A prolonged hydrothermal past at Santorini Caldera revealed by sedimentary trace metal and microbial signatures

Della Sala, Sofia, Papadimitriou, Vasiliki, Polymenakou, Paraskevi, Kutterolf, Steffen, Frieling, Joost and Woodhouse, Adam 2026. A prolonged hydrothermal past at Santorini Caldera revealed by sedimentary trace metal and microbial signatures. Nature Communications 10.1038/s41467-026-75931-8

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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.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Schools > Earth and Environmental Sciences Schools > Physical, Chemical & Environmental Sciences
Additional Information:	Full author list at DOI
Publisher:	Nature Research
ISSN:	2041-1723
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	11 August 2026
Date of Acceptance:	8 July 2026
Last Modified:	11 Aug 2026 13:20
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/188900

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