Friday fold: Samaria Gorge, Crete II
The Friday fold is a guest submission from AGU’s new Chief Digital Officer, and shows a spectacular set of recumbent folds in Crete.
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Building stones of the Acropolis (Athens, Greece)
As a follow-up to my post about the geology of the Acropolis klippe in Athens, Greece, and in the spirit of my post on the building stones of the Haghia Sophia in Ä°stabul, Turkey, let’s turn our attention today to the various rocks that ancient Greeks used to construct the buildings of the Acropolis, such … Read more
Geology of the Acropolis (Athens, Greece)
When visiting Athens, Greece, you are drawn to the Parthenon’s grand architecture atop the hill called the Acropolis. But why is the Acropolis a hill?
Santorini panorama
Here is the view north across the central caldera of Santorini, Greece: Click to enlarge to 9000 pixels wide This caldera formed during the Bronze Age, maybe as early as 1628 BCE or so, maybe as late as 1500 BCE. There are new volcanic islands rising in the center.
Santorini ashfall and Akrotiri
Santorini is an island with nice exposures of the Tethyan subduction complex, yes. But did you know there’s also a volcano there? đŸ™‚ Here’s a shot of some snorkelers, with a lovely stack of pyroclastics rising up behind them. Ash, lapilli, more ash — Santorini’s volcano has been very active over the years. This is … Read more
Friday fold: Santorini schist
Happy Friday! Here’s some folded schistocity in the schist of Santorini’s Cycladean subduction complex: The blunt crest of the fold in the second photo appears to be a folded marble boudin. Neato!
Boudinage in Santorini schist
While on my blueschist quest, I noticed this boudin train exposed in the trail. I’m not sure what exactly is being boudinaged here – only that it is lighter in color than the schist that surrounds it, as well as finer grained and less foliated (more massive). A tabular mass of fault gouge perhaps?
In search of Santorini’s blueschist, part 2: finding fault
As mentioned last week, I took a solo field trip north of Perissa, Santorini, Greece, in search of subducted rocks. The contact between the two main rock types (marble and schist) was prominent and visible from a great distance (see photos in previous post), but what was the nature of this contact? Did it represent … Read more
In search of Santorini’s blueschist, part 1: into the Valley of the Shadow of Ash
While in Santorini, Greece, your humble geoblogger braves a warm afternoon to search the hillsides for evidence of subduction.
Friday fold: En route to Santorini over the Cyclades
A glimpse out an airplane window reveals some Cycladean geology in the Aegean Sea. Somewhere down there among the metamorphic rocks is our Friday fold… but nary a volcano in sight.
Friday fold: passively folded marble
It’s Friday! Here’s Baxter, last Friday, in Athens, Greece. He’s checking out some folds in the marble that’s everywhere in that city: This is a lovely example of passive folding, where all the rock layers being folded have about the same viscosity (low viscosity contrast between layers). No buckling, as a result… Enjoy the weekend, … Read more
Santorini: where the Hellenic arc meets the Cyclades
The geologic story of Santorini begins, with some tectonic perspective on the two major aspects of subduction recorded in the island’s rocks.
Sea arch in pyroclastic deposits, Santorini, Greece
A series of blog posts on the geology of Santorini and Athens, Greece begins with a look at a sea arch on the south shore of Thera.
Friday fold: Samaria Gorge, Crete
Photo by Lily Edmon.