Surface deformation analysis in the Messina Strait area through DInSAR measurements

We have investigated the recent deformation affecting the Messina Strait area in South Italy, across the Calabria and the Sicilia Regions. Messina Strait is an extensional tectonic feature that separates peninsular Italy from Sicily, and it is also one of the most seismically active and deforming area of the Mediterranean. It is located between the Neogene Tyrrhenian backarc basin, developed in the hanging wall of the Apennines, and the Mesozoic-Paleogene Ionian basin, which is the foreland and the area of propagation of the Neogene to present Apennines accretionary prism. We have exploited Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data along the time period between 2002 and 2010 by applying the advanced Differential Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (DInSAR) technique referred to as Small BAseline Subset (SBAS) algorithm. GPS data relative to permanent stations within the study area have been also used.