Modelling of erosional processes in the Ionian Islands (Greece)

This paper focuses on the study of the geomorphological processes and the impact of neotectonic deformation on the geomorphological structure. A vast database was developed, containing different kinds of information, concerning geology, topography, drainage characteristics, vegetation and land use of the Ionian Islands. A geographic information system platform was developed in order to analyse the data, and to model and finally map the prevailing geomorphological processes: the erosion and deposition zones.Erosion risk factors have been processed in order to develop erosion risk maps demonstrating vulnerable to erosion areas. This study also concludes that the Ionian Islands are strongly influenced by the neotectonic processes that have defined their current morphology. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

Dextral strike-slip and normal faulting during middle Miocene back-arc extension and westward Anatolia extrusion in Central Greece

International audiencePresent-day Aegean tectonics is marked by the interplay between Hellenic slab rollback and Anatolia extrusion, explaining the formation of extensional basins and dextral strike-slip faults. We aim to constrain, with structural analysis and low-temperature data, middle Miocene activity of dextral strikeslip and normal faults in Central Greece. We show that onshore middle Miocene basins are controlled by both NW-striking normal faults and NE-striking dextral strike-slip faults. E-striking normal faults developed during the Plio-Quaternary inside pre-existing NW-striking fault zones. Stress tensor calculations show that in middle Miocene, NW-striking normal faults and NE-striking dextral faults are compatible, confirming their coeval activity. In contrast, the Plio-Quaternary stress tensor suggests an almost N-S radial extension, which is not compatible with NE-striking dextral faults in Central Greece. Apatite Fission Track data additionally constrain middle Miocene local cooling near NW-striking normal faults. They also support a difference in the amount of exhumation between Central Greece and the Cyclades, likely accommodated by the Pelagonian dextral strike-slip fault. We propose that in the middle Miocene, the coexistence of dextral strike-slip and normal faults is associated with an almost N-S extension related to trench retreat and an E-W compression related to westward extrusion of Anatolia. The progressive trench curvature during rollback implies block rotation, accommodated by the Pelagonian fault, and subsequent normal fault and extensional stress rotation. During the Plio-Quaternary, a change in extensional direction from NE-SW to N-S implies the formation of E-striking normal faults inside NW-striking fault zone, defining oblique rift systems