Seismicity of the Earth 1900‒2013 Mediterranean Sea and vicinity

Matthew W. Herman; Gavin P. Hayes; Gregory M. Smoczyk; Rebecca Turner; Bethan Turner; Jennifer Jenkins; Sian Davies; Amy Parker; Allison Sinclair; Harley M. Benz; Kevin P. Furlong; Antonio Villaseñor

doi:10.3133/ofr20101083Q

Seismicity of the Earth 1900‒2013 Mediterranean Sea and vicinity

Open-File Report 2010-1083-Q

By: Matthew W. Herman, Gavin P. Hayes, Gregory M. Smoczyk, Rebecca Turner, Bethan Turner, Jennifer Jenkins, Sian Davies, Amy Parker, Allison Sinclair, Harley M. Benz, Kevin P. Furlong, and Antonio Villaseñor

https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20101083Q

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Document: Report (78.1 MB pdf)
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Abstract

The Mediterranean region is seismically active due to the convergence of the Africa Plate with the Eurasia plate. Present day Africa-Eurasia motion ranges from ~4 millimeters per year (mm/yr) in a northwest-southeast direction in the western Mediterranean to ~10 mm/yr (north-south) in the eastern Mediterranean. The Africa-Eurasia plate boundary is complex, and includes extensional and translational zones in addition to the dominant convergent regimes characterized by subduction and continental collision. This convergence began at approximately 50 million years ago and was associated with the closure of the Tethys Sea; the Mediterranean Sea is all that remains of the Tethys. The highest rates of seismicity in the Mediterranean region are found along the Hellenic subduction zone of southern Greece and the North Anatolian Fault Zone of northwestern Turkey, but significant rates of current seismicity and large historical earthquakes have occurred throughout the region spanning the Mediterranean Sea.

Suggested Citation

Herman, M.W., Hayes, G.P., Smoczyk, G.M., Turner, Rebecca, Turner, Bethan, Jenkins, Jennifer, Davies, Sian, Parker, Amy, Sinclair, Allison, Benz, H.M., Furlong, K.P., and Villaseñor, Antonio, 2015, Seismicity of the Earth 1900–2013, Mediterranean Sea and vicinity: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2010–1083-Q, scale 1:10,000,000, http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20101083Q.

ISSN: 2331-1258 (online)

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Additional publication details
Publication type	Report
Publication Subtype	USGS Numbered Series
Title	Seismicity of the Earth 1900‒2013 Mediterranean Sea and vicinity
Series title	Open-File Report
Series number	2010-1083
Chapter	Q
DOI	10.3133/ofr20101083Q
Year Published	2015
Language	English
Publisher	U.S. Geological Survey
Publisher location	Reston, VA
Contributing office(s)	Geologic Hazards Science Center
Description	1 p.
Online Only (Y/N)	Y
Additional Online Files (Y/N)	N
Google Analytic Metrics	Metrics page