Late Holocene uplift of Rhodes, Greece: evidence for a large tsunamigenic earthquake and the implications for the tectonics of the eastern Hellenic Trench System

Howell, Andy and Jackson, James and England, Philip and Higham, Thomas and Synolakis, Costas (2015) Late Holocene uplift of Rhodes, Greece: evidence for a large tsunamigenic earthquake and the implications for the tectonics of the eastern Hellenic Trench System. Geophysical Journal International, 203 (1). pp. 459-474. ISSN ISSN: 0956-540X, ESSN: 1365-246X DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggv307

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Abstract

Several large earthquakes in the Hellenic subduction zone have been documented in historical records from around the eastern Mediterranean, but the relative seismic quiescence of the region over the period of instrumental observation means that the exact locations of these earthquakes and their tectonic significance are not known. We present AMS radiocarbon dates from uplifted late Holocene palæoshorelines from the island of Rhodes, showing that uplift is most consistent with a single large (MW ≥ 7.7) reverse-faulting earthquake between about 2000 BC and 200 BC. Analysis of the uplift treating the earthquake as a dislocation in an elastic half-space shows a predominantly reverse-faulting event with a slip vector oblique to the direction of convergence between Rhodes and Nubia. We suggest that the fault responsible for the uplift dips at an angle of 30–60° above the more gently dipping oblique subduction interface. The highly oblique convergence across the eastern Hellenic plate boundary zone appears to be partitioned into reverse slip on faults that strike parallel to the boundary and strike-parallel or oblique slip on the subduction interface. Hydrodynamical simulation of tsunami propagation from a range of tectonically plausible sources suggests that earthquakes on the fault uplifting Rhodes represent a significant tsunami hazard for Rhodes and SW Turkey, and also possibly for Cyprus and the Nile Delta.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This article has been accepted for publication in Geophysical Journal International © The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Royal Astronomical Society.All rights reserved.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	2015AREP; IA69;
Subjects:	02 - Geodynamics, Geophysics and Tectonics
Divisions:	02 - Geodynamics, Geophysics and Tectonics 08 - Green Open Access
Journal or Publication Title:	Geophysical Journal International
Volume:	203
Page Range:	pp. 459-474
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggv307
Depositing User:	Sarah Humbert
Date Deposited:	30 Aug 2015 02:16
Last Modified:	29 Sep 2015 15:51
URI:	http://eprints.esc.cam.ac.uk/id/eprint/3488

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