A three-stage evolution has characterized the Sicilian Fold and Thrust Belt (SFTB) during the last 15 My: two main thin-skinned shortening events involving mainly Meso-Cenozoic carbonate units, followed by thick-skinned thrusting involving Plio-Pleistocene deposits in the frontal area as well as the crystalline basement in the inner and deeper sector of the chain. We investigated the northern Sicily continental margin, by using differently-penetrative seismic reflection data and new field surveys, which revealed, both offshore and onshore, north-vergent compressional structures that affected the tectonic edifice during Quaternary time. These structures, correlated with the kinematic setting pointed out by seismicity and GPS measurements, could disclose an important change in distribution and orientation of deformation in the frame of the Africa-Europe convergence. Our hypothesis is that the most recent tectonic processes in the northern Sicily continental margin are representative of a jump of the deformation from the frontal area of the SFTB in the Sicily Channel to the inner sector in the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea. This study is in agreement with recent interpretations about a change in the subduction polarity in the central Mediterranean orogenic system, as a consequence of the ongoing collision of the African promontory with the thinned continental to oceanic sectors (Algerian and Tyrrhenian basins) of the European plate.

The seismic activity associated with the north-vergent thrust could have implication for the assessment of the seismic risk in the Central Mediterranean and understanding of active structures in marine areas that could be responsible for tsunami hazard.

在最后15 My期间，西西里褶皱和逆冲带（SFTB）经历了三个阶段的演化：两个主要的薄皮缩短事件，主要涉及中新生代碳酸盐岩单元，随后是厚皮冲断，涉及上新世沉积的上新世。链的内部和深层区域的额叶区域以及晶体基底。我们通过使用不同穿透性的地震反射数据和新的田野调查，研究了西西里北部的大陆边缘，这揭示了在海上和陆上，北向压缩构造在第四纪时期影响了构造构造。这些结构与地震和GPS测量所指出的运动学设置相关，可以揭示非洲-欧洲融合框架内的变形分布和取向的重要变化。我们的假设是，西西里岛北部大陆边缘的最新构造过程是从西西里海峡的SFTB锋区向南第勒尼安海的内部扇形跃迁的代表。这项研究与最近关于地中海中部造山带俯冲极性变化的解释相一致，这是由于非洲海角与欧洲板块的大陆到海洋板块（阿尔及利亚和第勒尼安盆地）变薄不断碰撞的结果。我们的假设是，西西里岛北部大陆边缘的最新构造过程是从西西里海峡的SFTB锋区向南第勒尼安海的内部扇形跃迁的代表。这项研究与最近关于地中海中部造山带俯冲极性变化的解释相一致，这是由于非洲海角与欧洲板块的大陆到海洋板块（阿尔及利亚和第勒尼安盆地）变薄不断碰撞的结果。我们的假设是，西西里岛北部大陆边缘的最新构造过程是从西西里海峡的SFTB锋区向南第勒尼安海的内部扇形跃迁的代表。这项研究与最近关于地中海中部造山带俯冲极性变化的解释相一致，这是由于非洲海角与欧洲板块的大陆到海洋板块（阿尔及利亚和第勒尼安盆地）变薄不断碰撞的结果。

与北部偏大推力有关的地震活动可能对评估地中海中部的地震风险和了解可能造成海啸危险的海洋区域活动结构具有重要意义。