Analyzing rapid, high resolution active rift processes in the Corinth Rift, Greece
Dr. Lisa McNeill
Professor – University of Southampton
Host: Dr. Jessica Whiteside
Wednesday, November 8, 2023
1 pm – CSL 422 (speaker will be virtual)
or via zoom
Abstract
The Corinth Rift, Greece, is one of the most active rifts in the world and a key example of the early rift phase. The rift has been examined onshore in terms of rift sedimentology, active faulting and geomorphology, and offshore from a vast network of seismic reflection data and, now, from a scientific ocean drilling expedition, IODP 381. The high rates of extension, subsidence and sedimentation provide an unrivalled high resolution temporal record of development of the rift, activity of its fault network, and of how tectonics, sea level and climate control the sedimentary flux into the basin and the paleoenvironment of the basin. The relatively small scale of the rift, the extent of data and the closed sedimentary system also provide ultra-high spatial resolution of whole rift evolution. The basin sits close to sea level so it oscillates between a connected marine basin in interglacial periods and an isolated non-marine basin in glacial periods. It records a complex changing environment as these modes fluctuate and records the changing Quaternary climate and vegetation surrounding the basin.