Cenozoic geodynamic evolution of the Aegean Jolivet, Laurent; Brun, Jean-Pierre
International journal of earth sciences : Geologische Rundschau,
2010/1, Volume:
99, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
The Aegean region is a concentrate of the main geodynamic processes that shaped the Mediterranean region: oceanic and continental subduction, mountain building, high-pressure and low-temperature ...metamorphism, backarc extension, post-orogenic collapse, metamorphic core complexes, gneiss domes are the ingredients of a complex evolution that started at the end of the Cretaceous with the closure of the Tethyan ocean along the Vardar suture zone. Using available plate kinematic, geophysical, petrological and structural data, we present a synthetic tectonic map of the whole region encompassing the Balkans, Western Turkey, the Aegean Sea, the Hellenic Arc, the Mediterranean Ridge and continental Greece and we build a lithospheric-scale N-S cross-section from Crete to the Rhodope massif. We then describe the tectonic evolution of this cross-section with a series of reconstructions from ~70 Ma to the Present. We follow on the hypothesis that a single subduction has been active throughout most of the Mesozoic and the entire Cenozoic, and we show that the geological record is compatible with this hypothesis. The reconstructions show that continental subduction (Apulian and Pelagonian continental blocks) did not induce slab break-off in this case. Using this evolution, we discuss the mechanisms leading to the exhumation of metamorphic rocks and the subsequent formation of extensional metamorphic domes in the backarc region during slab retreat. The tectonic histories of the two regions showing large-scale extension, the Rhodope and the Cyclades are then compared. The respective contributions to slab retreat, post-orogenic extension and lower crust partial melting of changes in kinematic boundary conditions and in nature of subducting material, from continental to oceanic, are discussed.
Around 4.2 ka BP, several ancient civilizations declined, during a climatic fluctuation documented by many archaeological and palaeoenvironmental studies of locations around the world. However, the ...nature, timing, and regional expressions of this climate event are still uncertain. Through a detailed survey of Mediterranean pollen records, we show clear spatiotemporal patterns in tree cover variations over the Mediterranean Basin, characterized by regions with increasing forest cover before 4.2 ka BP and decreasing afterwards (NW Iberian Peninsula, South-central Mediterranean), and regions with contemporary opposite dynamics (Mediterranean Iberian Peninsula, Morocco, S Balkan Peninsula, and the Levant). At the same time, in the geographical belt longitudinally stretching from southern France to the Caucasus, no significant changes in tree cover are recorded. This coherent system of ecological configurations, possibly determined by the reorganization of semi-permanent high/low pressure cells, brings order to the contradictory climate signals of the 4.2 ka BP event. The discovery of ecological processes of opposite polarity at a sub-continental scale sheds new light on geographical patterns of past and present environmental vulnerability to rapid climate change in the Mediterranean Basin.
•Mediterranean pollen records show tree cover changes around 4.2 ka BP.•Sign-switching forest increases/decreases are found before and after 4.2 ka.•Around 4.2 ka BP major ecological processes of opposite polarity occurred.•This pattern corresponds to a reorganization of semi-permanent high/low pressure cells.•In the latitudinal belt from S France to Caucasus, no significant forest changes are recorded.
Modelling spatial heterogeneity (SH) is a controversial subject in real estate economics. Single-family-home prices in Austria are explored to investigate the capability of global and locally ...weighted hedonic models. Even if regional indicators are not fully capable to model SH and technical amendments are required to account for unmodelled SH, the results emphasise their importance to achieve a well-specified model. Due to SH beyond the level of regional indicators, locally weighted regressions are proposed. Mixed geographically weighted regression (MGWR) prevents the limitations of fixed effects by exploring spatially stationary and non-stationary price effects. Besides reducing prediction errors, it is concluded that global model misspecifications arise from improper selected fixed effects. Reported findings provide evidence that the SH of implicit prices is more complex than can be modelled by regional indicators or purely local models. The existence of both stationary and non-stationary effects implies that the Austrian housing market is economically connected.
This open access book provides answers to key open questions concerning competition policy in emerging economies, with a focus on South Eastern Europe. The contributions address two major issues. One ...is the design of competition policy and the national competition authorities that enforce it, including the topics of competition advocacy and state aid control; the other is the use of economic methods in competition law enforcement, especially in the cases of relevant market definition and merger control. Many lessons learned in the countries of South Eastern Europe can be applied to the emerging markets of other regions. As such, the findings presented here will be highly relevant for officials and staff at national competition authorities, advisers to legislators shaping national competition policy, competition law professionals, and university students alike. ; Presents topical insights into the institutional design of national competition authorities Offers specific economic methods relevant for competition law enforcement Linked to a dedicated website providing information about ongoing competition law cases in SEE countries
•Pleistocene climatic oscillations shaped genetic structure of Euphorbia myrsinites.•Vicariance and dispersal acted at different time scales.•The main genetic break runs through the continuous ...distribution area.•The Adriatic Sea is only a subordinate genetic barrier.•Multiple Pleistocene refugia detected within the major Balkan refugium.
The Eastern Mediterranean is considered both a reservoir for plant evolution and a cradle for lineage diversification, but most plant groups from this area remain unstudied. To explore phylogeographic patterns within Eastern Mediterranean Euphorbia myrsinites, covering the area from the Apennines to Central Anatolia, we sequenced nuclear ribosomal ITS and the plastid trnT–trnF region and generated amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) fingerprints, along with relative genome size (RGS) data. Our data reveal a complex evolutionary history of E. myrsinites since its origin at the Pliocene/Pleistocene boundary, resulting in a genetic structure that was shaped by fundamentally different processes acting at different time levels. Despite their weak glaciation in the Pleistocene, the high mountain ranges of the western and southern Balkan Peninsula triggered the initial divergence within this species due to vicariance in the Adriatic-Ionian and the Aegean-Pontic Pleistocene refugia. Subsequent range expansions led to the intriguing situation that both clusters nowadays occur in close spatial proximity. In addition, stronger genetic differentiation in the Aegean-Pontic area probably reflects less severe impacts of glaciations and higher environmental stability throughout the Pleistocene in this area, as compared to the Amphi-Adriatic region. The colonization of the Apennine Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula took place later in the species’ evolutionary history, probably over land bridges connecting both peninsulas in the Pleistocene. On the western Balkan Peninsula the main phylogeographic split is situated along the Neretva river valley. To the north of this valley we detected no population structure whereas strong genetic differentiation in the southerly adjacent areas confirms the “refugia-within-refugia” hypothesis.
Metabolomic analysis methods were employed to determine biomarkers for various chronic kidney diseases (CKDs). Modern analytical methods were developed and applied successfully to find a specific ...metabolomic profile in urine samples from CKD and Balkan endemic nephropathy (BEN) patients. The aim was to explore a specific metabolomic profile defined by feasible/easy-to-identify molecular markers. Urine samples were collected from patients with CKDs and BEN, and from healthy subjects from endemic and nonendemic areas in Romania. Metabolomic analysis of urine samples, extracted by the liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) method, was performed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The statistical exploration of the results was performed through a principal component analysis (PCA) evaluation. Urine samples were statistically analyzed using a classification based on six types of metabolites. Most urinary metabolites are distributed in the center of a loading plot, meaning that these compounds do not represent significant markers for BEN. One of the most frequent and higher-concentration urinary metabolites in BEN patients was p-Cresol, a phenolic compound that implies a severe injury of the renal filtration function. The presence of p-Cresol was associated with protein-bound uremic toxins, which have specific functional groups such as indole and phenyl. In prospective studies for future investigation, prevention, and disease treatment, we suggest a larger sample size, sample extraction using other methods, and analysis using other chromatography techniques coupled with mass spectrometry, which can generate a more significant data set for statistical analysis.
Статья посвящена некоторым типам колец с выступами раннего железного века центральных, восточных и южных регионов Европы. Рассмотрены кольца с выступами, сгруппированными в розеточку из 2—5 выпуклин, ...кольца с выступами-ножками, на которых расположены 3—5 шариков, и некоторые кольца с одинарными выступами. В основу работы положена подборка из 188 колец, составлен каталог памятников, включающий 67 пунктов. Предложена типология таких изделий — выделено 2 отряда и 6 типов (с подтипами и вариантами). Рассмотренные типы колец бытовали, в основном, с VI по ІІІ вв. до н. э., крайне редко — во II—I вв. до н. э. Основные ареалы их распространения — Северное Причерноморье и Балкано-Карпатский регион.
The paper discusses some Early Iron Age knobbed ring types discovered in central, eastern and southern parts of Europe. Rings with 2 to 5 granules forming a rosette, those with pegs to which 3—5 beads are attached, and some with single knobs are considered. The research sample consists of 188 finds from 67 sites. A typology of the artifacts is proposed, with two orders, six ring types, and a series of subtypes and varieties. The knobbed ring types under study existed mainly from the 6th until the 3rdcentury BCE, while the youngest specimens are extremely rare and date back to the 2nd — 1st century BCE. The main areas of their distribution are the Northern Black Sea region and the Balkan-Carpathian region.
Otiorhynchus roznerantii Szénási sp. nov. from Greece and Republic of North Macedonia, and O. pseudoschlaeflini Szénási sp. nov. from Greece are described in the subgenus Anchorrhynchus Reitter, ...1914. A provisional identification key to species of Anchorrhynchus is included, from which are excluded Otiorhynchus lumensis gjallicanus Lona, 1939, O. lumensis lumensis Apfelbeck, 1908, O. munelensis Apfelbeck, 1907 and O. pseudalbanicus Braun, 1990 which are here moved to Otiorhynchus incertae sedis, plus O. cypricola Reiche & Saulcy, 1858 specimens of which were unavailable.
The Balkan Vegetation Database (BVD; GIVD ID: EU-00-019) is a regional database, which was established in 2014. It comprises phytosociological relevés covering various vegetation types from nine ...countries of the Balkan Peninsula (Albania – 153 relevés, Bosnia and Herzegovina – 1715, Bulgaria – 12,282, Greece – 465, Croatia – 69, Kosovo – 493, Montenegro – 440, North Macedonia – 13 and Serbia – 2677). Currently, it contains 18,306 relevés (compared to 9.580 in 2016), and most of them (82.8%) are geo-referenced. The database includes both digitized relevés from the literature (65.6%) and unpublished data (34.5%). Plot size is available for 84.7% of all relevés. During the last four years some “header data information” was improved e.g. elevation (now available for 83.4% of all relevés), aspect (67.7%), slope (66%), total cover of vegetation (54.3%), cover of tree, shrub, herb, bryophyte and lichen layers (27.1%, 20.1%, 40.2%, 11.5% and 2.1%), respectively. Data access is either semi-restricted (65.6%) or restricted (34.4%). Most relevés (84.6%) are classified to syntaxa of different levels. The database has been used for numerous studies with various objectives from floristic, vegetation and habitat-related topics, to macroecological studies at the local, regional, national, continental and global levels. During the last four years, BVD data were requested from 111 different projects via the EVA and sPlot databases.
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