16:30 〜 16:45
[SVC25-10] Results from IODP Expedition 398: Giant offshore pumice deposit records a shallow submarine explosive eruption of ancestral Santorini
キーワード:IODP, submarine eruption, pyroclastic, turbidite
The South Aegean Volcanic Arc, which lies in the Eastern Mediterranean, has been active since about 4.7 Ma and today contains a number of active volcanic islands and submarine volcanoes. From 11 December 2022 to 10 February 2023, Expedition 398 of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) conducted scientific ocean drilling in the Christiana-Santorini-Kolumbo (CSK) volcanic field in the center of the arc. This volcanic field contains the iconic Santorini volcano (a partially flooded caldera that produced the Late Bronze Age or 'Minoan' eruption in 1630 BCE) and Kolumbo volcano (an active shallow submarine volcano that erupted in 1650 CE), as well as the extinct and eroded Christiana volcano. Onland eruption deposits in the CSK volcanic field have been well studied; a key objective for Expedition 398 was therefore to recover seafloor sediments in the surrounding marine basins that may record previously unknown eruptions as well as valuable insights into eruption, transport and deposition processes of marine volcanism.
Expedition 398 recovered 3356 metres of core from 12 drill sites around the CSK field. These cores contained large quantities of volcaniclastic deposits and provide a record of eruptions going back to >1 Ma. Here we present the discovery of a giant rhyolitic pumice deposit emplaced 520 ± 10 ky ago, which we name the Archaeos Tuff (from the Greek for 'ancient'). Based on a multidisciplinary approach integrating evidence from geochemistry, grain size and textural observations, physical properties, biostratigraphy and core-seismic analysis, we interpret this deposit as evidence of a high-intensity, shallow submarine eruption of ancestral Santorini volcano. The Archaeos Tuff was emplaced in water depths of 200 to 1000 metres and formed a >89 ± 8 km3 volcaniclastic megaturbidite up to 150 metres thick in the surrounding marine basins. The identification and correlation with thin ignimbrite layers on three surrounding islands confirms that the eruption breached the sea surface. This previously unknown eruption is one of the largest identified in the South Aegean Volcanic Arc, and highlights the hazards from submarine explosive eruptions.
This study has been published as Druitt et al (2024) Communications Earth and Environment
https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-01171-z
Expedition 398 recovered 3356 metres of core from 12 drill sites around the CSK field. These cores contained large quantities of volcaniclastic deposits and provide a record of eruptions going back to >1 Ma. Here we present the discovery of a giant rhyolitic pumice deposit emplaced 520 ± 10 ky ago, which we name the Archaeos Tuff (from the Greek for 'ancient'). Based on a multidisciplinary approach integrating evidence from geochemistry, grain size and textural observations, physical properties, biostratigraphy and core-seismic analysis, we interpret this deposit as evidence of a high-intensity, shallow submarine eruption of ancestral Santorini volcano. The Archaeos Tuff was emplaced in water depths of 200 to 1000 metres and formed a >89 ± 8 km3 volcaniclastic megaturbidite up to 150 metres thick in the surrounding marine basins. The identification and correlation with thin ignimbrite layers on three surrounding islands confirms that the eruption breached the sea surface. This previously unknown eruption is one of the largest identified in the South Aegean Volcanic Arc, and highlights the hazards from submarine explosive eruptions.
This study has been published as Druitt et al (2024) Communications Earth and Environment
https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-01171-z
