SEISMOS-KOLUMBO - Seismological and structural investigations of the Kolumbo submarine volcano in the southern Aegean

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Volcanic hazards in the eastern Mediterranean pose a significant threat to local communities, human infrastructure and tourism. A thorough understanding of the individual volcanoes and the underlying magmatic systems is therefore of great interest to provide profound quantification of the related volcanic hazards. The proposed research project will focus on the Kolumbo submarine volcano in the southern Aegean that last erupted in 1650 AD with a violent explosion generating a destructive tsunami. During the recent decades, Kolumbo was associated with recurring seismic unrest, the cause of which is still unresolved. Today, there is little knowledge about the geometry of the magma plumbing system of Kolumbo and its relation to the magmatic system feeding the nearby Santorini caldera. Within the SEISMOS-KOLUMBO project, I will analyze in detail the microearthquake swarm activity below the Kolumbo volcano, for the time span 06/2006-03/2007, to elucidate the causes of recurring seismic unrest below Kolumbo. I will further investigate records of seismic attenuation and scattering from microearthquakes in the Kolumbo region to image the geometry and relation of different fluid reservoirs and geological units below and near the volcano, which will lead towards a better understanding of the Kolumbo submarine volcano.