Did the A.D. 365 Crete earthquake/tsunami trigger synchronous giant turbidity currents in the Mediterranean Sea?

Abstract

Research Article| March 01, 2016 Did the A.D. 365 Crete earthquake/tsunami trigger synchronous giant turbidity currents in the Mediterranean Sea? Alina Polonia; Alina Polonia 1ISMAR-CNR (Istituto di Scienze Marine, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche), Via Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Stefano Claudio Vaiani; Stefano Claudio Vaiani 2Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, University of Bologna, Via Zamboni 67, 40127 Bologna, Italy Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Gert J. de Lange Gert J. de Lange 3Department of Earth Sciences–Geochemistry, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Princetonplein 9, 3584 CD Utrecht, Netherlands Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Alina Polonia 1ISMAR-CNR (Istituto di Scienze Marine, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche), Via Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy Stefano Claudio Vaiani 2Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, University of Bologna, Via Zamboni 67, 40127 Bologna, Italy Gert J. de Lange 3Department of Earth Sciences–Geochemistry, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Princetonplein 9, 3584 CD Utrecht, Netherlands *E-mails: alina.polonia@ismar.cnr.it; stefano.vaiani@unibo.it; g.j.delange@uu.nl Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 06 Nov 2015 Revision Received: 08 Jan 2016 Accepted: 13 Jan 2016 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online Issn: 1943-2682 Print Issn: 0091-7613 © 2016 Geological Society of America Geology (2016) 44 (3): 191–194. https://doi.org/10.1130/G37486.1 Article history Received: 06 Nov 2015 Revision Received: 08 Jan 2016 Accepted: 13 Jan 2016 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Alina Polonia, Stefano Claudio Vaiani, Gert J. de Lange; Did the A.D. 365 Crete earthquake/tsunami trigger synchronous giant turbidity currents in the Mediterranean Sea?. Geology 2016;; 44 (3): 191–194. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G37486.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract In the Ionian Sea, one of the most seismically active regions in the Mediterranean, subduction is commonly associated with uplift of coastal mountains, enhanced erosion, and seismic activity along the Calabrian Arc and Hellenic Arc, thus potentially resulting in repetitive mass failures. Some of the turbidites observed in the deep basins are thick and prominent on seismic records because of the acoustic transparency of their upper structureless mud layer. Our high-resolution study of the most recent of these megabeds, the homogenite Augias turbidite (HAT), provides key proxies to identify pelagic sediments deposited following the catastrophic causative event. Radiometric dating in an area >150,000 km2 indicates that the different Mediterranean so-called homogenite deposits are in fact synchronous and were deposited during a single basin-wide event within the time window A.D. 364–415. Unlike interpretations that relate this turbidite to different triggering events, including the Santorini caldera collapse, the turbidite can be traced back to a large tsunami sourced from the A.D. 365 Crete megathrust earthquake. Correlation of the single-event HAT over a wide area of the Mediterranean, from the northern Ionian Sea to the Mediterranean Ridge and the anoxic Tyro Basin south of Crete, suggests that the A.D. 365 Crete earthquake and tsunami must have produced devastating effects, including widespread massive sediment remobilization in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.