Greece overview FINAL BLOG POST

Greece is located between Italy and Turkey in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. It sits right on the Aegean plate and is specifically located on the Hellenic Volcanic arc. This places Greece in a hot spot for volcanic activities and costal hazards. Greece does have a main land but it is also has a series of islands, and many of those, if not al of these island are volcanoes, So these major hazards and disasters go hand in hand with each other.

Another problem the Greek islands face in their series of volcanoes. The country sits right along the "Aegean Volcanic Arc" which is caused by the seduction of the African under Eurasian plate is what caused these volcanoes to form.  Due to the activity and high-pressure volcanoes swarm the Mediterranean Sea mostly located right in the heart of Greece.  There are over 100 volcanoes in Greece, though some have gone extinct. There 6 main volcanoes in Greece which are Sousaki, Methana, Milos, Nisyros, Kolumbo and the biggest of then all, Santorini. As Volcano Discovery puts it "It is a very complex stratovolcano dominated by a large, sea-flooded caldera created by several large explosive eruptions." This has the largest crater in the world though it is sunken in the sea. Santorini has had small eruptions in recent years but no major eruptions.

Greece is known for the beautiful turquoise and crystal clear waters. According to the CIA World Factbook, Greece has 13,676 kilometers (8,498 mi) of coastline, the largest in the Mediterranean Basin. Greece has a total of 2,000 Greek islands but only 168 are inhabited. Majority of the large cities in Greece are located in what is considered a costal zone, this includes 80% of industrial activity and 90% of tourism and recreation. This means that 33% of all the population lives on the coast of Greece.  Majority of the coast is rocky cliffs, which can effect how the waves crash. Though every factor contributes to what the ocean is like, Greece's shores remain calm majority of the time. 

Greece has sensors places on the sea floor to monitor volcanic activity in the ocean as well as energy levels under water. They were strategically placed around the island and at the middle of the Santorini crater.  According to Greek Island Travel "The 24-member research team is also using two submersibles for deep-sea dives in order to gather detailed information on the structure of the Santorini caldera."  This shows that they do try to be prepared for these types of events. I think that an App would be a very helpful tool for those living in dangerous areas or even those who plan to travel to the area. If you can imagine, it would be something similar to amber alerts. Involuntarily it makes your phone notify you that there is a series danger near you. It could warn people of harmful volcanic activity, tsunamis, dangerous storms, or coastal problems and many more. Also I think that News alerts do help. For those that do not have access to television and cell phones, local loud sirens to warn towns could also save many lives. As far as what is already out there, surfline is very accurate as well as NOAA. Both of these sites can help to be prepared for what is coming.

When I was told to pick a country to focus my study of each topic of this class it was a hard choice for me. After careful consideration I decided on Greece. I picked this country because it is one of my top travel destinations. Before I started my studies I truly knew nothing about the land, or especially nothing about the hazards and disasters. Like I mentioned before Most of the cities in Greece are located in what is called the “costal zones” and the islands them self are giant volcanoes. Santorini in my opinion is the most beautiful of the larger cities though it is not the safest. I would definitely try to make this island safer. This would be would consider my target area. It is a giant volcano and it does experience serious coastal hazards.  Alert systems would help the island of Santorini.

After reading about the negatives and positives of each location, I would choose Athens as the safest place to live. One because is not an island. It is on the main land. Also it is not on the top of a volcano. And lastly, it is not directly next to the ocean, since it is so large has a northern side that is away from the ocean.

 

REFERENCES 

http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/greece.html

www.flightcentre.com.au

www.manchesterairport.co.uk

http://www.volcanolive.com/greece.html

http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/santorini.html

http://www.greeka.com/greece-holiday/nature/volcanoes/

http://www.greek-islands-travel.co.uk/cyclades/santorini/volcano-watch-on-santorini.html

http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/hellenic-arc.html

http://www.decadevolcano.net/santorini/santorini_geology_geography.htm

http://inkspiredmusings.blogspot.com/2011/11/its-all-greek-to-me.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Greece

http://www.climatechangepost.com/greece/coastal-erosion/

http://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/documentation/studies/documents/greece_climate_change_en.pdf

http://www.visitgreece.gr/en/sea/beaches

http://www.greeka.com/greece-geography/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268074280_Coastal_hazard_related_to_landslide_distribution_derived_from_morphotectonic_analysis_SW_Gulf_of_Corinth_Greece