Towards reconstruction of the lost Late Bronze Age intra-caldera island of Santorini, Greece

Abstract During the Late Bronze Age, the island of Santorini had a semi-closed caldera harbour inherited from the 22 ka Cape Riva Plinian eruption, and a central island referred to as ‘Pre-Kameni’ after the present-day Kameni Islands. Here, the size and age of the intracaldera island prior to the La...

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Main Authors: Dávid Karátson, Ralf Gertisser, Tamás Telbisz, Viktor Vereb, Xavier Quidelleur, Timothy Druitt, Paraskevi Nomikou, Szabolcs Kósik
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Publishing Group 2018-05-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-25301-2
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spelling doaj-32fd4c708fdc4970930922bf452f8cf62020-12-08T03:36:36ZengNature Publishing GroupScientific Reports2045-23222018-05-01811810.1038/s41598-018-25301-2Towards reconstruction of the lost Late Bronze Age intra-caldera island of Santorini, GreeceDávid Karátson0Ralf Gertisser1Tamás Telbisz2Viktor Vereb3Xavier Quidelleur4Timothy Druitt5Paraskevi Nomikou6Szabolcs Kósik7Department of Physical Geography, Faculty of Sciences, Eötvös UniversitySchool of Geography, Geology and the Environment, Keele UniversityDepartment of Physical Geography, Faculty of Sciences, Eötvös UniversityDepartment of Physical Geography, Faculty of Sciences, Eötvös UniversityGEOPS, Université Paris-Sud, CNRS, Université Paris-SaclayLaboratoire Magmas et Volcans, Université Clermont Auvergne-CNRS-IRD, OPGCFaculty of Geology and the Geoenvironment, National and Kapodistrian University of AthensVolcanic Risk Solutions, Institute of Agriculture and Environment, Massey UniversityAbstract During the Late Bronze Age, the island of Santorini had a semi-closed caldera harbour inherited from the 22 ka Cape Riva Plinian eruption, and a central island referred to as ‘Pre-Kameni’ after the present-day Kameni Islands. Here, the size and age of the intracaldera island prior to the Late Bronze Age (Minoan) eruption are constrained using a photo-statistical method, complemented by granulometry and high-precision K-Ar dating. Furthermore, the topography of Late Bronze Age Santorini is reconstructed by creating a new digital elevation model (DEM). Pre-Kameni and other parts of Santorini were destroyed during the 3.6 ka Minoan eruption, and their fragments were incorporated as lithic clasts in the Minoan pyroclastic deposits. Photo-statistical analysis and granulometry of these lithics, differentiated by lithology, constrain the volume of Pre-Kameni to 2.2–2.5 km3. Applying the Cassignol-Gillot K-Ar dating technique to the most characteristic black glassy andesite lithics, we propose that the island started to grow at 20.2 ± 1.0 ka soon after the Cape Riva eruption. This implies a minimum long-term lava extrusion rate of ~0.13–0.14 km3/ky during the growth of Pre-Kameni.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-25301-2
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Dávid Karátson
Ralf Gertisser
Tamás Telbisz
Viktor Vereb
Xavier Quidelleur
Timothy Druitt
Paraskevi Nomikou
Szabolcs Kósik
spellingShingle Dávid Karátson
Ralf Gertisser
Tamás Telbisz
Viktor Vereb
Xavier Quidelleur
Timothy Druitt
Paraskevi Nomikou
Szabolcs Kósik
Towards reconstruction of the lost Late Bronze Age intra-caldera island of Santorini, Greece
Scientific Reports
author_facet Dávid Karátson
Ralf Gertisser
Tamás Telbisz
Viktor Vereb
Xavier Quidelleur
Timothy Druitt
Paraskevi Nomikou
Szabolcs Kósik
author_sort Dávid Karátson
title Towards reconstruction of the lost Late Bronze Age intra-caldera island of Santorini, Greece
title_short Towards reconstruction of the lost Late Bronze Age intra-caldera island of Santorini, Greece
title_full Towards reconstruction of the lost Late Bronze Age intra-caldera island of Santorini, Greece
title_fullStr Towards reconstruction of the lost Late Bronze Age intra-caldera island of Santorini, Greece
title_full_unstemmed Towards reconstruction of the lost Late Bronze Age intra-caldera island of Santorini, Greece
title_sort towards reconstruction of the lost late bronze age intra-caldera island of santorini, greece
publisher Nature Publishing Group
series Scientific Reports
issn 2045-2322
publishDate 2018-05-01
description Abstract During the Late Bronze Age, the island of Santorini had a semi-closed caldera harbour inherited from the 22 ka Cape Riva Plinian eruption, and a central island referred to as ‘Pre-Kameni’ after the present-day Kameni Islands. Here, the size and age of the intracaldera island prior to the Late Bronze Age (Minoan) eruption are constrained using a photo-statistical method, complemented by granulometry and high-precision K-Ar dating. Furthermore, the topography of Late Bronze Age Santorini is reconstructed by creating a new digital elevation model (DEM). Pre-Kameni and other parts of Santorini were destroyed during the 3.6 ka Minoan eruption, and their fragments were incorporated as lithic clasts in the Minoan pyroclastic deposits. Photo-statistical analysis and granulometry of these lithics, differentiated by lithology, constrain the volume of Pre-Kameni to 2.2–2.5 km3. Applying the Cassignol-Gillot K-Ar dating technique to the most characteristic black glassy andesite lithics, we propose that the island started to grow at 20.2 ± 1.0 ka soon after the Cape Riva eruption. This implies a minimum long-term lava extrusion rate of ~0.13–0.14 km3/ky during the growth of Pre-Kameni.
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-25301-2
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