Journal of Earth Science, Vol. 24, No. 3, p. 410–427, June 2013 ISSN 1674-487X Printed in China DOI: 10.1007/s12583-013-0334-1

Quaternary Neotectonic Configuration of the Southwestern Peloponnese, Greece, Based on Luminescence Ages of Marine Terraces

Constantin Athanassas* Laboratory of Archaeometry, Institute of Materials Science, N.C.S.R. ‘Demokritos’, Aghia Paraskevi, Athens153 10, Greece Ioannis Fountoulis Department of Dynamic, Tectonic and Applied Geology, Faculty of Geology and Geoenvironment, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Zografou, Athens 157 84, Greece

ABSTRACT: This project studies marine terraces in western Messenia, southwestern Peloponnese, Greece, to propose a model of neotectonic configuration and paleogeographic evolution of western Messenia during the Quaternary. GIS analysis of topographic data and geological mapping revealed flanks of raised terraces created on Quaternary marine deposits. Luminescence ages of sediments from the three westernmost marine terraces tend to be consistent OIS-5, OIS-7 and OIS-9, respectively, thus agreeing with the three latest warm stages of the Pleistocene. Moreover, the type and the extent of de- formation of the dated marine terraces allowed us to reflect on the neotectonic configuration of western Messenia as well as to conclude that progressive differential uplift over the last 300 ka has induced a dome-like structure to the upper crust of western Messenia. KEY WORDS: Quaternary, Southwest Greece, neotectonics, sea-level change, marine terrace, lumines- cence dating, tectonic uplift.

INTRODUCTION Convergence between the African and Eurasian plates The southwestern part of the Peloponnese (Fig. 1) was initiated in the Jurassic (e.g., Papanikolaou, 1993, constitutes one of the most tectonically and seismi- 1986; Aubouin, 1977; Jacobshagen, 1977), giving rise cally active areas of the Eurasian-African convergence to successive orogenic arcs known as the “Hellenides” zone and offers a unique opportunity to investigate the (Papanikolaou, 2010). In contrast to the central and the transition from compressional to extensional deforma- southern Aegean, extensional deformation in western tion in the Hellenic Arc (Papanikolaou et al., 2007). Greece came to an end in the Early Miocene and not to begin again until the Late Pliocene (van Hinsbergen This study was supported by the State Scholarships Foundation et al., 2005a, b). In the meantime, the area was pre- of Greece (No. 1500521537.008.040). eminently subjected to compressional deformation, a *Corresponding author: [email protected] situation which was maintained throughout the Middle © China University of Geosciences and Springer-Verlag Berlin Miocene (Underhill, 1989; Mercier et al., 1972). Re- Heidelberg 2013 commencement of extensional deformation in the Late Pliocene (i.e., the neo-tectonic period) allowed the sea Manuscript received April 9, 2012. to intrude into tectonic basins in coastal areas of the Manuscript accepted June 11, 2012. western Peloponnese (e.g., Goldsworthy et al., 2002; Quaternary Neotectonic Configuration of the Southwestern Peloponnese, Greece 411

Figure 1. (a) Schematic map showing the neotectonic regime of the southwestern Peloponnese. 1. Holocene deposits; 2. E. Pleistocene marine deposits; 3. Plio-Pleistocene continental deposits; 4. Plio-Pleistocene lacustrine deposits; 5. Alpine basement; 6. dominant plunge of alpine fold axes; 7. rotational axis; 8. neo- tectonic fault zone; 9. neotectonic fold axis; 10. thrust (modified after Fountoulis and Mariolakos, 2008). (b) Current morpho-neotectonic regime of the Greek territory. MNR. Morphoneotectonic region; MNS. mor- phoneotectonic sector (after Mariolakos and Fountoulis, 2004).

Mariolakos et al., 1985; Mariolakos and Papanikolaou, of marine sedimentation (Mariolakos and Fountoulis, 1981; Mariolakos, 1975), igniting a prolonged period 1991). Subsequent tectonic reactivation at the end of 412 Constantin Athanassas and Ioannis Fountoulis the Early Pleistocene (Mariolakos et al., 1994a, b) led to the inversion of the kinematic regime of the south- western Peloponnese. In that new regime, the formerly subsiding tectonic blocks were being raised, exposing their marine sediments to aerial erosion. Progressive uplift was encoded in the form of stranded terraces. That kinematic regime still continues to characterise the geologic development of the Hellenic Arc (Vassilakis et al., 2011; Hollestein et al., 2008; Nyst and Thacher, 2004; Kahle et al., 2000; Mariolakos et al., 1998, 1994a, b; Reilinger et al., 1997). The magnitude of the vertical displacement of tec- tonic blocks can be estimated against the sea level. The latter was not stable but oscillated through geologic time. The Quaternary was characterized by intense cli- matic variations (successions between glacial and inter- glacial stages) which brought about the cyclic rise and fall of the sea level (e.g., Martinson et al., 1987; Imbrie et al., 1984). The interaction between the fluctuating sea level and the bedrock in coastal areas of western Messenia (Fig. 2) was recorded in the coastal geomor- phology in the form specific geomorphic markings, such as stranded marine terraces which frequently con- tain marine sedimentary sequences, as verified by for- mer studies (Athanassas, 2010; Kourampas and Robertson, 2000; Mariolakos et al., 1998, 1994a, b; Figure 2. Digital terrain model of the study area in Fountoulis, 1994; Fountoulis and Moraiti, 1994; Mari- western Messenia. Dashed lines delimit three major olakos and Fountoulis, 1991; Marcopou- physicographic units, namely the coastal plain (I), lou-Diacantoni et al., 1991; Kowalczyk and Winter, the plateau (II) and Kyparissia Mts. (III). Elevetion 1979; Kelletat et al., 1976; Kowalczyk et al., 1975). is provided as color-graded scale in intervals of 135 These studies gave evidence that vertical movements in m. Coordinates are in WGS’89. the southwestern Peloponnese have taken place since at least the Early Pleistocene. However, the vertical magnitude of vertical displacement of the local upper movements might have occurred at a rate which was crust. not constant, neither in time nor in space. The amount The study area is located in western Messenia, in of topographic dislocation of marine terraces in western the southwestern Peloponnese (Fig. 2), covering a 60 Messenia could potentially describe the size and the km-long segment of the southwest coast of Greece, pattern of neotectonic movements in the southwestern parallel to the Hellenic trench which is located 60 km Peloponnese. Previous studies were restricted to the offshore (Fig. 1b). Major physiographic units deter- qualitative features of the terraces only, lacking nu- mine the boundaries of the study area (Fig. 2): the merical dating and, thus, failing to quantify the Quater- Navarino Bay to the south, the Kyparissia-Kalo Nero nary neotectonic processes in the southwestern Pelo- Basin to the north, the Kyparissia Mountains to the ponnese. Here, by correlating optically stimulated east and the Ionian Sea to the west. luminescence (OSL) ages of sediments from the raised Our investigation began with vectorization of marine terraces with relative sea-level curves, contour maps in ArcGIS (9.3). Our GIS revealed use- we attempt to provide estimates of the ful geomorphic information, such as a stepped succes- Quaternary Neotectonic Configuration of the Southwestern Peloponnese, Greece 413 sion of platforms, intermediate cliffs (seen as abrupt luminescence dating and is explained below, some of changes in the density of contours in topographic the raised platforms identified during the GIS analysis maps) and patterns of local drainage network. Field- indeed correspond to marine terraces. As a result, work involved in-situ verification of morphological cliffs separating coeval terraces were attributed to features revealed by the GIS analysis and conventional faults, whilst escarpments dividing non-coeval but geological mapping of uplifted marine deposits and of spatially successive terraces were regarded as tectonic faults. Material was sampled from the marine wave-cut cliffs of abandoned coasts. However, in the sediments for microplaeontological studies, in order to exceptional case of Gargaliani-Filiatra escarpment acquire a more comprehensive picture of their pa- both tectonics and sea-level have influenced the fore- leoenvironmental conditions. Field and vectorized data front of the cliff. combined in our GIS demonstrated that some of the The current geometric deviance of the terraces intermediate topographic breaks concur with faults from the concept of a more or less horizontal plane, while the origin of other cliffs at different sites was due to differential segmentation by individual faults, difficult to be answered on the basis of field and GIS allowed us to reveal the pattern of tectonic deforma- observations only. tion, which in turn dictates the local neotectonic con- Of key importance in numerically constraining figuration. By generating numerical values such as the the age of the terraces was the engagement of a lumi- age and the elevation of the terraces, as well as adopt- nescence dating. Specifically, optically stimulated ing published sea-level data, we estimated the magni- luminescence (OSL) dating has been successfully ap- tude of the vertical rise of the terraces western plied to a wide range of depositional environments Messenia and ultimately attempted reconstruction of worldwide. Nevertheless, estimation of OSL ages for phases of local paleogeography during the Quaternary. quartz-rich sediments from western Messenia turned out to be rather complex as conventional OSL signals STRATIGRAPHIC AND NEOTECTONIC were found to lean towards saturation, making it dif- CONFIGURATION OF MESSENIA ficult to generate ages beyond 100 ka (Athanassas, Stratigraphy 2011), and thus restricting OSL dating applications to The map in Fig. 3 displays basic geologic the Late Quaternary only. formations outcropping in western Messenia. This However more recent technical developments in map was generated through field observations and luminescence dating have broadened the age-range by study of literature (Kourampas and Robertson, 2000; employing other luminescence signals, known as the Mariolakos et al., 1998; Fountoulis and Moraiti, 1994; ‘thermally-transferred OSL’ (TT-OSL). TT-OSL Marcopoulou-Diacantoni et al., 1991; Mariolakos and should allow to extend the age limit beyond conven- Fountoulis, 1991; Fytrolakis, 1980; Perrier, 1980; Mi- tional OSL limitations (Wang et al., 2006a, b). Al- tropoulos et al., 1979). The Alpine basement is com- though some aspects of the underlying physics of posed of two nappes, namely Pindos and Gavrovo. TT-OSL remain outstanding, studies (Athanassas et al., Post-Alpine deposits are represented by marls, 2012; Pagonis et al., 2011, 2008; Shen et al., 2011; sandstones and conglomerates, with a small Adamiec et al., 2010; Athanassas and Zacharias, 2010; contibution of terrestrial sediments (primarely alluvia Athanassas, 2010; Porat et al., 2009; Stevens et al., in the southern parts). Marine sandstones, marls and 2009; Tsukamoto et al., 2008; Wang et al., 2007, conglomerates (Fig. 3), in places intercalated by bio- 2006a, b) seem to suggest that TT-OSL can provide an clastic limestones, cover the entire area of the coastal opportunity to push the dating envelope further back, plain (Unit I in Fig. 2). The plateau (Unit II in Fig. 2) perhaps as much as 300–400 ka. Concerning Messenia, entirely consists of marls. While former reserchers Athanassas and Zacharias (2010) demonstrated that related the majority of post-Alpine marine deposits to TT-OSL is capable of generating ages at least up to the Pliocene (Frydas and Bellas, 1994; Koutsouveli, 300 ka approximately. 1987; Kontopoulos, 1984), it is now believed that According to our rationale, which is based on these deposits are of Quaternary age (Fountoulis and 414 Constantin Athanassas and Ioannis Fountoulis

Ammonia Asterigerinata, Elphidium, Cibicides reful- gens, Cibicides lobatulus and Fissurina, supporting the nearshore character of the marine paleoenviron- ment and warm-water conditions. The thickness of the deposits is less than 10 m and all units dip with 15º but in variable directions: NW in the north areas, W in the middle area, and SW in the south parts of the study area, respectively (arrows in Fig. 3). The dip-vector distribution pattern from north to south gives the im- pression of a dome-shaped structure. Apart from their Pleistocene age nothing more precise is known about the chronology of those marine deposits. The above monotonous marine stratigraphy is in- terrupted southwards by dune calcarenites at Petro- chori (Fig. 3). Presence of medium to well-sorted sand and other macroscopic features (e.g., rhizoliths) point to aeolian sedimentation on the backshore. Remains of these lithified windblown sands are currently seen partially drowned offshore; a fact which is taken into account in following neotectonic interpretations. An- toniou and Fytrolakis (1988) ascribed the aeolianites Figure 3. Geological map of western Messenia. of Petrochori to the Late Pleistocene. Jagged markings along fault lines point towards Regarding the Holocene marine sedimentation, subsiding blocks. Thick lines represent Gargaliani- this is limited to the southern parts of the area only. It Filiatra fault. mainly includes coastal dunes, beachrocks and the beach barrier along the northern coast of the Navarino Moratiti, 1994; Marcopoulou-Diacantoni et al., 1991); Bay. Coring and radiocarbon dating (Zangger et al., presence of foraminifera such as Globorotalia trunca- 1997; Kraft et al., 1980) revealed substantial marine tulinoides and Hyalinea Balthica (Marcopoulou- sedimentation at around 9 ka B.P. but it was later cov- Diacantoni et al., 1991) characterizes the onset of ered by an alluvial fan which now extends between Quaternary sedimentation and reflects a global cooling Gialova and Petrochori in Fig. 3. of the seas. The thickness of the Pleistocene marine deposits in western Messenia ranges between 10 m (in Neotectonics coastal cliffs) up to >100 m (in Gargliani escarpment, Major Alpine tectonic structures of western thick line in Fig. 3). Our fieldwork also verified the Messenia stretch in NNW-SSE directions, aligned to occurrence of post-alpine sediments at the southern tip the geometry of folds and thrusts of the Hellenic Arc of Sfaktiria Island (Fig. 3). and trench system (Le Pichon and Angelier, 1979; West of the limestone outcrops shown in Fig. 3, Aubouin, 1977; Jacobshagen, 1977; McKenzie, 1972; Pleistocene marine deposits occupy the coastal plain Aubouin et al., 1961). As far as the neotectonic (coloured red in Fig. 3). Figure 4 exemplifies the (post-Alpine) structure of western Messenia is con- stratigraphy in the coastal plain. Deposits include cerned, the study area comprises an agglomeration of sandstones, silty sands and conglomerates and contain multiply-fractured tectonic blocks that are expressed fossil macrofauna such as bivalves (Pecten, Ostrea, either as tectonic grabens or tectonic horsts, delimited Spondylus Gaederopus, Mytilus, Glycimeris) and ur- by faults trending approximately in NNW-SSE and chins, while current microscopic analysis (by M. Tri- E-W directions (Fountoulis and Mariolakos, 2008; van antaphyllou) yielded benthic foraminifera such as Hinsbergen et al., 2006; Fountoulis, 1994; Mariolakos Quaternary Neotectonic Configuration of the Southwestern Peloponnese, Greece 415 and Papanikolaou, 1987, 1981; Mariolakos et al., 1985; different lithologies suppose a tectonic origin for the King et al., 1983). escarpment. Striking is however the presence of Gargaliani-Filiatra heights (Fig. 5a) are the most strongly cemented debris at the base of the escarpment significant neotectonic structure of the area. They that contains sparse bivalve shells. This implies depo- stretch in an NNW-SSE direction. In terms of lithol- sition and partial reworking of cliff rockfall in a ma- ogy, they basically enclose the Eocene limestones and rine environment, an observation with important pa- a small part of the Quaternary marine deposits. The leogeographic connotations as seen later. Second- heights are bounded between Gargaliani-Filiatra es- order faults define E-W trending ravines (e.g., Lagou- carpment to the west (thick black line in Fig. 3) and a vardos and Filiatrino in Figs. 2 and 3). smaller cliff to the east (Fig. 5b). The large visible Two other major structural components of the throw (over 150 m) and the fact that it cuts through area are the tectonic grabens of Marathopolis-

Figure 4. Representative stratigraphic column of nearshore sediments outcropping in a coastal cliff south of Marathopolis (Fig. 3), in the SE part of the project area. The stratigraphic column of the site contrasted to a photograph of the same section on the right. From bottom to top, the sequence starts with silty sands a) goes over firmly cemented standstones b) and terminates to a partially cemented marine conglomerate c). Arrows indicate collected samples.

Figure 5. (a) Gargaliani-Filiatra fault scarp. It separates Platform 3 (in the coastal plain) from Platform 4 (in the highlands). Horizontally arrayed cavities have been developed on its surface. Possibly they were ini- tially carved by a former sea level but later they were widened in aerial conditions. (b) Small fault escarp- ment delimiting the west boundary of Gargaliani-Filiatra horst.

416 Constantin Athanassas and Ioannis Fountoulis

Kyparissia to the west (practically defined by the (Unit III) and it consists of hard rocks which rise up to red-coloured clastic deposits in Fig. 3) and Gargaliani- 1 200 m. Pyrgos depression to the east (salmon-coloured area in With the intention of identifying marine terraces Fig. 3). Marathopolis-Kyparissia graben accommo- in western Messenia, we employed GIS analysis of dates the Late Quaternary marine deposits that attract contour maps to detect changes in the morphological our focus here, while Gargaliani-Pyrgos depression to gradient. Figure 6 displays a succession of five plat- the east is filled with Early Pleistocene marls. More- forms identified in western Messenia revealed through over, the tectonic horsts related with Proti and Sfak- the GIS analysis. The three western ones (platforms 1, tiria islands are of equal importance in the neotectonic 2 and 3) are distributed at average heights of 30, 50 analysis that follows on. Tectonic breccia at the base and 80 m, respectively and dip seawards at low angles of high-rise cliffs on the east coast of Sfaktiria and all (~2º), similar to the slope of the modern nearshore around Proti intimate a tectonic origin for the insular seafloor (Papanikolaou et al., 2007). shorelines. Sea floor geophysical survey data (Pa- The platforms become progressively narrower panikolaou et al., 2007) allowed hypothesising the and lower in north and south directions, until they fi- presence of an extensive fault zone which separates nally come to merge into a single platform at the north Marathopolis-Kyparissia graben form Proti horst. and south ends. With reference to the two easternmost In terms of subsurface tectonic geometry, Mari- platforms, Platform 4 is a cluster of relic pediments olakos and Fountoulis (1991) revealed that the mor- encircled by closed contours. Disintegrated pediments phology of the contact between the Pleistocene marine are hypsometrically distributed at variable elevations deposits and the Alpine basement resembles an anti- across E-W incised ravines (e.g., Lagouvardos and cline or a “macro-fold”, having its axis trending in an Evaggelistria in Fig. 6). Platform 5 is composed of ENE-WSW direction. Mariolakos and Fountoulis more extensive pediments, terminating at the foot of (1991) attributed this convex contact geometry to dif- the Kyparissia Mts. to the east. Platforms have also ferential uplift across the area, with the central seg- been reported from the islands of Proti and Sfaktiria. ments rising faster than the north and south edges. Apart from the localized presence of raised sandstones Although Mariolakos and Foutoulis (1991) have and calcareous marls at the southernmost tip of Sfak- reported the existence of slickensides in the wider area, tiria, both islands had their platforms directly carved those, however, have not been preserved in the soft onto the Cretaceous/Eocene limestone, totally lacking post-Alpine sediments between Petrochori and Ky- any datable sediments. parissia (Fig. 3). In cases where evidence was insuffi- Besides, this project also dealt with the study of cient, faults were mapped as probable (dashed lines in the morphology of cliffs dividing the platforms, which Fig. 3). Those probable faults run perpendicularly to may owe either to fault scarps or to erosional cliffs Gargaliani-Filiatra fault. They intersect both Alpine undercut by former sea levels or to both causes. Cliffs and post-Alpine deposits and markedly coincide with in Fig. 6 are pinpointed by closely spaced contours major E-W trending ravines. and are shown as dashed lines. A notch-like longitu- dinal hollowing along the base of the cliff separating GEOMORPHOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS the two westernmost platforms (1 and 2) was identi- In terms of elevation, three physiographic units fied in the field. No evidence of tectonic influence was can be identified (Fig. 2). The lowlands to the west observed. Concerning the immediately eastern mor- (Unit I in Fig. 2) comprise a relatively smooth coastal phological cut-off (between platforms 2 and 3), it plain consisted of the Quaternary littoral sediments. Its lacks the sharpness of the formerly described one. maximum altitude is 150 m. A group of pediments, With respect to Gargaliani-Filiatra cliff (Fig. 5), cur- formed on soft deposits constituting the plateau (Unit rent and former studies confirm its tectonic origin, as II) which is situated immediately east of Unit I, and all explained earlier. Existence of notch-like cavities on have an average elevation of 300 m. To the east, the Gargaliani-Filiatra cliff’s surface, constitutes profound plateau is discontinued by the Kyparissia Mountains evidence that the fault escarpment was once affected Quaternary Neotectonic Configuration of the Southwestern Peloponnese, Greece 417

into the Ionian Sea. Figure 7 illustrates the drainage network of the study area. Principally, ravines are characterized by radial courses flowing towards the NW in the northern areas, W in the central segment, and SW in the southern parts. The radial system (Fig. 7) has been developed on the Pleistocene marine sediments. It is known that radial drainage is usually created circumferentially to dome-like structures. This pattern presupposes higher uplift rates in the central segments of the area than in its periphery, a remark that conforms with the observations of Mariolakos and Fountoulis (1991). However small and localized dis- crepancies from the radial pattern are witnessed cross- wise major watersheds seen in Fig. 7. Either topical rotations of tectonic blocks or lithological factors can possibly lead to small deviations from the general ra- dial pattern. On the scale of individual ravines, stream development is characterized as ‘parallel’. Parallel streams constitute the simplest form of overland runoff that can be developed on a slope. Their geometry is not dictated by the tectonics, pointing basically to the ju- venility of the surface that they traverse (Twidale, 2004; Pirazzoli et al., 1993).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The arrangement of the platforms illustrated in Fig. 6 drove sample collection. Samples were collected from undisturbed sections exposed along major W-E trending ravines, from modern coastal cliffs, and from roadcuts. Figure 8 illustrates the location of the sample sites in western Messenia, in relation to the mapped Figure 6. Map illustrating five platforms and their surfaces. We studied 21 sites, where 28 samples were inreposing morphological breaks idientified in collected. western Messenia. Yellow diamonds represent the All luminescence ages are presented in Fig. 8 (for position of raised notch-like rock shelters. Scaled details in OSL and TT-OSL dating procedures on local arrows indicate the degree of abruptness of the to- sediments see Athanassas, 2010, 2011; Athanassas and pographic discontinuities. Zacharias, 2010; Athanassas et al., 2012) and range from very young (0.25 ka) to 300 ka approximately. by a former Quaternary sea level. It is very likely that With the purpose of placing a greater strain on the these cavities were further widened later by aeolian chronology of the Quaternary marine deposits of west- action and karstification in aerial conditions. ern Messenia we additionally submitted sedimentary Finally, we studied the local drainage network as material for nannochronology. Suitable samples were the drainage pattern can be affected, and eventually collected from Gargaliani escarpment, the plateau, and reflect, trends in regional tectonic activity. Ravines that similar occurrences on southern Sfaktiria (Fig. 3). set off from the foot of Kyparissia Mts., traverse the Samples from the plateau (Unit II) yielded species such plateau and the coastal plain, discharging their load as Calcidiscus macintyrei and Geophyrocapsa 418 Constantin Athanassas and Ioannis Fountoulis

predicating also a Quaternary age for the landforms that have been created in these deposits. However, nannofossils abounded, unfortunately, only in the fine Early Pleistocene calcareous marls and not in the coarser luminescence-dated samples prevent- ing us from administering some control on our lumi- nescence ages. Thus, direct comparisons with published sea level curves and the local geomorphology was the only means of obtaining some chronological control on our luminescence ages. To the best of our knowledge, there are no sea level curves capturing the entire period of the Quaternary for the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Thus, all following assumptions were obliged to global relative sea level curves (e.g., Rohling et al., 2009; Bin- tanja et al., 2005; Lea et al., 2002). Figure 9a presents, in the form of bars, the chronological spread of ages for Platform 1 and con- trasts them with the Middle–Late Quaternary sea level time scale. Although a broad range of ages is seen on Platform 1, most dates cluster around 100±25 ka ap- proximately. This group of ages roughly matches with OIS-5, the last relatively long warm geological period. A similar tendency is observed for Platform 2 (Fig. 9b). Although the number of the dated samples is smaller for Platform 2, most luminescence ages come under the penultimate warm stage at ~225±25 ka (OIS-7). Thus, samples coming from Platform 2 are older than those of Platform 1 by one glaciation cycle on average. Figure 7. Drainage network of western Messenia. However, some deviations from the general trend Dashed lines represent watersheds separating ba- are indeed seen in Fig. 9. For example, three samples sins with different runoff directions (green arrows). with OIS-7 ages (MRT1, KLG1 and KNR3 in Fig. 8; Dotted lines mark watersheds of individual streams. rightmost bars in Fig. 9a) are found on the platform which dates to OIS-5 (Platform 1). Whether these dis- caribbeanica (M. Triantaphyllou and E. Moraiti). crepancies owe to insufficient performance of lumines- Those fossils denoted the MNN-19b biozone (Rio et al., cence dating for some of the samples can not be ade- 1990), which is related to the period between quately answered now. Another possibility is that wave 1.597–1.58 Μa (Raffi and Flores, 1995). Sediments erosion during OIS-5 might have outweighed sedimenta- from Sfaktiria designated the MNN-19e biozone which tion onto the pre-existent OIS-7 deposits at these specific falls in the 1.25–0.95 Ma period (M. Triantaphyllou sites. Luminescence ages from Sfaktiria (SFK2 in Fig. 8) personal communication) This chronology renders the are uncertain too. Although nannoplacton assigns the Pleistocene marine deposits of the island slightly deposits to the MNN19e biozone, between 1.6–0.95 Ma, younger than those of the mainland. In any case, our the corresponding TT-OSL age is 279±25 ka. As regards nannopaleontological tests support the speculations of to isolate samples collected outside any stratigraphic Marcopoulou-Diacantoni et al. (1991) and Fountoulis context (e.g., PRT1, ALM1, PRT1 and GRG3) they are and Moratiti (1994) about the spatial expanse of the lacking age control too. Insecure ages were thus treated marine Quaternary sediments in western Messenia, with cautiousness. Quaternary Neotectonic Configuration of the Southwestern Peloponnese, Greece 419

Figure 8. (a) Spatial distribution of sample sites, their respective sample codes and their luminescence ages. At sites where more than one sample was measured, ages are arrayed in stratigraphic order (from top to bottom). Ages are given in kilo-anni (ka). (b) Chronological classification of the marine Pleistocene littoral deposits and depiction of paleocoasts based on the oxygen isotope stages chronology.

Figure 9. Distribution of luminescence ages for platforms 1 (a) and 2 (b) contrasted to the sea level changes timescale for the Middle–Late Pleistocene. The majority of the calculated ages show some agreement with the last warm stage (ΟΙS-5), while those from Platform 2 merely pinpoint the penultimate warm stage (ΟΙS-7).

Nevertheless, the relative observed agreement of many of our luminescence dates. On this assumption, the rest (majority) of the ages with warm Quaternary the two westernmost platforms (1 and 2) most proba- stages, in conjunction with the fact that current mi- bly correspond to the two most recent third order cropaleontological examinations suggest warm water transgressions of the Quaternary, namely the OIS-5 conditions for these samples, may lend reliability to and OIS-7. To the degree that the abovementioned 420 Constantin Athanassas and Ioannis Fountoulis uncertainties allowed, luminescence-dated terraces cantly from the sense of the horizontal plain and they were subjected to further analysis. Consensus of ter- appear dissected across major ravines reported in Fig. races 1 and 2 with the latest Pleistocene warm stages 6. Dissected parts imply differential vertical displace- (OIS-5 and OIS-7, respectively) renders their inter- ment. Starting with the older one (OIS-7), its middle posing cliff as the average paleo-coastline of the last segments look as if they have been uplifted faster than warm stage. Additionally, coincidence of the lumi- its tailing-off parts in north and south directions. The nescence ages from platforms 2 and 3 suggests an pattern of deformation gives the impression of a con- once uniform terrace, now bisected by a fault which vex trend, while the uplift rate for the middle part of matches with the topographic break between them. An the area is roughly estimated to be about 0.6 mm/a. age of 320±22 ka for GRG3 tentatively suggests an Similar observations apply to the 100±25 ka paleo- OIS-9 age for Platform 4. It has already been men- coast. The pattern of uplift for the younger coast is tioned that the adjacent Gargaliani-Filiatra escarpment similar to that of the older one but of smaller intensity bears influence from both tectonic activity and sea since it has been moving up for a shorter period of wave action (i.e., notches and cliff rockfall deposited time. The modern topographic configuration of the in an aquatic environment). Consequently, Gargaliani- paleo-coasts suggests a similar, convex-like, style of Filiatra escarpment is the most likely candidate for the tectonic deformation for the upper crust of the south- coastline during OIS-7. western Peloponnesian, reminding the speculations Furthermore, the trace of the cliffs illustrated in made by Mariolakos and Fountoulis (1991) about the map of Fig. 8 can also be safely considered as the ‘macro-folding’ processes in western Messenia. stratigraphic boundary between different cycles of Figure 11 synthesizes the topographic distribu- Quaternary marine sedimentation. Therefore, current tion of the paleo-coasts (as derived from luminescence results allow us to sub-divide the area covered by the dating of the neighbouring terraces), the topographic marine Quaternary deposits into distinctive distribution of the mapped pediments identified in Fig. chronostratigraphic stages of the Mid–Late Pleisto- 6, the drainage pattern. The average elevation of the cene, through the OIS perception. This is summarised disintegrated pediments varies across E-W incised in Fig. 8b. ravines (e.g., Lagouvardos, Evaggelistria and Nonetheless, difficulties to recognize terraces in Filiatrino) and matches also with breaks in the topog- the north and south rims rendered the chronological raphy of the paleo-coastlines observed in Fig. 10 as discrimination of the marine Quaternary sediments well as the relief morphology. These coupling obser- unpractical and, hence, respective paleo-coasts have vations confirm the presence of fault zones that spa- been drawn as probable in these areas (dashed lines in tially coincide with major ravines of the area (the de- Fig. 8b). For this reason littoral outcrops remain undi- velopment of the latter has been favoured by the activ- vided in the north and south sectors. ity of the faults). These newly verified faults dissect Knowing that the identified paleo-coastlines once western Messenia in W-E directions and delimit indi- belonged to a horizontal sea-surface, it would be in- vidual tectonic blocks, each uplifting progressively the teresting to investigate their current deformation, upper crust of West Messenia. given that the pattern of deformation of the Despite the general tendency for uplift, a kine- paleo-coast can mirror, to an important degree, the matic diversification is observed at Petrochori (Fig. 6) motif of overall neotectonic deformation of the area. in the very south of the project area. Markedly, lumi- This can be studied with higher precision in the mid- nescence ages for coastal aeolianites (PTC1: 120±17 dle part of the area, where the two paleo-coastlines ka in Fig. 8) point towards the last interglacial, a geo- were better reconstructed. This situation is more un- logical period when sea level was proximal to the certain in the north and south segments. Lines in Fig. modern sea surface or maybe a little higher. Given that 10 are topographic sections along the tracks of the extensive parts of these supra-tidal formations are paleo-coasts determined in Fig. 8b. currently drowned, it can be presumed that the north As expected, paleo-coastlines deviate signifi- periphery of the Bay of Navarino has been subjected Quaternary Neotectonic Configuration of the Southwestern Peloponnese, Greece 421

Figure 10. Topographic sections along the trace of paleo-coastlines dated to 225±25 ka (ΟΙS-7) and 100±25 ka (ΟΙS-5), respectively. Solid lines represent the confirmed parts of the pale-ocoasts, while dashed lines refer to their probable extensions in areas where verification was problematic. Dotted lines correspond to parts intersected by major streams of the area.

Figure 11. This figure schematically associates geomorphic data (pediments, drainage pattern) with paleo- coasts revealed by luminescence dating. Discontinuities separating groups of pediments and cutting the paleo-coasts can be related to faults dictating the flowing directions of major ravines of the area. Numbers by the pediment surfaces provide their average elevations. to tectonic subsidence since at least the last 120 000 and paleogaeographic evolution for western Messenia years. over the Quaternary. In order to demonstrate the tec- Those observations are in agreement with Flem- tonic structure and paleogeography of the study area at ming et al.’s (1973) claims who proposed a subsidence each stage, the uplift rates noted earlier were taken rate of 0.5 mm/a for the beach barrier separating the into account here. Paleo-relief was simulated by re- Gialova lagoon from the Navarino Bay (Fig. 3). Dis- ducing the modern topography by the amount of the similarities in the kinematic behaviour in the vicinity uplift inferred from the dated raised deposits. of Navarino from the rest of the area can be ade- The description starts in the later part of the quately explained by the function of a fault being ac- Lower Pleistocene at ~1.6 Ma ago (Fig. 12a). Paleo- tivated along Alafinorema ravine, showed in Fig. 11. geographic conditions were significantly different from the modern situation. Relief was about 500 m NEOTECTONIC AND PALEOGEOGRAPHIC lower, whereas the Kyparissia Mountains were the EVOLUTION OF WEST MESSENIA DURING dominant physiographic unit and actually constituted a THE QUATERNARY peninsula connected to the northeast with the rest of The results of the foregoing analysis were further the Peloponnese. This statement conforms with the exploited in order to propose a model of neotectonic claims by Mariolakos et al. (1994a, b). The rest of 422 Constantin Athanassas and Ioannis Fountoulis

Figure 12. Stages of neotectonic and paleogeographic evolution of western Messenia during the Quaternary. With red are faults that were active at each stage.

Quaternary Neotectonic Configuration of the Southwestern Peloponnese, Greece 423 western Messenia was covered by the Ionian Sea. Ab- galiani had become attached to the mainland. Simi- sence of Early Quaternary deposits at sites where bar- larly, the ‘islands’ of Pylos and Raches had become ren limestone rocks outcrop today might indicate that part of the mainland. Proti, Sfaktiria and some smaller these areas were already emerged by the Early Pleis- rocky islets NE of Sfaktiria represented the remaining tocene. Such sites are the islands of Proti and Sfaktiria archipelago. The coastline had moved several km (except for the SE tip of the latter), the limestone oc- westwards, and the Ionian Sea was interacting with the currences at Pylos, the Miocene formations to the Gargaliani-Filiatra fault scarp making the latter the north (“Raches” area in Fig. 12a), as well as the lime- tectonic coastline of the period. The area from Mara- stone hills between Gargaliani and Filiatra, in the mid- thopolis to Filiatra remained inundated, where shallow dle of the area. water sedimentation of sands and marls was taking We can, hence, assume the existence of an an- place, incorporating warm water fauna. This period cient miniarchipelago west of the ‘paleo-peninsula’ of also initiated morphogenetic processes in the area be- Kyparissia Mountains. That archipelago was repre- tween Kyparissia Mountains and Gargaliani-Filiatra sented by the modern islands of Proti, Sfaktiria, some hills. E-W trending faults were controlling the devel- small rocky islands north-east of Sfaktiria as well as a opment of major ravines during that stage (i.e., large elongated island between Gargaliani and Filiatra Lagouvardos, Evaggelistria, Filiatrino). The drainage (perhaps split into smaller islands). Pylos must have network, which formerly was aligned with the Alpine been an island too (Mariolakos et al., 1994a, b). Given structures, acquired its radial pattern during the Mid- that paleogeographic arrangement, we can speculate dle Pleistocene. That period of high sea level ceased the activity of some of the faults we recognize today in soon after 200 ka ago, and was succeeded by cold the area. The large NNW-SSE fault zone between climate conditions and a significant regression which Gargaliani and Filiatra (Fig. 12a) was probably active lasted for 75 000 years (OIS-6). Sea level dropped by in the Lower Quaternary, moving upwards the Alpine 120 m approximately (e.g., Imbrie et al., 1984) expos- background in the form of a tectonic horst. Existence ing large portions of the formerly submarine areas to of other fault zones, transverse to the aforementioned aerial conditions. ones, cannot be excluded. The faults which bound The substantial uplift that had occurred during seawards the Cretaceous and Eocene limestones of the previous stage altered the topography so that the Proti and Sfaktiria were probably active during that rising sea level on the advent of the last interglacial stage too but, as their activity cannot be fully verified, encountered a different paleogeography (Fig. 12c). these faults are represented with dashed lines in During the last interglacial, a large portion of the Fig. 12a. penultimate-interglacial sediments remained emerged, Unfortunately, lack of chronological data for the undergoing erosion under aerial conditions. Topogra- time span between 1.6 Ma–225 ka prevents us from phy had been elevated by 75 m on average. The Ionian reconstructing the intermediate stages of paleo- Sea had abandoned permanently Gargalian-Filiatra geographic evolution. Kourampas and Robertson cliff which has been activated in an entirely terrestrial (2000) attempted to speculate on this vaguely known environment from then on. Many sites remained period, claiming that much of the Quaternary uplift of emerged (e.g., Filiatra) while a few others continued western Messenia occurred during that phase to be inundated (e.g., Marathopolis). Faults continued (Kourampas and Robertson, 2000). to control the development of the drainage network, Next stage in the reconstruction of the neotec- accelerating the elongation of major ravines west- tonic evolution is the transgression at 250 ka ago (Fig. wards. That paleogeography was maintained for an- 12b). During that period paleogeographic configura- other 25 000 years and was then supervened by the tion was still different from present. Local relief was last glacial cycle. Overall sea level fell by 125 m some 100 m lower. The entire area east of Gargaliani (Lambeck, 1996) uncovering extensive areas of the had emerged, exposing the marine sediments to aerial shelf. The drainage network west of Gargaliani un- conditions, while the older limestone ‘island’ of Gar- derwent major development. Major ravines were 424 Constantin Athanassas and Ioannis Fountoulis lengthened westwards by a few more kilometres, the progressively lower towards the north and south ends. development of which was determined by the major This style of differential uplift induces an anticline- E-W active faults. Their flow must have been ad- like structure to the upper crust of western Messenia. vanced on the exposed shelf. Indeed, recent seafloor It is the same faults that determine the course of major surveys (Camera et al., 2008) revealed that Lagouvar- ravines too. It therefore seems, through paleogeogrpa- dos continues undersea and evolves into a canyon on hic reconstructions, that western Messenia does not the outer shelf. Neotectonic processes elevated west- behave as a uniform entity but it consists of individual ern Messenia by at least 40 m on average. Thus, the blocks each having its own kinematic development new transgression at the beginning of the Holocene over the Quaternary. (~12 000 years ago) confronted a coastal geography more or less similar to the modern one. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank M. Triantafyllou (Department of Ge- CAVEAT ology & Geoenvironment, University of Athens, All the above discussion was based on global Greece) for nanoplankton analysis, E. Moraiti (Insti- sea level records that have their origin outside the tute of Geological and Mining Exploration, Greece) Mediterranean Basin. Although the Mediterranean Sea for SEM microscopy on microfauna and A. Zambetaki is nearly landlocked, depths at the straits of Gibraltar (Department of Geology & Geoenvironment, Univer- range between 300–900 m, implying that it has been sity of Athens, Greece) for microfaunal investigations. connected to the Atlantic Ocean since at least the lat- Authors are also thankful to one anonymous reviewer est interglacial-glacial cycles, even during the most for providing feedback on the manuscript. The second extreme sea level minima (e.g., van Andel, 1989; author, Prof. Ioannis Fountoulis passed away shortly Shackleton et al., 1984). Consequently, the Mediter- before the publication of this article. He will be re- ranean Sea must have followed at least the major oce- membered as a distinguished scientist and colleague. anic sea level trends of the Middle–Late Quaternary, maybe with a certain degree of lag in response to the REFERENCES CITED global ice build up. Adamiec, G., Duller, G. A. T., Roberts, H. M., et al., 2010. 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