The Greek landscape is a very
unique one, stemming from many factors from the tectonic plate movement that
helped shape the mountains and islands to the coast line that allows for the
moderate climate and plentiful rainfall that keeps the landscape lush and
green. I will be exploring the changes created by plate tectonics, climate, and
the ocean that will occur over the next 10,000 years, 1,000,000 years, and
100,000,000 years.
In the next 10,000 years, the
landscape will have small changes, but remain fairly similar to its present day
appearance. One difference that will be noticeable is the change of the
coastline. The Melissani Cave, which I talked about in my first post, is a sea
cave. It was created by the ocean forming a wave cut notch in the weaker stone
beneath the more resilient stone, and then carving out the cave make a sea
cave. Most likely a sinkhole formed in the middle where the hole in the roof is
now, which helped to hollow out the cave and give it shape. More of these will
be prevalent in the years to come, as well as sea arches, which are formed much
the same way, just without the sinkhole.
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| Sea arches on the coast of Greece |
In 1,000,000 years from today the
shifting of the tectonic plates will move Greece between 15-30 miles east of
its current position; more detail on directionality and speed are covered in
the 100,000,000-year section. This may cause more volcanism in the area, as
well as other seismic activity that Greece is known for. Since Greece sits on the boundaries and subsequent faults of the Anatolian, Eurasian, Aegean, and African plates, this causes a lot of the earthquakes the country experiences.
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| Map of the world's tectonic plates and their movement. |
100,000,000 years from today will
bring extraordinary changes to the area, making it completely different from
what it is today. The tectonic plates of the Earth move at a rate of between
two and five centimeters per year. Given that the Eurasian and African plates
are moving east of the Mid-Atlantic ridge, the Arabian plate is moving northeast,
pushing the Anatolian plate northeast as well, Greece will be pushed mostly east
somewhere between 1,200 – 3,100 miles. This will be somewhere between the same
locations as modern day border between Kazakhstan and China on the closer side,
or the Mongolian-Russian border near lake Baikal. The African plate is
subducting under the Eurasian and Anatolian plates, which will cause Greece to
become a landlocked, mountainous region, similar to what the Himalayas are now,
and may even become a replacement of them as they could be worn away by this
time. Becoming landlocked and moved so far east will be a huge change in the
climate. It will change from the warm, Mediterranean climate to a much colder
and arid climate. The Mediterranean will be gone, no longer allowing the water
to mediate temperature, and the high altitude will also contribute to the
change from a wet climate to an arid climate. This new arid climate will shift
the plant and wildlife that live there, and as plant life decreases, there will
be less evidence of plant decay on the rocks.
Tectonic plate picture from:
Greek Sea Arches:
