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Professor Nicola De Paola's Outputs (34)

Fault lubrication during earthquakes (2011)
Journal Article
Di Toro, G., Han, R., Hirose, T., De Paola, N., Nielsen, N., Mizoguchi, K., …Shimamoto, T. (2011). Fault lubrication during earthquakes. Nature, 471(7339), 494-498. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09838

The determination of rock friction at seismic slip rates (about 1 m s−1) is of paramount importance in earthquake mechanics, as fault friction controls the stress drop, the mechanical work and the frictional heat generated during slip. Given the diff... Read More about Fault lubrication during earthquakes.

Fault lubrication and earthquake propagation in thermally unstable rocks (2011)
Journal Article
De Paola, N., Hirose, T., Mitchell, T., Di Toro, G., Viti, C., & Shimamoto, T. (2011). Fault lubrication and earthquake propagation in thermally unstable rocks. Geology, 39(1), 35-38. https://doi.org/10.1130/g31398.1

Experiments performed on dolomite or Mg-calcite gouges at seismic slip rates (v > 1 m/s) and displacements (d > 1 m) show that the frictional coeffi cient μ decays exponentially from peak values (mp ≈ 0.8, in the Byerlee’s range), to extremely low st... Read More about Fault lubrication and earthquake propagation in thermally unstable rocks.

Fault zone architecture and deformation processes within evaporitic rocks in the upper crust. (2008)
Journal Article
De Paola, N., Collettini, C., Faulkner, D., & Trippetta, F. (2008). upper crust. Tectonics, 27(4), https://doi.org/10.1029/2007tc002230

Recently, in the Northern Apennines, geophysical data have identified the Triassic Evaporites (TE, anhydrites and dolomites) as the source region of the major extensional earthquakes of the area (M~6). In order to characterize fault zone architecture... Read More about Fault zone architecture and deformation processes within evaporitic rocks in the upper crust..

The structural evolution of dilational step-overs in transtensional zones (2007)
Journal Article
De Paola, N., Holdsworth, R., Collettini, C., McCaffrey, K., & Barchi, M. (2007). The structural evolution of dilational step-overs in transtensional zones. Geological Society Special Publications, 290, 433-445. https://doi.org/10.1144/sp190.17

We propose a theoretical model, supported by a field study, to describe the patterns of fault/fracture meshes formed within dilational stepovers developed along faults accommodating regional scale wrench-dominated transtension. The geometry and kinem... Read More about The structural evolution of dilational step-overs in transtensional zones.

A mechanical model for complex fault patterns induced by evaporite dehydration and cyclic changes in fluid pressure (2007)
Journal Article
De Paola, N., Collettini, C., Trippetta, F., Barchi, M., & Minelli, G. (2007). A mechanical model for complex fault patterns induced by evaporite dehydration and cyclic changes in fluid pressure. Journal of Structural Geology, 29(10), 1573-1584. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2007.07.015

Complex fault patterns, i.e. faults which exhibit a diverse range of strikes, may develop under conditions where a regional tectonic stress field is weak or absent (e.g. polygonal faults). The present paper considers a complex system of synsedimentar... Read More about A mechanical model for complex fault patterns induced by evaporite dehydration and cyclic changes in fluid pressure.

Early orogenic normal faults and their reactivation during thrust belt evolution: the Gubbio Fault case study, Umbria-Marche Apennines (Italy) (2006)
Journal Article
De Paola, N., Mirabella, F., Barchi, M., & Burchielli, F. (2006). Early orogenic normal faults and their reactivation during thrust belt evolution: the Gubbio Fault case study, Umbria-Marche Apennines (Italy). Journal of Structural Geology, 28(11), 1948-1957. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2006.06.002

Foreland (early-orogenic) and hinterland (late-orogenic) extensional domains have been widely documented in the Northern Apennines, where they are synchronous with contraction in the active part of the fold and thrust belt. The progressive eastward m... Read More about Early orogenic normal faults and their reactivation during thrust belt evolution: the Gubbio Fault case study, Umbria-Marche Apennines (Italy).

Switches in the minimum compressive stress direction induced by overpressure beneath a low-permeability fault zone (2006)
Journal Article
Collettini, C., De Paola, N., & Goulty, N. (2006). Switches in the minimum compressive stress direction induced by overpressure beneath a low-permeability fault zone. Terra Nova, 18(3), 224-231. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3121.2006.00683.x

The Zuccale fault is a gently east-dipping normal fault exposed on Elba. Its displacement of 7—8 km occurred from the mid-Miocene to the early Pliocene and the fault has been exhumed from 3—6 km depth. A complex hydrofracture system exposed in the fo... Read More about Switches in the minimum compressive stress direction induced by overpressure beneath a low-permeability fault zone.

Putting the geology back into Earth models (2005)
Journal Article
McCaffrey, K., Holdsworth, R., Imber, J., Clegg, P., De Paola, N., Jones, R., …Trinks, I. (2005). Putting the geology back into Earth models. Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union, 86(46), 461-466. https://doi.org/10.1029/2005eo460001

New digital methods for data capture can now provide photorealistic, spatially precise, and geometrically accurate three-dimensional (3-D) models of rocks exposed at the Earth's surface [Xu et al., 2000; Pringle et al., 2001; Clegg et al., 2005]. The... Read More about Putting the geology back into Earth models.

The influence of lithology and pre-existing structures on reservoir-scale faulting patterns in transtensional rift zones (2005)
Journal Article
De Paola, N., Holdsworth, R., & McCaffrey, K. (2005). The influence of lithology and pre-existing structures on reservoir-scale faulting patterns in transtensional rift zones. Journal of the Geological Society, 162(3), 471-480. https://doi.org/10.1144/0016-764904-043

In transtensional and transpressional deformation zones, bulk 3D strains are often kinematically partitioned into regions of wrench- and extension- or shortening-dominated faulting. Most strain models assume ideal incompressible materials with a Pois... Read More about The influence of lithology and pre-existing structures on reservoir-scale faulting patterns in transtensional rift zones.

Partitioned transtension: an alternative to basin inversion models (2005)
Journal Article
De Paola, N., Holdsworth, R., McCaffrey, K., & Barchi, M. (2005). Partitioned transtension: an alternative to basin inversion models. Journal of Structural Geology, 27(4), 607-625. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2005.01.006

‘Inversion structures’ (e.g. folds, reverse faults) spatially associated with basin-bounding faults are very widely recognised in rift basins in both onshore and offshore settings worldwide. The great majority of such structures are attributed to loc... Read More about Partitioned transtension: an alternative to basin inversion models.