Comment on the paper by Barreca et al.: “The Strait of Messina: Seismotectonics and the source of the 1908 earthquake” (Earth-Science Reviews 218, 2021, 103685)

We discuss the new causative source model for the 1908 Messina Straits earthquake recently proposed by Barreca et al. (2021), where an aseismic slip of 1.13 m along a low-angle discontinuity, preceding the 1908 earthquake, have mechanically destabilized a set of overlying faults, therefore leading them to the rupture. The lack of significant variations of the relative sea level in the Messina harbor area, in the time period relevant for the levelling data (1907–1908) analyzed by Barreca et al., and at least for the decade preceding the event proves the inconsistency of the assumed pre-earthquake aseismic slip. A careful interpretation of crustal earthquake distribution in the Strait does not support the presence of the low-angle discontinuity. The modelled horizontal coseismic pattern reveals a scenario that is not supported by any other independent geological and geophysical observation. We conclude that the source model proposed by Barreca et al. for the 1908 Messina Straits earthquake can not be considered as a viable hypothesis for the causative fault.