A group of researchers from France and the United Kingdom has analyzed more than 300 crystals formed in the volcanic rocks of the Greek island of Santorini from different eruptive phases. And has discovered thatthe accumulation of magma necessary for a volcanic eruption to occur could occur within a few decades.
As Timothy Druitt, lead author of the work, explained to the SINC Agency, this accumulation under the volcano can occur despite the fact that it has remained in a state of dormancy for thousands of years, so it is advisable not to lower your guard. In Druitt’s words, “evenLong dormant volcanic systems in remote parts of the world must be closely monitoredto detect signs of distress at depth. ”The authors suggest that long-term monitoring of the craters would help detect any changes in the magma reservoirs and predict future eruptions.
The team reached this conclusion using a novel extraction technique, which succeeds in identifying different time scales in each volcanic crystal. The data obtained, which is released today in the magazineNature, could serve to design monitoring strategies for volcanic systems that, despite having been dormant and latent for a long time, are potentially active.
Currently there are potentially active volcanoes, such as Long Valley and Yellowstone in the US, and Campi Flegrei in Italy. If these systems were to explode, they would be capable of spreading tens of thousands of cubic kilometers of explosive magma in days, even hours. For example, on the island of Santorini, the last major eruption – occurred in 1600 BC. C.- expelled between 40 and 60 cubic kilometers of lava. Experts have found that 18,000 years had passed between this outbreak and the one immediately before.
