Volcano-tectonic evolution of the Christiana-Santorini-Kolumbo marine volcanic field / central Aegean Sea
Final Report Abstract
The Christiana-Santorini-Kolumbo volcanic field (CSKVF) in the southern Aegean Sea lies in an active continental rift zone and is one of the most hazardous volcano-tectonic regions in the world. Extensive research in the last decades has led to a detailed understanding of the onshore volcanic history of Santorini. However, since most of the volcanic edifices and their deposits lie offshore, critical observation gaps remain. In the course of this project, we exploited a dense array of high-resolution 2D and 3D seismic reflection profiles. By linking the marine stratigraphy to onshore volcanic sequences, we presented the first consistent seismostratigraphic framework for the CSKVF that allows linking the tectonic evolution of the rift basins to the evolution of the volcanic centers. We demonstrate that the CSKVF evolved from a volcanic field with local centers, and only matured in the last ~350,000 years to form the vast Santorini edifice. Volcanism emerged in the Late Pliocene when an ESE-WNW- oriented tectonic regime was overprinted by a newly emerging NE-SW-directed rift system. Thereafter, all volcanic centers aligned parallel to this trend and evolved above distinct NE- SW-directed faults that cross-cut present-day Santorini. A major tectonic pulse occurred at ~0.7 Ma, triggering a large mass-wasting cascade on the flanks of Santorini and Christiana, while another rift pulse at 0.35 Ma led to a focus of volcanic activity on Santorini with increasing explosivity. Combining these data with a multidisciplinary dataset comprising sediment cores and P-wave tomography data, allowed the calculation of the volume of the Minoan eruption, which is estimated to be 34.5 ± 6.8 km3. This estimate is significantly smaller than previously assumed but consistent with an independent caldera collapse reconstruction. Combining all results, the results from this project highlight that tectonics, volcanism, and mass-wasting are fundamentally interconnected at the CSKVF and can trigger each other as hazardous disaster cascades. Shoreline crossing monitoring and early warning systems are urgently needed on the flanks of Santorini and Kolumbo to prevent the next major event from becoming a disaster.
Publications
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When There Is No Offset: A Demonstration of Seismic Diffraction Imaging and Depth‐Velocity Model Building in the Southern Aegean Sea. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 125(9).
Preine, J.; Schwarz, B.; Bauer, A. & Hübscher, C.
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Spatio-temporal evolution of the Christiana-Santorini-Kolumbo volcanic field, Aegean Sea. Geology, 50(1), 96-100.
Preine, J.; Karstens, J.; Hübscher, C.; Nomikou, P.; Schmid, F.; Crutchley, G.J.; Druitt, T.H. & Papanikolaou, D.
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Spatio-temporal evolution of the Kolumbo Volcanic Chain and its link to the volcanic plumbing system of Santorini.
Preine, Jonas; Hübscher, Christian; Karstens, Jens; Crutchley, Gareth J. & Nomikou, Paraskevi
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The Hidden Giant: How a rift pulse triggered a cascade of sector collapses and voluminous secondary mass‐transport events in the early evolution of Santorini. Basin Research, 34(4), 1465-1485.
Preine, Jonas; Karstens, Jens; Hübscher, Christian; Crutchley, Gareth J.; Druitt, Timothy H.; Schmid, Florian & Nomikou, Paraskevi
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Volcano‐Tectonic Evolution of the Christiana‐Santorini‐Kolumbo Rift Zone. Tectonics, 41(11).
Preine, J.; Hübscher, C.; Karstens, J. & Nomikou, P.
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2D seismic reflection data from POSEIDON cruise POS538, offshore Santorini. PANGAEA,
Karstens, J. & Preine, J.
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Cascading events during the 1650 tsunamigenic eruption of Kolumbo volcano. Nature Communications, 14(1).
Karstens, Jens; Crutchley, Gareth J.; Hansteen, Thor H.; Preine, Jonas; Carey, Steven; Elger, Judith; Kühn, Michel; Nomikou, Paraskevi; Schmid, Florian; Dalla Valle, Giacomo; Kelfoun, Karim & Berndt, Christian
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Formation of undulating seafloor bedforms during the Minoan eruption and their implications for eruption dynamics and slope stability at Santorini. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 616, 118215.
Karstens, Jens; Preine, Jonas; Carey, Steven; Bell, Katherine L.C.; Nomikou, Paraskevi; Hübscher, Christian; Lampridou, Danai & Urlaub, Morelia
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Revised Minoan eruption volume as benchmark for large volcanic eruptions. Nature Communications, 14(1).
Karstens, Jens; Preine, Jonas; Crutchley, Gareth J.; Kutterolf, Steffen; van der Bilt, Willem G. M.; Hooft, Emilie E. E.; Druitt, Timothy H.; Schmid, Florian; Cederstrøm, Jan Magne; Hübscher, Christian; Nomikou, Paraskevi; Carey, Steven; Kühn, Michel; Elger, Judith & Berndt, Christian
