Alpine deformation on Naxos (Greece)

A detailed structural study of Naxos (Attic-Cycladic massif, Greece) reveals two major deformation events. The first one is associated with large scale thrusting and high-pressure-low-temperature metamorphism during an early Alpine subduction episode. The second event occurred during continental extension and the associated development of localized thermal domes, where lower crustal rocks were brought into contact with upper crustal units along a major shallow dipping shear zone. We agree with a model of Naxos as a Cordilleran type Metamorphic Core Complex. However, our observations show that the sense of shear was ‘upper plate moving North’ during the second event, calling for a reinterpretation of existing tectonic models of the Cyclades.