On Santorini , a deposit of white tephra thrown from the eruption is found lying up to thick , overlying the soil marking the ground level before the eruption , and forming a layer divided into three fairly distinct bands indicating different phases of the eruption . Archaeological discoveries in 2006 by a team of international scientists revealed that the Santorini event was much more massive than previously thought ; it expelled of magma and rock into the Earth 's atmosphere , compared to previous estimates of only in 1991 , producing an estimated of tephra . Only the Mount Tambora volcanic eruption of 1815 , the 181 AD eruption of Lake Taupo , and possibly Baekdu Mountain 's 969 AD eruption have released more material into the atmosphere during the past 5,000 years
181 AD eruption
Hatepe eruption
Santorini