The Corinth Rift, central Greece, enables analysis of early rift development as it is young (<5 Ma) and highly active and its full history is recorded at high resolution by sedimentary systems. A complete compilation of marine geophysical data, complemented by onshore data, is used to develop a high-resolution chronostratigraphy and detailed fault history for the offshore Corinth Rift, integrating interpretations and reconciling previous discrepancies. Rift migration and localization of deformation have been significant within the rift since inception. Over the last circa 2 Myr the rift transitioned from a spatially complex rift to a uniform asymmetric rift, but this transition did not occur synchronously along strike. Isochore maps at circa 100 kyr intervals illustrate a change in fault polarity within the short interval circa 620-340 ka, characterized by progressive transfer of activity from major south dipping faults to north dipping faults and southward migration of discrete depocenters at~30 m/kyr. Since circa 340 ka there has been localization and linkage of the dominant north dipping border fault system along the southern rift margin, demonstrated by lateral growth of discrete depocenters at~40 m/kyr. A single central depocenter formed by circa 130 ka, indicating full fault linkage. These results indicate that rift localization is progressive (not instantaneous) and can be synchronous once a rift border fault system is established. This study illustrates that development processes within young rifts occur at 100 kyr timescales, including rapid changes in rift symmetry and growth and linkage of major rift faults.

International audienceA multichannel seismic and bathymetry survey of the central and eastern Gulf of Corinth (GoC), Greece, reveals the offshore fault geometry, seismic stratigraphy and basin evolution of one of Earths most active continental rift systems. Active, right-stepping, en-echelon, north- dippingborder faults trendESEalongthesouthernGulf margin, significantlyoverlappingalong strike. The basement offsets of three (Akrata-Derveni, Sithas and Xylocastro) are linked. The faults are biplanar to listric: typically intermediate angle ( ∼35◦ in the centre and 45–48◦ inthe east) near the surface but decreasing in dip and/or intersecting a low- or shallow-angle(15–20◦ in the centre and 19–30◦ in the east) curvi-planar reflector in the basement. Major S-dipping border faults were active along the northern margin of the central Gulf early in the rift history, and remain active in the western Gulf and in the subsidiary Gulf of Lechaio, but unlike the southern border faults, are without major footwall uplift. Much of the eastern rift has a classic half-graben architecture whereas the central rift has a more symmetric w- or u-shape. The narrower and shallower western Gulf that transects the >40-km-thick crust of the Hellenides is associated with a wider distribution of overlapping high-angle normal faults that were formerly active on the Peloponnesus Peninsula. The easternmost sector includes the subsidiary Gulfs of Lechaio and Alkyonides, with major faults and basement structures trending NE, E–W and NW. The basement faults that control the rift architecture formed early in the rift history, with little evidence (other than the Vrachonisida fault along the northernmargin) in the marine data for plan view evolution by subsequent fault linkage. Several have maximum offsets near one end. Crestal collapse graben formed where the hanging wall has pulled off the steeper onto the shallower downdip segment of the Derveni Fault. The dominant strikes of the Corinth rift faults gradually rotate from 090–120◦ in the basement and early rift to 090–100◦ in the latest rift, reflecting a ∼10◦ rotation of the opening direction to the 005◦ presently measured by GPS. The sediments include a (locally > 1.5-km-) thick, early- rift section, and a late-rift section (also locally > 1.5-km-thick) that we subdivide into three sequences and correlate with seven 100-ka glacio-eustatic cycles. The Gulf depocentre has deepened through time (currently > 700 mbsl) as subsidence has outpaced sedimentation. We measure the minimum total horizontal extension across the central and eastern Gulf as varying along strike between 4 and 10 km, and estimate full values of 6–11 km. The rift evolution is strongly influenced by the inherited basement fabric. The regional NNW structural fabric of the Hellenic nappes changes orientation to ESE in the Parnassos terrane, facilitating the focused north-south extension observed offshore there. The basement-penetrating faults lose seismic reflectivity above the 4–14-km-deep seismogenic zone. Multiple generations and d...

The western Hellenic subduction zone (WHSZ) exhibits well‐documented along‐strike variations in lithosphere density (i.e., oceanic versus continental), subduction rates, and overriding plate extension. Differences in slab density are believed to drive deformation rates along the WHSZ; however, this hypothesis has been difficult to test given the limited seismic constraints on the structure of the WHSZ, particularly beneath northern Greece. Here, we present high‐resolution seismic images across northern and southern Greece to constrain the slab composition and mantle wedge geometry along the WHSZ. Data from two temporary arrays deployed across Greece in a northern line (NL) and southern line (SL) are processed using a 2D teleseismic migration algorithm based on the Generalized Radon Transform. Images of P‐ and S‐wave velocity perturbations reveal N60E dipping low‐velocity layers beneath both NL and SL. The ∼8 km thick layer beneath SL is interpreted as subducted oceanic crust while the ∼20 km thick layer beneath NL is interpreted as subducted continental crust. The thickness of subducted continental crust inferred within the upper mantle suggests that ∼10 km of continental crust has accreted to the overriding plate. The relative position of the two subducted crusts implies ∼70–85 km of additional slab retreat in the south relative to the north. Overall, our seismic images are consistent with the hypothesis that faster sinking of the denser, oceanic portion of the slab relative to the continental portion can explain the different rates of slab retreat and deformation in the overriding plate along the WHSZ.

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S U M M A R YThe active Hellenic subduction system has long been considered an ideal setting for studying subduction dynamics because it is easily accessible and of limited spatial extent. It has been the focus of numerous seismological studies over the last few decades but, nonetheless, the detailed structure of both the slab and the surrounding mantle remain poorly constrained in an intermediate depth range from 30 to 150 km. The objective of this paper is to fill this gap. The intermediate depth regime is of particular interest because it is pivotal for improving our understanding of the dynamic interaction between subducting lithosphere and the surrounding mantle. An interdisciplinary effort aimed at addressing this challenge is currently undertaken by the 'Multidisciplinary Experiments for Dynamic Understanding of Subduction under the Aegean Sea' (MEDUSA) project. As part of the MEDUSA initiative, a temporary array consisting of 40 densely spaced broad-band seismometers from the IRIS-PASSCAL pool has been deployed in southern Greece. We process the teleseismic data recorded by this array with a migration algorithm based on the generalized radon transform to obtain high-resolution images of the subduction zone in 2-D. The images reveal a sharp Mohorovičić discontinuity (Moho) at depths ranging from 30 km beneath the western margin of the Aegean Sea to 40 km beneath the central Peloponnesus, where it outlines the crustal root of the Hellenides. To the west of the Hellenides, the continental Moho is not identified, but we interpret a pronounced discontinuity imaged at ∼20 km depth as the contact between low-velocity sediments and high-velocity crystalline basement. The images also show the subducted oceanic crust as a low-velocity layer that plunges at a constant angle of 21 • from west to east. The oceanic crust exhibits low velocities to at least 90 km depth, indicating that the bulk of fluid transfer from the subducted slab into the mantle wedge occurs below this depth. A detailed comparison of images constructed for distinct backazimuthal illuminations reveals deviations in the geometry of the subducted slab. These deviations are attributed to structural and/or compositional changes taking place directly to the north of the MEDUSA array, and are consistent with the existence of a slab tear beneath the Central Hellenic Shear Zone.