Scientists taking part in an investigation on the location of the second largest volcanic eruption in human history, the waters of the Greek island of Santorini, recently discovered opalescent pools of hydrothermal activity forming at a depth of 250 meters.
During the investigation, researchers facilitated their efforts to explore the chemistry of the caldera waters using two autonomous underwater vehicles. What they found was that there are milky carbon dioxide-rich pools in depressions along the caldera wall.
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) scientist Richard Camilli, talking about the study’s findings that were published on July 16 in the “Scientific Reports” journal, explained: “What we have here is like a ‘black and tan’ — think Guinness and Bass [Ale] — where the two fluids actually remain separate.”
“Now these never-before-seen pools in the volcano’s crater may help our civilization answer important questions about how carbon dioxide behaves in the ocean,” Camilli revealed, adding that this scientific discovery may even provide a means of monitoring the volcano for future eruptions.
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