The underwater volcano Kolumbo, which is one of the world’s most active, is located at a depth of 500 meters around seven kilometers outside Santorini.
The fact that the volcano is located in a relatively shallow part of the Mediterranean may increase the chances that a possible eruption in the future will be explosive, with a subsequent tsunami and a cloud of gas and ash that can stretch tens of kilometers into the air, writes American Geophysical Union (AGU) in a press release.
First time in 40 years
The last time the volcano erupted, in 1650, 70 people on Santorini lost their lives.
Now scientists believe that a recently discovered magma chamber under the volcano increases the risk of another eruption. This is revealed in a recent study published in AGU’s Geochemistry, Geophysics and Geosystems.
GREEK PARADISE: The island of Santorini in Greece attracts thousands of tourists every year. Photo: Louiza Vradi / Reuters / NTB
sea view
– Should be monitored better
Using a new method, scientists have managed to get a clearer picture of the underwater volcano. They believe the newly discovered magma chamber has grown an average of four million cubic meters a year since the previous eruption, explains the study’s lead author Kajetan Chrapkiewicz, a geophysicist at Imperial College in London.
The researchers believe that the chamber may now have a size of 1.4 cubic kilometres.
If the chamber continues to grow at the same rate, the researchers believe that the amount of magma will reach levels like in 1650 sometime during the next 150 years.
They advocate that the volcano, and other volcanoes of this kind, should be monitored by several monitoring stations, in order to get a better estimate of when the next eruption will take place.
– We need better data for what is actually under these volcanoes. Continuous monitoring systems will make it possible to estimate better when an outbreak may take place. With these systems, we will probably be able to know about an outbreak a few days before it happens, and people can be evacuated to a safe place, says researcher Chrapkiewicz in the press release.
Although levels of magma are monitored, it is not possible to say anything absolutely certain about when Kolumbo will have its next eruption, writes the research journal.
VERY POWERFUL: The January 2022 eruption of Tonga’s Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano has been confirmed as the largest ever recorded, according to scientists. Photo: Japan Meteorology Agency / AP / NTB
sea view
Can be very destructive
A possible future eruption from Kolumbo has the potential to be more destructive than the volcanic eruption at Tonga in January 2022, due to the submarine volcano’s proximity to densely populated areas on Santorini, according to AGU.
The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano in Tonga threw ash and mud up to 40 kilometers into the atmosphere, as well as causing a major tsunami.
The volcano is located on an island around 65 kilometers north of Tonga’s capital Nuku’alofa. The outbreak caused poisoned drinking water, destroyed crops and left two villages in ruins, NTB has previously written.
A New Zealand research team from the National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) concluded in November that the eruption is the largest ever recorded. According to them, the seabed was displaced by the equivalent of 2.6 million swimming pools – a third more than the original estimates, according to NTB.
The research team has also proven that the volcano is still erupting.
