Seafloor drill cores have documented 19 explosive eruptions from the Kolumbo volcanic chain over the past 265,000 years

How often does the submarine volcano Kolumbo erupt, and is its activity linked to Santorini? Researchers have drilled two sites into the seafloor on Kolumbo’s western flank during IODP Expedition 398 and analysed and dated ash layers (tephra) using tephrostratigraphy and geochemistry. They identified 19 explosive eruptions from the Kolumbo volcanic chain—likely mostly from Kolumbo itself—reaching back to about 265,000 years ago and spanning magma compositions from basaltic andesite to rhyolite. On average, explosive activity occurred roughly every 6,000 years, with a phase around 178,000–164,000 years ago showing intervals of about 1,000 years. Several eruptions were smaller than the 1650 event, and the timing suggests coupled behaviour with Santorini.

Original paper

https://doi.org/10.1130/G53965.1