Browse through our Interesting Nodes on Turkey Read the Convention Relating to the Regime of the Straits (24 July 1923) Read the Convention Relating to the Regime of the Straits (24 July 1923)
HR-Net - Hellenic Resources Network Compact version
Today's Suggestion
Read The "Macedonian Question" (by Maria Nystazopoulou-Pelekidou)
HomeAbout HR-NetNewsWeb SitesDocumentsOnline HelpUsage InformationContact us
Friday, 29 March 2024
 
News
  Latest News (All)
     From Greece
     From Cyprus
     From Europe
     From Balkans
     From Turkey
     From USA
  Announcements
  World Press
  News Archives
Web Sites
  Hosted
  Mirrored
  Interesting Nodes
Documents
  Special Topics
  Treaties, Conventions
  Constitutions
  U.S. Agencies
  Cyprus Problem
  Other
Services
  Personal NewsPaper
  Greek Fonts
  Tools
  F.A.Q.
 

Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-11-08

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

  • [01] No legislation until options for consensus on NCRTV are fully exhausted, sources say
  • [02] New evidence on what caused tsunamis after massive Santorini volcanic eruption in the Bronze Age

  • [01] No legislation until options for consensus on NCRTV are fully exhausted, sources say

    There will be no legislation to regulate the television broadcasting sector before the possibilities for consensus on forming a new National Council for Radio and Television (NCRTV) have been fully explored, sources at the digital policy ministry told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA) on Tuesday. The sources were replying to articles speculating on the content of a 'bridging law' if the parties fail to reach agreement on the composition of the NCRTV.

    "There is no possibility of legislating before the options and possibilities for consensus on forming the NCRTV have been exhausted," the sources said.

    [02] New evidence on what caused tsunamis after massive Santorini volcanic eruption in the Bronze Age

    New evidence discovered by Greek scientists concerning the cataclysmic volcanic eruption on the island of Santorini 3,600 years ago suggests a new narrative for the disaster that crippled the Bronze Age civilisations that had thrived in the prehistoric Aegean for more than 2,000 years.

    Scientists had previously believed that the nine-metre tsunamis that smashed into the shores of Crete, dealing a severe blow to the Minoans that had dominated the region until that time, were caused by the collapse of the island's caldera, or volcanic crater, created during an eruption that blasted 80 cubic kilometres of rock into the ocean.

    Geologist-Oceanographer Dr. Paraskevi Nomikou and her colleagues from Athens University's Geology and Geo-Environment Department have now suggested an entirely different time line for these tsunamis, based on new seismic and ocean floor data, combined with modelling. According to their theory, published in Nature Communications, the tsunamis were the result of 'pyroclastic flow' - the hot ash, rock and lava that was spewed into the ocean before the crater's collapse.

    The new data from their study seems to indicate that the caldera was not open to the sea during the main phase of the volcanic eruption but flooded afterwards, when the eruption was over. The Greek scientists have discovered a submarine channel measuring one kilometre across and three kilometres in length that links the caldera with the sea. They said that this was initially blocked by ash and other material from the explosion, acting like a dam. This subsequently gave way and filled the previously dry bed of the caldera with sea water in less than two days, or possibly even hours.

    Talking to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA), Dr. Nomikou said that scientists have been studying the morphology of the Santorini volcano for years to discover which sections sank and which remained on the surface after it erupted.

    "The new study shows us that there was a channel between Oia and Thirasia that was filled in by the explosion, so that the main caldera collapsed without causing a tsunami. Afterward, when the dam in the channel between Oia and Thirasia broke, sea water entered the caldera in two days at the most.

    "Something like this, however, did not cause a tsunami. This was caused because, during the third and fourth phase of the eruption, huge quantities of volcanic ash were blown up into the air, and pyroclastic flows then entered the sea. These were what caused the tsunami that affected northern Crete and all the eastern Mediterranean," she said.

    While the main eruption was in full swing, the Greek scientists suggest, there may have been little of no water inside the crater, which was cut off from the surrounding sea. They believe that a shallow caldera may have already existed in the north section of the island's volcanic field, created by a previous eruption 18,000 years ago. The major volcanic eruption in 1610 B.C. then made this more ancient caldera deeper and wider until it was flooded with water.

    In support of this theory, researchers have found deposits of pyroclastic material up to 60 metres thick on the seabed around the shores of Santorini, in quantities sufficient to cause a tsunami-like wave. This also agrees with later studies on the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883, which identified pyroclastic flows as the culprit for the tsunami generated at that time.

    Scientists estimate that the eruption of Santorini took place at around 1610 B.C. - give or take 15 years -and was probably one of the largest the world has seen for the last 10,000 years. According to Nomikou, however, it was not responsible for wiping out Minoan civilisation as popularly supposed. She pointed out that Crete's Minoan civilisation managed to survive for almost two centuries after the tsunami hit - until roughly 1450 B.C. - and finally collapsed due to endogenous causes, though it was made more vulnerable.

    Working with Nomikou on the Greek study were Dr. Dimitris Papanikolaou and Danae Lambridou, along with other scientists from France, Britain, Germany, the United States and Iceland.

    The original paper is available at the address: nature.com/articles/doi:10.1038/NCOMMS13332.


    Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article
    Back to Top
    Copyright © 1995-2023 HR-Net (Hellenic Resources Network). An HRI Project.
    All Rights Reserved.

    HTML by the HR-Net Group / Hellenic Resources Institute, Inc.
    ana2html v2.01 run on Tuesday, 8 November 2016 - 19:38:06 UTC