| Abstract: | In the late Bronze Age, sometime between 1500 and 1450 BC, a paroxysmal explosive eruption of the volcano Santorini took place in the Aegean Sea. Many scientists now link the rapid decline of the Minoan Civilisation centred on Crete with the destructive effects of this catastrophic eruption. The geological record indicates that one or two eruptions of comparable magnitude may occur every 1000 years. In our present-day world with its rapidly expanding population and economy the catastrophic effects of such an eruption occurring today should be seriously considered. |
