The fact that there are numerous underwater volcanoes in the Mediterranean Sea is nothing new, but what researchers have recently discovered is sensational. Here’s what we know.
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According to recent studies, there is one in the Mediterranean Sea volcano who would be willing to go into business, with the consequent risk of explosion. Researchers have already determined the date of its last eruption, which took place in the mid-17th century with devastating effects on the surrounding lands.
But that’s not all, because now innovative technologies are able to detect the activity and growth of its magma chamber. It seems that the great volcano so it’s about to erupt.
Kolumbo volcano: where it is and information
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the volcano The submarine in question was discovered in 1649 when a series of eruptions on the nearest island killed 70 people. It is about columbo, the largest of twenty underwater volcanoes in the Aegean, about 8 km northeast of Santorini, the southernmost Greek island in the Cyclades archipelago, a very popular destination for international tourism. Kolumbo Volcano currently has a diameter of about 3 km, a crater about 1.5 km, the rim of which is only 10 meters below sea level.
According to recent studies, the magma chamber of the underwater volcano is from Santorini it keeps growing. This means that the island could experience a fairly severe and destructive earthquake and eruption within the next 150 years. The study, published in October 2022 in the industry’s main scientific journals, reveals that the magma chamber has only now been discovered because submarine seismometers are difficult to position. But how did we come to this conclusion?
Is the Santorini volcano dangerous? New technologies are able to say
Until now, the data available to researchers has been scarce, but thanks to new technology and ingenious intuition, it is now possible to closely monitor Santorini’s volcano.
The full waveform inversion method is a new methodology applied to the Kolumbo study that uses man-made seismic waves to create a high-resolution image showing the degree of stiffness of the subsurface rock. Like a kind of medical ultrasound to get a picture of the underground structure of the Greek island’s volcano.
Based on the data obtained, we can estimate where the magma forms. In case of Santorini volcano The presence of a magma chamber has been identified that has been increasing at a rate of 4 million cubic meters per year since its last activity, for a total of 1.4 cubic kilometers of magma.
Santorini volcano: when could it erupt?
Research by Kajetan Chrapkiewicz, a geophysicist at Imperial College London, estimated that magma could reach 2 cubic kilometers within the next 150 years. The same crowd that probably blew up the volcano in the mid-seventeenth century when it was discovered.
Chrapkiewicz said the available data cannot provide a full answer as to when the next outbreak will occur. However, with continuous monitoring, it is now possible to obtain more extensive and accurate data to be alert to the eruption a few days before the blast.