Tectonic exhumation of the Corinth Rift (Greece): preliminary results from low-temperature carbonate luminescence thermochronology

Understanding how continental rifts propagate requires resolving the interactions between tectonic and geodynamic processes operating over different timescales. The Corinth Rift in southern Greece provides a natural laboratory in which active subduction, back-arc extension, and inherited crustal structures interact within a rapidly evolving continental rift system. The rift architecture is characterized by shallow-dipping low-angle normal faults (LANFs), such as the Chelmos Fault, in the south, and a series of high-angle normal faults (HANFs) that developed in the hanging walls of the LANFs toward the north. Stratigraphic and volcanic records suggest two main rifting phases: an early phase between ~5.0 and ~2.0 Ma and a younger phase from ~2.0 Ma to the present. However, the timing and propagation of fault development remain poorly constrained due to the lack of direct tectonic and exhumation data from carbonate rocks. Here, we apply low-temperature carbonate thermochronology to footwall samples from major faults to quantitatively constrain tectonic exhumation across the Corinth Rift. Our preliminary results suggest that rifting initiated during the Early Pliocene with activity along low-angle detachments and subsequently migrated northward to distributed high-angle normal faulting since the Early Pleistocene. Consistent with stratigraphic and volcanic constraints, our data support a two-stage rift evolution and provide independent constraints on the timing and spatial propagation of faulting. More broadly, this study demonstrates the potential of carbonate thermochronology as a quantitative tool for constraining tectonic exhumation in carbonate-dominated rift systems worldwide.