Inventory of potential geohazard-related seafloor features along the Cretan margin (Eastern Mediterranean)

The island of Crete is located in the eastern Mediterranean along an active convergent margin characterized by high sedimentation rates, steep submarine slopes, and frequent seismicity. These conditions favour submarine mass wasting processes, which represent a significant geohazard due to their potential to trigger tsunamis and damage offshore infrastructure. Despite this, a systematic inventory of hazard-related seafloor features along the Cretan margin is limited.

Therefore, we present a geomorphological map of the Cretan offshore region. This map is based on high-level multibeam data and sub-bottom profiler data. The data is primarily acquired during the R/V Maria S. Merian cruise MSM135. Analysis of this data allowed us to identify various features such as landslide scars and recognize spatial patterns. Further features such as channels and blocky slope deposits were also inventoried. The landslides scars are clustered primarily in the southwest and northeast of Crete, while the channels are mainly found in the north to northwest.

To assess the tsunamigenic potential of these landslides, different underwater slope scenarios were simulated using the L-HySEA model. The results of this simulation show maximum wave heights of 0.4 to 5.5 m near the coast, highlighting the potential hazard posed by submarine slope instabilities along the Cretan margin.