Lecture: Naxos - geological evolution of a gneiss dome
Speaker:
Entry Fee
Members: Free
Visitors: £5.00
Date and Time
19:30 -
Location
Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, 16-18 Queen Square, Bath BA1 2HN
Lecture Description
Naxos is the largest of the Cyclades islands, which an ancient fable indicates were formed in a “War of the giants”, from enormous rocks that were thrown against each other by the Giants and the gods. This talk will explore the actual ~200 million year geological history of the island, which lies in a very active present-day plate tectonic setting. The geology of the island is dominated by a Mesozoic carbonate/detrital succession that has been deformed and metamorphosed in the orogenic collision between the African and Eurasian plates that gave rise to the overall Alpine chain. The metamorphism has converted the carbonate sediments into excellent marbles, which were widely used in building of Delphi and the famous Lion terrace in Delos, while former soils have been turned into the well-known emery deposits of the island.