
tionary prism and normal faults actively deform the seafloor; the
thrust-sheets crosscut the almost orthogonal rift-related normal
faults and vice versa. Although previous models (e.g., Giunta et
al., 2000) described coeval compressional and extensional
structures related to an east-west-trending simple shear system VD
in the Sicilian-Maghrebides Tyrrhenian back-arc margin, the
geometry of extensional structures in the Sicily Channel (almost Figure 12. (A) Top-view photo showing locations of cross-sections in
orthogonal to and in the foreland of the thrust system) and the panel B. (B) Analogue modeling results: photos of cross-sections.
location of the rift far away to the southeast of the accretionary VDvelocity discontinuity. Rulers are in centimeters.
94 G. Corti et al.
prism rule out the possibility that normal faults and compressive
structures formed in a single (transcurrent or transpressive)
geodynamic process. These observations suggest that the Sicily
Channel may be being shaped by the occurrence of two inde-
pendent tectonic processes that act simultaneously and overlap
each other: the Maghrebides-Apennines accretionary prism and
the Sicily Channel rift. The structural pattern resulting from such
a complex scenario was analyzed through scaled analogue models
reproducing the main boundary conditions inferred to operate in
the Sicily Channel. Model deformation resulted in a complex
arrangement of compressive and extensional structures showing a
close similarity to that observed in the natural case. In particular,
the main points of similarity are (1) the develop-ment of graben
systems orthogonal to the thrust fronts, (2) the contemporaneous
activity of normal and reverse faults with the thrust system that is
crosscut by extensional structures and vice versa, (3) prominent
curvature of the thrust fronts approaching the area affected by
extensional deformation, and (4) extension that is more
pronounced in the foreland of the accretionary prism with an
increase in subsidence and vertical throw of ma-jor graben-
bounding faults proceeding southeastward (i.e., away from the
compressive structures). Comparison of seismic sections with
model cross-sections shows a strong similarity in the geometry of
structures between nature and experiments, with the coexistence
of normal and reverse faults (e.g., compare section EF of Fig. 12
with seismic line CROP M24 in Fig. 6).
Volcanic activity displays Na-alkaline affinity and a bi-modal
compositional distribution typical of intraplate rift-re-lated
magmatism. Consistent with analogue modeling, the spatial
distribution of alkaline products is more diffuse in the foreland of
the prism, where the extension is more pronounced. Additionally,
the composition of the volcanic products is com-patible with an
increase in the amount of crustal extension pro-ceeding
southeastward. Indeed, on Pantelleria island the tectonic setting
favored the development of magma chambers, with con-sequent
abundance of evolved products; by contrast, on Linosa island, the
more pronounced extension facilitated emission of more primitive
magmas. Distribution of single volcanic centers with respect to
extensional structures shows that the volcanic center of Linosa is
located in an off-axis position on the rift flank, possibly indicating
lateral magma migration toward the footwall of major boundary
faults as inferred for narrow rifts (Corti et al., 2004). Conversely,
the Pantelleria volcanic center lies within the graben depression,
suggesting that control may be exerted by a transfer zone in
favoring a rift-parallel magma migration and melt accumulation
at the transfer zone itself (Corti et al., 2004).
These features collectively suggest that the fault pattern ob-
served in the Sicily Channel may result from coexistent defor-
mational regimes, with northeast-southwest-directed extension
superimposed on the subduction-related northwest-southeast-
directed compression in the Maghrebides, Sicily, and the Apen-
nines (Fig. 13). The case history of the Sicily Channel indicates
that continental and extensional processes can overlap in the
N
Figure 13. Schematic block diagram indicating how the growing ac-
cretionary prism crosscuts while at the same time being crosscut by
the Sicily Channel rift, which allows alkaline magmatism to develop
in the area.
same area. Moreover, the coexistence in this central Mediter-
ranean area of two deformational settings suggests that plate
boundaries are passive features rather than the driving mecha-
nisms of plate tectonics.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank reviewers G. Giunta, F. Roure, and J. Wakabayashi for
their detailed, constructive comments, which helped to improve
the manuscript. We also thank Y. Dilek for inviting us to con-
tribute to this volume and for copyediting the revised version of
our article. In addition, we thank A. Argnani and M. Roveri for
providing us the grid of bathymetric data used in Figure 2 and G.
Vannucci for kindly plotting these data. Discussions with E.
Carminati were very much appreciated. We thank Dr. Baldi of the
Colorobbia Italia S.p.A. for kindly providing us the quartz sand
used in the experiments. Our research was supported by IGG-
CNR (Instituto di Geoscienze e GeorisorseConsiglio Nazionale
delle Richerce) Pisa.
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