Greek tectonics and seismicity

Tertiary-Quaternary subduction processes and related magmatism in the Alpine-Mediterranean region

“…Geophysical data clearly indicate a north-eastward to northward dipping slab beneath the Aegean region (Wortel & Spakman 1992;Spakman et al 1993). The present volcanic arc is located 130-140 km above the seismic Benioff zone (Makropoulos & Burton, 1984), 200-250 km behind the subduction front. Lithospheric extension, however, may have played an important role in melt generation along the present arc, indicated by the underlying thin lithosphere and predominance of asthenosphere-derived uncontaminated mafic volcanic rocks in Santorini .…”

Seismicity at the convergent plate boundary offshore Crete, Greece, observed by an amphibian network

“…This high seismic activity is caused by the subduction of the oceanic African lithosphere beneath the continental Anatolian-Aegean lithosphere as manifested by Benioff zone seismicity (Papazachos and Comninakis, 1971;Makropoulos and Burton, 1984;Papazachos et al, 2000) and seen in the images of seismic tomography (Spakman et al, 1988;Spakman et al, 1993;Papazachos and Nolet, 1997). According to Thompson et al (1998) the current active margin south of Crete was initiated approximately 15 Ma ago following earlier subduction of oceanic basins north of the present day active margin and accretion of continental terranes to Eurasia (Dercourt et al, 1986;Gealey, 1988).…”

Preliminary Shear-Wave Splitting Results in the Broader Aigion Area (Greece) During 2013

“…The Gulf of Corinth (GoC), located in Central Greece, is a key area for seismological studies in Europe, due to the high local seismicity (Makropoulos and Burton, 1984;Papadimitriou et al, 2010) and the existence of dense seismological networks, namely the regional Hellenic Unified Seismological Network (HUSN), composed of stations operated by the Seismological Laboratories of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and the University of Patras, the Department of Geophysics of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the Institute of Geodynamics of the National Observatory of Athens, as well as the local Corinth Rift Laboratory Network (CRLN) with stations in the broader Aigion area (Lyon-Caen et al, 2004). These two networks are complementary to each other and enable the location of hypocentres with small uncertainties.…”