TEPHRA FROM THE MINOAN ERUPTION OF SANTORINI IN SEDIMENTS OF THE BLACK-SEA

THE explosive eruption of Santorini volcano in the Aegean Sea about 3,300 years ago is of considerable archaeological and volcanological significance1-5. Here we report the discovery of tephra from this Minoan event in laminated sediments of the Black Sea. This finding provides constraints on the distribution of debris from the eruption. We estimate a minimum fallout area of 2 x 10(6) km2 extending from the Black Sea in the north to the southeastern Mediterranean Sea. The main dispersal axis trends through southern Turkey, in agreement with other studies of Minoan tephra6,7. The tephra deposits should provide a useful reference horizon for assessing the chronology of Black Sea sediments which has been much debated8-15.