ADRICRUST - Crustal structure and deformation of the Adriatic Plate at the Dinarides-Hellenides Transition
ACRONYM
ADRICRUST
Title
ADRICRUST - Crustal structure and deformation of the Adriatic Plate at the Dinarides-Hellenides Transition
General information
In the frame of SPP 2497 “DEFORM”, we propose to study the lithospheric structure of the Adriatic Plate at the eastern margin of the Adriatic Sea and its correlation to deformation and orogenesis onshore. Within the first period of the SPP we aim for funding of seismic data acquisition in a shoreline-crossing experiment including ship time on a German research vessel and seismic land stations. In a multi-scale approach, our main objectives are to determine active deformation in the Adriatic Sea and to image the crustal seismic velocity distribution down to the uppermost mantle at the Dinarides-Hellenides transition. Enlarging the knowledge of physical properties of the crust helps to link mantle processes to surface structures. The geophysical results shall be interpreted geologically and integrated with land studies to provide a geological picture from the sea to the mountains. Further, this experiment shall help to constrain models of continent-continent collision and the relative role played by processes such as ‘slab pull’, plate flexure and fold loading, and inheritance of previous extensional (Tethyan) rift structures. The work will impact on geohazards of the Adriatic Sea region, especially as it will inform our understanding of mass wasting and submarine landsliding, faulting and seismicity; the latter of which has resulted in >10000 casualties in historical times. Our main research questions are:- What is the deep structure of the Adriatic crust?- How do geometry and crustal properties of the Adriatic Plate coincide with along-strike changes in geometry and kinematics of the active plate boundary at the Dinarides-Hellenides transition?- What is the Moho depth along the deformation front?- What is the distribution, style and geometry of active faulting?- How does a buoyant continental plate underthrust another buoyant continental plate?With the commissioning of the new RV METEOR IV in 2026 and with RV Maria S Merian servicing the Mediterranean, we will apply for ship time within the first 3 years of the SPP. Initial data processing to provide the data to other SPP groups will be done by the proponents. Funding for a PhD position for in-depth data analysis will be applied for in the second SPP phase. The proposed project is mainly related to the SPP research themes 2 (fault-scale processes) and 1 (plate-scale processes) and results potentially contribute to all three SPP themes. The research will be predominantly related to activity field A (geophysical imaging) and partly to field B. There in detail contributing to seismo-tectonic mapping of the Adria region by extending the knowledge off-shore. Further, to our application for ship time to acquire new data at the Dinarides-Hellenides transition, our proposal includes the recovery of the planned OBS long-term network at the Kefalonia fault zone (KAROS project). Additionally, we support secondary users for ship time during the proposed expedition for own measurements off-shore.
Start
November, 2025
End
October, 2028
Funding (total)
216000
Funding (GEOMAR)
216000
Funding body / Programme
-
DFG
/ Priority Programmes, Subproject of SPP 2497
Coordination
Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung Kiel (GEOMAR), Germany
Contact
Partners
Christian-Albrechts-Universität (CAU), Germany
University of Oxford, UK
National Oceanography Centre (NOC), UK
University of Oxford, UK
National Oceanography Centre (NOC), UK
