Active Tectonics of the Eastern Mediterranean Region: Case Studies on Earthquake, Volcano and Tsunami Induced Hazards

Introduction

The complexity of plate interactions and associated crustal deformation in the Eastern Mediterranean region is reflected by numerous destructive earthquakes that have occurred throughout its geological history, including historically damaging earthquakes have occurred along the North and the East Anatolian, and the Dead Sea fault zones. In addition, the Aegean and surrounding regions provide examples of core-complex formation, synchronous basin evolution and subsequent graben formation, and continental extensional deformation following orogenic contraction. The Eastern Mediterranean region has been the subject of intensive research over the last few decades, many of which have been well documented and studied using multidisciplinary earth-science data and methods (e.g., seismological, geophysical, geological, and geodetic). Therefore, it is considered a perfect natural laboratory for studying the mechanics of crustal deformation and its relation to deep processes such as magmatism. This ERA Special Issue aims to explore current findings and ideas on the active tectonics and the geodynamics of the Eastern Mediterranean region. It will be essential reading for all geoscientists interested in the structural evolution of the region. We aim to match and to advance our understanding of earthquake physics, expand our ability to observe earthquake-related phenomena and improve our mitigation of seismic, volcanic and resulting tsunami hazards. It is timely to take action considering the recent intense seismic swarm that occurred between January and February 2025 in the Santorini-Kolumbo-Amorgos extensional basin in the Aegean Sea, as well as the devastating 6 February 2023 M > 7.8 earthquake doublet, which caused massive destruction and loss of life in southeast-central Türkiye and northwest Syria.

Topics covered

• Tectonic environments and structures of seismogenic fault zones in the Eastern Mediterranean region.
• Long- and short-term behaviour of active fault zones in the Eastern Mediterranean region.
• Active faulting in recent and historically damaging earthquakes along the North and East Anatolian Fault zones in Tü
• Geological observations and analysis of the damaging earthquakes, including field mapping, geomorphological changes, interaction of faults, and fault zone analysis.
• Seismological and geodetic observations and analysis of the earthquakes, including waveform modelling, source mechanism, incorporating InSAR and GNSS data, and ground motion characteristics and ground motion modelling.
• Recent volcano-seismic activity in the Santorini-Kolumbo-Amorgos basin, and tsunamigenesis of the Aegean Sea.

Submission Instructions

In preparing manuscripts, authors must carefully follow the ERA Guide for Authors before submitting. All articles should be submitted online, please select [VSI: Active Tectonics of the Eastern Mediterranean Region] on submission.

Important Deadlines

• Deadline for Submission: 15 SEPTEMBER 2025
• Publication Date: FEBRUARY / MARCH 2026

Guest Editors

Prof.Dr. Tuncay TAYMAZ

Affiliation: İstanbul Technical University – İstanbul, Türkiye

E-Mail:taymaz@itu.edu.tr; ttaymaz@gmail.com

Prof.Dr. Aldo ZOLLO

Affiliation: University of Naples Federico II – Napoli, Campania, Italy

E-Mail: aldo.zollo@unina.it; aldo.zollo@gmail.com

Prof.Dr. Hongfeng YANG

Affiliation: The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China

E-Mail: hyang@cuhk.edu.hk

Prof.Dr. Teng WANG

Affiliation: Peking University, Beijing, China

E-Mail: wang.teng@pku.edu.cn

Prof.Dr. Andrea BILLI

Affiliation: National Research Council of Italy (CNR-IGAG), Rome, Italy

E-Mail: andrea.billi@cnr.it

Prof.Dr. Daniele CHELONI

Affiliation: INGV - Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Rome, Italy

E-Mail: daniele.cheloni@ingv.it