Crustal Motion and Strain Accumulation in the South Balkan Region Inferred from GPS Measurements

摘要

There are not enough GPS data to map the kinematics in the western part of the south Balkan region. Geological data and focal mechanisms, however, indicate a transitional boundary within southwestern Serbia, eastern Montenegro and western Macedonia, which separates the region of N-S extension to the east from a region of E-W extension in central and eastern Albania, central Montenegro and western Macedonia. That boundary probably marks the western limit of the Aegean exten-sional domain. Coupled with GPS data from southeastern Italy, our data indicate that coeval subduction and convergence with a right-lateral strike-slip component along the northern part of the Hellenic trench has not ceased but still proceed at a rate of ～5-10 mm/year.