There are 500 active volcanoes in the world, and every year about 50 of them erupt and spew their lava. Even this year alone, volcanoes in Spain, Iceland, Indonesia and Italy were frequently on the agenda. Some of them woke up from their 800-year-old sleep and started spewing lava again.
There are hundreds of volcanoes in the region starting from Spain in the Alpine-Himalayan belt, including Turkey, and going through Italy and Greece to Turkey, Iran, Indonesia and the Philippines. There are large volcanoes that have erupted throughout history.
So, how big is the danger of volcanoes for Turkey, which has 15 volcanoes?
According to the data, the last volcanic eruption in Turkey took place on Tendürek Mountain in 1855. However, according to experts, these volcanoes are not completely silent and will be active again when the time comes!
The famous photo of this girl named Omayra Sánchez is an example for us. Taken after the eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano in Colombia.
Nearly 23,000 people died in the 1985 explosion. Omayra, who had to wait for 60 hours where she was stuck, unfortunately could not be saved. People struggling with problems such as bad economy and terrorism were saying that “all the troubles are over and there is only a volcano left”. So the reason why so many people died was because of unpreparedness.
The volcano, which caused a silent and profound disaster, had erupted before that in 1845. There was a perception that he was not dangerous because he had been sleeping for 140 years. However, this period of time, which was long for humans, was very, very short for geology.
Scientists warned, but no one listened. The authorities and the public need to be conscious so that a similar situation does not occur in our country. Because the probability of a volcano erupting in Turkey this century is much higher than the probability of not erupting!
There are 15 different volcanic formations in Turkey. Explosion dates are as follows:
For a volcano to be considered active, it only needs to have erupted in the last 10,000 years. Ten of our volcanoes are technically active volcanoes.
Active Volcanoes:
Acıgöl-Nevşehir
Pain (Ararat)
Mount Erciyes
Göllü Mountain
Hasan Mountain
Karaca Mountain
Karapinar Volcanic Area
Mount Nemrut
Mount Tendürek
Possible Volcanoes:
Girekol Hill
Golcuk
Kars Plateau
Mount Suphan
Inactive Volcanoes:
Cappadocia
What is the probability of another volcanic eruption in Turkey?
According to a research report prepared by Bristol University and TUBITAK, Turkey is the 14th most risky country out of 95 countries hosting volcanic activity in the world.
Here is our risk map:
Having volcanoes that erupt frequently, such as Indonesia and Iceland, is not the only component of volcano risk. At the same time, details such as how many people live around those volcanoes, how prepared the citizens and officials of that country are for a volcanic disaster, how closely the volcanoes are followed in the country, and how aware of the volcanic dangers and risks in general are also important.
There is an enormous population accumulation around volcanic formations in Turkey, since the risk of volcanism is almost never considered and almost none of us have the slightest idea about volcanism. 15 million people live in a radius of 100 kilometers around active volcanoes in our country.
The probability of a volcanic eruption in Turkey by 2100 is over 70%.
If we had asked you to estimate this probability, we would have heard more like 7%, 0.7%, but according to science, this is the real probability! Despite this, there is almost no awareness about the danger of volcanoes. However, even if we do not see it, our children and grandchildren will most likely witness a volcanic eruption in Turkey.
The Nevado del Ruiz in Colombia, which killed that child and 23,000 people with him, exploded in 1845 before exploding in 1985. Mount Ararat erupted in 1840 and Mount Tendürek in 1855.
At least 1900 people are thought to have died in the last eruption of Mount Ararat, which you can understand by considering the population of that time. If this number is correct, it means it is the 21st deadliest volcanic eruption in recorded human history.
In a study conducted by 35 scientists from 12 countries in Turkey, it was seen that Nemrut is still active.
Professor at the University of Bonn. Dr. In the research conducted under the coordination of Thomas Litt, it was determined that the age of Lake Van was approximately 400,000 years and that the lake was caused by the eruption of the Nemrut volcano.
prof. Dr. Thomas Litt stated that the volcano, which is supposed to have been active in the last 1440s, will explode and become active. With this research on the lake, according to geophysicists, geologists and risk analysts, the biggest risk is that volcanism will not flow but explode.
It is thought that there is a connection between the explosion at Hasan Mountain near Çatalhöyük and a Neolithic landscape painting.
According to the research results of Axel Schmitt and his team from the University of California, the volcanic eruption at Çatalhöyük coincides with the “lava-spewing volcano picture”.
New evidence may prove that the 8600-year-old painting is the world’s oldest landscape painting. A three-metre-wide painting from 6600 BC, discovered on the wall of an adobe house during excavations in 1960, showing the lava eruption of a two-peaked volcano on a settlement, is kept in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara.
Volcanic activities can also be seen in the Aegean Sea. The Greek island of Santorini was formed as a result of a volcanic eruption, and even in 2012, a young volcano formed under the sea in this region.
A volcanic mouth was detected at a depth of 25 meters 150 meters ahead of Marmaris. High temperatures in the sea water and seismic activities were observed in the region (2340 earthquake).
Just as science told us that the current pandemic would come years ago, it also warns us about this situation. Maybe in a week, maybe in a century. . . Somewhere out there, an insidious enemy is waiting for us.
Sources:
Prof. from the University of Bonn. Dr. 35 scientists under the coordination of Thomas Litt
Çağrı Mert Bakırcı (Tree of Evolution)
Prof. from the University of California. Dr. Axel K. Schmitt and his team
Geophysicist Dr. Oguz Gundogdu
Geologist Prof. Dr. Okan Tüysüz
Dokuz Eylul University Geological Engineering Department Lecturer Prof. Dr. Hasan Sözbilir
Yıldız Technical University Natural Sciences Research Center President Prof. Dr. Sukru Ersoy
Geophysics M.Sc. Dr. Ovgun Ahmet Ercan
TurkVolc
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