Paleoseismological investigations of Aegean-type active faults in mainland Greece and their implications

In this article, paleoseismological studies carried out in the Aegean region during the past decade, mainly on faults occurring in mainland Greece, are reconsidered and their results re-evaluated. We focus on active normal faults and particularly on the principal seismotectonic parameters, such as the coseismic displacement associated with past events and the lengths of the seismogenic structures. Based on new field observations, existing data, and several assumptions, we attempt to calculate the maximum seismic moment possibly associated with past earthquakes and documented from paleoseismological studies. These seismic moments are compared with those estimated from historical earthquakes for which both maximum vertical displacement and surface rupture lengths are known. Similarities and differences of the two data sets are discussed, and we show that paleoseismologically calculated magnitudes and displacements per event appear to be systematically underestimated in the Aegean region, as is their seismic potential. For selected faults, we also obtained reliable values of the recurrence interval of moderate to large earthquakes and estimates of the slip rate.