Seismic and landslide source of the 1908 Straits of Messina tsunami(Sicily, Italy)

摘要

One hundred years ago (December 1908) a devastatingtsunami associated with an earthquake struck the Straitsof Messina area, causing many casualties. On the basis ofseismic data and observed runups and arrival times, wesuggest that the tsunami was likely generated by coseismicseafloor displacement coupled with a small submarinelandslide triggered by the earthquake. Backwards ray-tracing using a depth-dependent velocity field, submarineslope analysis and inferences form the main drainagenetwork allowed us To identify possible locations for thesource of the submarine landslide. We then performeddirect simulations of tsunamis generated by the earthquakeand landslides and identified the tsunami source(earthquake plus landslide) that best fits observationaldata in a small volume submarine landslide (1-5 km3)located offshore Nizza, Sicily.