RAPID: Capturing Ongoing Volcanic Inflation at Santorini Caldera, Greece

Georgia Tech Research Corporation, Atlanta GA

Investigators

Abstract

Santorini Caldera, in the southern Aegean, is part of a well developed, and very active volcanic system fueled by subduction along the Hellenic arc that is responsible for the largest volcanic eruption in human history (~1650 B.C.). After a long period of approximately 50 years of relative seismic quiescence within the caldera and years of measuring essentially zero deformation, the volcano has recently reawakened with an exponentially increasing inflation signal. This project will deploy a RAPID GPS campaign, upgrade the current continuous GPS network, and includes installation of 2 new continuous stations to capture the time-dependence of inflation. This is a RAPID project because the deformational signal is indeed rapidly evolving, and may continue to proceed non-linearly in the coming months. This signal is essential for understanding the rheologic controls, and will not be sufficiently constrained with the limited continuous data that we currently have. Installation and updating of equipment is essential before the winter months, as the current remote sites currently go down for extended periods because of insufficient solar panels for the dominantly overcast skies. Data obtained through this experiment will be useful for evaluating the ongoing deformation at the Caldera, and in turn, be use for identifying the geometry and precise location of the pressure source. The evolving temporal signature is necessary for identifying how the system develops. As well, it will give a window into the rheologic structure that reacts to the source, and ultimately dictates the likelihood of eruption. The information is invaluable for improving our understanding of eruption dynamics, and is some of the first such information for a very young caldera system This research has immediate impact beyond the volcano geodesy community as the continuous GPS data will serve as an indicator, and thus warning tool, useful for hazard mitigation. Because all continuous data will be immediately available to the public through UNAVCO, other groups will have access to utilizing it for independent scientific, hazard, or educational needs.