A new multidisciplinary study has made it possible to identify the exact date of the event AND to follow the effects of the eruption up to thousands of kilometers away, opening up new research fronts for similar events
Everything would have happened between 24 and 25 August 79 AD In fact, according to current knowledge, this is the date on which, according to the famous letter from Pliny the Younger to Tacitus, the eruption of Pompeii occurred. But the real date is another!
Almost 2000 years after the episode that destroyed a large part of the surrounding area and cities, an international team of researchers has re-analyzed the event to offer an exhaustive plan of the state of the art on the knowledge of the most famous eruption in history, from the actual date it happened.
The integration between the field study, the laboratory analyzes and the re-reading of the historical sources has made it possible to follow all the phases of the eruption in time, from the magma chamber to the deposition of the ash in areas very far from Vesuvius, finding traces as far as Greece .
A systematic review , recently published in the prestigious journal 'Earth-Science Reviews', was conducted by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) in collaboration with the Institute of Environmental Geology and Geoengineering of the National Research Council (IGAG-CNR), the Interdepartmental Center for the Study of the Effects of Climate Change (CIRSEC) and the Department of Earth Sciences of the University of Pisa, the Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans of Clermont-Ferrand (LMV) in France and the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences (EPS ) of Heriot-Watt University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom. The research was carried out as part of the 'Dynamic Planet' research project funded by INGV.
The team of multidisciplinary researchers collected and critically analyzed the vast scientific production available on the eruption, integrating it with new research.
“Our work examines various aspects of the 79 AD eruption with a broad and multidisciplinary approach, integrating historical, stratigraphic, sedimentological, petrological, geophysical, paleoclimatic data and modeling of the magmatic and eruptive processes of one of the most famous and devastating events that affected the Neapolitan volcanic area", explains Mauro A. Di Vito, INGV volcanologist and study coordinator. "The article starts from the redefinition of the date of the eruption, which would have occurred in the autumn of 79 AD and not on August 24th as assumed in the past, and continues with the volcanological analysis of sites near the volcano to then move progressively up to thousands of kilometers away, where traces of the eruption have been found in the form of fine ash".
"Since the eighteenth century, the date of August 24 has been the subject of debate among historians, archaeologists and geologists because it is inconsistent with numerous pieces of evidence"Says Biagio Giaccio, Igag-Cnr researcher and co-author of the article. “Like, for example, the findings in Pompeii of typically autumnal fruit or the heavy tunics worn by the inhabitants which were difficult to reconcile with the date of 24-25 August”Giaccio adds. The definitive proof of the inaccuracy of the date, however, emerged only a few years ago. "An inscription in charcoal on the wall of a building in Pompeii which translated quotes 'On the sixteenth day before the calends of November, he indulged in immoderate food', indicating that the eruption certainly took place after 17 October", continues Giaccio.
The most accredited date is, therefore, that of 24-25 October.
The research was then supplemented by the quantitative assessment of the impact of the individual phases of the eruption on the areas and on the archaeological sites near the volcano.
"The spirit of our work has been to understand how an event from the past can represent a window onto the future, opening up new perspectives for the study of similar events that may occur tomorrow", goes on Domenico Doronzo, INGV volcanologist and co-author of the research. "This study, therefore, will make it possible to improve the applicability of forecasting models, from the precursory phenomena to the impact of the various eruptive and depositional processes, but it will also help to reduce the vulnerability of the areas and of the numerous infrastructures exposed to volcanic risk, not only near the volcano, but - as this event teaches us - even at a distance of hundreds of kilometers from it".
“In recent years it has become increasingly important to understand the impact of eruptions on the climate, also in order to be able to study the origin and impact of some short-term climatic variations. However, we still don't know much - and with adequate resolution - about the climatic conditions at the time of the AD 79 eruption."Comments Gianni Zanchetta of the University of Pisa and co-author of the research.
"In this work we have tried to put together the knowledge on regional climatic conditions at the time of the eruption to attempt a first synthesis" comments Monica Bini of the University of Pisa "also to direct future research on this aspect which still has many dark sides".
The results of this study have received the appreciation of authentic icons of global volcanology such as Raymond Cas, Professor Emeritus in Monash University's School of Earth Atmosphere and Environment (Australia): "The eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD is one of the most iconic in the field of physical volcanology - says the well-known Australian researcher - The observations of this eruption, as well as the countless studies on the deposits and the interpretation of the eruptive processes, are at the basis of many of the concepts and understanding of the mechanisms of explosive eruptions in modern volcanology. A review of what is known about the eruption and its deposits is therefore very important for volcanologists and justifies a comprehensive and detailed document, such as this article. The authors are certainly to be congratulated for the extremely comprehensive details culled from the enormous historical record and contemporary scientific literature on this iconic eruption.".
--------------
VESUVIUS | Revealing ancient mysteries of the 79 AD eruption
A new multidisciplinary study has allowed better date the event and follow the eruption effects up to a thousand kilometers distance
The event would have happened between 24 and 25 August of 79 AD This is the date that, based on current knowledge, the eruption of Pompeii occurred, according to the famous letter from Pliny the Younger to Tacitus. But the true date is another!
After centuries of volcanic quiescence, the 79 AD eruption of Vesuvius destroyed part of the territory and surrounding towns. At almost two millennia from the eruption, an international team of researchers has analyzed again that event to get to a comprehensive state-of-the-art on the knowledge of the most famous eruption ever, starting from the exact date in which it occurred.
The integration among field studies, laboratory analyzes and historical fonts has allowed follow all phases of the eruption over time, from the magma chamber to the ash deposition in areas extremely far from Vesuvius, with traces up to Greece.
The study , recently published on the prestigious journal 'Earth-Science Reviews', has been coordinated by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), in collaboration with the Institute of Environmental Geology and Geoengineering at the National Research Council (IGAG-CNR), Interdepartmental Center for the Study of the Effects of Climate Change (CIRSEC) and Department of Earth Sciences at University of Pisa, Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans at Clermont-Ferrand (LMV) in France, and School of Engineering and Physical Sciences (EPS) at the Heriot- Watt University of Edinburgh in the UK. The study has been conducted in the framework of the project 'Dynamic Planet' funded by INGV.
The team of multidisciplinary researchers has collected then critically analyzed the huge scientific production available for this eruption, by integrating with new discoveries.
“Our work examines with a wide and multidisciplinary approach different aspects of the 79 AD eruption, by integration of historical, stratigraphic, sedimentological, petrological, geophysical, paleoclimatic and modeling data, referring to the magmatic and eruptive processes of one among the most famous and devastating events occurred in the Neapolitan volcanic area'', explains Mauro A. Di Vito, volcanologist at INGV and coordinator of the study. ''The work starts by dating the eruption, which would have occurred in the autumn and not on 24 August of 79 AD as previously thought, and continues by analyzing the volcanological data available in proximity of the volcano, getting to thousand kilometers distance where traces of the eruption have been found in the form of fine ash''.
"Since the 18th century, the date of 24th August has been the subject of debate among historians, archaeologists and geologists because it is inconsistent with numerous evidences", says Biagio Giaccio, researcher of the Igag-Cnr and co-author of the article. “Such as, for example, the finds in Pompeii of typically autumnal fruits or the heavy tunics worn by the inhabitants that were badly reconciled with the date of 24-25 August”, adds I lie. The definitive proof of the inaccuracy of the date, however, only emerged a few years ago. “An inscription in charcoal on the wall of a building in Pompeii which translated quotes 'The sixteenth day before the calends of November, he indulged in food in an immoderate way', indicating that the eruption certainly occurred after 17 October”, continues I lie.
The most accredited date is therefore now that of 24-25 October.
The study has been integrated by a quantitative assessment of the impact of single phases of the eruption on those areas, including archaeological sites, close to the volcano.
''The spirit of our work has been that of understanding how a past event can represent a window to the future, by opening to new perspectives for the study of similar events that might occur again'', continues Domenico Doronzo, volcanologist of INGV and co-author of the research. ''This study will allow improve the applicability of forecasting models, from precursory phenomena to impact in eruptive and depositional processes. It will also allow contribute reducing the vulnerability for those areas and infrastructures exposed to volcanic risk, not only close to the volcano but also – as the 79 AD event teaches – a hundred kilometers distance from it''.
"In recent years, it has become increasingly important to understand the impact of eruptions on climate also to be able to study the origin and impact of some short climatic variations. However, we still do not know a lot - and with the appropriate resolution - of the climatic conditions at the time of the eruption of 79 AD" comments Gianni Zanchetta of the University of Pisa and co-author of the research.
"In this work we combined knowledge on regional climatic conditions at the time of the eruption to attempt a first synthesis" comments Monica Bini of the University of Pisa, co-author of the research. "Also, to direct future research on this aspect which still has many dark sides".
The results of this study have received the appreciation of a world icon of volcanology like Raymond Cas, Professor Emeritus at the School of Earth Atmosphere and Environment of the Monash University (Australia) ''The 79 AD eruption of Vesuvius volcano is one of the most iconic in the field of physical volcanology'', states the Emeritus Professor Ray Cas. ''Observations of the eruption as well as endless studies of the deposits and interpretation of the eruption processes underpin many of the concepts and understanding of explosive eruption processes in modern volcanology. A review of what is known about the eruption and its deposits is therefore very important to research volcanologists, and justifies a thorough and long review paper, such as this one. The authors are to be congratulated on the extremely comprehensive details extracted from the huge historical record and contemporary scientific literature on this iconic eruption''.
Everything would have happened between 24 and 25 August 79 AD In fact, according to current knowledge, this is the date on which, according to the famous letter from Pliny the Younger to Tacitus, the eruption of Pompeii occurred. But the real date is another!
Almost 2000 years after the episode that destroyed a large part of the surrounding area and cities, an international team of researchers has re-analyzed the event to offer an exhaustive plan of the state of the art on the knowledge of the most famous eruption in history, from the actual date it happened.
The integration between the field study, the laboratory analyzes and the re-reading of the historical sources has made it possible to follow all the phases of the eruption in time, from the magma chamber to the deposition of the ash in areas very far from Vesuvius, finding traces as far as Greece .
A systematic review , recently published in the prestigious journal 'Earth-Science Reviews', was conducted by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) in collaboration with the Institute of Environmental Geology and Geoengineering of the National Research Council (IGAG-CNR), the Interdepartmental Center for the Study of the Effects of Climate Change (CIRSEC) and the Department of Earth Sciences of the University of Pisa, the Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans of Clermont-Ferrand (LMV) in France and the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences (EPS ) of Heriot-Watt University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom. The research was carried out as part of the 'Dynamic Planet' research project funded by INGV.
The team of multidisciplinary researchers collected and critically analyzed the vast scientific production available on the eruption, integrating it with new research.
“Our work examines various aspects of the 79 AD eruption with a broad and multidisciplinary approach, integrating historical, stratigraphic, sedimentological, petrological, geophysical, paleoclimatic data and modeling of the magmatic and eruptive processes of one of the most famous and devastating events that affected the Neapolitan volcanic area", explains Mauro A. Di Vito, INGV volcanologist and study coordinator. "The article starts from the redefinition of the date of the eruption, which would have occurred in the autumn of 79 AD and not on August 24th as assumed in the past, and continues with the volcanological analysis of sites near the volcano to then move progressively up to thousands of kilometers away, where traces of the eruption have been found in the form of fine ash".
"Since the eighteenth century, the date of August 24 has been the subject of debate among historians, archaeologists and geologists because it is inconsistent with numerous pieces of evidence"Says Biagio Giaccio, Igag-Cnr researcher and co-author of the article. “Like, for example, the findings in Pompeii of typically autumnal fruit or the heavy tunics worn by the inhabitants which were difficult to reconcile with the date of 24-25 August”Giaccio adds. The definitive proof of the inaccuracy of the date, however, emerged only a few years ago. "An inscription in charcoal on the wall of a building in Pompeii which translated quotes 'On the sixteenth day before the calends of November, he indulged in immoderate food', indicating that the eruption certainly took place after 17 October", continues Giaccio.
The most accredited date is, therefore, that of 24-25 October.
The research was then supplemented by the quantitative assessment of the impact of the individual phases of the eruption on the areas and on the archaeological sites near the volcano.
"The spirit of our work has been to understand how an event from the past can represent a window onto the future, opening up new perspectives for the study of similar events that may occur tomorrow", goes on Domenico Doronzo, INGV volcanologist and co-author of the research. "This study, therefore, will make it possible to improve the applicability of forecasting models, from the precursory phenomena to the impact of the various eruptive and depositional processes, but it will also help to reduce the vulnerability of the areas and of the numerous infrastructures exposed to volcanic risk, not only near the volcano, but - as this event teaches us - even at a distance of hundreds of kilometers from it".
“In recent years it has become increasingly important to understand the impact of eruptions on the climate, also in order to be able to study the origin and impact of some short-term climatic variations. However, we still don't know much - and with adequate resolution - about the climatic conditions at the time of the AD 79 eruption."Comments Gianni Zanchetta of the University of Pisa and co-author of the research.
"In this work we have tried to put together the knowledge on regional climatic conditions at the time of the eruption to attempt a first synthesis" comments Monica Bini of the University of Pisa "also to direct future research on this aspect which still has many dark sides".
The results of this study have received the appreciation of authentic icons of global volcanology such as Raymond Cas, Professor Emeritus in Monash University's School of Earth Atmosphere and Environment (Australia): "The eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD is one of the most iconic in the field of physical volcanology - says the well-known Australian researcher - The observations of this eruption, as well as the countless studies on the deposits and the interpretation of the eruptive processes, are at the basis of many of the concepts and understanding of the mechanisms of explosive eruptions in modern volcanology. A review of what is known about the eruption and its deposits is therefore very important for volcanologists and justifies a comprehensive and detailed document, such as this article. The authors are certainly to be congratulated for the extremely comprehensive details culled from the enormous historical record and contemporary scientific literature on this iconic eruption.".
--------------
VESUVIUS | Revealing ancient mysteries of the 79 AD eruption
A new multidisciplinary study has allowed better date the event and follow the eruption effects up to a thousand kilometers distance
The event would have happened between 24 and 25 August of 79 AD This is the date that, based on current knowledge, the eruption of Pompeii occurred, according to the famous letter from Pliny the Younger to Tacitus. But the true date is another!
After centuries of volcanic quiescence, the 79 AD eruption of Vesuvius destroyed part of the territory and surrounding towns. At almost two millennia from the eruption, an international team of researchers has analyzed again that event to get to a comprehensive state-of-the-art on the knowledge of the most famous eruption ever, starting from the exact date in which it occurred.
The integration among field studies, laboratory analyzes and historical fonts has allowed follow all phases of the eruption over time, from the magma chamber to the ash deposition in areas extremely far from Vesuvius, with traces up to Greece.
The study , recently published on the prestigious journal 'Earth-Science Reviews', has been coordinated by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), in collaboration with the Institute of Environmental Geology and Geoengineering at the National Research Council (IGAG-CNR), Interdepartmental Center for the Study of the Effects of Climate Change (CIRSEC) and Department of Earth Sciences at University of Pisa, Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans at Clermont-Ferrand (LMV) in France, and School of Engineering and Physical Sciences (EPS) at the Heriot- Watt University of Edinburgh in the UK. The study has been conducted in the framework of the project 'Dynamic Planet' funded by INGV.
The team of multidisciplinary researchers has collected then critically analyzed the huge scientific production available for this eruption, by integrating with new discoveries.
“Our work examines with a wide and multidisciplinary approach different aspects of the 79 AD eruption, by integration of historical, stratigraphic, sedimentological, petrological, geophysical, paleoclimatic and modeling data, referring to the magmatic and eruptive processes of one among the most famous and devastating events occurred in the Neapolitan volcanic area'', explains Mauro A. Di Vito, volcanologist at INGV and coordinator of the study. ''The work starts by dating the eruption, which would have occurred in the autumn and not on 24 August of 79 AD as previously thought, and continues by analyzing the volcanological data available in proximity of the volcano, getting to thousand kilometers distance where traces of the eruption have been found in the form of fine ash''.
"Since the 18th century, the date of 24th August has been the subject of debate among historians, archaeologists and geologists because it is inconsistent with numerous evidences", says Biagio Giaccio, researcher of the Igag-Cnr and co-author of the article. “Such as, for example, the finds in Pompeii of typically autumnal fruits or the heavy tunics worn by the inhabitants that were badly reconciled with the date of 24-25 August”, adds I lie. The definitive proof of the inaccuracy of the date, however, only emerged a few years ago. “An inscription in charcoal on the wall of a building in Pompeii which translated quotes 'The sixteenth day before the calends of November, he indulged in food in an immoderate way', indicating that the eruption certainly occurred after 17 October”, continues I lie.
The most accredited date is therefore now that of 24-25 October.
The study has been integrated by a quantitative assessment of the impact of single phases of the eruption on those areas, including archaeological sites, close to the volcano.
''The spirit of our work has been that of understanding how a past event can represent a window to the future, by opening to new perspectives for the study of similar events that might occur again'', continues Domenico Doronzo, volcanologist of INGV and co-author of the research. ''This study will allow improve the applicability of forecasting models, from precursory phenomena to impact in eruptive and depositional processes. It will also allow contribute reducing the vulnerability for those areas and infrastructures exposed to volcanic risk, not only close to the volcano but also – as the 79 AD event teaches – a hundred kilometers distance from it''.
"In recent years, it has become increasingly important to understand the impact of eruptions on climate also to be able to study the origin and impact of some short climatic variations. However, we still do not know a lot - and with the appropriate resolution - of the climatic conditions at the time of the eruption of 79 AD" comments Gianni Zanchetta of the University of Pisa and co-author of the research.
"In this work we combined knowledge on regional climatic conditions at the time of the eruption to attempt a first synthesis" comments Monica Bini of the University of Pisa, co-author of the research. "Also, to direct future research on this aspect which still has many dark sides".
The results of this study have received the appreciation of a world icon of volcanology like Raymond Cas, Professor Emeritus at the School of Earth Atmosphere and Environment of the Monash University (Australia) ''The 79 AD eruption of Vesuvius volcano is one of the most iconic in the field of physical volcanology'', states the Emeritus Professor Ray Cas. ''Observations of the eruption as well as endless studies of the deposits and interpretation of the eruption processes underpin many of the concepts and understanding of explosive eruption processes in modern volcanology. A review of what is known about the eruption and its deposits is therefore very important to research volcanologists, and justifies a thorough and long review paper, such as this one. The authors are to be congratulated on the extremely comprehensive details extracted from the huge historical record and contemporary scientific literature on this iconic eruption''.
Figure 1: Sequence of eruptive units deposited in the Terzigno area (Vesuvian municipality) The total thickness of the deposits exceeds 20 meters. - Figures #1: Sequence of the eruption units emplaced in the area of Terzigno (Vesuvian municipality). The total thickness of the deposits exceeds 20 meters 
Figure 2 : Map of the distribution of the eruption deposits (in light gray). The green dots indicate the places where the deposit has been identified, even in traces (T). Thicknesses of the order of one centimeter have been measured, for example, in Calabria and in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea. - Figures #2: Distribution map of the eruption deposits (light grey). The green dots indicate the locations in which the deposits have been identified, including traces (T). Thicknesses of the order of centimeters have been measured in Calabria and southern Tyrrhenian Sea.
Figure 3: Sequence of lahars deposits (mudflows) generated by the remobilisation of the ash and pumice deposits of the eruption in some valleys of the Amalfi coast. The mud flows have completely transformed the original morphology of the territory, filling valleys and further devastating a territory already deeply affected by the accumulation of deposits from the eruption. - Figures #3: Sequence of lahars deposits generated after remobilization of the ash and pumice eruption deposits in some valleys through the Amalfi coast. The lahars completely modified the original morphology of the territory, filling the valleys and further devastating the landscape
Figure 4: 3D numerical simulation of the eruption. The methodology adopted is that of computational multiphase fluid dynamics (gas-particles). - Figures #4 - Figure 3D numerical simulation of the eruption. The used methodology is computational multiphase fluid dynamics