Landslide induced tsunami hazard at volcanoes – the case of Santorini

The destructive tsunami on 22 December 2018 due to the flank collapse of the Anak Krakatau volcano was a bitter reminder of large tsunami risks and of the shortcomings of the existing tsunami warning systems for atypical (non-seismic) sources. In the Mediterranean, several tsunamis were generated by landslides associated with volcanic systems in the past. The volcanic unrest experienced in 2011-2012 on the Santorini volcanic island in the Southern Aegean Sea pointed out the need to identify and quantify tsunami hazard and risk due to possible flank instability which may be triggered as a result of volcanic unrest or nearby seismotectonic activities. We examined three possible landslide scenarios in Santorini Island with tsunamigenic potential. The results show that the scenarios considered in our study are able to generate significant local tsunamis impacting Santorini and the nearby islands, as well as producing significant impact along the coasts of the Southern Aegean Sea. While maximum tsunami amplitudes/arrival time ranges are 1.2m/30-90min for locations in the Greek-Turkish coasts in the far field, they are in the order of ≈60m/1-2min for some locations at the Santorini Island. The extreme tsunami amplitudes and short arrival times for locations inside the Santorini Island is a major challenge in terms of tsunami hazard warning and mitigation.

NECMIOGLU Ocal;  HEIDARZADEH Mohammad;  VOUGIOUKALAKIS Georgios E.;  SELVA Jacopo; 

2023-06-19

SPRINGER BASEL AG

JRC132787

0033-4553 (online),   

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC132787,   

10.1007/s00024-023-03252-8 (online),