PIF2024 - ESTUDIO SISMICO CORTICAL DEL MARGEN CONTINENTAL DEL PELOPONESO E ISLAS JONICAS (PID2023-150502NB-I00)

Western Greece, particularly the western Peloponnese and Ionian Islands, is one of Europe's most seismically active regions due to the Eurasia-Africa plate convergence. The Kefalonia Transform Fault (KTF) is a primary source of large earthquakes (Mw > 6) in this region. Despite extensive data analysis, a lack of offshore tectonic imaging creates uncertainties about seismogenic structures. Historical events, like the 1953 Kephalonia earthquake, highlight these uncertainties, emphasizing the need for better offshore structural characterization. Traditional models link regional geodynamics to the Hellenic subduction system, implying a clear subduction interface beneath Peloponnese and the Ionian Islands. However, POSEIDON 2023 seismic data challenge this model, revealing a lack of clear subduction interfaces and suggesting a more complex seismotectonic framework. The PhD project related to ODISSEY (Peloponnese and Ionian Island continental margin seismic study) aims to address these challenges by acquiring wide-angle seismic (WAS) and multichannel seismic (MCS) offshore data to investigate the continental margin structure off the Ionian Islands and Peloponnese (see attached map). Using travel-time tomography, the PhD candidate will provide new insights into the crustal nature of the margin and examine the elastic properties of rocks around major seismogenic faults like the KTF. Results will be essential for accurate assessmet of the tsunamigenic potential of the area.