Aspects of the Late Cenozoic Evolution of the Aegean Region

Abstract

The late Neogene to early Pleistocene history of the Aegean region was mainly defined by tectonic events, which led to large-scale, roughly contemporaneous changes in paleogeographic configurations and sedimentation conditions. The most important of these events occurred in the late Serravallian/early Tortonian, during the Tortonian-Messinian boundary interval, within the Messinian, and during the course of the Pliocene. The late Serravallian to early Tortonian movements initiated the modern history of the Aegean region; they resulted in, among other events, the break-up of the southern Aegean landmass and in the subsidence of carbonate platforms west of the Ionian islands. Processes of fragmentation prevailed in Tortonian time and some kind of restabilization took place during the Tortonian-Messinian boundary interval. A chain of events starting in early Pliocene time shaped the present-day configuration of this region.