The New Structural Map of the Italian Seas Is Now Online
A fundamental tool for deepening knowledge of our country’s seabed, the result of years of joint work between public research institutions and Italian universities
Providing an integrated representation of the main tectonic units and geological structures present in the Italian seas—from abyssal depths to submerged ridges—offering an updated and comprehensive picture of the geological framework of submerged areas: this is the objective of the new Structural Map of the Italian Seas, now available online, a key tool for understanding the geological structures that characterize the seabed of our country. The map was produced by the Department for the Geological Survey of Italy of the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), in collaboration with the Institute of Marine Sciences of the National Research Council (CNR-ISMAR), the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), the National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics (OGS), and the Universities of Genoa, Palermo, Roma Tre, and Trieste. The map is the result of years of joint research carried out by public research institutions and Italian universities.
The project was developed within the framework of the European programme EMODnet Geology (European Marine Observation and Data Network), which collects and makes accessible, through a web portal, a large amount of marine geological data gathered over decades in European seas.
The Italian peninsula is almost entirely surrounded by marine basins of different ages, depths, and geological characteristics. Beneath the surface of the Mediterranean Sea lies a complex system of submerged mountains and volcanoes, escarpments, and faults that, over millions of years, have shaped and modelled the seabed, creating a great variety of environments essential for the development of biodiversity, as well as generating major eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis. In this context, mapping the submerged territory represents a crucial step in advancing knowledge of the geological evolution of the Mediterranean and of the processes that govern its dynamics.
For the preparation of the map, data available in the scientific literature were integrated to provide a comprehensive description of submerged areas and to improve the understanding of the geological relationships between the different areas into which the Earth’s crust is divided (domains), in relation to the types of tectonic plates that compose them and their interactions. These include foreland areas (continental regions not yet affected by tectonic movements), subduction zones (where one plate sinks beneath another), volcanic systems, back-arc basins (which open behind volcanic arcs induced by subduction), and Mesozoic oceanic basins. The harmonization and systematization of the available information now provide a key scientific reference tool, useful not only for research but also for planning and managing the marine environment.
The collected data are of strategic importance for environmental protection, for the planning and sustainability of offshore infrastructures—such as cables, pipelines, and energy facilities—and for improving safety in relation to risks associated with volcanic and seismic activity, including earthquakes, tsunamis, and submarine landslides. The map may also support the exploration of georesources present in the basins surrounding the Italian peninsula, which are closely linked to the geological history of each basin and to contributions from adjacent land areas and deeper regions of the Earth’s crust.
The new Structural Map of the Italian Seas therefore stands as a reference document for the scientific community and as a solid foundation for the development of further studies and future research. The project fits within the framework of the European Marine Strategy, promoting the sharing of open and interoperable data in support of scientific research and the blue economy, including the search for alternative energy sources—for example, identifying suitable sites for offshore wind farms and geothermal plants—as well as for the exploration of drinking water resources and other applications
Carta Strutturale dei Mari Italiani
Link utili
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia
EMODnet Geology European Commission