SANTORY is a research project submitted in the framework of the “1st Call for Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (H.F.R.I.) Research Projects to Support Faculty Members & Researchers and Procure High-Value Research Equipment” (Ref.No.452/ 01.12.2017), in the Category III Proposals, related to radically novel approaches to monitor submarine volcano activities, deploy state of the art sensors forming a shallow seafloor volcanic observatory funded by H.F.R.I. (https://www.elidek.gr/en/call/6489/). SANTORY project’s main objective is to create the initial specifications that are required at the national level for monitoring submarine volcanoes’ activities. The project will be applied within the active submarine volcano Kolumbo of the Hellenic Volcanic Arc (south Aegean Sea), which is located close to Santorini island holding one of the top tourism destinations globally. The results will form a national strategy for seafloor volcanic monitoring, will bring together a highly interdisciplinary team of national experts and develop novel, cutting-edge sensors and monitoring practices. SANTORY will invest a significant effort to provide methodologies and tools to enable long-term data acquisition, sensors and monitoring systems on Kolumbo seafloor to offer worldwide solutions to researchers, policy makers and communities. All these may be achieved by combining State of the Art (SoA) approaches and equipment from various disciplines in a well-balanced synergy, and designing new and effective methodologies targeting the seafloor volcanic environment, which will provide efficient response to existing geohazards, and shape future policies for the global community.

This document has been produced through funding from Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (H.F.R.I.). The content of this document is a product of the SANTORY project Consortium and it does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation. The editor, author, contributors and reviewers of this document have taken any available measure in order for its content to be accurate and lawful. However, neither the project consortium as a whole, nor the individual partners that have implicitly or explicitly participated in the creation and publication of this document may be held responsible for any damage, financial or other loss or any other issue that may arise as a result of using the content of this document or any of the project outputs that this document may refer to.

The Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (H.F.R.I.) is a new institution through which a profound reforming effort is being undertaken in the field of Research and Innovation in Greece. The Organization supports unrestricted research (the systematic inquiry born of scientific curiosity) and new researchers by providing scholarships for doctoral candidates, as well as research projects for post-doctoral students, Researchers and Faculty Members. Through H.F.R.I., the research and academic community is, for the first time, actively involved in shaping the country’s research and innovation policy without thematic or geographical exclusions, but with the sole criterion of scientific quality and excellence. H.F.R.I. was created out of the vital need to support young scientists and as a necessary tool in reversing the outflow of outstanding scientists abroad. Indeed, one of H.F.R.I.’s key goals is to impede the scientific and economic haemorrhage that the loss of gifted Greek researchers entails. The Foundation in compliance with provisions in force, the Agreement dated 15/07/2016 between the Hellenic Republic and the European Investment Bank, the H.F.R.I. Internal Regulation, manages its resources through a special treasury management account retained in the Bank of Greece. The funding that was granted based on the Agreement dated 15/07/2016 between the Hellenic Republic and the European Investment Bank constitutes loan revenue of the State Budget and an equal amount has been registered in a Foundation-specific budget code of the Ministry of Development and Investments. Additionally, H.F.R.I. has received funding from the co-financed part of the Public Investment Program.