Volcanic material ejected from The Minoan eruption of the Santorini volcano has been studied in detail by an international team of researchers.to uncover the secrets of the largest volcanic eruption in Europe in the last 10,000 years, and to contribute to the understanding of major volcanic eruptions around the world. The Department of Geology and Geoenvironment of the University of Athens also participates in the research (EKPA).

Many of the most destructive volcanic eruptions in history occurred on island volcanoes, so much of the material from the eruptions was deposited on the sea floor. This makes it difficult to study this material to determine the true size of the eruption, with the result that the scale of these major events and the risks they pose are still not well understood, even among specialists.

An international team of scientists led by marine geologist Jens Carstens from the German Ocean Research Center GEOMAR Helmholtz in Kiel and with the participation of Evi Nomiko, Associate Professor of Geology and Geoenvironment at EKUA, and researchers from institutions in Norway, the United States and France accurately measured the Minoan eruption of the Santorini volcano, which occurred about 3,600 years ago, and the volcanic material that was ejected and deposited both on land and in the sea. Their study was published in the journal Nature Communications.

Combination of the most modern geophysical and geological methodsscientists have revised Minoan eruption of Santorini and they more accurately defined the volume of erupted magma by which the size of an eruption is measured. As EKPA Associate Professor Evi Nomiku explains to APE-MPE, through the study of this material, “we are trying to put together this ‘puzzle’ of what the Santorini volcano was like before the Minoan eruption, what it was like after, and how much exactly this tumor exploded and spread throughout Santorini. We can only discover this if we study the underwater space very well.”

The researchers in this new paper found that the volume of material ejected onto Santorini’s land and seabed was 26-41 cubic kilometers, significantly less than previously thought (estimations from previous calculations were 86 cubic kilometers of ejected magma). The volume of ejected material provides information, moreover, on the volume of the magma chamber located under the volcano.

This is the first time such precise values ​​have been calculated for all individual components, since until now estimates of eruption volume have been based either on an estimate of the volume of caldera collapse or on an incomplete record of eruptive products. . Both approaches are limited in their explanatory power by themselves.

For the new calculations, the researchers combined different methods from several research missions. For example, they were able to trace the ash deposits from the Minoan eruption in 41 sediment cores collected during the Poseidon research mission in 2017, and thus determine the volume of ash from the eruption. The data they collected allowed them even to characterize the material that fell into the center of the volcano’s crater.

“This publication is the result of an excellent collaboration between Greek and foreign scientists who participated in earlier oceanographic expeditions around the Santorini submarine region. Geological and geophysical data were collected and processed, and their combination led to the most correct interpretation of the volume of the Minoan eruption,” notes Ms. Nomikou.

Using a new scientific approach, the research team drew conclusions about the actual extent of the Minoan explosion and eventually created a more reliable reference to better classify and measure other major volcanic eruptions around the world.

“Eruptions can cost lives and even affect the climate. We are pleased that our study helped to take a step towards a better understanding of these large-scale events and, therefore, to a better risk assessment,” explains team leader Dr. Jens Carstens.

Research is currently ongoing with subsea research drilling in December 2022 and January 2023 as part of a major oceanographic mission by the International Ocean Exploration Program (IODP). Subsea drilling was carried out at points designated as critical by the research team after analyzing seismic profiles and subsea topography so that the volume of volcanic material from the Minoan Santorini eruption could also be confirmed. with drilling.

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