By . Rob Waugh . Last updated at 9:34 AM on 2nd February 2012 . Volcanoes could give us a detectable 'warning' decades before they erupt, say geologists. Stones from an eruption 3,500 years ago in Greece hint that magma beneath the ground had been running into the magma chamber for 100 years before a huge eruption. The 'warning' was no help to the Bronze Age civilisation surrounding Santorini -  but seismologists could now use it to monitor supervolcanoes for imminent eruptions. Mount Etna erupting in 2007: Researchers believe that volcanoes may give us a detectable 'sign' that they're going to erupt - and we could use the technique to see which 'dormant' volcanoes are a danger . The Santorini volcano in the Greek Islands lay dormant for 18,000 years before an enormous eruption 3,500 years ago, said New Scientist. The eruption may have contributed to the collapse of the Minoan civilisation, a Bronze Age civilisation in Crete. Magma began flooding into the magma chamber 100 years before the eruption. If this is a process that is repeated in most volcanic eruptions, it's one that could be detected by geologists. Seismic monitoring could, in theory, spot signs that magma is moving into the magma chamber - and we could even test 'dormant' supervolcanoes such as Yellowstone for signs of activity. Minoan fleet in battle, c. 1500 BC: The eruption at Santorini happened after the volcano had been dormant for 18,000 years and may have been partially responsible for the collapse of the Minoan civilisation . View of the volcano in Santorini, Greece: Rocks from the volcano hint that magma had been flooding the magma chamber for 100 years before the eruption . Most volcanic eruptions are preceded by signs that the mountain could erupt. Authorities rely on these for a few days' or months' warning to evacuate the area. But if there were signs years or even decades before, authorities could prevent catastrophe. Timothy Druitt of Blaise Pascal University in Clermont-Ferrand, France, says that the crystals in the rocks around the Santorini volcano have a structure that only makes sense if magma had been entering the chamber for a century.
Magma runs into magma chamber for decades .
Seismologists could now detect this movement - and 'test' if dormant supervolcanoes will erupt .
Authorities could have decades of warning before eruptions .
By . Rob Waugh . Last updated at 9:34 AM on 2nd February 2012 . Volcanoes could give us a detectable 'warning' decades before they erupt, say geologists. Stones from an eruption 3,500 years ago in Greece hint that magma beneath the ground had been running into the magma chamber for 100 years before a huge eruption. The 'warning' was no help to the Bronze Age civilisation surrounding Santorini -  but seismologists could now use it to monitor supervolcanoes for imminent eruptions. Mount Etna erupting in 2007: Researchers believe that volcanoes may give us a detectable 'sign' that they're going to erupt - and we could use the technique to see which 'dormant' volcanoes are a danger . The Santorini volcano in the Greek Islands lay dormant for 18,000 years before an enormous eruption 3,500 years ago, said New Scientist. The eruption may have contributed to the collapse of the Minoan civilisation, a Bronze Age civilisation in Crete. Magma began flooding into the magma chamber 100 years before the eruption. If this is a process that is repeated in most volcanic eruptions, it's one that could be detected by geologists. Seismic monitoring could, in theory, spot signs that magma is moving into the magma chamber - and we could even test 'dormant' supervolcanoes such as Yellowstone for signs of activity. Minoan fleet in battle, c. 1500 BC: The eruption at Santorini happened after the volcano had been dormant for 18,000 years and may have been partially responsible for the collapse of the Minoan civilisation . View of the volcano in Santorini, Greece: Rocks from the volcano hint that magma had been flooding the magma chamber for 100 years before the eruption . Most volcanic eruptions are preceded by signs that the mountain could erupt. Authorities rely on these for a few days' or months' warning to evacuate the area. But if there were signs years or even decades before, authorities could prevent catastrophe. Timothy Druitt of Blaise Pascal University in Clermont-Ferrand, France, says that the crystals in the rocks around the Santorini volcano have a structure that only makes sense if magma had been entering the chamber for a century.
detectable 'warning' decades before they erupt, seismologists could now use it to monitor into the magma chamber - and we could even test 'dormant' supervolcanoes such as Yellowstone for that the mountain could erupt. Authorities rely