Seismo-Stratigraphic Data of the Gulf of Pozzuoli (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy): A Review and Their Relationships with the New Bradyseismic Crisis

Seismo-stratigraphic data of the Gulf of Pozzuoli have been revised with the aim of identifying the tectonic structures controlling the area in more detail and to highlight the possible relationships of the morpho-structures with the new bradyseismic crisis, still in course. In particular, the relationships between the tectonic structures, consisting of both normal faults and folds, and the possible rising of fluids have been analyzed based on seismic interpretation. We hypothesize that the normal faults occurring in this area have possibly controlled the rising of fluids in these extensional structures. The fluid uprising could possibly be related to the increasing gas activity of the Solfatara–Pisciarelli area onshore during the active bradyseismic crisis (2024–2025). The proposed mechanism is controlled by the occurrence of a heat source, possibly a magmatic reservoir, in the continental crust and/or the mantle, genetically related to the presence of submerged hydrothermal discharges in the coastal areas of the Campania region. To achieve this objective, detailed seismo-stratigraphic sections of the Gulf of Pozzuoli have been constructed, focusing on the areas characterized by tectonic activity. Fluid uprising is mainly controlled by the tectonic setting of the Gulf of Pozzuoli, characterized by anticlines and synclines, representing important structural and stratigraphic traps.