The geological structure of Kastas hill archaeological site, Amphipolis, eastern Macedonia, Greece

This paper presents research results on the geological structure of Kastas hill in Amphipolis, as well as the broader area. They consist of geological and geomorphological observations at Kastas and 133 hills and the surrounding areas, on their geological structure, the stratigraphy and the paleoenvironment. Kastas hill is the site of the largest burial mound discovered in Greece to date. The slopes of its embankment were recorded and modelled in detail using near field photogrammetry. The problem of distinguishing between in situ geological formations and ex situ anthropogenic deposits is also addressed. The bulk volume of Kastas hill consists of natural sediments; these sediments are exposed as successive alternating beds of grayish loose and cohesive sands with scattered pebbles and locally with cobbles. Clayey beds up to ~20-30 cm thick intercalate between the sands. At the top of the hill the anthropogenic deposits are typical of Macedonian tumuli, with soil and clay alternations for sealing and stabilizing them. Paleosoil horizons were observed both in natural sediments and within anthropogenic substrates. Two horizons were sampled for dating by different methods (OSL – optical stimulated luminescence and 14C – Accelerated Mass Spectroscopy). Their dating shows the development of successive deposits during the Iron, Archaic and Classical ages. The AMS dating of a charcoal which is closely associated to the construction of the main monument yielded an age of Cal. BP 2310 = Cal. 360 BC. 

THE GREEK CATALOGUE OF ACTIVE FAULTS AND DATABASE OF SEISMOGENIC SOURCES

The new reasearch project to create the Greek Catalogue of Active Faults and Database of Seismogenic Sources has three major goals: (i) the systematic collection of all available information concerning neotectonic, active and capable faults as well as broader seismogenic volumes within the Aegean Region; the search will be mainly based on geological and geophysical data; (ii) the quantification of the principal seismotectonic parameters of the different sources and the associated degree of uncertainty; (iii) to supply an integrated view of potentially damaging seismogenic sources for a better assessment of the Seismic Hazard of Greece. The informatic framework of the database follows that used for the Italian Database of Individual Seismogenic Sources (DISS). In this paper we present the architecture of the new Database of Active faults of the broader Aegean Area relative to Greece, the progress made up to present and the following activities yet to be accomplished

KARST FEATURES AND RELATED SOCIAL PROCESSES IN THE REGION OF THE VIKOS GORGE AND TYMPHI MOUNTAIN (NORTHERN PINDOS NATIONAL PARK, GREECE)

Due to unfavourable natural conditions (poor soils, lack of water, special relief conditions), karst terrains have always been relatively sparsely populated, and they have been seriously affected by recent depopulation processes. However, the creation of national parks on karst terrains and the recent increase of (geo)tourism may influence and even turn these population trends. Our study examines the validity of this statement in the context of Vikos Gorge and Tymphi Mountain (NW Greece). Geological and geomorphological values are presented first, including Vikos Gorge, the glaciokarst landscape of Tymphi and the particular spherical rock concretions. Digital terrain analysis is used to obtain scientifically based, reliable morphometric parameters about Vikos Gorge, and it is found that the maximum gorge depth is 1144 m, the maximum width is 2420 m, and the maximum of depth/width ratio is 0.76. Thereafter, rural depopulation trends are examined and it is found that this region (Zagori) is seriously affected by depopulation. It is observed that there are differences among settlements, and a relative stabilization of population is sensible in only few settlements around Vikos Gorge, which are linked to tourism. As for nature protection, while at the beginning conflicts were perceptible among management and local people, now new conflicts are emerging between growing tourism and nature protection goals.Key words: gorge morphometry, glaciokarst, spherical concretions, rural depopulation, geotourism, national park.Kraške oblike in s krasom povezane družbene spremembe na območju soteske Vikos ter v gorovju Timfi (narodni park Severni Pindi, Grčija)Zaradi neugodnih naravnih razmer, kot so manj rodovitna prst, pomanjkanje vode in svojstvena oblikovanost površja, je kraško površje od nekdaj relativno redko poseljeno, v zadnjem obdobju pa je podvrženo tudi procesom odseljevanja. V zadnjem času je vse več tudi geoturizma in z njim povezanega ustanavljanja geoparkov, ki trend depopulacije lahko tudi obrnejo. Pričujoča študija se nanaša na vrednotenje omenjenih procesov na primeru doline Vikos in gorovja Timfi (SZ Grčija). Najprej so predstavljene geomorfološke in geološke značilnosti območja, kjer so izpostavljene značilnosti soteske Vikos, glaciokras gorovja Timfi in za to območje značilne okrogle skalne konkrecije. Digitalni model višin je bil namenjen morfometrični analizi soteske Vikos. Ta je pokazala, da je njena največja globina 1144 m, največja širina 2420 m, največje razmerje med globino in širino pa 0,76. V nadaljevanju so analizirane značilnosti odseljevanja s podeželja, katerim je najbolj podvrženo območje Zagori. Demografski vzorci kažejo na razlike med posameznimi naselji, kjer je število prebivalcev stabilno le v nekaterih naseljih v bližini turistično zanimive soteske Vikos. Z ustanovitvijo parka so se pojavili tudi konflikti. V začetku so se navzkrižja interesov pojavila med lokalnim prebivalstvom in upravljavci, sedaj pa se konflikt pojavlja ob istočasnem naraščanju turizma in želji po varovanju narave.Kjučne besede: morfometrija soteske, glaciokras, okrogle konkrecije, depopulacija podeželja, geoturizem, narodni park.

Help4All - Mobile Εφαρμογή Αλληλοβοήθειας

Τη σημερινή εποχή στην Ελλάδα, οι πόροι που διαθέτει το κράτος για άτομα με δυσκολίες αυτοεξυπηρέτησης είναι ελάχιστοι. Ως εκ τούτου, βασικές ανάγκες όπως η πρόσβαση σε ιατροφαρμακευτικές εγκαταστάσεις ή και σε καταστήματα αγοράς αγαθών πρώτης ανάγκης πραγματοποιούνται δύσκολα χωρίς την βοήθεια από κάποιο άλλο άτομο. Αυτή η κατάσταση επιδεινώθηκε ακόμα περισσότερο εξαιτίας της πανδημίας COVID-19 και των περιοριστικών μέτρων που λήφθηκαν για τον έλεγχο της διασποράς της. Ως λύση αντιμετώπισης του αναφερθέντος προβλήματος, προτείνεται σε αυτή την πτυχιακή εργασία η χρήση της εφαρμογής "Help4All" . Πρόκειται για μια mobile εφαρμογή, που επιτρέπει στους χρήστες της τόσο να αναζητήσουν βοήθεια για την εξυπηρέτηση τους, όσο και να την προσφέρουν ως εθελοντές. Είναι ουσιαστικά, ένας τρόπος διασύνδεσης των χρηστών ώστε να προαχθούν ο εθελοντισμός και η αλληλοβοήθεια σαν πηγές αντιμετώπισης των σύγχρονων κοινωνικών αναγκών. Η εφαρμογή χτίστηκε στο περιβάλλον του Android Studio χρησιμοποιώντας την γλώσσα προγραμματισμού Kotlin που αποτελεί βελτιστοποιημένη εκδοχή της Java για κινητά τηλέφωνα. Για την αποθήκευση λογαριασμών χρηστών, δεδομένων για αιτήματα βοήθειας αλλά και συνομιλιών μεταξύ χρηστών χρησιμοποείται ένας συνδυασμός από: php server,mysql server και Firebase.In Greece, the available resources to individuals requiring medical home assistance remain insufficient. Therefore, taking care of vital needs such as having access to medical care and basic necessities can seem almost impossible without other people's aid. This situation has worsened due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the strict measures that have been implemented to prevent its spread. In this thesis, "Help4All" is proposed as an effective way of helping us face the above-mentioned challenge. It is a mobile application that allows its users not only to seek help for their various needs but to also provide their support to people in need. Basically, "Help4All" acts as a medium of connecting users to promote volunteerism and mutual aid as means of solving contemporary social issues. Help4All was built on Android Studio using the Kotlin programming language. Kotlin is an optimized version of Java, aimed at mobile devices. In order to keep track of user accounts, help requests, and chatting messages, a combination of php,mysql, and Firebase servers was use

THE SAMOTHRACE EARTHQUAKE OF MAY 2014 AND THE DISPLACEMENTS ESTIMATIONS USING PERMANENT GPS STATIONS DATA

Η συμβολή των δικτύων GPS στην παρακολούθηση σεισμικών φαινομένων είναι σημαντική καθώς παρέχει άμεση γεωμετρική πληροφορία στο γήινο φλοιό χρησιμοποιώντας δορυφορικές παρατηρήσεις. Στη παρούσα μελέτη εξετάζονται οι μετακινήσεις στη θέση των μόνιμων σταθμών GPS, που προέρχονται από έντονα σεισμικά φαινόμενα στη περιοχή του Β. Αιγαίου μετά τον έντονο σεισμό στις 24 Μαΐου του 2014. Οι μετακινήσεις στο οριζόντιο επίπεδο μετά το σεισμό για το νησί της Σαμοθράκης εκτιμήθηκαν σε 9.4 cm και για το νησί της Λήμνου σε 5.2 cm αντιστοίχως. Διάστημα μελέτης επτά ημερών ήταν ικανό για να φανεί ότι η παραμόρφωση εξελίχθηκε σταδιακά σε διάστημα δύο ημερών.The contribution of GPS networks in monitoring seismic events is important because they can provide a direct geometrical information on the Earth's crust using satellite observations In this study position displacements of permanent GPS stations are determined due to intense seismic events in the North Aegean area after the strong earthquake on May 24, 2014. The horizontal coseismic displacements for the Samothrace Island were estimated at 9.4 cm and for Lemnos Island at 5.2 cm respectively. A study period of seven days was enough to show that the deformation evolved into two days