Is the giant volcano ready to erupt in the Mediterranean? Here’s what we know

The existence of many underwater volcanoes in the Mediterranean Sea is nothing new, but what researchers have discovered recently is exciting. Here’s what we know.

Volcanic submarine
(Pixabay credit ph)

According to recent studies, it is found in the Mediterranean Sea volcano which would be ready to go into action with the consequent risk of explosion. Researchers have already determined the date of its last eruption, which occurred in the middle of the 17th century with devastating effects on the lands around it.

But that’s not all, because innovative technologies are now able to detect the activity and growth of the magma chamber. File appears Super Volcano So it’s about to explode.

Colombo volcano: where is it and information

Santorini volcano eruption
(Credit pH StockSnap, Pixabay)

the volcano The submarine in question was discovered in 1649 when a series of explosions claimed 70 lives on the nearest island. We are talking about Colombo, the largest complex of twenty undersea volcanoes located in the Aegean Sea, about 8 kilometers northeast of Santorini, Greece’s southernmost island of the Cyclades archipelago, is a very popular destination for international tourism. the colombo volcano At present, it has a diameter of about 3 kilometers, a crater about 1.5 kilometers long, and its rim is no more than 10 meters below sea level.

According to recent studies, the magma chamber of a submarine volcano Santorini It is constantly growing. This means that the island could be exposed to a major and destructive earthquake and volcanic eruption within 150 years. The research, published in October 2022 in the major scientific journals of the sector, shows that the magma chamber has only now been discovered due to the difficulty of placing seismographs under the sea. But how did we come to this conclusion?

Is Santorini volcano dangerous? New technologies are able to find out

Until now, data available to researchers was scarce but thanks to new technologies and innovative intuition, it is now possible to closely monitor a volcano. Santorini.

The full waveform inversion method is a new methodology applied to the Kolumbo study that uses artificially produced seismic waves to create a high-resolution image showing the degree of hardness of underground rocks. Like a kind of medical ultrasound to get a picture of the subterranean structure of an island volcano in Greece.

The data obtained allow us to estimate where magma was formed. In case Santorini volcano A magma chamber has been identified which has been increasing at a rate of 4 million cubic meters per year since it was last active, for a total of 1.4 cubic kilometers of magma.

Santorini volcano: when can it erupt?

Research by Kajetan Cherapkiewicz, a geophysicist at Imperial College London, estimated that magma could reach 2 cubic kilometers in volume within the next 150 years. The same amount you probably blew volcano In the middle of the seventeenth century when it was discovered.

Chrapkiewicz said the available data can’t give a complete answer about when the next eruption will occur. However, now with constant monitoring it will be possible to obtain more abundant and accurate data, so that you will be aware of the eruption a few days before the eruption.

  • Zach Crawford

    "Reader. Travel maven. Student. Passionate tv junkie. Internet ninja. Twitter advocate. Web nerd. Bacon buff."

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