The surge of the undersea volcano Kolumbo in the Aegean Sea in 1650 set off a devastating tsunami that was explained by historic eyewitnesses. They found that the eyewitness accounts of the natural catastrophe can just be explained by a mix of a landslide followed by an explosive eruption. From the Greek island of Santorini, the eruption had been noticeable for a number of weeks. About seven kilometers northeast of Santorini, an undersea volcano had risen from the sea and began ejecting glowing rocks. During the eruption, which had been going on for a number of weeks, lava was continually ejected.
The picturesque landscape of Santorini caldera today. Credit: Jonas Preine
” We know these information of the historical eruption of Kolumbo because there are contemporary reports that were put together and released by a French volcanologist in the 19th century,” states Dr. Jens Karstens, marine geophysicist at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel.
How did these devastating events come about? To discover, he and his German and Greek colleagues went to the Greek Aegean Sea in 2019 to study the volcanic crater with unique innovation.
Karstens: “We wished to comprehend how the tsunami came about at that time and why the volcano exploded so strongly.”
2 trawl doors, between which a signal source and 15 determining cables (banners) are pulled behind the research vessel: This unique technique was utilized to produce a three-dimensional picture of the Kolumbo volcano, which now lies in between 18 and 500 metres listed below the waters surface area. Credit: Thies Bartels
Scientific Analysis and Future Monitoring
On board the now decommissioned research study vessel POSEIDON, the team utilized 3D seismic approaches to produce a three-dimensional image of the crater, which is now 18 meters listed below the waters surface area.
Dr. Gareth Crutchley, co-author of the study: “This allows us to look inside the volcano.” Not only did the 3D imaging program that the crater was 2.5 kilometers in diameter and 500 meters deep, suggesting a genuinely huge surge, the seismic profiles likewise exposed that one flank of the cone had actually been seriously warped.
Crutchley: “This part of the volcano has actually certainly slipped.” The scientists then took an investigators method, comparing the various mechanisms that might have caused the tsunami with the historical eyewitness accounts. They concluded that only a mix of a landslide followed by a volcanic explosion might discuss the tsunami. Their findings are published in the journal Nature Communications.
These areas through the seismic volume show the geological structures that record the history of the crater. Credit: Karstens et al. 2023
By integrating 3D seismics with computer system simulations, the researchers were able to reconstruct how high the waves would have been if they had actually been produced by the surge alone.
Karstens: “According to this, waves of six meters would have been anticipated at one specific area, but we understand from the reports of eyewitnesses that they were 20 meters high there.”
Moreover, the sea is stated to have very first receded at another point, but in the computer system simulation a wave crest reaches the coast initially. Hence, the surge alone can not explain the tsunami event. Nevertheless, when the landslide was consisted of in the simulations, the data concurred with historical observations.
Throughout the eruption, which had been going on for a number of weeks, lava was continuously ejected. When one of the volcanos flanks slipped, the result was like uncorking a bottle of champagne: the abrupt release of pressure allowed the gas in the lava system to expand, resulting in a big explosion.”
Something similar could have taken place throughout the 2022 eruption of the Hunga Tonga undersea volcano, whose volcanic crater has a comparable shape to Kolumbos.
The penultimate expedition of the now decommissioned recreational vehicle POSEIDON went to the Greek Aegean Sea, where German and Greek scientists examined the underwater volcano Kolumbo, which emerged in 1650. Credit: Paraskevi Nomikou
The study hence offers valuable information for the development of monitoring programs for active submarine volcanic activity, such as SANTORY, which is led by co-author Prof. Dr. Paraskevi Nomikou of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA). “We wish to be able to use our outcomes to establish new techniques to monitor volcanic discontent,” says Jens Karstens, “maybe even an early warning system, gathering information in real-time. That would be my dream.”
About 3D Marine Reflection Seismics
3D seismics is a geophysical method that exploits the truth that sound waves are partly shown at the boundaries of layers. Unlike 2D reflection seismics, marine 3D reflection seismics utilizes several determining cable televisions (real estate receivers) towed in parallel behind the research vessel.
Referral: “Cascading events throughout the 1650 tsunamigenic eruption of Kolumbo volcano” by Jens Karstens, Gareth J. Crutchley, Thor H. Hansteen, Jonas Preine, Steven Carey, Judith Elger, Michel Kühn, Paraskevi Nomikou, Florian Schmid, Giacomo Dalla Valle, Karim Kelfoun and Christian Berndt, 26 October 2023, Nature Communications. DOI: 10.1038 / s41467-023-42261-y.
Scientists utilized modern-day imaging strategies to study the 1650 Kolumbo undersea volcano eruption, revealing that a landslide followed by an eruption caused the historic tsunami. Their findings aid in the advancement of submarine volcanic activity tracking.
GEOMAR scientists reconstruct historical volcanic eruption utilizing 3D seismics.
The surge of the undersea volcano Kolumbo in the Aegean Sea in 1650 triggered a damaging tsunami that was described by historic eyewitnesses. A group of scientists led by Dr. Jens Karstens from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel has now surveyed Kolumbos underwater crater with modern imaging technology and reconstructed the historic occasions. They found that the eyewitness accounts of the natural disaster can only be described by a mix of a landslide followed by an explosive eruption. Their findings were released on October 26 in the journal Nature Communications.
Observations and Investigations
From the Greek island of Santorini, the eruption had been visible for several weeks. In the late summertime of 1650, people reported that the color of the water had altered and the water was boiling. About seven kilometers northeast of Santorini, an underwater volcano had risen from the sea and began ejecting glowing rocks.
