Malta Escarpment fault zone offshore eastern Sicily: Pliocene-Quaternary tectonic evolution based on new multichannel seismic data

The Malta Escarpment represents the dominant morphological feature offshore eastern Sicily, linking the deep Ionian basin to the east with the Hyblean carbonate platform to the west. Interpretation of purposely acquired multichannel seismic data allows division of the Malta Escarpment into two portions characterized by different tectonic structures. Along the segment south of Siracusa the Malta Escarpment is not affected by recent faulting and appears as a steep surface that flattens out toward the Ionian basin. A recent deformation, characterized by a broad area of uplift, occurs 20-30 km east from the slope, along a NNW-SSE trend. The segment of the Malta Escarpment extending north of Siracusa, on the other hand, is characterized by the presence of NNW-SSE, east dipping recent extensional faults and related sedimentary basins. The observed structural features support the occurrence of a lithospheric tear between the Ionian oceanic basin and the Hyblean plateau.