Fault (Re)Activation and Fluid‐Induced Seismicity: An Example From the Val d’Agri Intermontane Basin (Southern Italy)

Abstract

AbstractFluid‐induced seismicity has been a particularly emphasized mechanism over the last few years, especially after fluid‐related, moderate‐to‐large earthquakes have been observed in several locations around the globe. Several studies suggest that the relationships between seismicity and fluid presence are related to variations in the stress state of rocks, due to the increase or drop of the pore fluid pressure. In this scenario, the Val d’Agri represents a precious case study where fluid‐induced seismicity is observed. In this area, two seismic clusters are observed in the Apulian Carbonate Platform, caused by (a) wastewater reinjection that reactivated the Costa Molina Fault blind thrust, and (b) seasonal water loading from the Pertusillo reservoir. The mechanisms behind these reactivated faults' evolution are still uncertain, especially in the compressive/extensional tectonic setting characterizing the area's evolution. Consequently, the distribution of the seismic potential in the region is largely unconstrained. We constructed a numerical thermo‐mechanical model to identify the main mechanisms that promoted the Val d’Agri present‐day tectonic setting and to assess the seismic hazard characterizing this region. We show that deformation within the Sedimentary Cover and the Crystalline Basement decoupled along a major décollement layer, represented by the Triassic Burano Formation. We also estimate the Coulomb stress (σC) in the region, assessing the crust's potential to generate earthquakes. Our results suggest that σC > 0 in a large part of the crust, and therefore that fluid injection may be particularly effective for the reactivation of buried structures, especially at a depth between ≃2 and ≃6 km.