Eleonora's falcon (Falco eleonorae Géné, 1839) is a well-known long-distance migrant of the Afro-Palaearctic flyway, a summer breeder of the Mediterranean region and North-west Africa and a winter resident of Madagascar and surrounding areas, thus characterized as a double endemic. Within the context of a long-term monitoring and conservation programme on Antikythira Island, Greece, which accommodates one of the largest concentrations of breeding pairs of Eleonora's falcons globally, birds were subjected to regular inspections for the presence of ticks from 2017 to 2023. In total, 104 adults and 149 nymphs (all belonging to Haemaphysalis genus) were collected. All ticks, apart from 2 nymphs, exhibited broadly salient palpi and did not possess the pronounced palpal segment 2 spurs or spur-like angles that are characteristic of adults, nymphs and most larvae of Rhipistoma, thus placed them in the Ornithophysalis subgenus. Following comprehensive morphological assessment and genetic analysis of the mitochondrial genome by means of next-generation sequencing of both adult and nymphal stages of the ticks, our empirical findings substantiate the delineation of a previously unclassified species. This taxonomic assignment situates the newly described species within the Ornithophysalis subgenus and the Haemaphysalis doenitzi group, marking its presence for the first time within the Western Palaearctic region.

The origins of Iron Age urbanism in temperate Europe were long assumed to lie in Archaic Greece. Recent studies, however, argue for an independent development of Hallstatt mega-sites. This article focuses on developments in Western Thessaly in mainland Greece. The author characterises the Archaic settlement system of the region as one of lowland villages and fortified hilltop sites, the latter identified not as settlements but refuges. It is argued that cities were rare in Greece prior to the Hellenistic period so its settlements could not have served as the model for urban temperate Europe. Consequently, the social and political development of Greece and temperate Europe followed different trajectories.

This article approaches the Metapolitefsi as an international event and seeks to historicize the perceptions and concepts that drove Greek and Western policy-making after the fall of the junta. Its main argument is that from 1974 to 1976 and in conjunction with domestic democratization, a parallel process developed when it came to Greece's external relations, which entailed a significant reformulation of Greek foreign policy. The year 1974, then, should be seen as an important turning point not only in Greek domestic politics but in Greece's external relations as well. These two processes were mutually reinforcing and closely interdependent.

The COVID-19 pandemic modified the epidemiology and the transmission of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). We collected data on RSV positivity and incidence from children hospitalized in the largest tertiary paediatric hospital in Greece before (2018–2020, period A), during (2020–2021, period B), and after (2021–2023, period C) the COVID-19 lockdown. A total of 9,508 children were tested for RSV. RSV positivity (%) was 17.6% (552/3,134) for period A, 2.1% (13/629) for period B, and 13.4% (772/5,745) for period C (p < 0.001). The mean age (±SD) of RSV-positive children among the three periods was A: 5.9(±9.3), B: 13.6 (±25.3), and C: 16.7 (±28.6) months (p < 0.001). The peak of RSV epidemiology was shifted from January–March (period A) to October–December (period C). RSV in-hospital incidence per 1,000 hospitalizations in paediatric departments was A:16.7, B:1.0, and C:28.1 (p < 0.001), and the incidence in the intensive care unit was A: 17.3, B: 0.6, and C: 26.6 (p < 0.001). A decrease in RSV incidence was observed during the COVID-19 lockdown period, whereas a significant increase was observed after the lockdown. A change in epidemiological patterns was identified after the end of the lockdown, with an earlier seasonal peak and an age shift of increased RSV incidence in older children.

Watanabeite from the Pefka epithermal deposit, northeastern Greece, was examined using single-crystal X-ray diffraction and electron microprobe analysis. The empirical formula of watanabeite is Cu3.93Fe0.10Ag0.01Pb0.23As1.55Sb0.19S4.99. This mineral is orthorhombic, space group Amm2, with unit-cell parameters a = 10.9601(5), b = 14.6498(8), c = 10.3001(5) Å, V = 1653.82(14) Å3 and Z = 8. The crystal structure was solved and refined to R1 = 0.0471 for 2108 unique reflections with Fo > 4σ(Fo) and 123 refined parameters. The crystal structure of watanabeite can be described as a three-dimensional framework of Cu-centred tetrahedra; cavities of the tetrahedral scaffolding host Cu6S and As2(Pb,Sb,As)2S7 clusters. On the basis of structural data, the formula of watanabeite could be written as [III]Cu3[IV]Cu5As3(Pb,Sb,As)S10 (Z = 4), considering the three independent three-fold Cu sites and the three independent tetrahedrally coordinated Cu sites as aggregated positions. The occurrence of Pb2+ in watanabeite is probably related to the substitution Cu+ + (As,Sb)3+ = 2Me2+, where Me = Pb, Fe, Zn and formally divalent Cu. The relationships with tetrahedrite-group minerals are discussed on the basis of the refined structural model, highlighting possible crystal chemical implications of such relationships.

The matrix of the Pliocene volcaniclastics from the Akrotiri area of the Santorini island (Greece) is dominated by clinoptilolite. Smectite, occasionally illite-smectite, opal-CT, cristobalite and mordenite are also present. The clinoptilolite-rich samples were heated at 460 and 560°C for 12 h and the reductions in the intensity of the 020 diffraction peak were measured. Electron microprobe analysis (EMPA) was then used to study the chemical composition of the clinoptilolite. Statistical analysis proved a strong and quantifiable relationship between the reduction of the 020 diffraction peak of the clinoptilolite and the Na/K ratio. A representative set of microprobe analyses of clinoptilolite was performed before any correlation with thermal behavior was attempted. The presence of K in the structure of clinoptilolite as well as its relationship with Na are most important in the thermal behavior of clinoptilolite.

The ammonium acetate saturation (AMAS) method was used to study the cation-exchange capacity (CEC) of zeolitic volcaniclastic materials from Santorini and Polyegos Islands, Greece. The AMAS method was tested with respect to the time required to saturate the samples of zeolites with ammonium (NH4+) ions, the efficient liberation of NH4+ ions, and the suitability of two widely used techniques to measure ammonia (NH3) (Kjeldahl ammonia distillation technique and the ammonia electrode technique). By using the inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) technique and measuring the number of cations exchanged during ammonium acetate (NH4OAc) saturation, it was found that the saturation period for zeolitic materials must be increased to 12-day cycles to ensure effective saturation. Following NH4OAc saturation, the AMAS method produces NH4+ solutions, after the NH4+-saturated samples of zeolites are washed with 10% NaCl. The amount of the NH4+ ions in solution (i.e., exchangeable cations) is a measure of the CEC. The NH4+ ions can not be directly measured and must be converted to NH3. The Kjeldahl ammonia distillation technique and the ammonia electrode technique for measuring NH3 give identical CEC results. However, the ammonia electrode technique, when used directly with the NH4+ samples of zeolite without 10% NaCl treatment, generally gives higher CEC values. The amount of NH4+ treated (converted to NH3), when the NH4+-saturated zeolitized samples were used directly, was higher than the amount of the NH4+ treated when the NH4+ solutions were obtained after washing the NH4+-saturated zeolitized samples with 10% NaCl. Therefore, washing with 10% NaCl does not facilitate the release of all NH4+ initially within the zeolite structure. A modified AMAS technique is proposed for measuring the CEC of zeolitic material.

The vitric component of the silicic pyroclastic flows and surge deposits (Prassa ignimbrite unit), from the northwestern exposures of the pyroclastics formation of Polyegos Island, South Aegean Sea Volcanic Arc in Greece, is replaced by authigenic zeolite and clay minerals. Mordenite dominates, and clinoptilolite (heulandite type 3), illite and illite-smectite (I-S) are subordinate. Opal-CT, quartz, feldspar, biotite and halite complete the mineralogical suite. In the southwestern part of the pyroclastics formation (Myrsini pyroclastics unit), kaolinite, halloysite, alunite and amorphous silica are the major mineralogical constituents as a result of a strong hydrothermal alteration by solutions enriched in SO42-. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) examination proved that the 1st type of zeolites formed within the area were heulandite minerals, following the formation of smectite, as a result of the activity of pore fluids within the volcaniclastic pile. There was no substantial evidence to support a hypothesis that mordenite was formed with the heulandite minerals after the initial stages of glass dissolution, other than some very minor mordenite that was formed from a gel-like type of material. The majority of mordenite present is most often draped over and formed from the crystals of heulandite minerals. Heulandite minerals often show advanced dissolution effects. The mineral dissolution was due to the emplacement of rhyolite lava domes and flows and the associated temperature rise and circulation of hydrothermal fluids, which had also mixed with seawater. The volcanic activity raised the temperature and changed the pore fluid chemistry, and the more unstable members of the heulandite minerals group were transformed to mordenite. Clinoptilolite (heulandite type 3), which was found within a few samples, was thermally more stable than any heulandite type 1 or 2 phases initially present. Therefore, clinoptilolite was either transformed more slowly or within a very few cases, it has not been affected at all. A heulandite-minerals-derived material acted as the major precursor for the formation of mordenite. The temperature increase within the area and the later hydrothermal alteration effect are also indicated by the illitization of the smectite. Mordenite is also found to have formed from I-S clays. Overall, mordenite formed as a result of elevated temperature and high Na+ concentration.

In this article, the authors present an analysis of radiocarbon dates from a stratified deposit at the Greek Geometric period settlement of Zagora on the island of Andros, which are among the few absolute dates measured from the period in Greece. The dates assigned to Greek Geometric ceramics are based on historical and literary evidence and are found to contradict absolute dates from the central Mediterranean which suggest that the traditional dates are too young. The results indicate the final period at Zagora, the Late Geometric, should be seen as starting at least a century earlier than the traditional date of 760 BC.

Halloysite and kaolinite occur in gneissic weathering profiles developed under a temperate climate in the Leucogia area of NE Greece. X-ray diffraction analyses of samples from three profiles of partially weathered gneisses have revealed that kaolinite becomes more abundant than halloysite with increasing intensity of the decomposition processes. To resolve the genetic relationship between halloysite and kaolinite, microtextures were examined by scanning electron microscopy using polished thin-sections and freshly exposed fracture surfaces, and their chemical compositions were determined using an analytical scanning electron microscope fitted with energy dispersive and wavelength dispersive spectrometers. Different morphological forms of halloysite and kaolinite were detected within the same rock mass. In the earliest stage of weathering, spheroidal aggregates consisting of microcrystalline halloysite are formed on the plagioclase surface. With progressive weathering, spheroidal halloysite converts to tubular halloysite. As weathering advances, tubular halloysite converts to platy halloysite, which in turn converts to kaolinite. Halloysite and kaolinite may coexist in the upper parts of the profiles. Electron microprobe analyses of spheroidal, tubular and platy halloysite and kaolinite show that the chemical composition of the various forms indicate a progressive Fe enrichment and Al depletion with advancing kaolinization, from VIFe0.08VIAl3.70 a.p.f.u. in spheroidal halloysite through VIFe0.29VIAl3.50 in platy halloysite to VIFe0.53VIAl3.32 in newly formed kaolinite. Final-stage, book-type kaolinite approaches its ideal chemical composition (VIFe0.04VIAl3.95). The mineralogy and composition of the kaolin minerals and the development of the various morphological forms of halloysite and kaolinite in different parts of the profiles are attributed to the chemistry of the ambient solutions. However, other physical and microenvironmental conditions (e.g. time and space available) also seem to have strong influence on the precipitation processes producing the morphological variations.

Occurrences of halloysite-rich material in altered volcanic rocks, principally trachyandesites, dacites, and tuffs, extend over an area of ∼1 km2 in the southwestern part of Limnos, Island, northeast Aegean Sea, Greece. The present study was designed to investigate the alteration processes which acted on the biotite in these volcanic rocks, to describe in detail the mechanism of formation of the halloysite, and to specify the mechanisms of formation of anatase during the alteration processes. Samples were examined using polarized-light microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy, and Fourier-transform-Raman techniques. The extensive alteration of the parent rocks, triggered by the circulation of hydrothermal fluids through faults and fractures, resulted in the alteration of biotite to halloysite. Six stages of alteration were recognized. Nanoparticles of halloysite were initially formed on the mica layers, which progressively grew through short-tubular to well formed tubular halloysite, with increasing alteration. In the most altered samples, laths and interconnected laths with the composition (Al3.96Fe0.04)Si4O10(OH)8, were the dominant halloysite morphologies. Anatase was encountered as an alteration product of both ilmenite and biotite. Ilmenite was altered to anatase and Fe oxides. The altered ilmenite crystals constrained most of the newly formed anatase within the space occupied previously by ilmenite, leading to the formation of skeletal anatase. The layered structure of the micas was the main factor governing the morphology of newly formed anatase developed outside ilmenite margins in the form of layers parallel to those of mica. An unusual ring-like structure of anatase was thought to be the result of the uncommon alteration of inner parts of mica folia to tubular halloysite oriented perpendicular to the mica layers. The detachment of the halloysite tubes by circulating hydrothermal fluids was considered to be the reason for the creation of holes which were subsequently surrounded by the anatase ring forms.

The octahedral composition of palygorskite in more than 300 samples from the Pefkaki deposit, W. Macedonia, Greece, has been studied by near-infrared (NIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), and evaluated according to the formula $y{\text{Mg}}_5{\text{Si}}_8{\text{O}}_{20}{\left(\text{OH}\right)}_2\cdot x{\text{Mg}}_2{\text{Fe}}_{\text{2}}^{\text{III}}{\text{Si}}_8{\text{O}}_{20}{\left(\text{OH}\right)}_2\cdot \left(1-x-y\right)$ Mg2Al2Si8O20(OH)2. Included in the study were PFl-1 and several commercial palygorskites. Our analysis of 2nd derivative NIR spectra shows that the dioctahedral composition is adequately described by three sharp overtone bands representing AlAlOH, AlFeIIIOH and FeIIIFeIIIOH in M2 dioctahedral sites, and that the summed intensity of these bands is proportional to the amount of dioctahedral component present (1−y). The samples show large variations in the degree of dioctahedral FeIII-for-Al substitution with FeIII occupying up to 70% of the dioctahedral M2 sites. Ternary analysis shows that the distribution of dioctahedral Al and FeIII is not random, but displays a tendency towards homoionic pairing. An overtone band at 7214 cm−1 and several combination bands are indicative of a trioctahedral Mg3OH component (y), and their appearance correlates with a distinct palygorskite signature in thermogravimetric analysis. Nevertheless, these bands cannot be used reliably for the quantification of a trioctahedral palygorskite component due to their close similarity to those of sepiolite. To circumvent this problem, we have evaluated y indirectly by calculating the difference between 1−y and the total concentration of palygorskite determined by the normalized intensity of the d110 XRD peak of palygorskite at 10.4 Å. Using this methodology, we have found that the samples conform to a trioctahedral limit of y ≈ 0.55, although within this limit they display large variations in octahedral character. Finally, we extend the above methodology to PLS chemometrics and show how NIR can be used to determine palygorskite content routinely in multimineralic geological samples.