A Late Pleistocene clockwise rotation phase of Zakynthos (Greece) and implications for the evolution of the western Aegean arc

Palaeomagnetic measurements have been carried out on Eocene to Pleistocene sediments on the Ionian island of Zakynthos, NW Greece. Magnetostratigraphic constraints, biostratigraphic analyses of planktonic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossils provide a reliable time frame for these deposits. The results show that no significant rotation occurred between 8.11 and 0.77 Ma, but that Zakynthos underwent a 21.6° ± 7.4° clockwise rotation between 0.77 Ma and Recent. Thus, our data indicate a rapid rotational event, in contrast to continuous rotation since 5 Ma as previously postulated [Laj et al., Tectonophysics 86 (1982) 45–67]. We speculate this late Pleistocene tectonic rotation phase to be linked to rapid uplift in the Greek region which results from rebound processes caused by (African) slab detachment underneath the Ionian islands.