Around 1600 BC, the Aegean island of Thera (Santorini) experienced one of history's most devastating volcanic eruptions. The explosion—rated VEI 7—ejected approximately 28-41 cubic kilometers of material, creating a 30-35 kilometer high eruption column that reached the stratosphere. The eruption destroyed the Minoan settlement at Akrotiri, buried under layers of pumice and ash, while generating tsunamis up to 150 meters high that struck Crete's northern coast 110 kilometers away. The catastrophe