Detailing the stress pattern in the area of central Ionian Islands

Abstract

The Kefalonia Transform Fault Zone (KTFZ) is the most seismically active area in the Mediterranean and consists of two major branches, the Lefkada fault segment to the north and the Kefalonia fault segment to the south. KTFZ acts as an active boundary between the subduction zone of the remnants of the oceanic lithosphere of the Eastern Mediterranean that subducts under the Aegean microplate to the south and the continental collision between the Eurasian plate and the Adriatic Microplate to the north. The tectonic activity in the region is reflected in the rapid crustal deformation rates of the region and subsequently the frequent occurrence of strong earthquakes (Mw>6.0) that occurred during both the historical and instrumental era of seismology. Those strong earthquakes and their temporal distribution can be explained due to stress transfer between closely located fault segments (Papadimitriou, 2002) and as such, studying those stress interactions is an integral part of understanding the long-term tectonic loading in the region.