The milos island earthquake of March 20, 1992 and its tectonic significance

An earthquake sequence took place on March 20, 1992, in Milos island (Greece) and lasted for about ten days. The main shock registered a magnitudeM _s =5.3 and a depth of 9.6 km. The majority of the events were shallower than 5 km. Theb value of the sequence (b=0.96) is characteristic for tectonic rather than volcanic activity. Geological, tectonic and seismological observations show that in the island of Milos the seismic energy is mainly released along fault zones. Minor swarm activity was also detected.Recent seismic activity is due to the reactivation of the tectonic graben which traverses the central part of the island in NW-SE trend.