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Giant offshore pumice deposit records a shallow submarine explosive eruption of ancestral Santorini

Druitt, Tim; Kutterolf, Steffen; Ronge, Thomas A.; Hübscher, Christian; Nomikou, Paraskevi; Preine, Jonas; Gertisser, Ralf; Karstens, Jens; Keller, Jörg; Koukousioura, Olga; Manga, Michael; Metcalfe, Abigail; McCanta, Molly; McIntosh, Iona; Pank, Katharina; Woodhouse, Adam; Beethe, Sarah; Berthod, Carole; Chiyonobu, Shun; Chen, Hehe; Clark, Acacia; DeBari, Susan; Johnston, Raymond; Peccia, Ally; Yamamoto, Yuzuru; Bernard, Alexis; Perez, Tatiana Fernandez; Jones, Christopher; Joshi, Kumar Batuk; Kletetschka, Günther; Li, Xiaohui; Morris, Antony; Polymenakou, Paraskevi; Tominaga, Masako; Papanikolaou, Dimitrios; Wang, Kuo-Lung; Lee, Hao-Yang

Authors

Tim Druitt

Steffen Kutterolf

Thomas A. Ronge

Christian Hübscher

Paraskevi Nomikou

Jonas Preine

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



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.

Citation

Druitt, T., Kutterolf, S., Ronge, T. A., Hübscher, C., Nomikou, P., Preine, J., …Lee, H. (2024). Giant offshore pumice deposit records a shallow submarine explosive eruption of ancestral Santorini. Communications Earth & Environment, 5(1), Article 24. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-01171-z

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Dec 8, 2023
Online Publication Date Jan 15, 2024
Publication Date Jan 15, 2024
Deposit Date Jan 18, 2024
Publicly Available Date Jan 19, 2024
Journal Communications Earth & Environment
Print ISSN 2662-4435
Publisher Nature Research
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 5
Issue 1
Article Number 24
DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-01171-z
Keywords General Earth and Planetary Sciences; General Environmental Science
Additional Information Received: 13 June 2023; Accepted: 8 December 2023; First Online: 15 January 2024; : The authors declare no competing interests.

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