Geological and historical investigation of the 1650 Mt. Columbo (Thera Island) eruption and tsunami, Aegean Sea, Greece

This paper reviews geological and historical evidence for the eruption and tsunami reported to have occurred in 1650 in the area of Mt. Columbo, Thera Island, Greece. The tsunami is believed to have been generated as a consequence of the eruption of Mt. Columbo 6.5 km NE of Thera Island. Historical documents state that the tsunami flooded up to 2 miles inland and destroyed many engineered structures. We present lithostratigraphic evidence from one abandoned trench and two trench excavations close to sea level in the villages of Kamari and Perissa respectively, which lie well within the reported inundation zone of the tsunami. The results presented show that no marine- (tsunami) deposited sediments are preserved at these locations. Alternative hypotheses of discontinuous sediment deposition and over estimation of the event magnitude are considered to explain the observations presented here. The data may have important implications for the development of hazard zone maps, risk assessment, vulnerability reduction and for emergency management officials.