TITLE:
Synchronous Pumice Mantle Found on Santorini Volcano
AUTHORS:
Walter L. Friedrich, Richard Wilson, Annette Højen Sørensen, Samson Katsipis
KEYWORDS:
Minoan Eruption, Tephrochronology, Visual Geology, Geoarchaeology
JOURNAL NAME:
International Journal of Geosciences,
Vol.12 No.4,
April
15,
2021
ABSTRACT: It
is generally accepted that the vent of the 3.6 ka Minoan eruption was situated
in the water-filled Santorini caldera prior to the Minoan eruption. One should
therefore expect to find huge quantities of pumice and ash on the inner side of
the caldera walls, but there is only a relatively small amount preserved. An
unexpected discovery of remnants of a synchronous pumice mantle of the Minoan
eruption appears to solve this enigma. A lengthy period of erosion and the
intensive quarrying of pumice for the construction of the Suez Canal (1859 to
1869) led to the removal of an enormous amount of material and information for
generations of geologists. The synchronous pumice mantle covered the whole
caldera wall from rim to sea level. Archaeological finds under the pumice
mantle show that the caldera wall was accessible and inhabited in the Bronze
Age. Furthermore, this discovery documents that only one Minoan eruption took
place and that the so-called “Lower pumice” does not exist on Santorini.