A prolonged hydrothermal past at Santorini Caldera revealed by sedimentary trace metal and microbial signatures
Abstract
Abstract Hydrothermal systems in volcanic calderas are critical in signalling volcanic unrest, forming ore deposits, and sustaining chemosynthetic microorganisms. Analysis of a ~3500-year sequence of sediments collected from the Santorini caldera, Greece, during International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 398 reveals the behaviour of a prolonged paleo-hydrothermal system. Sediment geochemical and metagenomic data record vigorous hydrothermal activity and metal fluxes for ~1100 years, within a 2270-year window between two major eruptions. Sediment hydrothermally-derived trace metals are significantly enriched over background (~200-fold for As and Hg, and 10–50-fold for Mn, Sb, Mo, and V), with long-term metal fluxes (9 t yr −1 As, 2.5 t yr −1 Cu, 7 kg yr −1 Ag) comparable to fluxes from present-day geothermal fields in the Taupo Volcanic Zone. Metagenomic analysis identifies elevated metal resistance genes—signals of microbial adaptation to heightened hydrothermal stressors. Here we integrate geological and genomic evidence to decipher the paleoenvironmental and biogeochemical history of the past hydrothermal system at Santorini caldera.
Article Details
Authors (38)
Sofia Della Sala
Vasiliki Papadimitriou
Paraskevi Polymenakou
Steffen Kutterolf
Joost Frieling
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford
David M. Pyle
Tamsin A. Mather
Stephanos Kilias
Christopher K. Jones
Tim Druitt
Jonas Preine
Christian Hübscher
Paraskevi Nomikou
Olga Koukousioura
Thomas A. Ronge
Sarah Beethe
Katharina Pank
Carole Berthod
Hehe Chen
Shun Chiyonobu
Acacia Clark
Susan DeBari
Ralf Gertisser
Raymond Johnston
Michael Manga
Department of Earth and Planetary Science
Molly McCanta
Iona McIntosh
Ally Peccia
Masako Tominaga
Yuzuru Yamamoto
Adam Woodhouse
Alexis Bernard
Tatiana Fernandez Perez
Kumar Batuk Joshi
Gunther Kletetschka
Antony Morris
Xiaohui Li
College of Materials Science and Engineering and College of Mechanical Engineering
Dimitrios Papanikolaou