Description: The Earthquake Model of Middle East (EMME) project was carried out between 2010 and 2014 to provide a harmonized seismic hazard assessment without country border limitations. The result covers eleven countries: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Georgia, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Syria and Turkey, which span one of the seismically most active regions on Earth in response to complex interactions between four major tectonic plates i.e. Africa, Arabia, India and Eurasia. Destructive earthquakes with great loss of life and property are frequent within this region, as exemplified by the recent events of Izmit (Turkey, 1999), Bam (Iran, 2003), Kashmir (Pakistan, 2005), Van (Turkey, 2011), and Hindu Kush (Afghanistan, 2015). We summarize multidisciplinary data (seismicity, geology, and tectonics) compiled and used to characterize the spatial and temporal distribution of earthquakes over the investigated region. We describe the development process of the model including the delineation of seismogenic sources and the description of methods and parameters of earthquake recurrence models, all representing the current state of knowledge and practice in seismic hazard assessment. The resulting seismogenic source model includes seismic sources defined by geological evidence and active tectonic findings correlated with measured seismicity patterns. A total of 234 area sources fully cross-border-harmonized are combined with 778 seismically active faults along with background-smoothed seismicity. Recorded seismicity (both historical and instrumental) provides the input to estimate rates of earthquakes for area sources and background seismicity while geologic slip-rates are used to characterize fault-specific earthquake recurrences. Ultimately, alternative models of intrinsic uncertainties of data, procedures and models are considered when used for calculation of the seismic hazard. At variance to previous models of the EMME region, we provide a homogeneous seismic source model representing a consistent basis for the next generation of seismic hazard models within the region.

Description: Published

Description: 3465-3496

Description: 6T. Studi di pericolosità sismica e da maremoto

Description: JCR Journal

Description: This paper presents the first ever detrital zircon U–Pb–Hf isotopic study for the Late Neoproterozoic–Early Palaeozoic stratigraphic succession exposed in the Hazara Basin, Western Himalaya, North Pakistan. This time span represents the break-up of the supercontinent Rodinia and final assembly of Gondwana. The detrital record of the Late Neoproterozoic succession indicates well-mixed detritus shed from within the Indian Craton, especially the Central Indian provenance (including the Delhi Fold Belt, Aravalli Orogen, and Bundlekhand Craton). The εHf( t ) values are mostly negative, and Hf TDMC ages are clustered at 2.0–2.4 Ga, which indicates the derivation from an ancient reworked crustal source. In addition, the presence of a few positive εHf( t ) values in the Late Neoproterozoic sequence indicates addition of the juvenile crust that corresponds to the period of the Rodinia break-up. However, dissimilarities with detrital signatures from the Australian continent may indicate break-up of the Rodinia supercontinent and detachment of Australia from India prior to ~754 Ma, which is the depositional age of the Hazara Formation. In addition, the angular unconformity at the base of the Abbottabad Formation represents the compressional tectonics that might be associated with the Pan-African (Indo-Antarctic Craton collision with the East African Orogen during 800–700 Ma) orogeny. The presence of the metamorphism and deformation in the rocks below the unconformity supports such an event prior to deposition of the Early Palaeozoic Abbottabad Formation. Similarly, the appearance of the Pan-African detritus in the Early Palaeozoic Abbottabad Formation could be due to closure of the ocean basin between Eastern and Western Gondwana along the Mozambique Suture. This provenance change may indicate the final assembly of supercontinent Gondwana.