Volcanism of the South Aegean Volcanic Arc

Volcanism along the South Aegean Volcanic Arc began about 4.7 Ma and has lasted until the present day, with eruptions at Methana, Milos, Santorini, Kolumbo and Nisyros Volcanoes in historical times. These volcanoes can be grouped into five volcanic fields: three western fields of small, mostly monogenetic edifices, and two central/eastern fields with composite cones and calderas that have produced large explosive eruptions. Crustal tectonics exerts a strong control over the locations of edifices and vents at all five volcanic fields. Tephra and cryptotephra layers in deep-marine sediments preserve a continuous record of arc volcanism in the Aegean as far back as 200,000 years. Hazards from the volcanoes include high ash plumes, pyroclastic flows and tsunamis. Monitoring networks should be improved and expanded

Rapid emergency assessment of ash and gas hazard for future eruptions at Santorini Volcano, Greece

Hazard assessments for long-dormant volcanoes, where information is rarely available, typically have to be made rapidly and in the face of considerable uncertainty and often poor information. A conditional (assuming an eruption), scenario-based probabilistic approach to such an assessment is presented here for Santorini volcano (Greece). The rapid assessment was developed and implemented in response to the 2011-2012 unrest crisis in order to inform emergency management and planning. This paper synthesises the results presented to the Greek National Committee and scientific community involved. Two plausible eruptions at Santorini were investigated, using multiple inputs and dispersal models, based on observations of historic eruptions and expert judgement. For ash hazard, a 'most likely' eruption scenario was developed, characterised by slow lava extrusion over periods of one to two years with weak but persistent explosions and ash venting up to 3 km. A second 'largest considered' sub-Plinian explosive scenario assumed a 12 km high column of 4-h duration. For gas hazard, constant fluxes of 200 and 800 tons/day SO2 were assumed for the duration of the eruption scenarios, noting that there is very little evidence to constrain SO2 flux from Santorini eruptions. Statistical models of likely wind conditions with height and season were developed from decadal reanalysis time series showing that consistent low-altitude winds were rarely maintained for more than a few days. Stochastic models of ash (TEPHRA2, VOL-CALPUFF) and gas (AERMOD) dispersal provided outputs in the form of probability maps and exceedance probability curves for key loading and concentration thresholds at important locations on the island. The results from the rapid assessments presented in this paper confirm that ash and gas hazard is likely to be of concern if an eruption of Santorini occurs. Higher hazard may be expected to the south and east of the volcano, notably at important tourist and transport hubs. Low hazard to the north and northwest suggests that these may be suitable locations for emergency response centres and emergency critical infrastructure. This approach may provide a blueprint for rapid ash and gas assessment for other long-dormant volcanoes and we provide suggestions for refining the methods used.</p

Marine Investigations of Greece\u27s Santorini Volcanic Field

The most recent major explosive eruption of the Santorini volcano in Greece—around 3600 years before present (B.P.), often referred to as the Minoan eruption—is one of the largest volcanic events known in historical time and has been the subject of intense volcanological and archeological studies [Druitt et al., 1999]. The submarine volcano Kolumbo, located seven kilometers northeast of Santorini and associated with Santorini\u27s tectonic system, erupted explosively in 1650 A.D., resulting in fatalities on the island of Thera [Fouqué, 1879]. A large fraction of the erupted products from the Minoan eruption has been deposited in the sea but, up to now, only has been studied in distal marine sediments. As part of a collaborative project between the University of Rhode Island (Narragansett), the Hellenic Centre of Marine Research (Athens, Greece), and the Institute of Geology and Mineral Exploration (Athens), a marine geological survey was conducted around Santorini from April to June 2006. he new work now shows that the volume of the Minoan eruption may be comparable to that of the largest known historical eruption, the 1815 eruption of Tambora in Indonesia [Sigurdsson and Carey, 1989]; provides insights into the depositional processes and size of the Minoan eruption; and led to the discovery of important submarine hydrothermal vents with active mineralization

Diffuse emission of CO2 and convective heat release at Nisyros caldera (Greece)

ISSN:0377-027

Contribution of the European Volcanology community to the implementation of the EPOS infrastructure for accessing geoscience data

The 27th IUGG General Assembly in Montréal, Québec, Canada.,vJuly 8-18, 2019.During the last decade, the European volcanological community has undertaken a process of community building in the frame of the European Plate Observing System (EPOS) projects. The tangible outcome of this effort is the `Volcano Observations¿ Thematic Core Service (VO-TCS), which aim is the definition of a clear legal and technical frame for the coordination of the European volcanology community, and management and accessibility of its huge scientific heritage. The VO-TCS is currently developing facilities allowing long-term, easy access to volcanological data and products, and interoperable services provided by its Volcano Observatories (VOs) and Research Institutions (VRIs). The VO-TCS will offer virtual access to data, products, services, and computational platforms, and it is also defining the rules and procedures to properly allow transnational access to its volcanological facilities. The portfolio of data, products, software, and services is quite broad and varied, ranging from geophysics and geochemistry to volcanology. Data collection and analysis varies from in-situ and remote sensing observations to experimental analysis and computational elaborations. Overall, the TCS VOs and VRIs will provide quantitative, high-quality observations on the European volcanoes and the geodynamic background of the surrounding areas. For the purpose, VO-TCS has been integrating the experiences gained in monitoring and studying the Italian, Icelandic, French, Spanish, Greek, and Portuguese volcanoes. A first concrete result of the implementation of the VO-TCS is the H2020 EUROVOLC project, started in February 2018, which aims at networking the European volcanological community by supporting joint research activities and virtual/physical/ remote accesses to selected facilities

The contribution of the European Volcanology community to the implementation of the European Plate Observing System (EPOS) infrastructure

EGU General Assembly in Viena, Austria,7–12 April 2019During the last decade, the European volcanological community has undertaken a process of community building in the frame of the two European Plate Observing System (EPOS) projects: the ECFP7 Preparatory Phase, which ended in 2014, and the ongoing EC H2020 Implementation Phase. The tangible outcome of this effort is the ‘Volcano Observations’ Thematic Core Service (VO-TCS), which aim is the definition of a clear legal and technical frame for the coordination of the European volcanology community, and management and accessibility of its huge scientific heritage. The VO-TCS is currently developing facilities allowing long-term, easy access to volcanological data and products, and interoperable services provided by its Volcano Observatories and Research Institutions. The VO-TCS will offer virtual access to data, products, services, and computational platforms, and it is also defining the rules and procedures to properly allow transnational access to its volcanological facilities. The portfolio of data, products, software, and services is quite broad and varied, ranging from geophysics and geochemistry to volcanology. Data collection and analysis varies from in-situ and remote sensing observations to experimental analysis and computational elaborations. Overall, the TCS Volcano Observatories and Research Institutions will provide quantitative, high-quality observations on the European volcanoes and the geodynamic background of the surrounding areas. For the purpose, VO-TCS has been integrating the experiences gained in monitoring and studying the Italian, Icelandic, French, Spanish, Greek, and Portuguese volcanoes. A first concrete result of the implementation of the VO-TCS is the H2020 EUROVOLC project, started in February 2018, which aims at networking the European volcanological community by supporting joint research activities and virtual/physical/ remote accesses to selected facilities. Actually, the community involved in EUROVOLC is broader than that implementing the VO-TCS. The VO-TCS has also the potential to link with multiple international communities; such has already been initiated with the IAVCEI WOVO Commission (World Organization of Volcano Observatories) which is the reference worldwide community building initiative for the volcanological community. Technical solutions and best practices for data access will be shared between VO-TCS and WOVOdat global database. Once, the access to VO-TCS has been definitively set out, the volcanology community expects that the multidisciplinary portfolio of the volcanological databases offered will also attract communities from other domains (e.g. climatology, atmospheric science, biology, etc.). Examples of this potentiality are the experiences carried out in the transnational accesses managed in the frame of the ENVRIPlus EC H2020 project on Mt. Etna observatory. In this initial state, the institutions contributing to the implementation of the VO-TCS are: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS; Units of “Institut the Physique du Globe “ and “Université Clermont Auvergne”); Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC); Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS); GeoForschungsZentrum (GFZ); Institute of Geology & Mineral Exploration (IGME); Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN); Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO); Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV); Universidade dos Açores (UAc); and University of Bristol (UB); University of Iceland (UI). In the future, the VO-TCS envisages the contribution of many other universities and research institutions around Europe