Ms. Maria Kazantzaki Ms Maria Kazantzaki is a Mining and Metallurgical Engineer, graduate of the Faculty of Geological Sciences, National Technical University of Athens (N.T.U.A.). Since early 2011 she entered, as Ph.D. candidate, the Group of Paleoenvironment and Ancient Metals Studies (PG-AMS) of the Archaeometry Laboratory/N.C.S.R “Demokritos”, in a frame of approved research collaboration between N.C.S.R “Demokritos” and N.T.U.A. Ms Kazantzaki has participated in many international conferences, presenting her research work which is mainly focused on the reconstruction and the geodynamics of coastal areas during the Quaternary Period, using the new developments of luminescence dating techniques.
The aim of this presentation is focused on the application of the luminescence dating techniques in palaeoseismology. Nowadays, luminescence dating techniques, have undergone extensive developments both to geology and archaeology. The main idea of luminescence dating techniques is based on the fact that the luminescence signal enclosed in minerals crystal lattice can be affected and even zeroed when minerals are exposed to sunlight or intense heat. The same effect could be observed in the case of an earthquake, as the influence of friction caused by the relative motion of an active fault could reset the “clock” of the seismic event to zero, giving us the opportunity to use luminescence dating techniques as a chronometer for the previous seismic activity of a tectonically active area.