Island Of Samos Research Articles

Scaling properties of the Mw7.0 Samos (Greece), 2020 aftershock sequence

On October 30, 2020, a strong and shallow earthquake (Mw = 7.0) hit Samos, an island on the eastern edge of the Aegean Sea (Greece). The epicenter was located on the north offshore of the Greek island of Samos. The goal of our work is to provide a first analysis of the scaling properties observed in the aftershock sequence as reported until December 31, 2020, as numerous seismic clusters activated. Our analysis is focused on the main of the clusters observed in the East area of the activated fault zone and strongly related with the mainshock’s fault. The aftershock sequence follows the Omori law with a value of p ≈ 1.01 for the main cluster which is remarkably close to a logarithmic evolution. The analysis of interevent times distribution, based on non-extensive statistical physics indicates a system in an anomalous equilibrium with a crossover from anomalous (q > 1) to normal (q = 1) statistical mechanics, as great interevent times approached. A discussion of the crossover observed, is given in terms of superstatistics. In addition, the obtained value q ≈ 1.67 suggests a system with one degree of freedom. Furthermore, a scaling of the migration of aftershock zone as a function of the logarithm of time is discussed in terms of rate strengthening rheology that govern the evolution of afterslip process.

On rapid multidisciplinary response aspects for Samos 2020 M7.0 earthquake

Following the M7.0 earthquake that struck the Greek island of Samos and Turkey's western coast, causing extensive damage and casualties, we combined existing knowledge geodatabases concerning historical seismicity and rupture zones with seismological and geodetic measurements as well as with modelling and in situ observations, to provide an assessment of rapid response to the seismic event. In this paper, we demonstrate that in the frame of the gradual provision of information from the individual scientific disciplines, taking into account their respective potential and limitations, a multidisciplinary approach is able to address more efficiently rapid response issues in order to allow effective preliminary interpretation of the earthquake activity, even within the first 24 h of the event. It focuses on the assessment of the timely provision of information by each discipline, evaluating the access to primary data sources as well as the maturity of the techniques in terms of accuracy and rapid data processing. Within a period of less than a week, several constraints were partially compensated for, allowing the delivery of more robust results and interpretation. The study highlights the readiness level of the various domains that has been significantly improved over the past years, including rapid seismological solutions, systematic availability of free and open Earth Observation data and on-demand online processing through dedicated platforms. Their combination with routinely applied inversion modelling and timely in situ observation is leading to improved operational response levels.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11600-021-00578-6.

Turkey Earthquake 2020: Review of Existing Information with Relevance to Preparedness, Response and Recovery

This study is based on the desk review after the powerful earthquake hit against Turkey’s Aegean Coast and North of Greek Island of Samos on Friday, 30 October 2020. The main aim of this study is to summarize the existing information on preparedness and response in Turkey. It is believed that this study is useful for government, academicians, politicians, response team, development partners in future for taking the decisions.

Nationalists, Phanariots, and Constitutional Crisis: The 1908 Samos Uprising

The short-lived rebellion that broke out on the island of Samos in May 1908 is often characterized as the project of Greek nationalists aiming to unify the island with the Kingdom of Greece. Since 1834, Samos had been an autonomous principality within the Ottoman Empire, ruled by a Christian prince appointed by the sultan. While nationalist agitation played an important role in the 1908 uprising, the actual course of events was characterized by a complex interaction among Greek nationalists, those Samiotes who wanted to maintain the autonomous principality, and the agents of the imperial government. The uprising ultimately seems to have been a case of local nationalists exploiting a constitutional crisis to further their aim of uniting the island with Greece.

Public health and clinical implications of multidrug-resistant shigellosis cases in a reception centre for refugees/migrants, Greece, October-December 2019.

From October to December 2019, 18 shigellosis cases (median age: 4.3 years, range: 0-21) were identified in the Reception Center for refugees/migrants on the Greek island of Samos. Fifteen cases (83.3%) were Afghani. Median time from arrival to symptoms onset was 53 days (40-101). Isolates from 14 cases, serotyped as Shigella flexneri 1b, and from three cases, serotyped as S. sonnei phase S (I), presented a multidrug-resistant phenotype. S. flexneri 1b isolates also produced extended-spectrum β-lactamases. Shigella flexneri 2a isolate from the remaining case was resistant to sulfomethoxazole, trimethoprim and pefloxacin. Improvement of hygiene and strengthening of laboratory investigation is needed.

Notes on Zygaenidae from the Greek island of Samos (Lepidoptera)

Eight species of Zyganidae collected from the Greek island of Samos between 2012 and 2016 are reported, together with brief notes, particularly in the context of the zygaenid fauna of neighbouring regions.

Conditions in Samos Refugee Camp in Greece Severely Below Internationally-Recognised Minimum Humanitarian Standards and Those Outlined by the European Union: A Cross Sectional Health Needs Assessment

Background: In June 2019, a migrant camsituated on the Greek island of Samos, originally designed for 650 people, was home to over 5000 people, many of whom w

BETWEEN EAST AND WEST: AMORGIAN POTTERY IN EARLY BRONZE AGE HERAION (SAMOS)

SummaryThe island of Samos occupies a key position between the central Aegean and western Anatolia during the third millennium BC. A recent study of the substantial pottery assemblages from the pivotal site of Heraion has defined a rich stratigraphy covering the entire Early Bronze Age (EBA). Currently the only known EBA site on Samos, Heraion has provided the opportunity to undertake a holistic ceramic study with the aim of defining and characterizing local pottery production and, by extension, determining for the first time a secure provenance of suspected imported vessels, through the application of an integrated typological/morphological, macroscopic and microscopic (ceramic petrography) analytical methodology. This diachronic ceramic study, alongside a comparative fabric study of pottery of known origin from a number of contemporary sites, shows clear evidence for the exchange/importation of specific vessel shapes and, in the case of the collared jars, presumably their contents. This enables the reconstruction of patterns of interaction during the later phases of EB II, when there was a particular acceleration in the movement of goods. The present paper draws on a distinctive ceramic class (blue and red schist/phyllite fabrics/wares) and vessel types (transport jars with incised/slashed handles and beaked jugs with a two‐stage neck profile) particular to the EB II late period and discusses them in relation to already published or analysed data from selected Cycladic and Anatolian sites.

THE 30TH OF OCTOBER SAMOS-GREECE EARTHQUAKE. ISSUES RELEVANT TO THE PROTECTION FROM STRUCTURAL DAMAGE CAUSED BY STRONG EARTHQUAKE GROUND MOTIONS

Introduction: This is a report of issues relevant to the protection from structural damage that is sustained by various types of structures when subjected to strong earthquake ground motions. Purpose of the study: This study became relevant due to the recent intense earthquake activity to the Greek island of Samos which left its impact on numerous structures of various types. Results and discussion: Initially, a summary is presented discussing the effort that has been made in Greece trying to confront with the consequences of this extreme loading condition to the built environment. Next, a summary report is given for certain types of structures which suffered the most. They include old Christian Greek Orthodox churches as well as other buildings on conservation status. The sustained damage is discussed together with a brief numerical study that tries to simulate numerically the observed behavior. Finally, a brief discussion with relevant conclusions are presented as a result of the observed damage combined with similar observations and studies made during the last decades.

Reductions of the Internal and External Samians in Greece: A Contribution to the Study of the Cultural Dimension Tourism

However, the political difference with the native Samians, the inhabitants of the Greek island of Samos, is obvious, as well as both internal and external migrants, live in different cultural environments, a fact that contributes to the differentiation they all have. This reality is apprehended by the Samians, who later express it through multiple strict satirical characterizations, where the latter is later examined, as fine examples of a cultural and social dimension of the touristic phenomenon the same way it exists in the Greek island of Samos.

New Borders: Hotspots and the European Migration Regime (Radical Geography). By Antonis Vradis, Evie Papada, Joe Painter and Anna Papoutsi

New Borders focuses on the trajectories of the imposition of the hotspot approach in Greece. By way of context, five ‘registration and identification centres’ started operating in Greece in March 2016, on the islands of Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Leros and Kos. The hotspot approach was presented by the European Commission in May 2015 as part of a larger policy push termed the ‘European Agenda on Migration’ (EC 2015). Taking the hotspot as a specific institutional form to be closely investigated, this book discusses questions of ‘Europe’, of freedom and belonging, and of the control and categorization of people on the move. Throughout the chapters of the book, Vradis, Papada, Painter and Papoutsi draw upon two years of fieldwork on Lesvos and Athens to document in horror how, after the EU–Turkey deal of 2016, Greece as a country, much like the hotspot infrastructure, transforms from a space of transit into a space of detainment for migrants arriving in Greece. In this book, the authors focus on Lesvos—the island on which, since 2015, more than 1 million people have disembarked.

Late Miocene tortoises from Samos, Greece: implications for European Neogene testudinid systematics and distributions

ABSTRACT The world-famous upper Miocene fossil localities on the Aegean island of Samos in Greece have produced a rich fossil record that sheds light on the evolution of eastern Mediterranean terrestrial faunas over a one-million-year interval of the late Neogene. Fossils have been discovered on Samos since antiquity, although a succession of paleontological and commercial collecting expeditions over the last 130 years has resulted in specimens now being distributed throughout museums all over the world. Here, we survey the fossil tortoise remains from Samos, which are significant because they include early antecedents of the modern Testudo lineage, together with spectacular examples of the European Neogene gigantic testudinid †Titanochelon, which represents one of the largest-bodied terrestrial turtle taxa documented to date. All of the Samos fossils derive from the Mytilinii Formation, which spans the late MN11–early MN13 Neogene land mammal zones. The small-bodied tortoise remains include two incomplete shells that are morphologically consistent with basal testudonans and phylogenetically distinct from the coeval species Testudo marmorum found on mainland Greece. The Samos gigantic tortoise †‘Testudo’ schafferi was based on a spectacularly large skull and femur. However, we describe new plastron fragments, limb elements, and osteoderms that are compatible with †Titanochelon specimens from southern Greece and Anatolia. This could imply faunal links with the distinctive ‘Pikermian’ local assemblages from Asia Minor and concurs with the proposed late Miocene–Pliocene biogeographic segregation of large mammals from the eastern Aegean margin and Turkey relative to those occurring in northwestern Greece and the Balkan Peninsula.

Holocene palaeogeographical reconstruction and relative sea-level changes in the southeastern part of the island of Samos (Greece)

In this paper, we focus on the southeastern coastal zone of the island of Samos (east-central Aegean Sea), in order to reconstruct the evolution of coastal landscapes and the relative sea-level changes during the late Holocene. We use geomorphological mapping, sedimentological and palaeontological proxies of late Holocene coastal deposits from two lagoon environments. We further compare our results with previously published sea-level data and we show that the southeastern part of Samos was characterized by a subsidence trend at least during the late Holocene, with RSL rise rates of ∼0.8 mm/yr. Our study additionally highlights that local-scale tectonics is responsible for the evolution of the coastal zone of Samos.

The larva of Plectrocnemia renetta Malicky 1975 (Trichoptera, Polycentropodidae), including a discriminatory matrix to the larvae of Plectrocnemia Stephens 1836 species of Greece.

This paper describes the previously unknown larva of Plectrocnemia renetta Malicky 1975. Information on the morphology of the final instar larva is given and the most important diagnostic features are illustrated. A preliminary discriminatory matrix for the Greek larvae of Plectrocnemia Stephens 1836 is also provided. Plectrocnemia renetta and P. conspersa conspersa (Curtis 1834) belong to the group where the inner and outer dorsal secondary setae on abdominal segment IX are strongly different in length. These two species can be separated from each other by the arrangement of muscle attachment spots on the head capsule, number and length of setae on abdominal sternum IX, and by distribution patterns. With respect to zoogeography, Plectrocnemia renetta has been reported from Cyprus, Turkey, and from the Greek islands of Ikaria and Samos.

The Walls of Eupalinos Aqueduct, Samos Island, Greece. Description, Pathology and Proposed Restoration Measures

The Aqueduct of Eupalinos was built in the mid-sixth century B.C, on the island of Samos that lies in the archipelago of the north Aegean Sea. Herodotus (481-425 B.C.) was the first historian to refer to the monument. He names Eupalinos, son of Naustrophus, born in the city of Megara as the engineer responsible for the design and construction of this ancient project. He also describes the method of construction that makes this monument unique: “…One is a tunnel, under a hill one hundred and fifty fathoms high, carried entirely through the base of the hill; its excavation started from two portals (αρξάμενον, αμφίστομον) …”. Egnatia Odos S.A2. in cooperation with the Prefecture of Samos and the Ministry of Culture initiated a multi-discipline design study to protect and restore the monument. The designs included surveying works, geological and geophysical investigations, as well as geotechnical, structural and architectural works. The main component of the aqueduct is the 1036 m long tunnel described by Herodotus. For a length of 165 m the tunnel is protected by dry masonry walls and vaults of remarkable quality, built in the Archaic era. For a length of 63 m it is protected by mortared masonry walls and vaults, built in the Roman-era. These walls at some locations have suffered significant deformation, due to ground pressures, and have partially failed. In order to restore the damaged sections of the wall, its structure was investigated with the use of ground penetrating radar (GPR) and Εlectrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT). These methods indicated the thickness of the wall and to some extent the width of the excavation behind it. The space between the dry masonry of the Archaic wall and the excavation perimeter is backfilled with well stacked partially hewn stones. GPR seems to accurately determine the thickness of the massive building stones (20 to 40 cm thick) that form the wall’s sides. ET seems to accurately determine the interface between the excavation perimeter and the backfill. The thickness of the backfill and the wall was found to range from 60 cm to 200 cm. This most likely suggests that at the protected sections the tunnel excavation suffered significant and systematic ground collapses. This is because the derived tunnel excavation dimensions at that point are much larger than the ones of the unprotected tunnel. The latter combined with the high ground water inflows now present, in the area and the identified poor ground conditions, could justify the decision of Eupalinos to protect the tunnel’s excavation perimeter with the dry masonry walls. Other geophysical and geological investigations identified significant fault zones that cross the tunnel at the previously mentioned locations, where the assumed ground collapses were observed. A simplified deformation analysis that was carried out using finite element modelling shows that the deformation and the observed wall failures can be roughly explained by assuming poor ground conditions around the tunnel. The protection/restoration measures that were dimensioned for the Archaic type wall include: a) a staged, stone by stone, dismantling of the vaults and partially of the wall, b) supporting the ground behind them with stainless steel rock bolts, steel sets and a concrete mantle, and c) rebuilding the whole at its original “pre-deformed” position. These measures (steel sets, concrete mantle and rock bolts) aim in undertaking the full ground load so that the wall, when rebuilt, will be practically unloaded. Due to the different loading conditions and ground failure mode, the restoration measures designed for the Roman-era wall, aim to remove the rock (load) that fell on the roof arch, to prevent further rock falls and to strengthen the mortared masonry with neutral grouts.

An integrative approach in the assessment of species delimitation and structure of the Merodon nanus species group (Diptera: Syrphidae)

The Merodon nanus group (Diptera, Syrphidae) is a small group of closely related species with high morphological similarity. Until now, based on morphological characters, this group consisted of five species: M. nanus Sack, 1931; M. telmateia Hurkmans, 1987; M. kopensis Vujić et Hayat, 2015; M. neonanus Vujić et Taylor, 2015; and M. rasicus Vujić et Radenković, 2015. Here, using an integrative approach based on molecular characters (sequences of the D2–3 region of the nuclear 28S rRNA gene and the mitochondrial COI gene) and data obtained from geometric morphometry of wing shape, we distinguish all five previously morphologically defined species of the group. Additionally, we identify one species as being new to science, M. vladimiri Vujić et Kočiš Tubić sp. n. We emphasize the separation of this newly described species according to the sequences obtained from the slowly evolving 28S rRNA gene, which demonstrated four to five mutation positions between this species and morphologically the most similar M. neonanus species. Also, our results show a clear division of M. telmateia into at least three population groups that we designate as the subspecies: M. telmateia mediterraneus Ačanski et Kočiš Tubić subsp. n. and M. telmateia samosensis Ačanski et Kočiš Tubić subsp. n. exhibiting western distributions (western Anatolia and the Greek island of Samos, respectively) and the nominative subspecies M. telmateia telmateia with an eastern Anatolian distribution.

The exploitation of emery on the island of Samos: Existing data and research perspectives

The possible exploitation of eastern Samos emery deposits during the antiquity is explored, taking into account the attested emery mining on the island, during the 19th and 20th c. A.D. Is it possible that Samos diasporitic emery had been used in a similar way with the diasporite and/or corundite emery of Naxos, the main and best known emery source in the Aegean archipelago? As a first step for the investigation of this question, existing geological and historical data on Samian emery are collated and then examined with reference to the Naxian mineral. As far as the mineralogical structure of the Samos emery is concerned, besides the existing data, XRD mineralogical analysis, XRF/ICP major and trace element analysis and SEM-EDS micro-analysis was conducted, in order to recognize specific features of the Samos diasporite deposit. Finally, the few known archaeological findings that may indicate a probable ancient exploitation of the Samos emery are presented, underlining the need of further geological and archaeological research in the Aegean Region and Western Anatolia, in order to draw wider conclusions.

Demographic and clinical characteristics of refugees seeking primary healthcare services in Greece in the period 2015–2016: a descriptive study

In 2015-2016, more than a million refugees entered Greece. Along with other organizations, PRAKSIS, a local non-governmental organization, deployed mobile medical units on three islands and in temporary settlements in Athens. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study aimed at analysing the demographic and clinical characteristics of the population (n=6688) that received services from PRAKSIS between October 2015 and June 2016 in different locations (islands of Samos, Kos and Leros in the southeastern Aegean Sea and on the mainland at Athens-Piraeus Port Gate E) before and after the closure of European borders in March 2016. The majority (88%) of the population came from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. Among them, 53% were women and children. Infectious diseases decreased as the population moved from the islands to the Athens-Piraeus Port, while all other disease categories increased in relative frequency, the difference being statistically significant (p<0.05). Among all consultations, dental and oral cavity health complaints also increased in the Athens-Piraeus Port, but failed to reach statistical significance (p=0.11). Referrals from the mobile health units to specialist care rose from 4.2% of all patients clinically examined on the islands to 9.9% in the Athens-Piraeus Port, and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). More research and systematic data collection are needed to inform appropriate policies for the humanitarian challenges posed by the recent refugee and migrant waves in Europe.

THE USE OF DIATOMACEOUS ROCKS OF GREEK ORIGIN AS ABSORBENTS OF OLIVE-OIL WASTERS

Diatomite is a multifunctional industrial mineral, having commercial interest in the food/agricultural and the construction sectors and also in environmental applications. Certain diatomite deposits worldwide are used as absorbents and filtering media in industrial scale. In Greece, several types of diatomaceous deposits (calcareous, clayey or amorphous phases-rich) occur in marine or lacustrine Tertiary basins. Bulk samples originated from western Macedonia, Thessaly and the islands of Samos and Milos were characterized, tested and compared concerning their absorption ability against olive mill wastes. The results of the current research show insignificant variations in the absorption ability of the tested Greek diatomites exhibiting equal or better behavior than some of the commercially used absorbents, either diatomaceous, or clayey. Hence, the Greek raw materials could find applications in the prevention of seashores and river banks pollution from the acidic olive-oil wastes.

Con tingent Valuation Method (CVM) f or Agricultural Wastes in Greece

This paper focuses on investigating the tendency of farmers in the greater area of Thessaloniki as well as those on the islands of Samos and Ikaria to participate in a program of environmental management. The aim is to investigate the level of amount WTA against which the farmers would be willing to allow anyone to gather and carry away the leftovers of their farming exploitation. To serve the above goals, the agricultural leftovers are evaluated by the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) as an environmental non-market economic commodity. By the term Biomass we mean the biodegradable products fraction, wastes and leftovers coming from agricultural, plants and animal substances inclusive, the forestall and the like industrial plant, as well as the biodegradable fraction of industrial wastes and urban effluents and sewage wastes.