Presentation to support outreach exercise, decision-making in relation to possible volcanic eruption and island evacuation.
July 2014, Katy Appleton, UEA

Map: Thera (main island), Therassia (northwest), Nea Kameni and Palea Kameni (new and old Kameni, volcano top), Aspronisi (uninnhabited).

Population in 2011. Moderate concentration of population on caldera edge, but also some important settlements inland and on Aegean coast.

Minoan civilisation, originated from Crete. Mural is from Akrotiri. It's damaged because...

...of this eruption. It's difficult to describe how powerful it was - one of the largest eruptions in the past few thousand years. Estimates:
60 cubic km of material being ejected
120 times as powerful as Mt St Helens, 1980 (video available)
The caldera collapse caused a tsunami, 35-150m high, that hit the coast of Crete.
Laid ~60m of ash on the land of Santorini.
Destroyed town of Akrotiri - more on that later.

(This photo is of an Alaskan volcano and is purely illustrative!)

1956 earthquake caused damage to infrastructure, especially in the north. Loss of buildings led to depopulation.

Quarrying, along with agricuture and manufacturing, was a major industry but this reduced with the loss of infrastructure.

Drinking water is produced by desalination plants, or imported in bottled form.

Arid climate, ashy soil and rocky terrain make agriculture hard. These are grapevines, grown close to the ground to reduce stress.

A notable local product. There are various other local dishes specific to Santorini.

The wine has a particular character due to the volcanic soils.

Coupled with the development of cheaper aviation and package holidays in the 1970s, the decline of other industries led to the growth of tourism. It is now Santorini's main economic activity.
Santorini is a very popular destination for cruise ships.

The traditional architecture is very striking, as is the arrangement of buildings on the cliffside, facing west for the sunset.
Santorini is consistently rated as a high-quality and desirable tourist location.

Many of the beaches feature black or red sand, or pebbles. Due to the steep cliffs the island relies less on beach tourism than others nearby; historic sites offer an alternative draw for tourists.

A main tourist attraction on the island, similar to Pompeii in that it was buried in volcanic ash.

Unlike Pompeii, evidence suggests that the inhabitants left after initial, small eruptions, before the last, massive one.

Destroyed Akrotiri could be the origin of the Atlantis legend.

Ancient Thera dates from after the Minoan eruption, but a (much smaller) eruption in 726 left a layer of pumice and the city was abandoned. It is now another tourist attraction, albeit rather low-key.

Some buildings have rooms dug into the cliffs; they are well insulated by the porous volcanic rock, and so cool in summer and warm in winter.

The airport is sufficient for charter flights, but only up to the size of a Boeing 757 aircraft (i.e. not jumbo jets or similar).

A new port serves ferries which sail between Santorini and other islands.

Small harbours serve fishing boats and tourist trips.

A specific destination for many tourists is Nea Kameni, the site of the currently-active volcano crater. Boats dock here for tourists to walk to the crater.

Volcano tourism brings people specifically to Santorini.

What does the future hold for Santorini?