Holocene faulting along the Budoia-Aviano Thrust (eastern Southern Alps, NE-Italy): insights from a multidisciplinary and multiscale approach

We present a multidisciplinary and multiscale investigation of the Budoia-Aviano Thrust System (BA), located along the Pliocene-Quaternary external front of the eastern Southern Alps (NE Italy). As part of the active SSE-verging Southalpine fold-and-thrust belt, BA accommodates ongoing N-S crustal shortening. The area has experienced at least three M>5.5 historical earthquakes, indicating significant seismogenic potential. Within the NASA4SHA PRIN project, we combined morphotectonic analyses, high-resolution geophysical imaging (deep and shallow ERT, GPR), and palaeoseismological trenching to constrain the geometry and Quaternary evolution of the fault system. The excavated trenches exposed Upper Pleistocene-Holocene deposits displaced by reverse faults, showing evidence of repeated Holocene deformation with a cumulative offset of at least 4.5 m. Here we present one of the two parallel trenches excavated. This integrated approach refines the seismotectonic framework of the eastern Southern Alps and provides essential constraints for assessing the seismic potential of the area.