Ionian Islands Research Articles

Design, Implementation and Testing of a Network-Based Earthquake Early Warning System in Greece

In this study we implemented and tested the Earthquake Early Warning system PRESTo (PRobabilistic and Evolutionary early warning System, Satriano et al., 2011) on the Greek Ionian islands of Lefkada, Zakynthos and Kefalonia. PRESTo is a free and open source platform for regional Earthquake Early Warning developed at the University of Naples Federico II, which is currently under experimentation in Southern Italy, in the area covered by the Irpinia Seismic Network. The three Ionian islands selected for this study are located on the North-Western part of the Hellenic trench. Here the seismicity rate and the seismic hazard, coupled with the vulnerability of existing critical infrastructures, make this region among the highest seismic risk areas in Europe, where the application of Earthquake Early Warning systems may become a useful strategy to mitigate the potential damage caused by earthquakes. Here we studied the feasibility of implementing an Earthquake Early Warning system on an existing seismic network, which was not specifically made for earthquake early warning purposes, and evaluated the performance of the system, using a data set of real-earthquake recordings. We first describe the technical details of the implementation of PRESTo in the area of interest, including the preliminary parameter configuration and the empirical scaling relationship calibration. Then we evaluated the performance of the system through the off-line analysis of a database of real earthquake records belonging to the most recent M > 4.0 earthquakes occurred in the area. We evaluated the performance in terms of source parameter estimation (location, magnitude), accuracy of ground shaking prediction and lead-time analysis. Finally, we show the preliminary results of the real-time application of PRESTo, performed during the period 01–31 July 2019.

Geographical origin discrimination of "Ntopia" olive oil cultivar from Ionian islands using volatile compounds analysis and computational statistics.

The aim of the present study was to characterize the aroma profile of olive oil of the “Ntopia” (local) cultivar from the Ionian islands (Zakynthos, Kefalonia, Leukada, and Kerkyra) (Greece), and investigate whether specific volatile compounds could be considered as indicators of olive oil geographical origin, using computational statistics. In this context, 137 olive oil samples were subjected to headspace solid phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography/mass spectrometry using the internal standard method. Computational statistics on the semi-quantitative data of olive oil samples, as rapid machine learning algorithms, showed that specific volatile compounds could be used as indicators of geographical origin of olive oil of the “Ntopia” cultivar, among the four main Ionian islands. Volatile compounds such as ethanol, pentanal, 2,4-dimethylheptane, 3,7-dimethyl-1,3,6-octatriene (E), 2,5-dimethylnonane, 1-hexanol, 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one, octanal, dl-Limonene, acetic acid hexyl ester and dodecane could aid to the geographical origin discrimination of “Ntopia” olive oil cultivar when two (Zakynthos and Kefalonia) or four (Zakynthos, Kefalonia, Leukada and Kerkyra) Ionian islands are subjected to statistical analysis. The discrimination rate using the cross-validation method was 100% and 85.7%, respectively. These results were further evaluated using training and holdout partitions, during which a comparable classification rate was obtained.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00217-021-03863-2.

Revisiting the Most Destructive Earthquake Sequence in the Recent History of Greece: Environmental Effects Induced by the 9, 11 and 12 August 1953 Ionian Sea Earthquakes

The August 1953 seismic sequence comprised the most destructive events in the recent history of Greece. The mainshock on 12 August, and its foreshocks on 9 and 11 August, devastated the southern Ionian Islands. The existing literature emphasized the destructive effects of the earthquakes on buildings, as well as to the emergency response and recovery actions. This resulted in a large gap in capturing the full picture of the earthquake’s environmental effects. The present study aims to fill this gap by reconstructing the most complete picture possible of the primary and secondary effects on the environment of the southern Ionian Islands by the August 1953 earthquakes. This reconstruction is based on all available sources, comprising not only the existing scientific literature, but especially sources that have not been considered to date, including newspapers of local and national circulation. In total, 120 cases of the earthquake’s environmental effects were identified, comprised of 33 cases of primary and 87 cases of secondary effects. In descending order of occurrence, slope failures, co-seismic uplift, hydrological anomalies, ground cracks, tsunami, liquefaction, dust clouds, hydrocarbon-related phenomena, jumping stones and vegetation effects were distributed mainly in Cephalonia Island and secondarily in the Ithaki and Zakythos Islands. The primary effects were mainly detected in eastern Cephalonia, which presented uplift of up to 70 cm, while the majority of the secondary effects were triggered in specific zones with characteristics that made them susceptible to the occurrence of earthquake-related hazards.

Life after Venice

Konstantina Zanou's book could have been calledAfter Venice. It traces the disintegration of the Venetian Adriatic world, through an interlude of alternative empires – French, Austrian, British, and Russian – to an era of nations, or, as she often puts it, nation-states, with special attention to the Ionian islands, or those born there, wherever they then spent their lives. She tells this tale by attending to the concerns of individuals who spanned this space, often by moving through it, but also through the work of the imagination. She offers us a rich, humane, and reflective account.

The Mediterranean Napoleonic Crisis That Did Not End and Got Tongues Wagging

Konstantina Zanou's Transnational patriotism in the Mediterranean starts with the raucous last carnival in Serenissima Venice in 1797 and ends with a café brawl in British Corfu in 1853. Let's just admit it: Zanou is not really drawn to settling subjects. Most of the people encapsulated in the pages of her book remembered the Venetian empire as it partied its way to demise, and almost all of them watched the Napoleonic wars throw their Ionian islands back and forth between Russian, French, British, Ottoman, and Habsburg imperial guardianship. This dizzying experience set her characters loose, leading most of them to disperse around the Mediterranean and much of Europe, looking for a way to make a Greek home out of these imperial fractures.

Near-Fault Broadband Ground Motion Simulation Applications at the Central Ionian Islands, Greece

Near-Fault Broadband Ground Motion Simulation Applications at the Central Ionian Islands, Greece

The Military Status of the Ionian Islands in 1589 based on the Report by Giovanni Battista del Monte

The Military Status of the Ionian Islands in 1589 based on the Report by Giovanni Battista del Monte

Quality Evaluation of Winery By-Products from Ionian Islands Grape Varieties in the Concept of Circular Bioeconomy

The aim of this work was the study and evaluation of winery by-products in the framework of the circular bioeconomy. Grape seeds and grape skins from Greek Ionian Islands varieties were analyzed in an attempt to provide the appropriate basis for model development of their sustainable exploitation at a local or regional level. The by-products were collected directly from the wineries immediately after the vinification process and were analyzed by chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques. In addition, annual production and yields were estimated. Grape seed oil quality was evaluated based on fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) composition. The grape skins’ phenolic fraction was extracted by an eco-friendly, nontoxic water-glycerol solvent system and was detected qualitatively. In addition, total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant activity (ABTS, DPPH) were measured. Based on estimated yields, our results demonstrate that winery by-products have the potential to promote the cyclical bioeconomy in a modern economic growth model that will reduce by-products and environmental costs as they can be reused as whole material in foods, dietary supplements, cosmetic ingredients, food colorants, and preservatives.

Conservation of Micromeria browiczii (Lamiaceae), Endemic to Zakynthos Island (Ionian Islands, Greece).

The massive decline in biodiversity due to anthropogenic threats has led to the emergence of conservation as one of the central goals in modern biology. Conservation strategies are urgently needed for addressing the ongoing loss of plant diversity. The Mediterranean basin, and especially the Mediterranean islands, host numerous rare and threatened plants in need of urgent conservation actions. In this study, we assess the current conservation status of Micromeria browiczii, a local endemic to Zakynthos Island (Ionian Islands, Greece), and estimate its future risk of extinction by compiling and assessing scientific information on geographical distribution, population dynamics and reproductive biology. The population size and the geographical distribution of the species were monitored for five years. The current population of the species consists of 15 subpopulations. Considerable annual fluctuation of population size was detected. The species is assessed as Endangered according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature threat categories. According to population viability analysis results, its extinction risk was estimated to be 5.6% over the next 50 years, when six of the fifteen subpopulations (40%) might become extinct. The investigation of certain aspects of the species’ biology yielded important data necessary to identify critical aspects for its survival and to propose conservation measures.

Further distributional records of Lethocerus patruelis (Stål, 1854) (Heteroptera: Belostomatidae) in Greece

Although the Indo-Eastern Mediterranean giant water bug Lethocerus patruelis (Stål, 1854) is Europe’s largest hemipteran and aquatic insect, its distribution in Greece has remained poorly understood. Only a handful of records exists from the Ionian Islands, Macedonia, Thrace, and isolated observations in Preveza (Epirus), Achaia (north-western Peloponnese) and the islands of Rhodes and Thasos. Using records from personal observations, biomonitoring data, online arthropod identification groups and museum collections, we expand the distribution knowledge of this species to Aetolia-Acarnania, Thessaly, southern Peloponnese, Samothraki, North Sporades and the Cyclades. We also include a large number of new localities in areas within its previously known range.

Alien and invasive terrestrial vertebrate species on Corfu, Ionian Islands, Greece

The Ionian Island of Corfu is rich in both species and habitats, but is also under pressure from heavy tourism, substantial water abstraction, and increased development, all of which have caused both loss and fragmentation of habitats. In addition, invasive alien species (IAS) constitute a global problem and may cause substantial problems for indigenous wildlife, especially on islands. To be able to successfully control IAS it is important to identify them, report their status, and raise awareness as early as possible. Here we present the status of ten alien species reported from Corfu, four of which are considered as invasive, the coypu (Myocastor coypus), the raccoon (Procyon lotor), the Siberian chipmunk (Tamias sibiricus), and the American pond slider (Trachemys scripta). Measures required as outlined by the EU Working Group on Invasive Alien Species are briefly discussed.

The GPS velocity field of the Aegean. New observations, contribution of the earthquakes, crustal blocks model

SUMMARY We calculate and analyse the coordinate time-series of 282 permanent GPS stations located in Greece and 47 in surrounding countries. The studied period is 2000–2020. The average GPS time-series length is 6.5 yr. The formal velocity uncertainties are rescaled to be consistent with the velocity scatters measured at 110 pairs of stations separated by less 15 km. We remove the effect of the crustal earthquakes of Mw ≥ 5.3. We quantify and model the post-seismic deformations. Two relaxation times are usually needed: one short of some weeks and one long of 1 yr or more. For the large Mw = 6.9 events of Samothraki 2014 and Methoni 2008, the post-seismic deformation equals or exceeds the coseismic one. We detect at three stations a deformation transient in May 2018 that may correspond to a slow earthquake beneath Zakynthos and northwest Peloponnese, with equivalent magnitude 5.8. The density and accuracy of the velocities make it possible to better quantify several characteristics of the deformation in the Aegean, in particular: (i) the transition from the Anatolian domain, located in the southeast, to the European domain through the western end of the North Anatolian fault; (ii) the north–south extension in the western Aegean; (iii) the east–west extension of the western Peloponnese; (iv) the clockwise rotation of the Pindos; (v) the north–south extension in central Macedonia. Large parts of the central Aegean, eastern Peloponnese and western Crete form a wide stable domain with internal deformation below 2 nstrain yr−1. We build a kinematic model comprising 10 crustal blocks corresponding to areas where the velocities present homogeneous gradients. The blocks boundaries are set to fit with known localized deformation zones, for example, the rift of Corinth, the North Anatolian fault and the Katouna fault. When the velocity steps are clear but not localized, for example, through the Peloponnese, the boundary line is arbitrary and represents the transition zone. The model fits the velocities with a root-mean-square deviation of ±0.9 mm yr−1. At the boundaries between blocks we compare the predicted and observed deformations. We find shear rates of 7.4 and 9.0 mm yr−1 along the Movri and Katouna faults, 14.9 and 8.7 mm yr−1 along the North Anatolian fault near Lemnos and near Skopelos respectively, extension of 7.6, 1.5 and 12.6 mm yr−1 across the Gulf of Patras, the Trichonis Lake and the Ambracian Gulf. The compression across western Epirus is 3.7 mm yr−1. There is a dextral transtensional movement of 4.5 mm yr−1 between the Amorgos and Astypalea islands. Only the Ionian Islands region shows evidence of coupling along the subduction interface.

European Officers and the Mainland Irregular Forces on the Ionian Islands, 1798–1814: A Comparison of Command and Tactics

In the era of the Napoleonic wars, the Ionian Islands off the western coasts of Greece and southern Albania became a base of operations and an area of conflict in the Mediterranean in the years 1797–1814. In that period, Republican French, Russian, Imperial French, and British forces successively occupied these Greek-populated islands, formerly Venetian possessions. Each of these powers attempted to establish a nominally independent "Septinsular Republic" under their protectorate. There were efforts by all of these powers to organize native armed forces, some raised from among refugees from the mainland-bandits (klephtes), former Ottoman irregulars (armatoloi), and clansmen from the autonomous regions of Himara, Souli, and Mani. Although these refugee warriors were skilled in the use of weapons-flintlock firearms, sabres and yataghans-they fought and were organized according to traditions and methods that were different and considered "obsolete" in early nineteenth century Europe. This study will look into the organization, training and command of these troops by Russian, French, and British officers. It will study the successes and failures of these officers in forming these native warriors into regular or semi-regular forces. It will also examine how the attitudes and activities of these officers helped to develop the armed forces of the Greek War of Independence, 1821–1830. Keywords: Napoleonic wars, Ionian Islands, armatoloi and klephtes, military forces

Conservation biology of threatened Mediterranean chasmophytes: The case of Asperula naufraga endemic to Zakynthos island (Ionian islands, Greece).

Asperula naufraga is a rare and threatened obligate chasmophyte, endemic to Zakynthos island (Ionian islands, Greece). In this study, we provide a combined approach (including monitoring of demographic and reproductive parameters and study of genetic diversity) to assess the current conservation status of the species and to estimate its future extinction risk. The five subpopulations of A. naufraga were monitored for five years (2014–2018). Population size markedly fluctuated between 68–130 mature individuals during the monitoring period. The extent of occurrence (EOO) was estimated at 28.7 km2 and the area of occupancy (AOO) was 8 km2. Stage-structure recordings were similar for all subpopulations, characterized by high proportions of adult and senescent individuals, following a common pattern, which has been observed in other cliff-dwelling plants. Preliminary genetic analysis with SSRs markers revealed low heterozygosity within subpopulations and significant departure from H-W equilibrium, which combined with small population size suggest increased threat of genetic diversity loss. Our results indicate that the species should be placed in the Critically Endangered (CR) IUCN threat category, while according to Population Viability Analysis results its extinction risk increases to 47.8% in the next 50 years. The small population size combined with large fluctuations in its size, low recruitment and low genetic diversity, indicate the need of undertaking effective in situ and ex situ conservation measures.

Ιdentification of spatiotemporal seismicity clusters in central Ionian Islands (Greece)

The spatiotemporal evolution of seismicity of an accurately relocated earthquake catalog in the central Ionian Islands, Greece, is explored, by the systematic identification of the earthquake clusters over the period September 2016–December 2019. Manual waveform phase picking was the input for the relocation leading to 13,632 earthquakes that compose a data set with a completeness magnitude as low as Mc = 1.5. The clustering procedure engages a temporal stochastic point process, the Markovian Arrival Process (MAP), for an initial separation of the background seismicity from potential seismic excitations, using the changes in the seismicity rate and a density-based clustering algorithm, DBSCAN, for the detection of elevated spatial density areas. A high concentration of temporally persistent clusters is identified along the western coastline of Lefkada Island, in the parallel step-over faults between the two major fault branches of the Kefalonia Transform Fault Zone and in the Myrtos Gulf area in Kefalonia, which are spatially correlated to the positive static stress changes induced by the coseismic slip of the Mw6.5 November 17, 2015 Lefkada main shock. The method presented remarkable potential in the identification of clusters in 3-D space along with the seismicity migration during the temporal evolution of seismic sequences. Multiple secondary faults of the Kefalonia segment can be revealed and the dominant triggering mechanisms can be illuminated contributing towards the understanding of the regional faulting properties and mechanics, an outcome that cannot be achieved solely by studying the large earthquakes, due to their rarity. The temporal and spatial clustering properties of microseismicity shed light on the preparation phase of the large earthquakes as being part of this process, thus contributing to the seismic hazard assessment.

Characteristics of Recent Aftershocks Sequences (2014, 2015, 2018) Derived from New Seismological and Geodetic Data on the Ionian Islands, Greece

In 2014–2018, four strong earthquakes occurred in the Ionian Sea, Greece. After these events, a rich aftershock sequence followed. More analytically, according to the manual solutions of the National Observatory of Athens, the first event occurred on 26 January 2014 in Cephalonia Island with magnitude ML = 5.8, followed by another in the same region on 3 February 2014 with magnitude ML = 5.7. The third event occurred on 17 November 2015, ML = 6.0 in Lefkas Island and the last on 25 October 2018, ML = 6.6 in Zakynthos Island. The first three of these earthquakes caused moderate structural damages, mainly in houses and produced particular unrest to the local population. This work determines a seismic moment tensor for both large and intermediate magnitude earthquakes (M > 4.0). Geodetic data from permanent GPS stations were analyzed to investigate the displacement due to the earthquakes.

Communicating COVID-19 Uncertainty: Lessons from the Past

This article examines the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic in the era of the risk society. It employs literature-based analysis and study of legal sources. The first part of the article presents the crucial role of communicating information during a pandemic and the role of WHO in the area of infectious diseases. Confidence, public trust, and public involvement are according to Urlich Beck critical for the acceptance of risk related policies. This article, through the paradigm of a pandemic of the past, (the case of the bubonic plague in Ionian islands), argues how crucial is the communication of the uncertainties, the involvement of the public and the information networks. Furthermore, it supports that during the covid-19 crisis, health risk communication and management of the crisis were not sufficient. Some of the reasons were: the unclearance of the message transmitted, limited public and community participation in the decision making process and in shaping the health policy, crisis of public confidence, inadequacy of implemented policies, e.t.c. It concludes that collective and just solution, harmonized global action, access to information, international solidarity, and the involvement of the locals are of paramount importance.

1821, Before and After

1821, Before and After Yanni Kotsonis (bio) The title of the original call for papers for this special section, “1821 in 2021,” called into question the idea of a single year as both a beginning and an end. The era did not begin in 1821 when the Greek Revolution broke out, but had a prehistory; it did not end in 1830 when the Greek state was established, but set in motion dynamics of belonging and exclusion that are still with us. At the same time, the Greek Revolution was not only a Greek affair: it had roots in, and then reverberated across, a wider region. These are the two themes, temporal and spatial, that emerge from the four articles that survived the rigors of the review process. They beckon towards other large themes that will no doubt be under discussion during the anniversary year. I review some of them here. Where was Greece before there was a Greece? We should not forget that Greece and the Greek Revolution incubated, necessarily, in countries not called Greece, subjects of something other than a Greek sovereign or an independent Greek state. Elisavet Papalexopoulou writes of women translators who used a Greek language and helped consolidate its literary use, spread out over various countries to which they owed their allegiance but still able to represent themselves as part of a Greek community. What would today be an awkward mix of loyalties was at the time quite normal, since state loyalty and national consciousness were not coterminous. Studying translators from before the Revolution, Papalexopoulou shows Greece to be a transimperial affair (it was too soon to say “transnational,” the nation-state being too new and exceptional), with subjects of one or another king or emperor forging links that cut across geopolitical boundaries. If it was a blurry situation, it was not abnormal. The translators studied by Papalexopoulou used a language that had no state—excepting the Ionian Islands when they became a statelet under Russian protection, where Greek was declared the official language in documents written in Venetian Italian (Zanou 2019). These literary activists created a vibrant world of letters that would, ultimately, go looking for a state. Why Greeks decided that they needed a state, and why at that moment, is still an open question and the answer is not obvious. To put it another way, why did at least some Greeks [End Page vii] conclude that being Greek in one or another empire or kingdom, a condition that allowed them to flourish, was inadequate? Nor was the Revolution and its prehistory simply a male affair, and a focus on the odd woman fighter like Bouboulina will not do. The problem here is not simply that women must have been doing something during the Revolution, even if it was not fighting; more broadly, we tend to assume that the Greeks (as opposed to the Rum) were the ones who took up arms, and in the practice of independent Greece the paternal line determined the citizenship of the offspring (Vogli 2007). But many more took up pens and very many of them were women. Surely this was fundamental to the nurturing of a language, a consciousness, and a generation of people who would style themselves as Greek, and it was the precondition for the Revolution that followed. That these women were mainly translators is in keeping with a sense of feminine propriety and humility whereby a woman could transmit someone else’s words but not craft her own, eliding the fact that translation is itself a creative process. Papalexopoulou invites us to consider the imperial spaces in which the new consciousness was being cultivated. This brings us to the empires, and the new imperial intersections and encounters, that began in 1797 with the arrival of the French Republic off the Balkan coasts and made the southern Balkans a contested space. Somehow, the encounter between Greeks as Rum and Γκραι-κοί (Graiki, one kind of imperial Greek), and Greeks as Grecs, греки, and Greeks (another kind of imperial Greek) produced something new: Hellenes and Hellas. The novelty of the concept and the timing of the uprising remain strangely and deeply unexplained: it is still generally assumed that Greeks had...

Митрополит Филадельфийский Гавриил, Паоло Сарпи и проект «Церкви Венеции»

The article studies a little-known episode of an important stage in the history of the Republic of Venice – the formation of national church identity and the codification of the experience of state-confessional relations accumulated here over centuries. Two protagonists of this period – the Orthodox Metropolitan Gavriil Seviros and the Catholic monk Paolo Sarpi united in opposition to the Holy See and in an attempt to create an independent Venetian Church. Events had been developing against the background of a long confrontation between Venice and the Holy See, the so-called “War of the Interdict”, which began with the fact that Pope Paul V excommunicated the republic for its independent position in church matters. An unrealized project, which had as its model the Orthodox state and the Church, is a unique example of the assimilation of the Eastern tradition by one of the famous Western theologians – Paolo Sarpi. His cooperation with Metropolitan Gavriil in protecting the Greeks from the influence of Rome was clearly manifested during a trial of 1610, two documents of which are first published in Russian in the appendix to the article. Thanks to Gavriil’s authority, the See of the Metropolitan of Philadelphia became prestigious, his title as Patriarchal Exarch in Venice gave him access to the Doge’s palace, and his status as the head of the Orthodox of Dalmatia and the Ionian Islands was subsequently twice confirmed by the patriarchs of Constantinople.

Arse-Saguntum, la ciudad de los dos nombres

One of the most notable features of ancient Sagunto (Valencia) is its toponymic duality, especially remarkable in coin legends from the 130s BCE onwards, which is an exceptional fact for Hispania Citerior, in both qualitative and quantitative terms. Both toponyms, Arse and Saguntum, are not simultaneously attested in other sources: they are virtually absent in Republican epigraphy and literature only mentions the second one, in diverse variants. This paper analyses the data relative to this double toponymy in order to historically contextualize this phenomenon, linking it with the Latinization of the city and its explicit movements towards Rome during the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE, a process that we propose to articulate in four main milestones, according to the preserved documents. Besides, this paper offers an explanation to the prevalence of the toponym Saguntum (of local origin and possibly referred to the port) regarding Arse (also local and referred to the city), independent from the elaboration of the foundational myth that links the Iberian settlement with the Ionian island of Zacynthos, since it is very likely that this legend was not created until the 1st century BCE