A volcanic eruption is an amazing phenomenon, but often not very pleasant for mankind. Most of us still remember what panic in Europe was caused by the Icelandic volcano with the unpronounceable name Eyjafjallajökull, which woke up after almost two hundred years of silence. Then Europe faced an unprecedented situation when a huge cloud of ash and steam quickly spread to the east and a day after the start of the eruption almost completely covered Northern Europe, including Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Great Britain, and other countries. As a result, the work of a huge number of airports across Europe was suspended and more than 63 thousand flights were canceled.
Fortunately, no one was hurt during the Eyjafjallajökull eruption, but this is not the case with all volcanoes. For example, a new scientific study has found that an underwater volcano whose deadly eruption destroyed the picturesque Greek island of Santorini almost 400 years ago has a growing, never-before-seen magma chamber that could trigger another massive eruption within the next 150 years.
We know almost nothing about underwater volcanoes, but there are more than a million underwater volcanoes on Earth, which is thousands of times more than the number of volcanoes located on land. And among the most active volcanic regions, the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea stands out. It is here that the African tectonic plate collides with the Eurasian one, which causes tremors and volcanic eruptions.
A striking example of the collision of two plates is the “Minoan” eruption on the territory of the present island of Santorini, which occurred around 1560 BC. and devastated the entire area.
But back to our time. About 7 km from Santorini, at a depth of 500 meters below the surface of the ocean, is the Columbo Volcano. Columbo is one of the most active underwater volcanoes in the world, and according to historical data, its last eruption in 1650 claimed the lives of at least 70 people and many animals.
A study published on October 22, 2022, in the journal Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems showed that a previously undiscovered magma chamber growing under the Columbo volcano could lead to a new eruption, thereby endangering residents and tourists of Santorini.