ACTIVE TECTONICS OF THE AEGEAN REGION

Until recently, estimates of the rates and styles of deformation in the eastern Mediterranean came from arguments based on seismicity, geology, and geomorphology. These motions can now be measured directly by space-based geodetic techniques. This review summarizes these new techniques, the extent to which early geodetic results are compatible with the nongeodetic estimates, and the insight these studies give into the question of what controls the overall deformation of the continental lithosphere. Much of the paper is concerned with the relation between the velocity field and the faulting, and with what that says about the interaction between the upper crust and the creeping lithosphere beneath it. It is probable that the structural anisotropy of the upper crust influences the direction in which faults form or become reactivated, and that the overall velocity field may adjust with time in order to keep these faults active as they and the blocks they bound rotate. The mechanical anisotropy of the lithosphere may not be restricted to the upper crust, where it is most visible and obvious, but may extend into the mantle lithosphere as well. -from Author