The neotectonics of the Aegean - an alternative view.

Jackson, J. A. and King, G. and Vitafinzi, C. (1982) The neotectonics of the Aegean - an alternative view. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 61. pp. 303-318. ISSN 0012-821X DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/0012-821X(82)90062-0

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Abstract

Minor reverse faults in widely dispersed Neogene outcrops in the central Aegean have led several people to suggest that the regional extension which started in the lower Pliocene or earlier was interrupted by short periods of compression. The durations of these postulated compressional episodes are short compared to the time scale on which convective forces acting on the base of the lithosphere can change. Thus possible mechanisms for driving such motions are limited. In this paper we offer alternative explanations for these observations and, in particular, show that these apparently compressional episodes are probably not regional in extent and may not be truly compressional in origin. In some places they are more likely to be a consequence of the considerable rotation that is found in extensional terranes. The Plio-Quaternary paleogeography of the central Aegean is satisfactorily explained by uplift in the footwall blocks of normal faults and does not require regional compression. Studies of the faulting associated with recent large earthquakes suggest that the sort of microtectonic analysis which is typically carried out on small faults in surficial sediments is more likely to reflect the internal deformation of blocks bounded by major fault structures than be a reliable indicator of regional stress patterns.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	1982AREP
Subjects:	02 - Geodynamics, Geophysics and Tectonics
Divisions:	02 - Geodynamics, Geophysics and Tectonics
Journal or Publication Title:	Earth and Planetary Science Letters
Volume:	61
Page Range:	pp. 303-318
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1016/0012-821X(82)90062-0
Depositing User:	Sarah Humbert
Date Deposited:	04 Jun 2018 10:01
Last Modified:	04 Jun 2018 10:01
URI:	http://eprints.esc.cam.ac.uk/id/eprint/4234

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