Ccould the eruption of a super volcanic mountain range spell doom for a picturesque Greek island?
Above Santorini’s breathtaking cliffs lies a world renowned tourist site which hosts an industry worth millions. Underneath rests a gurgling caldera hotspot which poses a threat when disturbed. The dreamy Greek Island was an ancient eruption, which leaves a gaping crater and a U shaped escarpment as it’s remnants. Scientists for the first time are attempting to figure out the magnitude of its’ possible eruption. As part of a search for evidence, Today News Affair accompanied sailors aboard the British royal research ship the Discovery.
Just weeks before, nearly half of the 11,000 residents of Santorini were in advanced stages of evacuation because the Island entered a state of highly seismic activity. THe harsh tremors were only a hint of what was to come for the white washed villages with air BnB style hot tubs, luxurious vineyards and gyros shops which sit atop the rich volcanic soil. Head of the mission, Britains National Oceanography centre has marked Prof Isobel Yeo an expert on highly dangerous submarine volcanos isotopically charged with the task. Two thirds of Earth’s active Volcanoes lie submerged under water and are largely left unattended.
“It’s something akin to ‘out of sight, out of mind’ in terms of their understanding danger compared to more famous ones like Vesuvius,” is all she comments as we look on the deck and watch two engineers winch off a robot whose dimensions equalled one of a car. This is part of the post earthquake work for scientists that attempt to decipher what type of geological activity might be volcanic eruption precursors. Isobel says, ‘last eruption was in 1950, but there was some unrest in 2012’, “magma moved into the volcano’s belly and the islands swelled up.”
Understanding the Risks of Underwater Volcanoes
“Submarine volcanoes can produce some of the largest and most destructive eruptions,” she continues, “in fact, underwater eruptions can be cataclysmically large. There’s a misplaced sense of security of small eruptions and a shielded volcano behaving itself. You expect the next should follow suit and the likelihood of that is very low,” she explained. The 2022 Hunga Tunga eruption in the Pacific caused one of the largest underwater explosions ever recorded and generated tidal waves in the Atlantic with Britain being a distant impact zone. Some of Tonga’s islands closest to the volcano were so badly affected that their inhabitants will never return.”
When we set out on the ship, bubbling hot vents lay 300m (984ft) beneath us, and within their deep vexations, the ocean floor seethes with rocks and gas clouds that burst forth like a world of scarlet.
Isobel comments, “There are parts of planets that we have better knowledge on when it comes to their terrain vis a vis what lies beneath our oceans.” Next, the robot that descends to the seabed is programmed to fetch fluids, gases, and minerals, alongside taking shots of the rocks through snappers.
Mapping Hydrothermal Systems
This characterizes volcanic activity from formations of hydrocarbons. “Those vents are hydrothermal”, Isobel radads with the rest of the 22 scientists on board. Before us in the waters, “there are two principal volcanoes” rendering their explosive nature dormant, at least for now. “We are trying to trace the structure across regions where hot steam escapes,” Issobel elaborates over the thermometer-controlled windows. Mount Alexis alone allows us, the Discovery, to survey the caldera of Santorini’s which floats Kolombo at an easu-7 NorthEast of the Islands.
Hydrothermal vents possess great potential in the fields of Isobel claims the multifaceted experts. In short order, the energy can be derived from the ocean, breeze, tidal flow, geothermal manifestations from lands beneath the volcanoes and next goons.
