Santorini (Thera) Volcano in Greece might be waking up..!

Hello ATS!!!

I am a fairly new member here, and this is my first thread! Well, I did a thorough search to see if there is another active thread on the subject, but nothing came up. So, here goes:
About 3.500 years ago, the Aegean volcano Thera, today called Santorini, one of the most beautiful islands in Greece, erupted big time. It probably has been one of the largest volcanic eruptions on Earth in the last few thousand years, with an estimated 7 on the VEI (volcanic explosivity index). It caused massive destruction and a gigantic Tsunami, about 12 metres high. Here is the link from wikipedia with images of the island and the volcano, and the history behind this special volcano.

en.wikipedia.org...

But I didn't start a new thread just for history's sake! Lately, there have been many shallow earthquakes in the Santorini area. That's not usually an issue, EQs happen in Greece every single day. What caused seismologists and volcanologists to start worrying, is that these EQs may be shallow, but their depth keeps getting closer to the island's surface, a phenomenon that can be explained by the rise of the level of magma from the bottom of the volcano, which pushes the cone of the crater. To make a long story short, they are all worried that the volcano might be waking up, so they decided to install five (!) new seismographs in Santorini, to monitor the earthquakes and the progress of this phenomenon.
Here is the link for Athens Geodynamic Institute, with a detailed map of the EQs:

www.gein.noa.gr...

Although the experts said there is no need for panic, people are beginning to worry. The earthquakes are much more common than they used to be, plus there is something more... The stinch of sulphur dioxide, which accompanies volcanic activity, is very intense in Santorini, and that is not common at all for the island...
Here are some of the articles I found on the subject:

www.zougla.gr...

www.newsbeast.gr...

Unfortunately, they are all in greek, so I hope you could take the time to copy and paste them and have google translate them to you. I would do it myself, but then the opening post would be too long and many would stop reading it

Not sure where to post this, but has anyone checked the Yellowstone seismogram thumbnail sight lately? It looks really scary. Sorry if this isn't the correct place to put this, but someone with knowledge of Yellowstone please reply. And moderators please put this in the correct place. connieinutah June 21 2011

reply to post by Imogene72


And just when the Greek populace thought things couldn't get worse. If there is a eruption or quake, it'll more than likely push their situation past the point of no return.

The EU/NATO would probably have to sending rescue & peacekeeping forces. Which will only make things worse in the long run, once the rescue effort is called off. Soldiers make crappy cops.

reply to post by connieinutah


There is a Quake thread, a Volcano thread, and a What's going on in Yellowstone thread. If Mods could move, that will help. Or could you cut and past this into one of those threads? Just asking.

When experts and officials say there's nothing to worry about. Usually, there is something to worry about.

I agree, if there is a EQ in Greece, that will be the death of them.

I have been keeping an eye on Santorini too. I agree things are getting a lot more active. Also it is sitting more or less on the Mediterranean fault line. What is also interesting is the ammount of EQ's going off in the whole of that area and the ammount of other volcanoes there too. Let's face it, most of the Greek islands are volcanic in origin.

Time for bed for me, but I will be keeping an eye on this thread with interest. Also moderators, please do not combine this thread with another one as it should stand alone for the one reason that what is happening all over the Greek Islands is sitting on that Mediterranean Fault, and if that goes...which it could...we will have massive problems. Much appreciated

Rainbows
Jane

Hello,

I'm Greek, so if anyone has any questions regarding the articles (due to google translation being hit or miss), tell me the part and I will translate it directlly from the respective article.

Cheers.

reply to post by Imogene72


High quality first thread for you. Nice work and congratulations. More importantly, be careful and do keep us posted. Combined with the sulfur smell, it sounds grim. At least volcanos usually give us some level of warning before they blow.

Very interesting about the greek volcano. Earthquakes alone are absolutely no indicator or causes of eruptions but coupled with the other signs such as the sulfer smell I'd say your pretty accurate that this may be waking up.

Will keep an eye on it.

As far as Yellowstone it always rumbles but there's no other signs that the Caldera is anywhere close to erupting. It will give plenty of advance warning before she goes.

reply to post by Athens13


Thanks for the offer! This is why I come to ATS lol, could you maybe give the article a read and give us any highlights from the article that you find?

reply to post by TDawgRex


I couldn't agree more! A natural disaster is the last thing Greece needs...

reply to post by pajoly


Thank you!
I will be keeping an eye on the situation and keep you all posted.
I am also a bit skeptic as to whether we should be counting on the experts to warn us on time, since they usually fail on doing so...

Were already ahead,,, page 120 quake watch thread

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Your friendly neighbourhood ATS guys.

reply to post by kro32


It is quite intriguing, this volcano, I agree. In Greece it has always been mythical, we even made many lessons in school about the ancient eruption and the wide scale catastrophy it caused. Also, about the tsunami it caused, it might seem small in relevance to e.g. the Sumatra one, but you have to keep in mind that it didn't happen in the ocean, but in the Aegean sea, which is a relatively small sized pelagos. So, in relevance to where it happened, that tsunami was trully gigantic.
Good to know you liked it, kro 32!

reply to post by BobAthome


WoW! Guess you caught a sniff on that one before anyone else did! Thanks for the heads up, I keep an eye on that thread as well, but since it is really huge (!) I guess I missed that post!
Cheers

Goodmorning everyone!
I checked the web for any news, nothing official yet, but the bloggers are on fire about this. It's the main issue discussed on greek blogs today-and we suffer a tremendous economic crisis, which should be top news...
Anyways, I will be keeping an eye on the situation and let you all know.
Also, if anyone has access to charts on statistics regarding Santorini, it would be helpful to post them here. Thank you!
Peace!

Click here for more information.

reply to post by THE_PROFESSIONAL


Really??? Can you explain me how YOU plan to survive? Do you by any chance live in the moon? Cause if something THAT big were to happen no one on earth would survive, in the long run.
I've always wondered why there is so much hate in the world.

reply to post by THE_PROFESSIONAL


Thats one way to get people to respond to you,nice derail

Originally posted by THE_PROFESSIONAL
[SNIP]

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On topic, this would be catastrophic for Greece with their current economic problems, lets hope it's just having a grumble in it's sleep.