Santorini volcano, natural history, mythology

326 Pages·2015·44.561 MB·English

by  Friedrich, Walter Ludwig

The satellite image shows the central part of the Santorini caldera with
the islands Palea and Nea Kameni. Photo: EUROPEAN SPACE CENΤER.
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Santorini
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Walter L Friedrich
Santorini
Volcano
Natural History
Mythology
Translation Alexander R McBirney
Aarhus University Press
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Santorini – volcano, natural history, mythology
© The Author and Aarhus University Press 2009
Cover design: Jørgen Sparre
Cover illustration: Red Water Bay on Palea Kameni, Santorini
Photo: The author
eISBN 978 87 7934 747 2
Published with the financial support of The Aarhus University Research Foundation
Aarhus University Press
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To my sons Andreas and Michael and my grandchildren
Anna, Jakob, Nanna, Jeppe, Johanne and Esben
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Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgements x
Introduction xi
I 1 The geography of Santorini 7
Thera – the main island of Santorini 9
Therasia – the Little Thera 11
The geological Aspronisi – The White Island 11
The Kameni Islands 12
framework
The Caldera – the large central basin 13
Kolumbos – the invisible volcano 13
The Christiana-islands – relatives of the Santorini 14
An island with deep roots in history 14
2 Santorini and plate tectonics 23
Continental drift and Plate tectonics 24
Geology of the Aegean region 28
3 The geological development of Santorini 33
Non-volcanic rocks 34
Volcanic rocks and their deposition 36
4 Stratigraphy – the backbone of geology 51
Paleontological remains 52
Marine fossils of the Profitis Elias 52
Marine fossils at Archangelos Vouno 52
Absolute dating 54
Dating of organic remains 55
Tephrochronology 55
5 Plant remains and geological time 61
Plant fossils in volcanic regions 62
The plant fossils of Santorini 63
Plant remains of the Fira Beds 65
Plants as indicators of climate 73
The flora of Santorini today 73
II 6 The mechanism of the Minoan eruption 79
Was there warning of the eruption? 83
The first (plinian) phase 85
The Minoan
The second (base surge) phase 88
eruption
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