One of the most significant eruptions in this area dates back to over one hundred thousand years ago. This was revealed by a joint study by Cnr-Igag, Sapienza University of Rome, Ingv and Aldo Moro University of Bari, published in the scientific journal Communications Earth and Environment of Nature. In-depth knowledge of the eruptive history of this region will improve the assessment of volcanic risks associated with the area
The Campi Flegrei are an active volcanic complex, surrounded by high-risk urban areas. Among the most studied in the world, their eruptive history is well documented only for the last 40.000 years. A new study reveals that 109.000 years ago, an eruption of magnitude similar to the Campanian Ignimbrite occurred, the largest eruption in the Mediterranean area..
To reconstruct the extent of the eruption, an Italian team of researchers from theInstitute of Environmental Geology and Geoengineering of the National Research Council (CNR-IGAG)and Sapienza University of Rome,National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) and University of Bari Aldo Moro. I study was published in the magazine Communications Earth and Environment di Nature.
“In the Campi Flegrei area, the geological evidence of the most ancient activity is difficult to access because it lies deep underground, under considerable thicknesses of more recent volcanic rocks”, they explain Gianluca Thin e Jade Fernandez, of Sapienza University of Rome. "The reconstruction of the entire eruptive history of this volcano is however crucial to highlight some fundamental parameters for the definition of its dangerousness, such as the frequency and magnitude of eruptive events. In this regard, the ash produced by large eruptions deposited in remote areas with respect to the volcano, offer the possibility of extending the study of the eruptive history of a volcano much further back in time, allowing a more complete reconstruction".
“Just as fingerprints or DNA distinguish individuals, certain stratigraphic, chemical, and chronological properties of ash levels found in marine or lake sediments, even thousands of kilometers from the volcano, can allow scientists to identify the volcanic source and, in some cases, even the single eruptive event that produced them.”, he adds Biagio Ice, of the CNR-IGAG. “More precisely, through the dating and chemical analysis of micro-fragments of pumice, which constitute the volcanic material transported by the wind to distant areas, it is possible to reconstruct the area of dispersion of the ash of a specific eruptive event”.
“With the data already available to us and through models of volcanic ash dispersion, we were able to reconstruct the dynamics and magnitude of the eruption”, goes on Antonio Costa, of the INGV. “We have thus obtained estimates of some fundamental parameters, such as, for example, the volume of the erupted magma and the height of the column or cloud of ash and gas”.
Through this multidisciplinary approach, commonly applied to recent eruptions whose traces are clearly documented around the volcano, the researchers have reconstructed the main eruptive parameters of an ancient Phlegraean eruption of 109.000 years ago, called 'Maddaloni Eruption', almost inaccessible in the area of the volcano but well documented by the ash deposited in remote areas, known with the acronym 'X-6' and found in a wide area of the Mediterranean, from central Italy to Greece.
“Surprisingly”, goes on Antonio Costa, “the modeling results provided a magnitude estimate of 7.6, that is, slightly lower than that of the famous Campanian Ignimbrite of about 40.000 years ago, defining the Maddaloni eruption as the second largest event in the eruptive history of the Campi Flegrei”.
“The fact that this volcanic system has produced several large eruptions throughout its history suggests that the structure of the caldera, the volcano-tectonic depression that forms during large eruptions following the release of a large volume of magma to the surface, could be much more complex than previously thought”, points out Jacob Christmas, of the Aldo Moro University of Bari.
The research results shed new light on the recurrence of large-magnitude events at Campi Flegrei and highlight how, even for an intensely studied volcano, a detailed and complete reconstruction of its history requires further investigation for a better assessment of volcanic hazard.
Useful links:
National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV)
The Campi Flegrei are an active volcanic complex, surrounded by high-risk urban areas. Among the most studied in the world, their eruptive history is well documented only for the last 40.000 years. A new study reveals that 109.000 years ago, an eruption of magnitude similar to the Campanian Ignimbrite occurred, the largest eruption in the Mediterranean area..
To reconstruct the extent of the eruption, an Italian team of researchers from theInstitute of Environmental Geology and Geoengineering of the National Research Council (CNR-IGAG)and Sapienza University of Rome,National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) and University of Bari Aldo Moro. I study was published in the magazine Communications Earth and Environment di Nature.
“In the Campi Flegrei area, the geological evidence of the most ancient activity is difficult to access because it lies deep underground, under considerable thicknesses of more recent volcanic rocks”, they explain Gianluca Thin e Jade Fernandez, of Sapienza University of Rome. "The reconstruction of the entire eruptive history of this volcano is however crucial to highlight some fundamental parameters for the definition of its dangerousness, such as the frequency and magnitude of eruptive events. In this regard, the ash produced by large eruptions deposited in remote areas with respect to the volcano, offer the possibility of extending the study of the eruptive history of a volcano much further back in time, allowing a more complete reconstruction".
“Just as fingerprints or DNA distinguish individuals, certain stratigraphic, chemical, and chronological properties of ash levels found in marine or lake sediments, even thousands of kilometers from the volcano, can allow scientists to identify the volcanic source and, in some cases, even the single eruptive event that produced them.”, he adds Biagio Ice, of the CNR-IGAG. “More precisely, through the dating and chemical analysis of micro-fragments of pumice, which constitute the volcanic material transported by the wind to distant areas, it is possible to reconstruct the area of dispersion of the ash of a specific eruptive event”.
“With the data already available to us and through models of volcanic ash dispersion, we were able to reconstruct the dynamics and magnitude of the eruption”, goes on Antonio Costa, of the INGV. “We have thus obtained estimates of some fundamental parameters, such as, for example, the volume of the erupted magma and the height of the column or cloud of ash and gas”.
Through this multidisciplinary approach, commonly applied to recent eruptions whose traces are clearly documented around the volcano, the researchers have reconstructed the main eruptive parameters of an ancient Phlegraean eruption of 109.000 years ago, called 'Maddaloni Eruption', almost inaccessible in the area of the volcano but well documented by the ash deposited in remote areas, known with the acronym 'X-6' and found in a wide area of the Mediterranean, from central Italy to Greece.
“Surprisingly”, goes on Antonio Costa, “the modeling results provided a magnitude estimate of 7.6, that is, slightly lower than that of the famous Campanian Ignimbrite of about 40.000 years ago, defining the Maddaloni eruption as the second largest event in the eruptive history of the Campi Flegrei”.
“The fact that this volcanic system has produced several large eruptions throughout its history suggests that the structure of the caldera, the volcano-tectonic depression that forms during large eruptions following the release of a large volume of magma to the surface, could be much more complex than previously thought”, points out Jacob Christmas, of the Aldo Moro University of Bari.
The research results shed new light on the recurrence of large-magnitude events at Campi Flegrei and highlight how, even for an intensely studied volcano, a detailed and complete reconstruction of its history requires further investigation for a better assessment of volcanic hazard.
Useful links:
National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV)
IM
Figure 1: Simplified eruptive history of Campi Flegrei (top left), geological map (top right), and discovery sites of the Maddaloni/X-6 eruption deposits (bottom) 
Figure 2: Scattering of ashes from the Phlegraean eruption of Maddaloni/X-6 109000 years ago (bottom) with photos of the stratigraphic sections of some discovery locations (top)
Figure 1: Simplified eruptive history of Campi Flegrei (top left), geological map (top right), and discovery sites of the Maddaloni/X-6 eruption deposits (bottom) 
Figure 2: Scattering of ashes from the Phlegraean eruption of Maddaloni/X-6 109000 years ago (bottom) with photos of the stratigraphic sections of some discovery locations (top)