Bringing a novel approach to a classic problem, researchers have revealed how changes in ocean chemistry over the past 2 billion years have left an imprint on volcanic rocks formed in island arcs.

Subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath the North American Plate creating the Aleutian trench and volcanic island arc (Credit: Alaska Volcano Observatory). Click image for a larger view.

Santorini lies along the Hellenic Volcanic Arc, which stretches from the Peloponnese in southern Greece through the Cycladic ...