Evidence of large submarine volcanic eruption 520 kyrs ago in Aegean

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the evidence of a significant submarine volcanic eruption in the Aegean Sea approximately 520,000 years ago, comparing its scale and impact to other historical eruptions such as those of Tambora and Krakatoa. Participants explore the implications of this finding for volcanology and archaeology, as well as the frequency of such large events over geological time scales.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants highlight the discovery of a new tuff deposit around Santorini, suggesting it is significantly larger than previous eruptions, with a volume of over 90 cubic kilometers.
  • There is curiosity about how this eruption compares to the volumes of the Tambora and Krakatoa eruptions, with some participants noting the challenges in equating different eruption metrics.
  • One participant questions the rarity of such large volcanic events, speculating on the expected frequency of eruptions over a million-year timescale.
  • Another participant references the existence of a Large Igneous Province over the last 50-100 million years, pondering whether finding a 500,000-year-old eruption is unusual.
  • Some participants discuss the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of the Santorini eruption, suggesting it may be classified as a high VEI 6, similar to Krakatoa, while Tambora is noted as a VEI 7.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views regarding the significance and implications of the eruption evidence, with no consensus reached on the rarity of such events or the direct comparisons to other historical eruptions.

Contextual Notes

Participants acknowledge the complexity of comparing eruption volumes and VEI ratings, indicating that assumptions and definitions may influence their assessments.

Astronuc
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Evidence of one of the largest explosive eruptions ever recorded in the Aegean Sea​

https://phys.org/news/2024-01-evidence-largest-explosive-eruptions-aegean.html
the Late Bronze Age eruption of Santorini around 3,600 years ago probably triggered the downfall of the Minoan civilization on Crete—an important event for both volcanology and archaeology," says Dr Steffen Kutterolf, a volcanologist at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel.

Together with Dr Timothy Druitt from the University of Clermont-Auvergne, he led the expedition to Santorini. The international team of scientists discovered a new deposit around the island, indicating a much larger submarine eruption around 520,000 years ago.

Dr Kutterolf says, "The newly discovered tuff deposit has a volume of more than 90 cubic kilometers and is up to 150 meters thick. This makes it six times larger than the pyroclastic flow deposits of the Minoan eruption and ten times larger than those of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcanic eruption of 22 January 2022."
https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-023-01171-z

I wonder it ranks against Tambora (1815) and Krakatoa (1883).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1815_eruption_of_Mount_Tambora - estimate of 37–45 km3 (8.9–10.8 cubic miles) of dense-rock equivalent (DRE) material into the atmosphere, (Source: Wikipedia article). Not sure how to equate to the Santorini value.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1883_eruption_of_Krakatoa
 
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an important event for both volcanology and archaeology,"

And important for the Minoans.

Is this unusual? If I looked back, say, a million years, I'd expect there to be 10,000 once-a-century events, 1000 once-per- millennium events. And in a million, a once-per-million years event.
 
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There's always something, given enough time.
 
BillTre said:
There's always something
In the words of Roseanne Roseannadanna, yes.

A quick look shows over the last 50-100M years there is a Large Igneous Province. Is finding one (possibly smaller) that is 500K years old unusual? Maybe.
 
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Astronuc said:

Evidence of one of the largest explosive eruptions ever recorded in the Aegean Sea​

https://phys.org/news/2024-01-evidence-largest-explosive-eruptions-aegean.html

https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-023-01171-z

I wonder it ranks against Tambora (1815) and Krakatoa (1883).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1815_eruption_of_Mount_Tambora - estimate of 37–45 km3 (8.9–10.8 cubic miles) of dense-rock equivalent (DRE) material into the atmosphere, (Source: Wikipedia article). Not sure how to equate to the Santorini value.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1883_eruption_of_Krakatoa
Too simplistic perhaps, but Santorini is estimated at a VEI of 6, same as Krakatoa whereas Tambora is a 7. This would be a high 6 I think

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_large_Holocene_volcanic_eruptions

90 km^3 of volume is between the 18-25 of Krakatoa and 144-213 of Tambora