Active tectonics of the Hellenic subduction zone

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiii

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Beth Shaw

   Pages 1-5

3. The AD 365 Earthquake: Large Tsunamigenic Earthquakes in the Hellenic Trench

   • Beth Shaw

   Pages 7-28

4. Earthquakes in the Eastern Mediterranean

   • Beth Shaw

   Pages 29-66

5. Radiometric Dating of Uplifted Marine Fauna in Crete and Central Greece

   • Beth Shaw

   Pages 67-88

6. Geomorphology

   • Beth Shaw

   Pages 89-111

7. Conclusions

   • Beth Shaw

   Pages 113-115

8. Earthquake Tables

   • Beth Shaw

   Pages 117-126

9. Waveform-Modelled Solutions

   • Beth Shaw

   Pages 127-150

10. Field Sites

    • Beth Shaw

    Pages 151-165

11. Kinematic GPS River Profiles from Crete

    • Beth Shaw

    Pages 167-169

This thesis is remarkable for the wide range of the techniques and observations used and for its insights, which cross several disciplines. It begins by solving a famous puzzle of the ancient world, which is what was responsible for the tsunami that destroyed settlements in the eastern Mediterranean in 365 AD. By radiocarbon dating of preserved marine organisms, Shaw demonstrates that the whole of western Crete was lifted out of the sea by up to 10 meters in a massive earthquake at that time, which occured on a previously unknown fault. The author shows that the resulting tsunami would have the characteristics described by ancient writers, and uses modern GPS measurements and coastline geomorphology to show that the strain build-up near Crete requires such a tsunami-earthquake about every 6.000 years - a major insight into Mediterranean tsunami hazard. A detailed seismological study of earthquakes in the Cretan arc over the last 50 years reveals other important features of its behaviour that were previously unknown. Finally, she provides fundamental insights into the limitations of radiocarbon dating marine organisms, relating to how they secrete carbon into their skeletons. The thesis resulted in three major papers in top journals.

• structural geology

• , St. John's College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom

  Beth Shaw

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