Geospatial 3D model of active normal faults offshore the Salento Peninsula (Ionian Sea, Italy): implications for hazard evaluation

The development of dedicated software has opened a new frontier in Earth Sciences, leading to a more accurate spatial analysis of geological structure and to 3D geospatial models. We studied the offshore of the Salento Peninsula (Italy) that is part of the stable Apulian foreland of the Southern Apennines thrust belt. We interpreted a seismic grid, calibrated by borehole data, using seismic stratigraphy and structural geology approaches in a dedicated GIS environment. We built 2-D models of relevant geological surfaces and 3-D digital models of the subsurface showing NW-SE and NNW-SSE normal faults. Some of these structures are active faults displacing the seafloor and are associated with historical and recorded earthquakes. Hence, the identification of these active faults implies a potential seismogenetic source in the Salento Peninsula offshore that should be considered in the earthquake and tsunami hazard evaluation of the coasts of southern Italy, Albania and Greece.