TECTONIC REACTIVATION AND FLEXURE OF THE LIGURIAN MARGIN (WESTERN MEDITERRANEN SEA)

Numerous single-channel seismic profiles recorded in the northern Ligu rian margin allow depiction of a Plio-Quaternary tectonic activity alo ng a steep normal fault system at the foot of the passive margin, asso ciated with local subsidence. Deformation increases towards the east, where the upper margin was uplifted by about 700 m during the Quaterna ry. At depth, earthquakes reveal reverse and transcurrent faulting. To explain these observations, we invoke a flexural response of the two converging lithospheres which takes place along an old inherited zone of weakness.