Structural features of an active strike-slip fault on the sliding flank of Mt. Etna (Italy)

The strike-slip Pernicana fault system (PFS) was activated along the eastern flank of Mt. Etna during an earthquake in September 2002 and, one month later, during the eruption of the NE Rift. Structural and volcanological data suggest that the PFS was activated as a result of the slide of the NE flank of Etna. This activation produced surface fracturing on walls and on paved and unpaved roads. The segments of the PFS, arranged in a right stepping en échelon configuration, show (a) an inverse proportion between length and frequency; (b) fractal behavior over scales of 10−2–101 m, between their length, overstep and overlap; (c) consistent strike with regard to their fault array; and (d) a progressive eastward decrease in the displacement, along the smallest faults. The consistent geometric and kinematic features of the PFS, related to the sector collapse of Etna, are similar to those of faults in strike-slip settings.