Slip rates, diffuse deformation and interseismic loading in central and southwestern Greece, from GNSS velocities

SUMMARY This study leverages a new, improved and densified GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) velocity field of the western Aegean region to quantify slip rates, strain localization and interseismic loading within the upper plate of the Hellenic subduction zone, including the deformation systems associated with the subduction–collision transition around Cephalonia, the Hellenic forearc extension and the southwestern termination of the North Anatolian Fault system. We examine several active tectonic domains, comprising four extensional regions (Corinth–Patras Rift, Evia Gulf, Argolic Gulf, southwestern Peloponnese) and three strike-slip systems (Cephalonia Transform Fault, Katouna–Stamna Fault System, Movri Fault Zone). Across the Corinth Rift, NS extension increases westward from ≈7 to ≈15 mm.yr–1, of which up to ≈6 mm.yr–1 is accommodated offshore. Velocity profiles indicate combined elastic loading and aseismic creep on a limited number of crustal-scale faults. The Evia–Boeotia sector undergoes NS extension at up to 8 mm.yr–1, but deformation is distributed across multiple structures, each accommodating creep or elastic loading at rates