Abstract
The Calabrian and Hellenic subduction systems accommodate the African Eurasian plate convergence in the Mediterranean Sea and are the site of large earthquakes in the forearc region facing the northern African coasts. Some of the historical earthquakes were associated with the generation of tsunami waves affecting the entire Mediterranean basin. We investigated the submarine effects of the AD 365 Crete earthquake on the sedimentary records through the integrated analysis of geophysical data, turbidite deposits, and tsunami modelling.
Seismic reflection images show that some turbidite beds are thick and marked by acoustic transparent layers at their top. Radiometric dating of the most recent of such mega-beds, the Homogenite/Augias turbidite (HAT), provide evidence for synchronous basin-wide sedimentation during a catastrophic event which has occurred in the time window of AD 364–415, consistent with the AD 365 Mw = 8.3–8.5 Crete earthquake/tsunamis. The HAT (up to 25 m thick) contains components from different sources, implying remobilization of material from areas very far from the epicentre. Utilizing the expanded stratigraphy of the HAT and the heterogeneity of the sediment sources of the Mediterranean margins, we reconstructed the relative contribution of the Italian, Maltan and African margins to the turbidite deposition. Our sedimentological reconstructions combined with tsunami modelling suggest that the tsunami following the Crete earthquake produced giant turbidity currents along a front over 2000 km long, from northern Africa to Italy. Our cores suggests that during the last 15,000 years, only two similar turbidites have been deposited in the deep basins, pointing to a large recurrence time of such extreme sedimentary events.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Kastens, K.A., Cita, M.B.: Tsunami-induced sediment transport in the abyssal Mediterranean Sea. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 92(I), 845–857 (1981)
Maramai, A., et al.: The Euro-mediterranean tsunami catalogue. Ann. Geophys. v.57, 4 (2014)
Polonia, A., et al.: Turbidite paleoseismology in the Calabrian arc subduction complex (Ionian Sea). Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. 14, 112–140 (2013a)
Polonia, A., et al.: Mediterranean megaturbidite triggered by the AD 365 Crete earthquake and tsunami. Scientific Reports, 3. Article number 1285 (2013b). https://doi.org/10.1038/srep01285
Polonia, A., et al.: Did the AD 365 Crete earthquake/tsunami trigger synchronous giant turbidity currents in the Mediterranean Sea? Geology (2016). https://doi.org/10.1130/G37486.1
Polonia, A., Nelson, H.C., Romano, S., Vaiani, S.C., Colizza, E., Gasparotto, G., Gasperini, L.: A depositional model of seismoturbidites in confined basins based on Ionian Sea deposits. Mar. Geol. 384, 177–198, ISSN 0025-3227, (2017). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2016.05.010
Polonia, A., Bonetti, C., Bonetti, J., Çağatay, M.N., Gallerani, A., Gasperini, L., Nelson, C.H., Romano, S.: Deciphering coseismic sedimentary processes in the Mediterranean Sea using elemental, organic carbon and isotopic data. Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. (2021). https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GC009446
Shaw, B., et al.: Eastern Mediterranean tectonics and tsunami hazard inferred from the AD 365 earthquake. Nat. Geosci. 1, 268–276 (2008)
Stiros, S.C.: The 8.5+ magnitude, AD365 earthquake in Crete: coastal uplift, topography changes, archaeological and historical signature. Quatern. Int. v. 216, 1, 54–63 (2010)
Tinti, S., et al.: Scenarios of giant tsunamis of tectonic origin in the Mediterranean. ISET J. Earthq. Technol. 42(4), 171–188 (2005)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
Polonia, A. et al. (2022). The AD 365 Crete Earthquake/Tsunami Submarine Impact on the Mediterranean Region. In: Meghraoui, M., et al. Advances in Geophysics, Tectonics and Petroleum Geosciences. CAJG 2019. Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73026-0_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73026-0_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-73025-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-73026-0
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)