Communications Earth & Environment (Jan 2024)
Giant offshore pumice deposit records a shallow submarine explosive eruption of ancestral Santorini
- Tim Druitt,
- Steffen Kutterolf,
- Thomas A. Ronge,
- Christian Hübscher,
- Paraskevi Nomikou,
- Jonas Preine,
- Ralf Gertisser,
- Jens Karstens,
- Jörg Keller,
- Olga Koukousioura,
- Michael Manga,
- Abigail Metcalfe,
- Molly McCanta,
- Iona McIntosh,
- Katharina Pank,
- Adam Woodhouse,
- Sarah Beethe,
- Carole Berthod,
- Shun Chiyonobu,
- Hehe Chen,
- Acacia Clark,
- Susan DeBari,
- Raymond Johnston,
- Ally Peccia,
- Yuzuru Yamamoto,
- Alexis Bernard,
- Tatiana Fernandez Perez,
- Christopher Jones,
- Kumar Batuk Joshi,
- Günther Kletetschka,
- Xiaohui Li,
- Antony Morris,
- Paraskevi Polymenakou,
- Masako Tominaga,
- Dimitrios Papanikolaou,
- Kuo-Lung Wang,
- Hao-Yang Lee
Affiliations
- Tim Druitt
- University Clermont-Auvergne, CNRS, IRD, OPGC, Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans
- Steffen Kutterolf
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
- Thomas A. Ronge
- International Ocean Discovery Program, Texas A&M University
- Christian Hübscher
- Institute of Geophysics, University of Hamburg
- Paraskevi Nomikou
- Department of Geology and Geoenvironment, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
- Jonas Preine
- Institute of Geophysics, University of Hamburg
- Ralf Gertisser
- School of Geography, Geology and the Environment, Keele University
- Jens Karstens
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
- Jörg Keller
- Institut für Geo- und Umweltnaturwissenschaften, Mineralogie - Petrologie
- Olga Koukousioura
- School of Geology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
- Michael Manga
- Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California
- Abigail Metcalfe
- University Clermont-Auvergne, CNRS, IRD, OPGC, Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans
- Molly McCanta
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee
- Iona McIntosh
- Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology
- Katharina Pank
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
- Adam Woodhouse
- Institute for Geophysics, University of Texas, J.J. Pickle Research Campus
- Sarah Beethe
- College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University
- Carole Berthod
- Institut De Physique Du Globe De Paris, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
- Shun Chiyonobu
- Faculty of International Resource Sciences, Akita University, Akita Prefecture
- Hehe Chen
- School of Ocean Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Haidan District
- Acacia Clark
- School of Natural Sciences/CODES, University of Tasmania
- Susan DeBari
- Geology Department, Western Washington University
- Raymond Johnston
- School of Geosciences, University of South Florida
- Ally Peccia
- Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University
- Yuzuru Yamamoto
- Graduate School of Science, Kobe University
- Alexis Bernard
- Laboratoire des Fluides Complexes et leurs Réservoirs, Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour
- Tatiana Fernandez Perez
- Department of Geology, Kent State University
- Christopher Jones
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California
- Kumar Batuk Joshi
- Solid Earth Research Group, National Centre for Earth Science Studies
- Günther Kletetschka
- Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks
- Xiaohui Li
- Key Laboratory of Submarine Geoscience and Prospecting Techniques, Ocean University of China
- Antony Morris
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Plymouth University, Drake Circus
- Paraskevi Polymenakou
- Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research
- Masako Tominaga
- Department of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
- Dimitrios Papanikolaou
- Department of Geology and Geoenvironment, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
- Kuo-Lung Wang
- Institute of Earth Sciences, Academia Sinica
- Hao-Yang Lee
- Institute of Earth Sciences, Academia Sinica
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-01171-z
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 5,
no. 1
pp. 1 – 13
Abstract
Abstract Large explosive volcanic eruptions from island arcs pour pyroclastic currents into marine basins, impacting ecosystems and generating tsunamis that threaten coastal communities and infrastructures. Risk assessments require robust records of such highly hazardous events, which is challenging as most of the products lie buried under the sea. Here we report the discovery by IODP Expedition 398 of a giant rhyolitic pumice deposit emplaced 520 ± 10 ky ago at water depths of 200 to 1000 m during a high-intensity, shallow submarine eruption of ancestral Santorini Volcano. Pyroclastic currents discharged into the sea transformed into turbidity currents and slurries, forming a >89 ± 8 km3 volcaniclastic megaturbidite up to 150 m thick in the surrounding marine basins, while breaching of the sea surface by the eruption column laid down veneers of ignimbrite on three islands. The eruption is one of the largest recorded on the South Aegean Volcanic Arc, and highlights the hazards from submarine explosive eruptions.
