Figure 5
Tectonic model explaining the forces that triggered the Samos earthquake. The African plate is subducting to the north in the Hellenic and Cyprus trenches, the trench and upper plate are retreating as the slabs roll back to the south, exposed in the Cycladian Islands of the Aegean. The upper plate forearc is coupled to the rolling-back lower plate, which are retreating together, breaking the upper plate into numerous small microplates, forming the Aegean and Western Anatolian extensional provinces in the upper plate.
