Tectonic uplift in the forearc of the Hellenic subduction zone from topographic surveying and 36Cl exposure dating of marine terraces on Crete

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Ralf Hetzel
• Subject Area: Palaeontology
• Term: from 2007 to 2012
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 48616152

Flights of marine terraces – which result from the interaction between rising coastal areas and the fluctuating Quaternary sea level – provide important information on the tectonic deformation at subduction zones. On the island of Crete in the forearc of the Hellenic subduction zone, Late Holocene shorelines were previously used to estimate spatially variable rates of tectonic uplift associated with strong earthquakes. If these uplift rates are representative on longer timescales is still unknown. Information on long-term uplift rates is, however, contained in older marine terraces of Pleistocene age, which have received little attention so far and have not been dated. This pilot study aims to constrain the tectonic uplift rate of eastern Crete, where a series of wave-cut platforms of Pleistocene age is particularly well developed in massive limestones. A detailed topographic survey of the marine platforms combined with 36Cl surface exposure dating will allow (1) to correlate these terraces with Quaternary sea-level highstands and (2) to quantify the long-term uplift rate along the eastern coast of Crete. If successful, this approach could be widely applied to better constrain rates of uplift at the coasts of the eastern Mediterranean region, where abundant Mesozoic limestones are uplifted along active fault systems.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants