The Corinth Rift, central Greece, enables analysis of early rift development as it is young (<5 Ma) and highly active and its full history is recorded at high resolution by sedimentary systems. A complete compilation of marine geophysical data, complemented by onshore data, is used to develop a high-resolution chronostratigraphy and detailed fault history for the offshore Corinth Rift, integrating interpretations and reconciling previous discrepancies. Rift migration and localization of deformation have been significant within the rift since inception. Over the last circa 2 Myr the rift transitioned from a spatially complex rift to a uniform asymmetric rift, but this transition did not occur synchronously along strike. Isochore maps at circa 100 kyr intervals illustrate a change in fault polarity within the short interval circa 620-340 ka, characterized by progressive transfer of activity from major south dipping faults to north dipping faults and southward migration of discrete depocenters at~30 m/kyr. Since circa 340 ka there has been localization and linkage of the dominant north dipping border fault system along the southern rift margin, demonstrated by lateral growth of discrete depocenters at~40 m/kyr. A single central depocenter formed by circa 130 ka, indicating full fault linkage. These results indicate that rift localization is progressive (not instantaneous) and can be synchronous once a rift border fault system is established. This study illustrates that development processes within young rifts occur at 100 kyr timescales, including rapid changes in rift symmetry and growth and linkage of major rift faults.

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The onshore central Corinth rift contains a syn-rift succession >3 km thick deposited in 5-15 kmwide tilt blocks, all now inactive, uplifted and deeply incised. This part of the rift records upward deepening from fluviatile to lake-margin conditions and finally to sub-lacustrine turbidite channel and lobe complexes, and deep-water lacustrine conditions (Lake Corinth) were established over most of the rift by 3.6 Ma. This succession represents the first of two phases of rift development -Rift 1 from 5.0-3.6 to 2.2-1.8 Ma and Rift 2 from 2.2-1.8 Ma to present. Rift 1 developed as a 30 kmwide zone of distributed normal faulting. The lake was fed by four major N-to NE-flowing antecedent drainages along the southern rift flank. These sourced an axial fluvial system, Gilbert fan deltas and deep lacustrine turbidite channel and lobe complexes. The onset of Rift 2 and abandonment of Rift 1 involved a 30 km northward shift in the locus of rifting. In the west, giant Gilbert deltas built into a deepening lake depocentre in the hanging wall of the newly developing southern border fault system. Footwall and regional uplift progressively destroyed Lake Corinth in the central and eastern parts of the rift, producing a staircase of deltaic and, following drainage reversal, shallow marine terraces descending from >1000 m to present-day sea level. The growth, linkage and death of normal faults during the two phases of rifting are interpreted to reflect self-organization and strain localization along co-linear border faults. In the west, interaction with the Patras rift occurred along the major Patras dextral strike-slip fault. This led to enhanced migration of fault activity, uplift and incision of some early Rift 2 fan deltas, and opening of the Rion Straits at ca. 400-600 ka. The landscape and stratigraphic evolution of the rift was strongly influenced by regional palaeotopographic variations and local antecedent drainage, both inherited from the Hellenide fold and thrust belt.

The northern North Sea rift basin developed on a heterogeneous crust comprising structures inherited from the Caledonian orogeny and Devonian postorogenic extension. Integrating two‐dimensional regional seismic reflection data and information from basement wells, we investigate the prerift structural configuration in the northern North Sea rift. Three seismic facies have been defined below the base rift surface: (1) relatively low‐amplitude and low‐frequency reflections, interpreted as pre‐Caledonian metasediments, Caledonian nappes, and/or Devonian clastic sediments; (2) packages of high‐amplitude dipping reflections (>500 ms thick), interpreted as basement shear zones; and (3) medium‐amplitude and high‐frequency reflections interpreted as less sheared crystalline basement of Proterozoic and Paleozoic (Caledonian) origin. Some zones of Seismic Facies 2 can be linked to onshore Devonian shear zones, whereas others are restricted to the offshore rift area. Interpreted offshore shear zones dip S, ESE, and WNW in contrast to W to NW dipping shear zones onshore West Norway. Our results indicate that Devonian strain and ductile deformation was distributed throughout the Caledonian orogenic belt from central South Norway to the Shetland Platform. Most of the Devonian basins related to this extension are, however, removed by erosion during subsequent exhumation. Basement shear zones reactivated during the rifting and locally control the location and geometry of rift depocenters, e.g., in the Stord and East Shetland basins. Prerift structures with present‐day dips >15° were reactivated, although some of the basement shear zones are displaced by rift faults regardless of their orientation relative to rift extension direction.

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New evidence for uplift of the southern margin to the Corinth rift, one of the world's most rapidly extending continental regions, defines an area of uniform uplift separating a more rapidly uplifting western rift flank from a slowly backtilting eastern flank. This major tectonic boundary coincides with geophysical evidence for a junction between flat underlying subducted oceanic plate and steep subduction. We propose that trench rollback by the Anatolian plate over the subducting African plate has led to differential uplift and possible migration of active faulting at the southern rift margin in the last few million years.

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