Floyd W. McCoy
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
In the Late Bronze Age (LBA) a massive eruption destroyed an
island (ancient Thera/Santorini) and devastated a region (S. Aegean area) - the
catastrophe changed the course of western civilization. My new data suggests the eruption to have
been much bigger than thought, perhaps a much as 2.5 times larger (based upon
field work on Anaphi island, and at Palaikastro). Regional devastation came
from tsunami, earthquakes, and tephra fallout (ash fell from the Black Sea to
the Nile delta). Local devastation came
from the complete reshaping of Thera's landscape. Work at present is focused on
computer-generated graphics of the eruption sequence, the pre-eruption island
and its topography, the generation of tsunami, and more. This research has involved geologic mapping,
geophysical surveys onshore and offshore, remote sensing work, a program to
core lakes on Crete to decipher the paleo-climatic history for the LBA, in addition
to extensive laboratory work at the U. Hawaii, ASCSA and the East Crete Study
Center. It has resulted in 8 papers in
the peer-reviewed literature, one book (Special Paper of the Geological Society
of America), numerous lectures, mention in several magazine articles, and has
been the subject of 5 television specials.
__________
Dr.
Floyd W. McCoy
Associate
Professor in Geology and Oceanography
University
of Hawaii - Windward College
Kaneohe,
Hawaii 96744
Senior
Researcher
Associated
Scientists at Woods Hole
Woods
Hole, Massachusetts 02543
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