Greece's Santorini volcano erupts more often when sea level drops

[Judi Lynn]

Lower sea levels over the last 360,000 years are linked with more eruptions

By Maria Temming

AUGUST 2, 2021 AT 11:00 AM

When sea level drops far below the present-day level, the island volcano Santorini in Greece gets ready to rumble.

A comparison of the activity of the volcano, which is now partially collapsed, with sea levels over the last 360,000 years reveals that when the sea level dips more than 40 meters below the present-day level, it triggers a fit of eruptions. During times of higher sea level, the volcano is quiet, researchers report online August 2 in Nature Geoscience.

Other volcanoes around the globe are probably similarly influenced by sea levels, the researchers say. Most of the world’s volcanic systems are in or near oceans.

“It’s hard to see why a coastal or island volcano would not be affected by sea level,” says Iain Stewart, a geoscientist at the Royal Scientific Society of Jordan in Amman, who was not involved in the work. Accounting for these effects could make volcano hazard forecasting more accurate.

More:
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/greece-santorini-volcano-eruption-sea-level