Santorini Volcano

If you have been to Santorini you will not know that island is Volcanic as part of a huge caldera, surrounding the Volcano of Nea Kamini.  If you arrived by boat then you will have travelled past the volcano and seen tourists trekking their way to the top.  If you were able to drag yourself away from the towns, sunsets and beaches you might have taken a boat trip out to learn a little bit more, even to swim in the hot springs on the far side.

Our knowledgeable guide informed us that there would be no chance of an eruption during our visit, though the magma chamber was slowly being filled up as the African plate is subducted under the Eurasian. As this happens the oceanic crust is destroyed ready for the next eruption.  Currently the volcano is classed as dormant, as a reminder that the status will one day change we kicked up some dirt and just below the surface the temperature of the stones was enough to burn your hands if you weren't careful.

The volcano island is made up of several craters relating to previous eruptions, the most recent being 1950.  You can see gases escaping from cracks in the rocks as you stare into a graveyard of the poorly secured hats littering the crater sides.

Another key point to notice is the different colour of the igneous (volcanic) rocks, this is due to the rate at which the rock cools and the amount of oxygen reacting with it as this happens.

It is unlikely there will be another eruption on the scale that destroyed the town of Akrotiri, Greece's very own Pompeii.  It has been difficult to date to the biggest eruption, it was sometime during 1600 BCE which impact the Mediterranean directly, causing destruction to settlements on Crete and potentially impacting global climate patterns, records in Egypt describe significant changes around the same time.

Once you've climbed up what better way to finish the trip than heading to the far side of the volcano for a swim in the hotspring where you notice the change in the temperature as you move closer to the island.  The water is supposed to be good for your skin, though not so good for a white swimming costume!!

Have you been somewhere Geographical you would like to write about?  Email me or speak to me when we start back at school.

For those of you interested here are a few more weblinks to explore for more information including a like webcam.

https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/santorini.html
https://webcams.volcanodiscovery.com/Santorini
http://www.thisoldearth.net/Igneous-Rocks_color.cfm
https://www.santorini.com/archaeology/akrotiri.htm

Amazing colours

The town of Thira from Nea Kamini

Crater

Gas Vent

Monitoring Equipment

Plants slowly reappearing

The small port. Note the yellow water.

Where are you really looking?

If you've been to the coast then you've probably asked 'What is on the other side?' For the most part you can't actually see to the other side of an ocean or sea.  Though in South Wales you can see across to England though this is technically the Bristol Channel, not a sea or ocean.

Growing up where I did in the Midlands, there were trips to places like Cleethorpes and Skegness.  Look them up, I doubt they are places you would visit if you are in the UK.  I always assumed if I could see then it would be Holland that I could see, beyond that I never gave it another thought.

One man, Andy Woodruff, a cartographer, has tried to answer this question and has produced maps to give you an idea of where you are actually looking at even if you can't see it.

By his own admission some of the maths may not be 100% accurate but the logic appears to make sense.  Take a look at the maps below to gain an idea of how it works.

His work builds on ideas from reporters at the Washington Post, they mapped out which places would be on the same latitude.  Keep in mind though, that being on the same latitude does not mean you would see this place due the angle of the coastline.

This map gives you an idea of this project.

If this is something you find interesting you can read all the articles by following the links below.  Where you do think you are looking at if you visit the coast in Romania?  Can you work it out?

Beyond the Sea - Andy Woodruff

If you’re on the beach, this map shows you what’s across the ocean

What’s across the ocean from you when you’re at the beach, in 7 fascinating maps

Star Wars Weather

You can't have failed to notice Star Wars, the Force has well and truly awakened.  Even the streets of Bucharest are adorned with the faces of Storm Troopers.  Can you find all the Storm Trooper locations?  This one was lurking near Unirii.

Even the weather presenters are getting in on the act.  Check out this effort from the UK.

If you wanted to continue exploring more of Star Wars you could think about the different environments encountered in the films, what are they like?  How are they formed?  How would you survive there?  There is even a Star Wars app which right now is telling me the weather in Retford is like Kamino, so what is the weather like for me?

GeoGuessr

How easy is it work out where somewhere is from an image?  You can test yourself using https://geoguessr.com/ how close can you get to the actual location on the map.  Send me a screen shot of your best attempts.  Can you get closer than 10 metres on any of the maps?