GEOMED was divided into 5 Work Packages (WP). In WP1, seismic data from various countries, including Italy, Tunisia, Malta, and Libya, were compiled into one dataset. Seismic imaging techniques that invert ambient seismic noise to shear-velocity with depth were used to generate a 3-dimensional model. The regional seismic structure below the Central Mediterranean, from Sardinia to Calabria encompassing the Tyrrhenian Sea, and from the Central Apennine to north Africa encompassing the Sicily Channel was modelled in high resolution. The model also shows the internal dynamics of the lithosphere and uppermost mantle of the entire region, highlighting the extent of lithosphere extension across the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Sicily Channel. It was discovered that the lithosphere across the Sicily Channel is thin and that the rifting process of the SCRZ is underlain by vertical flow in the mantle. In WP2, weak earthquakes recorded on only one seismic station at the south-eastern end of the SCRZ were reprocessed carefully. A new earthquake catalogue for the Sicily Channel was compiled. It was found that the south-eastern area of the Channel is highly seismic and that the seismicity aligns with the bathymetry. The new catalogue highlights the extent of the active marine faults of the SCRZ. In WP3, the results from WP1 and WP2 were incorporated into a regional geodynamic model. This model integrates different physical properties observed from the surface with the newly inferred seismic model to understand the nature and role of multiple tectonic processes.
WP4 covered the dissemination and communication of the project. A website dedicated to GEOMED was set up to share information about the project with the public and the scientific community. GEOMED was featured in numerous local and international seminars and conferences as part of the dissemination and exploitation. And, as part of the planned deliverables, results were submitted and published in open access journals. A strong effort was made to communicate the project activities to different target audiences through multi-lingual public engagement. Because many countries faced national lockdowns and cancellation of public events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, GEOMED was instead featured on many online media platforms. A graphic animation explaining GEOMED was produced and promoted in English and Italian.
WP5 dealt with project management. This package includes financial management, risk contingency management, training and career development of the research fellow, data management, progress monitoring and risk management. The pandemic brought unforeseen challenges to the project, but most of the work was executed as scheduled, thanks to careful planning and continuous risk assessment.
