Earthquakes in Santorini: In the “heart” of the Columbus volcano with 4 underwater seismographs enters a research team

Four new technology mobile submarines that will study the submarine of Columbus in the installation today within the caldera of Columbus and next to the underwater fault of Andros, an international team of researchers, involving scientists from the Geomar Helmholtz Ocean Research Centre of Kiel and the University of Potsdam, as well as the professor of Geological Oceanography of the Department of Geology and Geoenvironment of the EKPA, Evi Legal. The international research team is located in Santorini participating in the oceanographic mission MSM132, aiming to explore the underwater volcanic centers of Santorini and understand the geological processes that occur in them. The underwater seismographs to be installed are equipped with special sensors to measure the microseism of the space, the movement of the soil, but also the physical and chemical parameters of the water. A further three underwater seismographs had preceded the placement last December inside the crater of Columbus and five in the marine area of Columbus and a breach of Andros. CORVERSE The area’s selection for the expedition had already been made in the context of the research project, as it is an area with a history of numerous volcanic eruptions and seismic events in the past. However, this situation will help scientists to have more scientific data at their disposal. “The research mission was planned to take place, but the scientists working in the region are present and we continuously analyse the data resulting from seismic activity in order to inform the Authorities and the residents,” Evi Legalou explains to the APE. These seismographs will remain in the underwater space for four days and will then be recovered to analyze the data. The investigation will be repeated as long as seismic activity continues. CORVERSE “Our goal with these measurements is to collect in a short time data on the microseism of the region, which will be combined with the terrestrial seismographs, so that we have better results in the analysis of earthquakes,” stresses Mrs. Legal. From 27 January onwards the earthquakes that occur are located in the sea area northeast of Santorini, in an area adjacent to the underwater volcano of Columbus. As Mrs. Legalou points out, “in the 2011-2012 crisis, the seismic activity we had in the caldera of Santorini for 14 months did not lead to a volcanic eruption. The intense seismic activity next to an underwater volcano can fade without leading to an underwater explosion. However, it is imperative to monitor the underwater volcano by installing special instruments to measure changes in the chemical composition of gases and liquids released from hydrothermal chimneys at 500 meters deep.” The results of the research will be combined with the measurements of the underwater observationary SANTORY, which has collected data since December 2022, and will be analysed to find differences in the behavior of the volcano. The digital platform of SANTORY provides the scientific community and the public with valuable information about the underwater volcano of Columbus. Mrs. Legal underlines the importance of continuing monitoring the underwater Columbus volcano by SANTORY. It is noted that the specific research programme, led by the CRP, was completed in November 2024 and, as Mrs. Lawmaker explains, a request that remained pending had been requested by the municipality of Thira. Mrs. Lawmaker has re-asked the State to continue the financing of SANTORY.