Volcanic activity has always affected every corner of our planet. Eruptions occur at the bottom of the oceans and on top of massive mountain ranges, under polar ice and in the middle of deserts, as well as in densely populated areas, such as Italy.
The products of volcanic eruptions modify the landscape, create and destroy land, introduce gases and particles into both the atmosphere and the oceans, and thus influence the evolution of life on Earth. Studying volcanic deposits and the processes that generate them helps us understand the continuous evolution of our planet and can indicate useful strategies for sustainable development and the protection of areas exposed to volcanic activity.
Knowing the active volcanoes also serves to estimate their danger, and therefore to develop strategies for risk mitigation. Precisely for this reason, the INGV Volcanoes Department does not limit itself to monitoring the active volcanoes present on the Italian territory but carries out research and interventions on several areas, in Italy and abroad, where volcanic systems, active or extinct, can provide indications useful for understanding the evolution of volcanic phenomena. The study of the physical and chemical processes that occur in volcanic areas requires different and complementary methods which include:
- field activities (collection of rock and gas samples, cartography, measurement campaigns, installation of monitoring networks);
- laboratory research (analysis of collected samples, analog models and experiments);
- elaboration of models (conceptual, physical-mathematical, statistical) for the simulation of the phenomena and the joint interpretation of the collected data.
The integration of these results allows to make an estimate of the danger of a volcano. This estimate is never an exact assessment nor a deterministic prediction of future behavior: volcanoes are complex systems whose deep structure is poorly understood because, in fact, it is inaccessible. However, we can develop different evolutionary scenarios and express the danger in probabilistic terms, trying to quantify when possible also the inevitable uncertainty that characterizes our estimates.
The researchers belonging to the Department carry out studies and research and/or contribute to the monitoring, surveillance and management of the infrastructures in many Sections of the Institute. The INGV sections involved are: Naples Section (Vesuvian Observatory), Catania Section (Etna Observatory), Palermo Section, Rome1 Section, Rome2 Section, National Earthquake Observatory Section, Bologna Section, Pisa Section
Since mid-2018, the Volcanoes Department, similarly to the other two Departments of the institute, has decided to make use of a communication platform that includes a blog and social channels.
