Thanks markomalley. The supereruption is a modern invention, and the Minoans were conquered by the Mycenaeans, but still a two-list ping topic.
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Posted on 07/18/2015 5:36:15 AM PDT by markomalley
Opalescent pools full of carbon dioxide have been found at the site of the second biggest volcanic eruption recorded in human history.
The eruption in the Aegean Sea off the coast of Santorini wiped out the Minoan civilisation living along the coast in 1600 BC.
The newly discovered pools were found forming at a depth of 250m. They is a series of interconnected white pools that have high concentrations of CO2 and scientists say they could shed light on future volcanic eruptions and answer questions about deep sea carbon storage.
An international team of scientists used sophisticated underwater exploration vehicles to find the pools, which they have named the Kallisti Limnes, from ancient Greek for "most beautiful lakes".
Rich Camilli, lead author the study published in the journal Scientific Reports, said: "The volcanic eruption at Santorini in 1600 BC wiped out the Minoan civilization living along the Aegean Sea. Now these never-before-seen pools in the volcano's crater may help our civilization answer important questions about how carbon dioxide behaves in the ocean."
The investigation into the site was prompted by concerns about the volcano in 2011. During a preliminary search, an autonomous underwater vehicle identified a number of subsea layers with unusual chemical properties.
Subsequent manned missions allowed scientists to analyse the chemical signature of the water column along the caldera – which is when they came across the opalescent pools.
Santorini is the most active part of the Hellenic Volcanic Arc and during subduction of the African tectonic plate, CO2 can be released by magma degassing or from sedimentary materials altering as a result of the huge pressure and extreme temperatures.
"We've seen pools within the ocean before, but they've always been brine pools where dissolved salt released from geologic formations below the seafloor creates the extra density and separates the brine pool from the surrounding seawater," Camilli said.
"In this case, the pools' increased density isn't driven by salt – we believe it may be the CO2 itself that makes the water denser and causes it to pool."
Previously it had been thought that when CO2 is released into the ocean, it disperses into the surrounding water. Camilli said the two fluids they found remain separate, with the denser CO2 water sinking and forming the pool.
This, they say, has implications for the build up of CO2 in areas with little circulation – including the Kolumbo underwater volcano nearby that is completely enclosed. "Our finding suggests the CO2 may collect in the deepest regions of the crater. It would be interesting to see," Camilli said.
They also say monitoring the temperature and chemical signatures of the pools could be used along with other monitoring techniques to watch for increased or decreased volcanism – the Kallisti Limnes were 5C above those seen in the surrounding waters.
Study co-author Javier Escartin said: "This heat is likely the result of hydrothermal fluid circulation within the crust and above a deeper heat source, such as a magma chamber. Temperature records of hydrothermal fluids can show variations in heat sources at depth such as melt influx to the magma chamber. The pool fluids also respond to variations in pressure, such as tides, and this informs us of the permeability structure of the sub-seafloor."
Plenty of graphics & video at link
Interesting.
I admittedly don’t know much about the Minoan culture, but in reading a blurb, it says there is some disagreement on exactly how they disappeared, because the ash from the eruption was not, for them, similar to a Vesuvius/Pompeii event...it was very low ash.
Are they implying that it might have been an overwhelming amount of CO2 that asphyxiated the entire culture or something?
I may be reading more into it than I should.
That's how I read it as well.
Scientists make interesting discovery about volcanoes and immediately apply it to climate change scam; money pours in as scientists find new way to make a non-problem into a dozy of a catastrophe.
What???
That was what I was thinking of...when I made the connection. They didn’t explicitly make the link that I could see, but I thought...why mention it?
Consider CO2 is heavier than air, and a significant cloud would follow terrain and be contained by it if the topography was right until dispersed. If a high enough concentration persists in an area for a mere two to four minutes, the population (especially if sleeping) is pretty much done.
If CO2 can accumulate and concentrate in deep pools, and then some geothermal event releases heat that makes that water warm so that it rises to the surface and releases all that CO2 into the atmosphere, it might have adverse effect on anybody nearby.
Maybe I am just being stupid because coffee hasn’t kicked in, but I don’t understand what you mean by ‘low ash’ in this statement. Akrotiri on Santorini (Thera) was covered in some places by 50 meters of ash. However, the residents must have had warning by a series of preceding earthquakes, etc, because as of today, they haven’t uncovered any bodies that got caught in the volcanic deposits.
Now, whether or not the explosion killed off the Minoan civilization on Crete is more debatable, as most of the evidence of destruction inland (scorched buildings, etc.) seems to date a number of years after the volcano. Maybe that is the confusion? Santorini is about 70 km north of Crete, and was wiped out by the volcano. The Minoans on Crete were definitely affected by the blast, but probably not wiped out, but the Minoan culture on Santorini (Thera) definitely was destroyed.
LOL, no, I don’t think it has anything to do with you being stupid or your lack of coffee!
I may have misread the Wikipedia entry which spoke of the Minoan segment living on Crete, which was over 100km from the eruption and didn’t get much.
From what I can tell, the Minoans on Crete were like an outpost or Minoan colony, where the ones that got entombed on Santorini were the main body?
My knowledge of history during those times is spotty at best...I defer to you on this!
According to Wiki, it was more complicated than that. Pumice buried most of what was left on Thera. Not enough ash descended on Crete, but with such a cataclysmic explosion of the island, a tsunami probably devastated much of the infrastructure on Crete. Weakened them, and Mycena invaded.
That’s the basic nutshell version.
More likely a huge tsunami. I was just in Santorini and Crete. The volcano exploded in Santorini and you can see still the ravaged cliffs remaining from the explosion and where the peak was is now the Aegean see. It makes the St Helen explosion seem like a firecracker.
Some theorize that that was the site of Atlantis.
Well, there lies the rub, eh?
Consider that this finding may lead a scientist to a hypothesis that the immediate release of all this sub-water CO2 caused the death by asphyxiation of nearby animal life, including humans. If widespread, this could certainly destroy a locally-based civilization...
Now, think of the money the scientists could make if they:
Further postulate that the immediate release of CO2 into the atmosphere caused polar ice caps to melt and global sea levels rise. And, of course, this rise in sea level would naturally be hardest on non-white, non-European coastal peoples, females and LGBTs?
Attempt to prove that Minoan industry use of fossil fuels (wood, dried cow dung) also contributed to the devastation caused by the CO2 release.
Demand that the present day Greeks be forced to purchase carbon credits from the UN/Algor Corp for this ancient Republican party like devastation.
(Does the world add this to their already devastating debt? Should the Germans be forced to give the Greeks another loan?)
Explain how many species went extinct or were driven to the brink of extinction due to the purposeful release of Minoan fossil fueled carbon.
State that Atlantis’s demise was caused by Minoan C02 but even today Atlantis deniers make up the bulk of the Republican party!
“... but even today Atlantis deniers make up the bulk of the Republican party!”
Closely followed by UFO watchers who frequent Area 51 and Wright-Paterson AFB.
Looks like some others weighed in and explained that Crete was the “big island” and Thera was probably the hub. I am working on a novel set on Thera a few generations before the explosion and have about every book published in English I can find, so I had to jump in there! ;)
It is a segment of history I don’t know much about, and is one of the reasons I enjoy FR so much, is that it opens doors for me in literature, entertainment, history and politics that I might not have entered on my own...
Good luck with your work!
Thanks! I’ll send you a message if I ever get it published :)
Thanks markomalley. The supereruption is a modern invention, and the Minoans were conquered by the Mycenaeans, but still a two-list ping topic.
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Thanks markomalley. The supereruption is a modern invention, and the Minoans were conquered by the Mycenaeans, but still a two-list ping topic.
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