AArTe | Aegean to Adria Tectonics

Within the SPP DEFORM and building on the Eastern Adria Tectonics project (EAT), AArTe explores the effects of the transition from collision to subduction on the upper plate, resulting in intense deformation of the whole western Balkans region.

This project aims to develop a multi-disciplinary, integrated understanding of the seismotectonic regime along this diffuse plate boundary by using geologic, geodetic, and seismological data. This area serves as a transition zone between Adria “collisional” convergent margin and the Aegean back-arc extension driven by the retreat of the Hellenic trench, a region marked by significant seismic and tsunami hazard. 

Our multi-disciplinary geological and geophysical observations will be used in conjunction with numerical modelling to distinguish between three main geodynamic models that have been proposed to explain the observed deformation patterns: 1) large-scale rotation of Dinarides-Western Greece caused by the toroidal crustal flow induced by differential trench motion from collision (trench advance) to extension (trench retreat); 2) extensional collapse of the high elevation region towards the lowland Mediterranean region; 3) Westwards propagation of the North Anatolian Fault towards the Kefalonia Transform fault, across the Central Hellenic shear zone.

The goals of the project are to:

• resolve the complex active deformation patterns and kinematics in Macedonia, Albania, and northern-central Greece, including vertical and horizontal motion (including the kinematics of tectonic block rotations).
• analyse the spatiotemporal relationships between different fault systems and how they localize strain.
• investigate how current deformation compares with long-term geological information to understand faulting and strain accumulation in the region.
• build up an updated seismotectonic map of the region instrumental to reconstructing the geodynamic evolution and underpin geohazard assessment of the Adria to Greece region.