The Geology of Greece

About this book

This book introduces the reader to the unique geology of Greece. This country is a natural geology laboratory that can help us understand the present-day active geodynamic processes in the Hellenic orogenic arc, including earthquakes, volcanoes, coastline changes and other processes of uplift and subsidence, as well as the intense erosion, transport and deposition of sediments. Additionally, Greece offers a remarkable geological museum, reflecting the complex history of the area over the last 300 million years. By studying the rocks of Greece, one can discover old oceanic basins, e.g. in the Northern Pindos and Othrys mountains, crystalline rocks of Palaeozoic age, old granitic and volcanic rocks, as well as other sedimentary rocks including fossils from the shallow neritic facies to pelagic and abyssal facies. The younger sediments demonstrate the continuously changing palaeogeography of Greece, with areas of lakes, high plateaus and gulfs that are transformed into new forms of islands, peninsulas or high mountains, etc. All the above subjects are included in the book, which describes the tectonic structure of the geological strata, together with the evolutionary stages of the palaeogeography and geodynamics within the broader Mediterranean context. A special characteristic of the book is the development of the orogenic model of the Hellenides with the application of the tectono-stratigraphic terrane concept in the Tethyan system.

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Biography

Dimitrios I. Papanikolaou is an Emeritus Professor of Geology specialized in Structural Geology and Tectonics, Geology of Greece, Marine Geodynamics and Neotectonics at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He studied Natural Sciences (Bsc 1971) and Geology (Bsc 1976) and obtained his PhD in Geological Sciences (1978) at the University of Athens. He was elected successively Lecturer, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and in 1993 Full Professor of Geology at the University of Athens. He did his post-doctoral research at the University of Lausanne (1979-1981). He acted as a visiting Professor at the University of Reims (1982-1983) and the University of MIT in Boston (2003) and provided lectures in several other Institutions worldwide for shorter periods. Throughout his career, he was teaching structural geology and Tectonics as well as The Geology of Greece (for over 40 years) supported by field trips. He was the Director of the post-graduate MSc programs "Prevention and Management of Natural Hazards" (2008-2016) and "Oceanography" (2007-2016). He was elected President of the Geological Society of Greece (1988-1996) and of the Carpatho-Balkan Geological Association (1993-1995). He was the Project Leader of IGCP 276 of UNESCO/IUGS "Paleozoic geodynamic domains and their alpidic evolution in the Tethys" (1987-1997). For several years he served as President of the Earthquake Planning and Protection Organization of Greece (1993-1998), as General Director of the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (1994-2000) and as Secretary-General for Civil Protection in the Ministry of Interior (2000-2002). He is an associate editor in several international scientific journals and has edited several special volumes, particularly regarding the geology of the Aegean. He has published more than 300 papers in various international and Greek scientific journals.