Neotectonics and the Kos Plateau Tuff eruption of 161 ka, South Aegean arc

The older dacites of Pyrgousa and Pachia and the post-KPT volcanics of Yali, Strongili and Nisyros lie on a NE-SW-trending lineament marked by major faults and abrupt changes in bathymetry. This NE-SW faulting was initiated in the early Pleistocene and parallels prominent lineaments in the east Cretan Sea. ENE-WSW sinistral strike-slip faulting initiated in the middle Pleistocene in the area from Santorini to Kos would have produced extension on this older lineament, playing a major role in channelling magma to the surface and permitting the ingress of water to the magma conduit.