BACKGROUND

The Conference aims at serving as a forum for the presentation and constructive discussion of state of the art and emerging issues on the South Aegean Volcanic Arc.

The Aegean area is one of the most rapidly deforming parts of the Alpine - Himalayan mountain belt delineated by the extremely high number of the seismic events occurring in this area. Deformation seems to be dominated by the effects of the westward motion of the Anatolia block (~22 mm/y) , the south-westward motion of southern Aegean (~30-35 mm/y) and the vertical movements of big lithosphere portions.

Geophysical data record a thinned continental crust in all the Aegean area and an anomalous heat flow, implying a complex geodynamic - geotectonic situation.

Since Oligocene magmatic activity was constantly present in the Aegean area. The first voluminous volcanic activity was manifested during Oligocene in north Greece. Subsequently it migrated south-westward through the north Aegean islands (voluminous Early Miocene volcanism) and Cyclades (Miocene I-type plutonism) to the younger South Aegean Arc, Volos and Almopia areas (Pliocene - Quaternary).

Calc-alkaline volcanic activity was manifested at Plio-Quaternary, along a restricted belt which extends in an arc form, from Susaki to the west to Nisyros island to the east, the so-called South Aegean Active Volcanic Arc (SAAVA). This arc hosts the active (Methana and Santorini) and potentially active (Milos and Nisyros) Hellenic volcanic centres. The correspondence of the active volcanic arc with a Benioff zone depth of about 130 km is evidence for a role of subduction in the genesis of the arc.

The volcanism is voluminous, with individual stratovolcanoes having volumes above sea-level of the order of 10-40 km3. The main volcanic centres in the central part of the arc appear to be associated with big tectonic lineaments and active faults trending NE.

The products of this volcanism form are a typical calc-alkaline association which displays a continuous evolution from basalts to rhyolites. Their chemical characteristics are closely comparable with those of the volcanics of island arcs sited on thin continental margins. Andesites and dacites are dominant, but less evolved members (basalts and basaltic andesites) are also common (about 25% of the total erupted products). The greater abundance of basalts is located at the central part of the arc (Santorini) where asthenospheric isotopic characteristics can be related with a greater up welling of fertile asthenosphere, due to a greater amount of lithosphere extension.

TOPICS

- Origin and tectonic evolution of the SAAVA (active tectonics in the Aegean  area, subduction and block movement inferred from tectonic studies, seismology and geodetic data)

- Petrogenesis and geochemical studies

- Evolution of particular volcanic centers

- Effusive and explosive activity. Relative deposits

- Volcanic gases

- Volcano monitoring

- Geothermal systems

- Economic deposits and formations

- Hazards studies

- Archaeological and mythological connections

- Comparison with similar active structures

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

- Scientists and researchers related to the above topics

- Governmental & local authorities, institutes and individuals of the public and  the private sector interested in the natural hazards, the deposits, industrial minerals and geothermal energy

- Technology and equipment suppliers and service providers

LANGUAGE

The official language of the conference is English.