Ancient Underwater Volcano Eruption Discovered at Santorini Island, Bigger Than Record-Breaking Tonga Explosion

The Aegean Sea has been a famous destination for tourists and travelers who want to enjoy the beauty and culture of Greece, but beneath the serene surface lies a violent past that has shaped the history of the Mediterranean region and the world.

Ancient Catastrophe

In a recent discovery, an international team of researchers has revealed evidence of one of the largest volcanic eruptions ever recorded in the southern Aegean Arc, a volcanic chain which includes the Santorini Island. Their findings are reported in the paper "Giant offshore pumice deposit records a shallow submarine explosive eruption of ancestral Santorini."

The scientists drilled into the seafloor at seven sites around Santorini as part of the IODP expedition "Hellenic Arc Volcanic Field." The team found giant pumice deposits which indicate a massive underwater eruption 520,000 years ago.

This eruption, known as Archaeos Tuff, was six times larger than the eruption of Santorini which happened during the Late Bronze Age around 3,600 years ago. Experts also believe that this event triggered the collapse of the Minoan civilization on Crete.

The Archaeos Tuff is the largest known explosion in the Christiana-Santorini-Kolumbo volcanic field. It consists of over 20 volcanoes along a 37-mile (60 kilometers) rift zone which cuts across the island arc.

After the ancient eruption took place, a huge volume of magma and ash was produced and covered an area of about 7,7722 square miles (20,000 square kilometers). This created the caldera that is filled by the sea. The massive eruption also had a global impact as the ash plume reached 25 miles (40 kilometers) high and spread over Asia, Africa, and Europe, covering the lands up to 500 feet (150 meters) thick.

It was hypothesized that the Archaeos Tuff eruption was influenced by the tectonic setting of the Hellenic Arc being located at the convergent boundary of the African and Eurasian plates. Researchers proposed that the explosion was triggered by a major earthquake which occurred along the Hellenic trench.

Scientists believe that the eruption of the Santorini volcano was so violent that it was 15 times greater than the explosion of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano in 2022. The Tonga eruption broke several records, as it triggered the fastest atmospheric waves ever seen and the first known mega-tsunami since ancient times.

Implications for Volcanology and Society

The discoveries of the IODP expedition challenges the previous assumptions about the frequency of eruptions in the Hellenic Arc. They also provide new insights into the mechanisms and triggers of explosive volcanism in island arcs.

The eruption suggests that the Hellenic Arc is capable of producing more devastating eruptions than previously thought and could pose a serious threat to the millions of people living in the vicinity. In addition, the eruption could have important environmental and climatic impacts, with the ash and gases altering the composition and temperature of the atmosphere.

The research team hope that their findings will contribute to a better understanding of the volcanic activity in the Hellenic Arc and other similar regions around the world. They also aim to raise awareness and preparedness for the potential consequences of a future volcanic eruption.

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