Nearly 30,000 earthquakes that rattled the island of Santorini earlier this year were caused by magma moving between the island's famous volcano and the nearby underwater Kolumbo volcano, according to a major new study published in the journal Nature.
The seismic crisis, which began on Jan. 27 and lasted for almost a month, prompted a state of emergency declaration and the temporary evacuation of many residents. Some of the tremors surpassed a magnitude of 5.0.
The new study confirms that the two volcanoes share the same magma supply. According to the international team of researchers, in early 2025, magma carved a 13-kilometer-long (8-mile) conduit that halted just three kilometers below Santorini's surface.
"Volcanic crisis reveals coupled magmatic systems at Santorini and Kolumbo," the article is titled. The research team included Greek scientists Paraskevi Nomikou and Dimitris Anastasiou.
While seismic activity has since diminished, scientists warn that Santorini remains one of Europe’s most active volcanic areas and that similar phenomena could recur.