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Paleoseismological Trenching across the Atalanti Fault (Central Greece): Evidence for the Ancestors of the 1894 Earthquake during the Middle Ages and Roman Times
Author(s)
Language
English
Obiettivo Specifico
3.2. Tettonica attiva
Status
Published
JCR Journal
JCR Journal
Peer review journal
Yes
Title of the book
Issue/vol(year)
2 / 94 (2004)
Publisher
Seismological Society of America
Pages (printed)
531-549
Issued date
April 2004
Abstract
The Atalanti fault bounds to the southwest the Evoikos Gulf, one of the major extensional basins of central Greece. This fault ruptured during the 1894 earthquakes,
producing at the surface a complex, ca. 30-km-long rupture. Paleoseismological
trenching performed at three sites along this fault provided the first insights on its seismogenic behavior. Unfavorable trench stratigraphy and scarcity of datable
material made the identification and characterization of individual paleoearthquakes quite difficult. However, by integrating paleoseismological, geological, historical, and archaeoseismological data, we defined three surface-faulting earthquakes. The most recent event is the 1894 earthquake; the penultimate occurred during the Middle
Ages between A.D. 770 and 1160, whereas the third event back occurred in Roman times between 50 B.C. and A.D. 230 and is interpreted to be the Opus earthquake of A.D. 105. These results suggest that 1894-type earthquakes repeat each 660–1120 yr. The average minimum slip per event and vertical slip rates are of the order of 45 cm and 0.4–1.6 mm/yr, respectively. These values are in agreement with other geological estimates and with geodetic measurements. Because of the short time elapsed since the 1894 earthquake, the Atalanti fault does not appear to contain an important seismogenic
potential. On the other hand, these results may shed light on the potential of other seismogenic sources threatening the area.
producing at the surface a complex, ca. 30-km-long rupture. Paleoseismological
trenching performed at three sites along this fault provided the first insights on its seismogenic behavior. Unfavorable trench stratigraphy and scarcity of datable
material made the identification and characterization of individual paleoearthquakes quite difficult. However, by integrating paleoseismological, geological, historical, and archaeoseismological data, we defined three surface-faulting earthquakes. The most recent event is the 1894 earthquake; the penultimate occurred during the Middle
Ages between A.D. 770 and 1160, whereas the third event back occurred in Roman times between 50 B.C. and A.D. 230 and is interpreted to be the Opus earthquake of A.D. 105. These results suggest that 1894-type earthquakes repeat each 660–1120 yr. The average minimum slip per event and vertical slip rates are of the order of 45 cm and 0.4–1.6 mm/yr, respectively. These values are in agreement with other geological estimates and with geodetic measurements. Because of the short time elapsed since the 1894 earthquake, the Atalanti fault does not appear to contain an important seismogenic
potential. On the other hand, these results may shed light on the potential of other seismogenic sources threatening the area.
References
Albini, P. (2000). Una rilettura dei forti terremoti del 20 e 27 Aprile 1894
nella Locride (Grecia centrale), in G.N.G.T.S. XIX National Congress
Extended Abstracts Volume, 7–9 November, Roma (in Italian), 190–
191.
Ambraseys, N. N., and J. A. Jackson (1990). Seismicity and associated
strain of central Greece between 1890 and 1988, Geophys. J. Int. 101,
no. 3, 663–708.
Ambraseys, N. N., and D. White (1997). The seismiciy of the eastern Mediterranean
region 550–1 B.C.: a reappraisal, J. Earthquake Eng. 1,
603–632.
Bourchier, W. C. (1894). Sketches for the Illustrated London News, 2 June,
vol. 54, no. 2876, p. 692.
Bousquet, B., and P.Y. Pechoux (1977). La se´ismicite´ du bassin Egeen
pendant l’Antiquite´: me´thodologie et premiers resultats, Bull. de la
Soc. Ge´ol. de France 19, no. 3, 679–684.
Clarke, P. J., R. R. Davies, P. C. England, B. Parsons, H. Billiris, D. Paradissis,
G. Veis, P. A. Cross, P. H. Denys, V. Ashkenazi, R. Bingley,
H.-G. Kahle, M.-V. Muller, and P. Briole (1998). Crustal strain in
central Greece from repeated GPS measurements in the interval 1989–
1997, Geophys. J. Int. 135, 195–214.
Cundy, A. B., S. Kortekaas, T. Dewez, I. S. Stewart, I. W. Croudace, H.
Maroukian, D. Papanastassiou, K. Gaki-Papanastassiou, K. Pavlopoulos,
and A. Dawson (2000). Coastal impacts of the 1894 Gulf of
Atalanti earthquakes, central Greece, Marine Geology Spec. Publ.
170, 3–26.
Dakoronia, Ph. (1996). Earthquakes of the Late Helladic III period (12th
century B.C.) at Kynos (Livanates, central Greece), in Archaeoseismology,
British School of Archaeology at Athens, Fitch Laboratory
Occasional Paper 7, 41–44.
Davison, C. (1894). M. Papavasiliore on the Greek earthquakes of April
1894, Nature 1303, no. 50, 607.
Evangelatou-Notara, F. (1993). Earthquakes in Byzantinum from the 13th
to the 15th century; historical examination, Parousia 24, 179 pp.,
Athens (in Greek).
Gaki-Papanastassiou, K., H. Maroukian, D. Papanastassiou, N. Palyvos,
and F. Lemeille (2001). Geomorphological study in the Lokrian coast
of N. Evoikos Gulf (central Greece) and evidence of palaeoseimic
destructions, in 36th CIESM Congress, Monaco, September, 25.
Ganas, A. (1997). Fault segmentation and seismic hazard assessment in the
Gulf of Evia rift, central Greece, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Reading,
United Kingdom, 368 pp.
Ganas, A., and V. A. Buck (1998). A model for the tectonic subsidence of
the Allai archaeological site, Lokris, central Greece, Bull. Geol. Soc.
Greece 32, no. 1, 181–187.
Ganas, A., G. P. Roberts, and T. Memou (1998). Segment boundaries, the
1894 ruptures and strain patterns along the Atalanti fault, central
Greece, J. Geodyn. 26, no. 2–4, 461–486.
Guidoboni, E., A. Comastri, and G. Traina (1994). Catalogue of Ancient
Earthquakes in the Mediterranean Area up to the 10th Century, Istituto
Nazionale di Geofisica, Rome, 504 pp.
Institute of Geology and Mineral Exploration (IGME) (1989). Seismotectonic
map of Greece, scale 1:500.000, IGME, Athens.
Lemeille, F. (1977). Etudes ne´otectoniques en Gre`ce centrale nord-orientale
(Eube´e centrale, Attique, Be´otie, Locride) et dans les Sporades du
Nord (ıˆle de Skiros), in The`se de Troisie`me Cycle, Universite´ Paris
XI, Centre Orsay, 173 pp. (in French).
Makropoulos, K. C., and V. Kouskouna (1994). The 1894 April 20 and 27
Atalanti earthquakes: 100 years after—lessons learnt, in Proc. and
Activity Report of the 1992–94 XXIV European Seismological Commission,
Vol. 1, 61–71, 19–24 September, Athens, Greece.
Mitsopoulos, K. (1894). Die Erdbeben von Theben und Lokris in der Jahren
1893 und 1894, Abdruck aus Dr. A. Petermanns Geogr. Mitteilungen
10, 1–11 (in German).
Mitsopoulos, K. (1895). The Mega-Earthquake of Lokris in April 1894,
Ethnikon Typografeion, Athens, 40 pp. (in Greek).
Niemi, T. (1990) Paleoenvironmental history of submerged ruins on the
northern Euboan gulf coastal plain, central Greece, Geoarchaeology
5, no. 4, 323–347.
Palyvos, N. (2001). Geomorpological study of the broader Atalanti area,
Ph.D. Thesis, University of Athens, 234 pp. (in Greek).
Pantosti D., P. M. De Martini, D. Papanastassiou, N. Palyvos, F. Lemeille,
and G. Stavrakakis (2001). A reappraisal of the 1894 Atalanti earthquake
surface ruptures, central Greece, Bull. Seism. Soc. Am. 91, 760–
780.
Papavassiliou, A. (1894a). Sur le tremblement de terre de Locride (Gre`ce)
du mois d’ avril 1894, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris 19, 112–114 (in French).
Papavassiliou, A. (1894b). Sur la nature de la grande crevasse produite a`
la suite du dernier tremblement de terre de Locride, C. R. Acad. Sci.
Paris 19, 380–381 (in French).
Papazachos, B. C., and C. B. Papazachou (1997). The Earthquakes of
Greece, P. Ziti, Thessaloniki, Greece, 159–304 (in Greek).
Philip, H. (1974). Etude ne´otectonique des rivages ege´ens en Locride et en
Eube´e nord-occidentale (Gre`ce), in The`se de Troisie`me Cycle, Acade
´mie de Montpellier, Universite´ des Sciences et Techniques du Languedoc,
103 pp. (in French).
Philippson, A. (1894). Das dies jahrige Erdeben in Lokris, Zeitschrift Ges.
Erdkunde zu Berlin 21, 332–334 (in German).
Pirazzoli, P., S. Stiros, M. Arnold, J. Laborel, and F. Laborel-Deguen
(1999). Late Holocene coseismic vertical displacements and Tsunami
deposits near Kynos, Gulf of Euboa, central Greece, Phys. Chem.
Earth 24, no. 4, 361–367.
Roberts, S., and J. Jackson (1991). Active normal faulting in central Greece:
an overview, in The Geometry of Normal Faults, A. M. Roberts, G.
Yielding, and B. Freeman (Editors), Geological Society Sp. Publ. 56,
125–142.
Rondogianni, Th. (1984). Etude neotectonique des rivages occidentaux du
canal d’Atalanti (Gre`ce centrale), in The`se de Troisie`me Cycle, Univ.
Paris XI, 190 pp. (in French).
Skouphos, T. (1894). Die swei grossen Erdbeben in Lokris am 8/20 und
15/27 April 1894, Zeitschrift Ges. Erdkunde zu Berlin 24, 409–474
(in German).
Stiros, S. C., and P. A. Pirazzoli. (1995). Palaeoseismic studies in Greece:
a review, Quatern. Int. 25, 57–63.
Stuiver, M., P. J. Reimer, E. Bard, J. W. Beck, G. S. Burr, K. A. Hughen,
B. Kromer, F. G. McCormac, J. van der Plicht, and M. Spurk (1998a).
INTCAL98 Radiocarbon age calibration 24,000–0 cal BP, Radiocarbon
40, 1041–1083.
Stuiver, M., P. J. Reimer, and T. F. Braziunas (1998b). High-precision
radiocarbon age calibration for terrestrial and marine samples, Radiocarbon
40, 1127–1151.
Wells, D. L., and K. J. Coppersmith (1994). New empirical relationships
among magnitude, rupture length, rupture width, rupture area, and
surface displacement, Bull. Seism. Soc. Am. 84, 974–1002.
nella Locride (Grecia centrale), in G.N.G.T.S. XIX National Congress
Extended Abstracts Volume, 7–9 November, Roma (in Italian), 190–
191.
Ambraseys, N. N., and J. A. Jackson (1990). Seismicity and associated
strain of central Greece between 1890 and 1988, Geophys. J. Int. 101,
no. 3, 663–708.
Ambraseys, N. N., and D. White (1997). The seismiciy of the eastern Mediterranean
region 550–1 B.C.: a reappraisal, J. Earthquake Eng. 1,
603–632.
Bourchier, W. C. (1894). Sketches for the Illustrated London News, 2 June,
vol. 54, no. 2876, p. 692.
Bousquet, B., and P.Y. Pechoux (1977). La se´ismicite´ du bassin Egeen
pendant l’Antiquite´: me´thodologie et premiers resultats, Bull. de la
Soc. Ge´ol. de France 19, no. 3, 679–684.
Clarke, P. J., R. R. Davies, P. C. England, B. Parsons, H. Billiris, D. Paradissis,
G. Veis, P. A. Cross, P. H. Denys, V. Ashkenazi, R. Bingley,
H.-G. Kahle, M.-V. Muller, and P. Briole (1998). Crustal strain in
central Greece from repeated GPS measurements in the interval 1989–
1997, Geophys. J. Int. 135, 195–214.
Cundy, A. B., S. Kortekaas, T. Dewez, I. S. Stewart, I. W. Croudace, H.
Maroukian, D. Papanastassiou, K. Gaki-Papanastassiou, K. Pavlopoulos,
and A. Dawson (2000). Coastal impacts of the 1894 Gulf of
Atalanti earthquakes, central Greece, Marine Geology Spec. Publ.
170, 3–26.
Dakoronia, Ph. (1996). Earthquakes of the Late Helladic III period (12th
century B.C.) at Kynos (Livanates, central Greece), in Archaeoseismology,
British School of Archaeology at Athens, Fitch Laboratory
Occasional Paper 7, 41–44.
Davison, C. (1894). M. Papavasiliore on the Greek earthquakes of April
1894, Nature 1303, no. 50, 607.
Evangelatou-Notara, F. (1993). Earthquakes in Byzantinum from the 13th
to the 15th century; historical examination, Parousia 24, 179 pp.,
Athens (in Greek).
Gaki-Papanastassiou, K., H. Maroukian, D. Papanastassiou, N. Palyvos,
and F. Lemeille (2001). Geomorphological study in the Lokrian coast
of N. Evoikos Gulf (central Greece) and evidence of palaeoseimic
destructions, in 36th CIESM Congress, Monaco, September, 25.
Ganas, A. (1997). Fault segmentation and seismic hazard assessment in the
Gulf of Evia rift, central Greece, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Reading,
United Kingdom, 368 pp.
Ganas, A., and V. A. Buck (1998). A model for the tectonic subsidence of
the Allai archaeological site, Lokris, central Greece, Bull. Geol. Soc.
Greece 32, no. 1, 181–187.
Ganas, A., G. P. Roberts, and T. Memou (1998). Segment boundaries, the
1894 ruptures and strain patterns along the Atalanti fault, central
Greece, J. Geodyn. 26, no. 2–4, 461–486.
Guidoboni, E., A. Comastri, and G. Traina (1994). Catalogue of Ancient
Earthquakes in the Mediterranean Area up to the 10th Century, Istituto
Nazionale di Geofisica, Rome, 504 pp.
Institute of Geology and Mineral Exploration (IGME) (1989). Seismotectonic
map of Greece, scale 1:500.000, IGME, Athens.
Lemeille, F. (1977). Etudes ne´otectoniques en Gre`ce centrale nord-orientale
(Eube´e centrale, Attique, Be´otie, Locride) et dans les Sporades du
Nord (ıˆle de Skiros), in The`se de Troisie`me Cycle, Universite´ Paris
XI, Centre Orsay, 173 pp. (in French).
Makropoulos, K. C., and V. Kouskouna (1994). The 1894 April 20 and 27
Atalanti earthquakes: 100 years after—lessons learnt, in Proc. and
Activity Report of the 1992–94 XXIV European Seismological Commission,
Vol. 1, 61–71, 19–24 September, Athens, Greece.
Mitsopoulos, K. (1894). Die Erdbeben von Theben und Lokris in der Jahren
1893 und 1894, Abdruck aus Dr. A. Petermanns Geogr. Mitteilungen
10, 1–11 (in German).
Mitsopoulos, K. (1895). The Mega-Earthquake of Lokris in April 1894,
Ethnikon Typografeion, Athens, 40 pp. (in Greek).
Niemi, T. (1990) Paleoenvironmental history of submerged ruins on the
northern Euboan gulf coastal plain, central Greece, Geoarchaeology
5, no. 4, 323–347.
Palyvos, N. (2001). Geomorpological study of the broader Atalanti area,
Ph.D. Thesis, University of Athens, 234 pp. (in Greek).
Pantosti D., P. M. De Martini, D. Papanastassiou, N. Palyvos, F. Lemeille,
and G. Stavrakakis (2001). A reappraisal of the 1894 Atalanti earthquake
surface ruptures, central Greece, Bull. Seism. Soc. Am. 91, 760–
780.
Papavassiliou, A. (1894a). Sur le tremblement de terre de Locride (Gre`ce)
du mois d’ avril 1894, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris 19, 112–114 (in French).
Papavassiliou, A. (1894b). Sur la nature de la grande crevasse produite a`
la suite du dernier tremblement de terre de Locride, C. R. Acad. Sci.
Paris 19, 380–381 (in French).
Papazachos, B. C., and C. B. Papazachou (1997). The Earthquakes of
Greece, P. Ziti, Thessaloniki, Greece, 159–304 (in Greek).
Philip, H. (1974). Etude ne´otectonique des rivages ege´ens en Locride et en
Eube´e nord-occidentale (Gre`ce), in The`se de Troisie`me Cycle, Acade
´mie de Montpellier, Universite´ des Sciences et Techniques du Languedoc,
103 pp. (in French).
Philippson, A. (1894). Das dies jahrige Erdeben in Lokris, Zeitschrift Ges.
Erdkunde zu Berlin 21, 332–334 (in German).
Pirazzoli, P., S. Stiros, M. Arnold, J. Laborel, and F. Laborel-Deguen
(1999). Late Holocene coseismic vertical displacements and Tsunami
deposits near Kynos, Gulf of Euboa, central Greece, Phys. Chem.
Earth 24, no. 4, 361–367.
Roberts, S., and J. Jackson (1991). Active normal faulting in central Greece:
an overview, in The Geometry of Normal Faults, A. M. Roberts, G.
Yielding, and B. Freeman (Editors), Geological Society Sp. Publ. 56,
125–142.
Rondogianni, Th. (1984). Etude neotectonique des rivages occidentaux du
canal d’Atalanti (Gre`ce centrale), in The`se de Troisie`me Cycle, Univ.
Paris XI, 190 pp. (in French).
Skouphos, T. (1894). Die swei grossen Erdbeben in Lokris am 8/20 und
15/27 April 1894, Zeitschrift Ges. Erdkunde zu Berlin 24, 409–474
(in German).
Stiros, S. C., and P. A. Pirazzoli. (1995). Palaeoseismic studies in Greece:
a review, Quatern. Int. 25, 57–63.
Stuiver, M., P. J. Reimer, E. Bard, J. W. Beck, G. S. Burr, K. A. Hughen,
B. Kromer, F. G. McCormac, J. van der Plicht, and M. Spurk (1998a).
INTCAL98 Radiocarbon age calibration 24,000–0 cal BP, Radiocarbon
40, 1041–1083.
Stuiver, M., P. J. Reimer, and T. F. Braziunas (1998b). High-precision
radiocarbon age calibration for terrestrial and marine samples, Radiocarbon
40, 1127–1151.
Wells, D. L., and K. J. Coppersmith (1994). New empirical relationships
among magnitude, rupture length, rupture width, rupture area, and
surface displacement, Bull. Seism. Soc. Am. 84, 974–1002.
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