Seismogenic stress field estimation in the Calabrian Arc region (south Italy) from a Bayesian approach

A new high-quality waveform inversion focal mechanism database of the Calabrian Arc region has been compiled by integrating 292 mechanisms selected from literature and catalogs with 146 newly computed solutions. The new database has then been used for computation of posterior density distributions of stress tensor components by a Bayesian method never applied in south Italy before the present study. The application of this method to the enhanced database has allowed us to provide a detailed picture of seismotectonic stress regimes in this very complex area where lithospheric unit configuration and geodynamic engines are still strongly debated. Our results well constrain the extensional domain of Calabrian Arc and the compressional one of the southernmost Tyrrhenian Sea. In addition, previously undetected transcurrent regimes have been identified in the Ionian offshore. The new information released here will furnish useful tools and constraints for future geodynamic investigations.