Through an accurate integration of geological, archaeological and historical data, the history of almost 150 years of soil deformation at Campi Flegrei has been reconstructed
Understanding the processes that precede and follow an eruptive event: this is the objective of the work "Magma transfer at Campi Flegrei caldera (Italy) after the 1538 AD eruption”, conducted by researchers from theNational Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) in collaboration with the 'Roma Tre University.
Through the creation of a unique dataset of its kind, including data on ground level changes in Campi Flegrei before, during and after the last eruption of 1538, the one that led to the formation of Monte Nuovo, volcanologists have come to define the behavior of the volcano in the alternation of its phases of activity.
“Today the ground deformations associated with volcanic activity are monitored both with satellites and with detection networks installed on the ground. However, we still know very little about the behavior of volcanoes and their eruptions that occurred in the past, before the advent of the instrumental era" says Elisa Trasatti, researcher at INGV and first author of the research. "In particular", continues the researcher, "there are volcanoes, such as the Campi Flegrei, which had their last eruption in times when there were no scientific instruments for detecting these phenomena and this entails - today - a limited possibility of fully understanding their behavior before and after the events eruptive".
To define what happened before, during and after the only historically analyzable eruption of the Phlegraean caldera, that of 1538, researchers considered a unique dataset in the world, consisting of geological, archaeological and historical data in order to reconstruct the changes in ground level along the coast between 1515 and 1650.
“The application of mathematical models to simulate the magmatic system of the Campi Flegrei has allowed us to understand the behavior of the volcanic apparatus in the various phases of activity. It emerged that the eruption was preceded by an intense deformation of the ground which first concerned the area of Pozzuoli, then localized in the area of the future eruptive vent, reaching an elevation of 20 metres. After the eruption, from 1538 to 1540, the caldera was affected by subsidence phenomena while from 1540 to 1582, for more than 40 years, there was an uplift of the ground before entering a new phase of subsidence which we believe lasted until the middle of the XNUMXth century”, adds Elisa Trasatti.
“The models showed that during the eruption there was a transfer of magma between a source located about 4 km deep towards the Monte Nuovo eruptive vent and that in the following period characterized by soil uplift, this phenomenon repeated due to the rise of new magma, but without reaching the surface. This phenomenon has been termed 'aborted eruption'", goes on Mauro Antonio Di Vito, Director of the INGV Vesuvius Observatory (INGV – OV) and co-author of the study.
“A further noteworthy aspect concerns the estimates made on the volumes of magma involved, where it has been estimated that the portion of magma erupted in 1538 is about one hundredth of that which accumulated under the volcano between 1250 and 1650. This this fact highlights the strong capacity of the Phlegrean system to retain the magma, erupting a minimal portion", he adds Valerio Acocella, professor at the Roma Tre University and co-author of the research.
“Studying the past is essential to better understand the current dynamics. Geological, stratigraphic, archaeological and historical data are an irreplaceable source of information that integrates well with the data collected by the instruments that operate daily for volcano monitoring. Data integration has allowed us to obtain a database of about 2000 years of ground deformation at Campi Flegrei, one of the tracers of the dynamics of the volcano"he concludes Mauro A. DiVito.
The research data, as well as the results and the modeling codes used, are freely available.
The published research has an essentially scientific value, currently devoid of immediate implications regarding the aspects of civil protection, representing a potentially useful contribution in the future to refine the forecasting and prevention tools of civil protection. At the moment the research results have no direct implication on measures affecting the safety of the population.
Link to the article
Understanding the processes that precede and follow an eruptive event: this is the objective of the work "Magma transfer at Campi Flegrei caldera (Italy) after the 1538 AD eruption”, conducted by researchers from theNational Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) in collaboration with the 'Roma Tre University.
Through the creation of a unique dataset of its kind, including data on ground level changes in Campi Flegrei before, during and after the last eruption of 1538, the one that led to the formation of Monte Nuovo, volcanologists have come to define the behavior of the volcano in the alternation of its phases of activity.
“Today the ground deformations associated with volcanic activity are monitored both with satellites and with detection networks installed on the ground. However, we still know very little about the behavior of volcanoes and their eruptions that occurred in the past, before the advent of the instrumental era" says Elisa Trasatti, researcher at INGV and first author of the research. "In particular", continues the researcher, "there are volcanoes, such as the Campi Flegrei, which had their last eruption in times when there were no scientific instruments for detecting these phenomena and this entails - today - a limited possibility of fully understanding their behavior before and after the events eruptive".
To define what happened before, during and after the only historically analyzable eruption of the Phlegraean caldera, that of 1538, researchers considered a unique dataset in the world, consisting of geological, archaeological and historical data in order to reconstruct the changes in ground level along the coast between 1515 and 1650.
“The application of mathematical models to simulate the magmatic system of the Campi Flegrei has allowed us to understand the behavior of the volcanic apparatus in the various phases of activity. It emerged that the eruption was preceded by an intense deformation of the ground which first concerned the area of Pozzuoli, then localized in the area of the future eruptive vent, reaching an elevation of 20 metres. After the eruption, from 1538 to 1540, the caldera was affected by subsidence phenomena while from 1540 to 1582, for more than 40 years, there was an uplift of the ground before entering a new phase of subsidence which we believe lasted until the middle of the XNUMXth century”, adds Elisa Trasatti.
“The models showed that during the eruption there was a transfer of magma between a source located about 4 km deep towards the Monte Nuovo eruptive vent and that in the following period characterized by soil uplift, this phenomenon repeated due to the rise of new magma, but without reaching the surface. This phenomenon has been termed 'aborted eruption'", goes on Mauro Antonio Di Vito, Director of the INGV Vesuvius Observatory (INGV – OV) and co-author of the study.
“A further noteworthy aspect concerns the estimates made on the volumes of magma involved, where it has been estimated that the portion of magma erupted in 1538 is about one hundredth of that which accumulated under the volcano between 1250 and 1650. This this fact highlights the strong capacity of the Phlegrean system to retain the magma, erupting a minimal portion", he adds Valerio Acocella, professor at the Roma Tre University and co-author of the research.
“Studying the past is essential to better understand the current dynamics. Geological, stratigraphic, archaeological and historical data are an irreplaceable source of information that integrates well with the data collected by the instruments that operate daily for volcano monitoring. Data integration has allowed us to obtain a database of about 2000 years of ground deformation at Campi Flegrei, one of the tracers of the dynamics of the volcano"he concludes Mauro A. DiVito.
The research data, as well as the results and the modeling codes used, are freely available.
The published research has an essentially scientific value, currently devoid of immediate implications regarding the aspects of civil protection, representing a potentially useful contribution in the future to refine the forecasting and prevention tools of civil protection. At the moment the research results have no direct implication on measures affecting the safety of the population.
Link to the article
Fig.1: The cone and crater of Monte Nuovo produced by the only eruption that took place in historical times in the Campi Flegrei caldera (in 1538). Its formation completely closed the outlet to the sea of Lake Averno (in the background). In the area of Monte Nuovo there was a small thermal village (Tripergole).
Fig.2: (a) Depth variations of the central source and of the peripheral source of Monte Nuovo, and radius variation for the central source. The horizontal dotted line indicates the time window. The yellow vertical line is the eruption of Monte Nuovo in 1538. (b–f) Schematic sections of the Campi Flegrei magmatic system in the years 1515–1650. The volume variation of the sources in each phase is reported (red due to magma addition, blue due to magma subtraction; dashed arrows highlight probable magma paths). The profile is approximately West North West - East South East and not to scale.