Palaeomagnetism in Greece: Cenozoic and Mesozoic components and their geodynamic implications

Abstract

An important number of palaeomagnetic data have been obtained in Greece during the last 20 years. These data can be schematically divided into two groups according to their age. When plate movements are fairly well constrained, the Cenozoic provides a dense network of palaeomagnetic directions. The general pattern displays eastward declinations broadly distributed over a large distance — from the Ionian islands to the western Greek Rhodope — and westward declinations, less accurately constrained in space and time, in the Southern and Eastern Aegean and in Western Anatolia. Emphasis is given to the evaluation of this dataset by comparing it with new concepts of the regional tectonics. In the Mesozoic–Palaeozoic, more scarcely covered, reliable information is provided about latitudinal movements, resulting in a suggested palaeolatitude of 15–20°N for almost all studied areas. A model proposing prevailing counterclockwise rotations in the internal Hellenides and strong clockwise rotations for the external Hellenides appears plausible. Finally, issues for future research are outlined. For example, Mio-Pliocene formations from Central Greece, the Pindos ophiolites and Palaeocene–Upper Cretaceous data should receive further attention.