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In March 2021, a compressional earthquake sequence (mainshock Mw 5.2) occurred in the Central Adriatic Sea, offshore Croatia. The struck area is characterized by a complex tectonic settings due to due interaction between tectonic and halokinetic structures. Former studies in this region, mostly based on geophysical and seismological data, do not provide a comprehensive description of the geological complexities of the area, caused by the presence of different types of active structures. Following the interpretation and depth conversion of a set of seismic reflection profiles, we present a kinematic restoration to obtain the shortening rates for the last 6 Myr. We highlight the presence of three main types of active structures: i) shallow thrusts and related folds deforming the seafloor, ii) deep thrusts promoting large-scale deformation, iii) halokinetic structures deforming, at least, the Messinian. We highlight how the structural setting of the area is more complex than previously interpreted, with a possible decoupling of shallow and deep structures and an interaction between tectonic and halokinetic structures. This work opens new perspectives about the role of halokinetic processes in active seismogenic areas.
Carboni et al. (Tue,) studied this question.