We examine the active stress field of the Southern Aegean Sea subduction area from fault plane solution data, focusing on the variability resulting from the application of different stress inversion methods. The study area is characterized by a high seismicity level and has been struck repeatedly by large destructive shallow and intermediate-depth earthquakes (up to M∼8.0). A larger number of previously published Fault Plane Solutions (FPS), as well as additional FPS computed in the framework of this study, provide the basis for the detailed study of the Southern Aegean active stress field. The active stress field is examined using three well-established algorithms, as well as an adapted method proposed in this study, based on the statistical processing of solutions provided by the Gephart and Forsyth (1984) method. The results obtained from all methods show a systematic consistency, with the Gephart and Forsyth method exhibiting the largest discrepancy, in comparison to other approaches. The determined active stress field reveals several domains with similar seismotectonic characteristics. Along the Southern Aegean (Hellenic) volcanic arc, the roughly North-South extension field shows an excellent correlation with the local arc geometry (arc-normal extension). The outer arc is characterized by compression, as a result of the active subduction, with an almost constant NE-SW direction. Between these two regions, a narrow zone with approximately East-West extension develops along the whole Hellenic Arc with subtle spatial differences, while in the eastern Hellenic Arc a well-developed strike-slip faulting pattern is recognized along the broader area of the Pliny and Strabo trenches. Finally, all intermediate-depth events show the same transpressional pattern, with a characteristic down-dip extension along the subduction direction and an arc-parallel compression, which follows the local arc orientation.

我们从断层平面解资料中考察了爱琴海南部俯冲区的活动应力场，重点研究了因采用不同应力反演方法而引起的变化。研究区的特点是地震活动度高，并曾遭受大破坏性浅浅和中深度地震（高达M〜8.0）的反复袭击。大量先前发布的断层平面解决方案（FPS），以及在此研究框架中计算出的其他FPS，为详细研究南部爱琴海活动应力场提供了基础。基于Gephart和Forsyth（1984）方法提供的解决方案的统计处理，使用了三种公认的算法以及本研究中提出的一种改进方法来检查活动应力场。从所有方法获得的结果都显示出系统的一致性，与其他方法相比，Gephart和Forsyth方法显示出最大的差异。确定的活动应力场揭示了几个具有类似地震构造特征的区域。沿着南爱琴海（希腊）火山弧，大致的南北延伸场显示出与当地弧形几何形状（弧线法线延伸）的极佳相关性。由于主动俯冲，外弧的特征是压缩，NE-SW方向几乎恒定。在这两个区域之间，整个希腊弧沿狭窄的区域向东西方向延伸，并存在细微的空间差异，而在希腊东部弧带，沿普林尼和斯特拉伯海沟的较宽区域发现了发育完善的走滑断层型。最后，所有中等深度事件都表现出相同的逆压模式，沿俯冲方向具有典型的下倾延伸，并遵循局部弧向进行了弧平行压缩。