Impact of the Minoan tsunami of Santorini. Simulated scenarios in the Eastern Mediterranean

Abstract

We have simulated the impact of the tsunami generated by the Late Bronze Age (LBA) volcanic eruption of Santorini on the Eastern Mediterranean. Two different tsunami triggering mechanisms were considered: a caldera collapse and pyroclastic flows/surges entering the sea. Simulations include the ‘‘worst’’ input conditions in order to evaluate the maximum possible impacts, but also ‘‘lighter’’ input conditions, compatible with the lack of any tsunami trace on the Northern coasts of Crete. In all the simulations, tsunami propagation is mainly confined to the Southern Aegean. Outside the Aegean, the tsunami impact was negligible and not responsible for the slide-slumping of fine-grained pelagic and/or hemipelagic sediments considered the sources of the sporadically located seadeposits in the Ionian Sea and of the widespread megaturbidite deposits localized in the Ionian and Sirte Abyssal Plains.