A gravity network in central Greece for secular gravity studies

The Sterea Hellas (central Greece) gravity network was remeasured in 1982, with the addition of 40 new stations. There were no statistically significant gravity differences for most of the gravity stations first established in 1968, but four stations—Arta, Preveza, Levadia, and Kymi—exhibited gravity changes of –121, –74, –39, and –67 gal, respectively.In the absence of repeat levelling, the exact amount of vertical displacement cannot be determined. Nevertheless, for Arta and Preveza some theoretical estimates can be made from shallow seismicity data. The vertical displacement deduced from a seismic-moment calculation for the western part of Greece was found to be about 100 mm, corresponding to a slip rate of approximately 7.5 mm/yr. The corresponding gravity change is too small to account fully for that observed at Arta and Preveza. For the rest, other causes, such as creep, should be considered. For the stations Kymi and Levadia the local seismicity is limited, and no calculation was made of the vertical displacement related to earthquakes.Finally, the possibilities in using the central Greece gravity network for studies of earthquake prediction are discussed.