PROGRAMME - SANTORINI SUMMER SCHOOL
CLASSROOM SESSIONS
Classroom sessions focused on presenting the geology of the island of Santorini with selected phenomena related to geological hazards (such as seismicity, fault ruptures, tsunamis and landslides). We also had two prominent guest speakers, Prof. Beverly Goodman and Prof. Vastis Sahoglu, who presented their studies on tsunami waves, from their fieldwork experience carried out in Santorini and Çeşme - Bağlararası (Türkiye).
Lectures were given to illustrate the main scientific and technical aspects of the project, and the range of methods and instruments the students would use in the field such as seabed mapping techniques, remotely operated vehicles (ROV), UAV, and photogrammetry, giving importance to the potential offered by VR to upgrade the spatial perception of the submarine and coastal landscapes.
FIELDWORK
Fieldwork carried out during the summer school included both geological field trips and activities associated with data collection using several equipment.
The geological field trips covered several locations, including Vlychada beach, the Metaxa mine, Red Beach and the surrounding excavations of Akrotiri, Pyrgos and Oia. On field, students had the opportunity to participate in the collection of on-land geophysical data, UAS data, 360° camera videos, and laser scan data and to see how to collect ground truthing data at sea using a ROV.
A full day boat tour inside the caldera was organized to have a closer look at the caldera walls and to visit Nea Kameni. Participants had also the opportunity to visit Thirassia and have a swim in the hot spring of Palea Kameni.
LABORATORY SESSIONS
Laboratory sessions included the presentation of a range of instruments, whose technical specifications were directly shown and demonstrated. Students had the possibility to work with datasets either collected during the summer school or already existing ones, made available from the partners. Thus, they had the opportunity to experience a range of software: ESRI ArcGis, QPS Qimera to process multibeam echosounder data, Agisoft Metashape to apply photogrammetric techniques on both terrestrial and submarine images, Cloud compare to work with the point clouds resulted from the UAV and GeoSLAM surveys, and Geopsy for the geophysical data processing.
The availability of existing dataset and dedicated tools (i.e.: Oculus, 3D Pluraview screen, 360° camera) also allowed the students to experience different ways of interacting with natural environments reproduced in VR, collecting new data and testing new methods to better engage them in the exploration of terrestrial and underwater environments.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
Thanks to the seminars and cultural visits, students dealt with transversal topics, approaching an integrated understanding of human interaction with physical processes, from both the social and economic perspectives. Indeed, they were able to improve their awareness regarding the importance of marine geosciences and associated outreach activities for a sustainable future.
Cultural tours covered visits to the main towns and historical monuments of Santorini, including the Prehistoric museum of Thira and the excavations of Akrotiri. To taste the Greek culture, a typical dinner in a traditional Caneva in Messaria (Canava Santorini) was organized, ending with Ouzo and a dancing session on the notes of the students' national songs. Finally, there was the visit to a local winery in Pyrgos (Hatzidakis winery), where local geology and cultural tradition provide unique products as an expression of the cultural identity, a fundamental element for sustainable development and social cohesion.