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The volcano that may have cave in boost to the legend of Atlantis has wake up , researchers say .
The cataclysmiceruptions at the Greek isle of Santoriniabout 3,600 years ago that disgorge forth about 9.5 to 14.3 cubic statute mile ( 40 to 60 cubic kilometers ) of lava devastated the ancient seafaring Minoan civilization , potentially inspire the caption of the lost city of Atlantis . From the aviation , the resultingcaldera , or volcanic crater , appears as a small cluster within the larger collection of Grecian islands in the Aegean Sea .
One of the largest volcanic eruptions in the past 10,000 years occurred in approximately 1620 BC on the volcanic island of Santorini in the Aegean Sea. Following the 1620 BC eruption, much of the previous island of Santorini was destroyed or submerged; this event may have been the inspiration for the legend of the lost continent of Atlantis.
Over the next four millenary , the for the most part underwater caldera at Santorini has experienced a series of small extravasation , with five such outbursts in the past 600 years , ending most recently in 1950 . After a 60 - year lull , Santorini awakened in January 2011 with a horde of tremors , each order of magnitude 3.2 or less , new GPS enquiry has revealed .
Magma on the move
Investigators had installed a GPS monitoring system in the area in 2006 . These sensors keep track of their position in outer space , and can thus moult light on when the Earth is move .
One of the largest volcanic eruptions in the past 10,000 years occurred in approximately 1620 BC on the volcanic island of Santorini in the Aegean Sea. Following the 1620 BC eruption, much of the previous island of Santorini was destroyed or submerged; this event may have been the inspiration for the legend of the lost continent of Atlantis.
The scientists found that by June 2011 , the 22 GPS stations had been tug 0.2 to 1.3 inch ( 5 to 32 millimeters ) far from the caldera than they had been just six months earlier . The researchers then improved the existing GPS place and installed two more GPS stations , and data from September 2011 to January 2012 demo the nation near the volcano was swell at an speed up rate , give 7 inch ( 180 mm ) of growth per year .
reckoner models of the deforming Earth suggested the swelling was due to an influx of nearly 500 million cubic foot ( 14.1 million cubic m ) of magma into a sleeping room 2.5 to 3.1 miles ( 4 to 5 kilometers ) below the aerofoil .
The scientists note this on-going inflow of magma does not necessarily signalise an impending explosion — this swelling is only a fraction of that behind the Minoan eruption . [ 10 Wild Volcano fact ]
" We ’ve witness similar deformation events at other declamatory calderas — Yellowstone , Long Valley California , andCampi Flegrei — without clap , " said researcher Andrew Newman , a geophysicist at the Georgia Institute of Technology . " Globally , we ’ve observed that on ordinary , 90 percent of magmatic intrusion events do not reach the surface . "
" However , we can not say for sure that this will not erupt either , " Newman told OurAmazingPlanet . " Every volcano is moderately different , and thus we can not yet directly relate what we ’ve learned at other volcanoes and apply them with complete confidence to this one . " And , even a small eruption can be sick grievous ash , or trigger landslides and tsunami , the scientist caution .
Ongoing monitor
With the instruments presently supervise Santorini , " we now have sufficient on - the - ground instrumentation to measure ongoing bodily function , " Newman said . " This is full of life , as we are capture this flow of agitation with data density sufficient to use in simulation that explore particular of the intragroup structure of the magma reservoir as well as the mechanical structure of the vent . This information will prove extremely useful for evaluating the forcible parameters responsible for agitation , and potentially outbreak . "
The effort to tease out thevolcano ’s inner workingshas problems to compete with , though .
" Our neat obstruction in this surround is the water itself , " Newman allege . The land at Santorini is mostly deforming in a neighborhood entirely submersed . Without seafloor orchestration , " we may miss some of the most scientifically interesting result , as well as potentially the most crucial data necessary for create impending warning . "
The scientist detail their finding online March 30 in the daybook Geophysical Research Letters .
This story was provided byOurAmazingPlanet , a baby website to LiveScience .
