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

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