Deep-water sediment transport patterns and basin floor topography in early rift basins: Plio-Pleistocene syn-rift of the Corinth Rift,Greece

Our current understanding on sedimentary deep-water environments is mainly built of information obtained from tectonic settings such as passive margins and foreland basins. More observations from extensional settings are particularly needed in order to better constrain the role of active tectonics in controlling sediment pathways, depositional style and stratigraphic stacking patterns. This study focuses on the evolution of a Plio-Pleistocene deep-water sedimentary system (Rethi-Dendro Formation) and its relation to structural activity in the Amphithea fault block in the Corinth Rift, Greece. The Corinth Rift is an active extensional basin in the early stages of rift evolution, providing perfect opportunities for the study of early deep-water syn-rift deposits that are usually eroded from the rift shoulders due to erosion in mature basins like the Red Sea, North Sea and the Atlantic rifted margin. The depocentre is located at the exit of a structurally controlled sediment fairway, approximately 15 km from its main sediment source and 12 km basinwards from the basin margin coastline. Fieldwork, augmented by digital outcrop techniques (LiDAR and photogrammetry) and clast-count compositional analysis allowed identification of 16 stratigraphic units that are grouped into six types of depositional elements: A—mudstone-dominated sheets, B—conglomerate-dominated lobes, C—conglomerate channel belts and sandstone sheets, D—sandstone channel belts, E—sandstone-dominated broad shallow lobes, F—sandstone-dominated sheets with broad shallow channels. The formation represents an axial system sourced by a hinterland-fed Mavro delta, with minor contributions from a transverse system of conglomerate-dominated lobes sourced from intrabasinal highs. The results of clast compositional analysis enable precise attribution for the different sediment sources to the deep-water system and their link to other stratigraphic units in the area. Structures in the Amphithea fault block played a major role in controlling the location and orientation of sedimentary systems by modifying basin-floor gradients due to a combination of hangingwall tilt, displacement of faults internal to the depocentre and folding on top of blind growing faults. Fault activity also promoted large-scale subaqueous landslides and eventual uplift of the whole fault block.     

An investigation of the active tectonics in central-eastern mainland Greece with imaging and decomposition of topographic and aeromagnetic data

We report the results of a joint analysis of aeromagnetic, topographic and tectonic data in central-eastern mainland Greece. The emphasis of the analysis is placed on the detection of coherent lineations (discontinuities), collocated and correlated with faulting structures detected by geological field observation. To this effect, edge detection and image enhancement were applied to digital aeromagnetic anomaly maps and digital elevation models, comprising bidirectional differentiation, wavelet transformation (imaging) and spatial decomposition/reconstruction in the wavenumber domain. The analysis facilitated the detection of significant topographic lineaments with NNE–SSW, ENE–WSW and ESE–WNW orientations. Respectively, the aeromagnetic data exhibit two families of significant NE–SW, and one family of ESE–WNW lineaments. The major aeromagnetic and topographic lineaments coincide and have comparable width scales of the order of 2–3 km, indicating that they are produced by significant discontinuities in the upper crust. The kinematics of the NE–SW faults varies between oblique-slip and strike-slip. These faults affect Neogene to Late Quaternary deposits and have been responsible for the formation of transverse depressions and horsts. This is also corroborated by focal plane solutions from small earthquakes recorded by local networks. The nature of these structures is not yet clear. However, they have been detected by diverse methodologies, they have considerable extent and are apparently active. These attributes suggest that they may possibly be related to the propagation and diffusion of the North Anatolian and North Aegean fault systems into the Greek mainland.     

Validation of satellite rainfall products over Greece

Six widely available satellite precipitation products were extensively validated and intercompared on monthly-to-seasonal timescales and various spatial scales, for the period 1998–2006, using a dense station network over Greece. Satellite products were divided into three groups according to their spatial resolution. The first group had high spatial (0.5°) resolution and consists only of Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) products: the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) precipitation product (3A12) and the TRMM multisatellite precipitation analysis products (3B42 and 3B43). The second group comprised products with medium spatial (1°) resolution. These products included the TRMM 3B42 and 3B43 estimates (remapped to 1° resolution) and the Global Precipitation Climatology Project one-degree daily (GPCP-1DD) analysis. The third group consisted of low spatial (2.5°) resolution products and included the 3B43 product (remapped to 2.5° resolution), the GPCP Satellite and Gauge (GPCP-SG) product, and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Prediction Center (NOAA-CPC) Merged Analysis (CMAP). Rain gauge data were first gridded and then compared with monthly and seasonal precipitation totals as well as with long-term averages of the six satellite products at different spatial resolutions (2.5°, 1°, and 0.5°). The results demonstrated the excellent performance of the 3B43 product over Greece in all three spatial scales. 3B42 from the first and second group and CMAP from the third exhibited a reasonable skill.     

Classifying convective and stratiform rain using multispectral infrared Meteosat Second Generation satellite data

This paper investigates the potential for developing schemes that classify convective and stratiform precipitation areas using the high infrared spectral resolution of the Meteosat Second Generation—Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (MSG-SEVIRI). Two different classification schemes were proposed that use the brightness temperature (BT) Τ _10.8 along with the brightness temperature differences (BTDs) Τ _10.8–Τ _12.1, Τ _8.7–Τ _10.8, and Τ _6.2–Τ _10.8 as spectral parameters, which provide information about cloud parameters. The first is a common multispectral thresholding scheme used to partition the space of the spectral cloud parameters and the second is an algorithm based on the probability of convective rain (PCR) for each pixel of the satellite data. Both schemes were calibrated using as a reference convective\stratiform rain classification fields derived from 87 stations in Greece for six rainy days with high convective activity. As a result, one single infrared technique (TB₁₀) and two multidimensional techniques (BTD_all and PCR) were constructed and evaluated against an independent sample of rain gauge data for four daily convective precipitation events. It was found that the introduction of BTDs as additional information to a technique works in improving the discrimination of convective from stratiform rainy pixels compared to the single infrared technique BT₁₀. During the training phase, BTD_all performed slightly better than BT₁₀ while PCR technique outperformed both threshold techniques. All techniques clearly overestimate the convective rain occurrences detected by the rain gauge network. When evaluating against the independent dataset, both threshold techniques exhibited the same performance with that of the dependent dataset whereas the PCR technique showed a notable skill degradation. As a result, BTD_all performed best followed at a short distance by PCR and BT₁₀. These findings showed that it is possible to apply a convective/stratiform rain classification algorithm based on the enhanced infrared spectral resolution of MSG-SEVIRI, for nowcasting or climate purposes, despite the highly variable nature of convective precipitation.     

Trend analysis of air temperature time series in Greece and their relationship with circulation using surface and satellite data: 1955–2001

Summary In this study, trends of annual and seasonal surface air temperature time series were examined for 20 stations in Greece for the period 1955–2001, and satellite data for the period 1980–2001. Two statistical tests based on the least square method and one based on the Mann-Kendall test, which is also capable of detecting the starting year of possible climatic discontinuities or changes, were used for the analysis. Greece, in general, shows a cooling trend in winter for the period 1955–2001, whereas, summer shows an overall warming trend, however, neither is statistically significant. As a result, the overall trend of the annual values is nearly zero. Comparison with corresponding trends in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) shows that temperatures in Greece do not follow the intense warming trends. Satellite data indicate a remarkable warming trend in mean annual, winter and summer in Greece for the period 1980–2001, and a slight warming trend in annual, spring and autumn for the NH. Comparison with the respective trends detected in the surface air temperature for the same period (1980–2001) shows they match each other quite well in both Greece and the NH. The relationship between temperature variability in Greece and atmospheric circulation was also examined using correlation analysis with three circulation indices: the well-known North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAOI), a Mediterranean Oscillation Index (MOI) and a new Mediterranean Circulation Index (MCI). The MOI and MCI indices show the most interesting correlation with winter temperatures in Greece. The behaviour of pressure and the height of the 500hPa surface over the Mediterranean region supports these results.     

Trend analysis of precipitation time series in Greece and their relationship with circulation using surface and satellite data: 1955–2001

Summary In this study, the trends of annual and seasonal precipitation time series were examined on the basis of measurements of 22 surface stations in Greece for the period 1955–2001, and satellite data during the period 1980–2001. For this purpose, two statistical tests based on the least square method and one based on the Mann-Kendall test, which is also capable of detecting the starting year of possible climatic discontinuities or changes, are applied. Greece, in general, presents a clear significant downward trend in annual precipitation for the period 1955–2001, which is determined by the respective decreasing trend in winter precipitation. Both winter and annual series exhibit a downward trend with a starting year being 1984. Satellite-derived precipitation time series could be an alternative means for diagnosing the variability of precipitation in Greece and detecting trends provided that they have been adjusted by surface measurements in the wider area of interest. The relationship between precipitation variability in Greece and atmospheric circulation was also examined using correlation analysis with three circulation indices: the well-known North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAOI), a Mediterranean Oscillation Index (MOI) and a new Mediterranean Circulation Index (MCI). NAOI is the index that presented the most interesting correlation with winter, summer and annual precipitation in Greece, whereas the MOI and MCI were found to explain a significant proportion of annual and summer precipitation variability, respectively. The observed downward trend in winter and annual precipitation in Greece is linked mainly to a rising trend in the hemispheric circulation modes of the NAO, which are connected with the Mediterranean Oscillation Index.     

Transverse fault zones of subtle geomorphic signature in northern Evia island (central Greece extensional province): An introduction to the Quaternary Nileas graben

Reconnaissance level geomorphological observations in the northern part of Evia (Euboea) Island, suggest that a major topographic feature, the 17 km long and 15 km wide Nileas depression (NDpr), corresponds to a previously undetected graben structure, bounded by fault zones of ENE–WSW to NE–SW general strike. These fault zones have been active in the Quaternary, since they affect the Neogene deposits of the Limni–Histiaia basin. They strike transverse to the NW–SE active fault zones that bound northern Evia in the specific area and are characterised along most of their length by subtle geomorphic signatures in areas of extensive forest cover and poor exposure.The NDpr was formed during the Early–Middle Quaternary, after the deposition of the Neogene basin fill. During the Middle–Late Quaternary, the NW–SE fault zones that bound northern Evia have been the main active structures, truncating and uplifting the NDpr to a perched position in relation to the northern Gulf of Evia graben and the submarine basin on the Aegean side of the island. The present-day morphology of the NDpr, with an interior (floor) comprised of Middle Pleistocene erosional surfaces extensively dissected by drainages, was shaped by erosion during this uplift. Judging from their geomorphic signatures, the fault zones that bound the NDpr must have been characterised by low or very low rates of activity during the Late Quaternary. Yet, that they may still be accommodating strain today is suggested by moderate earthquakes that have been recorded within the NDpr.The fault zone at the SE flank of the NDpr (Prokopi–Pelion fault zone) may be very important in terms of earthquake segmentation of the active NW–SE Dirfys fault zone that controls the Aegean coast of northern Evia, given that the intersection between the two presents striking morpho-structural similarities with the intersection of two fault zones with the same directions on the mainland (the Atalanti and Hyampolis fault zones), which is known to have acted as a barrier to the propagation of the Atalanti earthquake ruptures in 1894.     

Trend analysis of air temperature time series in Greece and their relationship with circulation using surface and satellite data: recent trends and an update to 2013

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - In this paper, the surface and lower tropospheric temperature trends in Greece and their relationship to the atmospheric circulation for the period...     

A warm season climatology of mesoscale convective systems in the Mediterranean basin using satellite data

A 3-year climatology of isolated warm season mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) was built for the Mediterranean basin using Meteosat Second Generation infrared imagery and an objective identification and tracking algorithm. A dataset of 4,718 MCS trajectories was constructed for the warm season of the period 2005–2007, which in turn was split into two subsets (deep and weak convective) according to the intensity of convection using a discriminant parameter in the MCS properties. Several parameters related to geographical, temporal, radiative, morphological, and motion related properties were calculated for each MCS. The majority of MCSs are mainly continental and strongly correlated with orography showing an increased formation from April to June when maximum is found. Initiation and dissipation time revealed a distinct diurnal cycle having a strong correlation with the typical diurnal heating cycle of the atmosphere. On average, a typical isolated MCS in the Mediterranean basin initiates between 14:00 and 17:00 local solar time, tends to be small with elongated shape, short-lived, usually moving toward northeast to southeast with a mean velocity of 36 km/h. When comparing the two MCS subsets, some notable differences were revealed. Weak convective MCSs initiate earlier, move faster, travel longer, tend to reach slightly smaller sizes, are more linear, present higher cloud top temperatures, and have lower fractions of convective cloud type areas than deep convective systems.