Phlegraean Fields

Coordinates: 40°49′37″N 14°08′20″E / 40.827°N 14.139°E / 40.827; 14.139
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the submarine volcanoes south of Sicily, see Campi Flegrei Mar Sicilia.
Phlegraean Fields
View of the Phlegraean Fields from the Hermitage of Camaldoli in Naples
Highest point
Elevation458 m (1,503 ft)[1]
Coordinates40°49′37″N 14°08′20″E / 40.827°N 14.139°E / 40.827; 14.139[1]
Naming
Native nameCampi Flegrei (Italian)
Geography
LocationItaly
Geology
Age of rock40,000 years
Mountain typeCaldera[1]
Volcanic arc/beltCampanian volcanic arc
Last eruptionSeptember to October 1538[1]
Solfatara crater
1911 map of the area
Topographic relief
map

The Phlegraean Fields (

regional park
in 2003.

The area of the

Roman god of fire.[7] The area features bradyseismic phenomena, which are most evident at the Macellum of Pozzuoli (misidentified as a temple of Serapis): bands of boreholes left by marine molluscs on marble columns show that the level of the site in relation to sea level has varied. Hydrothermal activity can still be observed at Lucrino, Agnano and the town of Pozzuoli
.

Geochemistry

The magma underlying the Phlegraean Fields produces lavas of varying composition but generally rich in potassium. Trachyte is the most common eruptive product, unusually alkali-rich in some cases. Peralkaline phonolitic trachyte and latite have also been produced, and there is rare trachybasalt.[8]

Geological phases

Three geological phases or periods are recognised and distinguished.[9]

  • First Phlegraean Period. It is thought that the eruption of the Archiflegreo volcano occurred about 39,280 ± 110 years (older estimate ~37,000 years) ago, erupting about 200 km3 (48 cu mi) of magma (500 km3 (120 cu mi) bulk volume)
    Homo sapiens, a subject of sustained debate.[13] No less than 150 km3 of magma were extruded in this eruption (the CI eruption), traces of which can be detected in Greenland ice cores. As widespread discontinuities in archaeological sequences are observed at or after this eruption, a significant interference with ongoing human processes in Mediterranean Europe is hypothesized."[14]
It is believed that the resulting ecological crisis wiped out both the last Neanderthal and the first Homo Sapiens populations of the early Upper Paleolithic.[15][16] Modern humans then repopulated Europe from the east after the eruption and the ice age that took place from 38,000 to 36,000 BC.[17]
The Phlegrean area is characterised by banks of piperno and pipernoid grey tuff at Camaldoli hill, as in the northern and western ridge of Mount Cumae; other referable deep products are those found at Monte di Procida, recognizable in the cliffs of its coast.
  • Second Phlegraean Period, between 35,000 and 10,500 years ago.[9] This is characterized by the Neapolitan yellow tuff that is the remains of an immense underwater volcano, with a diameter of c. 15 kilometres (9.3 mi);[5] Pozzuoli is at its center. Approximately 12,000 years ago the last major eruption occurred, forming a smaller caldera inside the main caldera, with its centre where the town of Pozzuoli lies today.
  • Third Phlegraean Period, between 8,000 and 500 years ago.[9] This is characterized by white pozzolana, the material that forms the majority of volcanos in the Fields. Broadly speaking, it can be said there was initial activity to the southwest in the zone of Bacoli and Baiae (10,000–8,000 years ago); intermediate activity in an area centred between Pozzuoli, Spaccata Mountain and Agnano (8,000–3,900 years ago); and more recent activity towards the west, which formed Lake Avernus and Monte Nuovo (New Mountain) (3,800–500 years ago).

Volcanic deposits indicative of eruption have been dated by argon at  315,000, 205,000, 157,000 and 18,000  years ago.[citation needed]

More recent history

A fumarole at the Phlegraean Fields; painting by Michael Wutky (1780s)

The caldera, essentially at ground level as of 2023, is accessible on foot. It contains many steam-emitting fumaroles and over 150 pools (at the last count) of boiling mud. Several subsidiary cones and tuff craters, one filled by Lake Avernus, lie within the caldera.

In 1538, an eight-day eruption in the area deposited enough material to create a new hill, Monte Nuovo. It has risen about 2 m (7 ft) from ground level since 1970.

The volcanic island of Ischia suffered three destructive earthquakes in 1828, 1881, and the most destructive one

MCS scale. Extreme damage was reported on the island, and over 2,000 residents perished.[18]

At present, the Phlegraean Fields area comprises the Naples districts of Agnano and Fuorigrotta, the area of Pozzuoli, Bacoli, Monte di Procida, Quarto, the Phlegraean Islands (Ischia, Procida and Vivara).[citation needed]

A 2009 journal article stated that

super volcano" that might kill millions.[20]

A study from the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia reported that the volcanic unrest of the Campi Flegrei caldera from January 2012 to June 2013 was characterised by rapid ground uplift of about 11 cm (4 in), with a peak rate of about 3 cm (1 in) per month during December 2012. It added that from 1985 to 2011 the dynamics of ground uplift were mostly linked to the caldera's hydrothermal system, and that this relation broke down in 2012. The driving mechanism of the ground uplift changed to periodical emplacement of magma within a flat sill-shaped magmatic reservoir about 3,000 m (9,843 ft) in depth, 500 m (1,640 ft) south from the port of Pozzuoli.[21]

In December 2016, activity became so high that an eruption was feared.[22] In May 2017 a new study by University College London and the Vesuvius Observatory published in Nature Communications concluded that an eruption might be closer than previously thought. The study found that the geographical unrest since the 1950s has a cumulative effect, causing a build-up of energy in the crust and making the volcano more susceptible to eruption.[23][24][25][26]

On 21 August 2017 there was a magnitude 4 earthquake on the western edge of the Campi Flegrei area.[27] Two people were killed and many more people injured in Casamicciola on the northern coast of the island of Ischia, which is south of the epicentre.[28]

Activity since 2020

A February 2020 status report indicated that inflation around Pozzuoli continued at steady rates, with a maximum average of 0.7 cm per month since July 2017. Gas emissions and fumarole temperatures did not change significantly.[29][30]

On Sunday April 26, 2020, a moderate earthquake swarm hit Campi Flegrei caldera, with about 34 earthquakes ranging between magnitude 0 and magnitude 3.1 centered around the port city of Pozzuoli. The strongest quake in the sequence was of magnitude 3.1, the strongest at the time since the last major period of unrest and rapid uplift in 1982-1984. However, no new fumaroles were reported.[31]

Volcanic activity was reported in January 2022 to be increasing.[32] In the year to September 2023 seismic activity had intensified, particularly in the later months. On 27 September 2023, a magnitude 4.2 earthquake—the strongest in 40 years—prompted the preparation of contingency plans to evacuate up to 360,000 people in the area.[33] Despite a further 4.0 quake on 2 October, most volcanologists consider that a major eruption is not expected imminently.[34] The best-case scenario was deemed to be the activity ending, as happened after much activity on the 1980s; the worst would be an eruption like the one of 1538. A study by Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) and University College London (UCL) in June 2023 concluded that the volcano was edging towards "breaking point" and in an "extremely dangerous state".[35] Nello Musumeci, Italian minister for civil protection, was to ask Neapolitan local officials for an "acceleration in the drafting of exodus plans in the event of an emergency";[33] he said that evacuation would only be carried out in the event of "extreme necessity".[34]

Geoheritage designation

In respect of its 18th and 19th century role in the development of geoscience, not least volcanology, this locality was included by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) in its assemblage of 100 'geological heritage sites' around the world in a listing published in October 2022.[36]

Wine

alcohol level of 11.5% for reds and 10.5% for whites. While most Campi Flegrei wines are blends, varietal wines can be made from individual varieties, provided the variety used comprises at least 90% of the blend and the wine is fermented to at least 12% alcohol for reds and 11% for whites.[37]

Red Campi Flegrei is a blend of 50–70% Piedirosso, 10–30% Aglianico and/or Sciascinoso and up to 10% of other local (both red and white) grape varieties. The whites are composed of 50–70% Falanghina, 10–30% Biancolella and/or Coda di Volpe, with up to 30% of other local white grape varieties.[37]

Cultural importance

Campi Flegrei has had strategic and cultural importance.

See also

Notes

  1. eruption with a volcanic explosivity index (VEI) of 8,[3] the largest recorded value on the index. This means the volume of deposits for such an eruption is greater than 1,000 cubic kilometers (240 cubic miles).[4] The Neapolitan Yellow Tuff eruption (about 12ka BP) produced "just" 50 cubic kilometers.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Campi Flegrei". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2016-12-23.
  2. ^ Howard, Brian Clark (22 December 2016). "One of Earth's Most Dangerous Supervolcanoes Is Rumbling". Nationalgeographc.com. National Geographic. Archived from the original on April 5, 2021.
  3. doi:10.1130/focus082008.1
    .
  4. USGS Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. 2015-08-21. Archived
    from the original on 3 July 2017. Retrieved 2017-08-22.
  5. ^
    doi:10.1007/BF00301145
    .
  6. ^ "Campi Flegrei - stato attuale". Vesuvius Observatory. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  7. LCCN 2010920318
    .
  8. doi:10.1016/0377-0273(83)90073-2
    .
  9. ^ a b c Brand, Helen. Volcanism and the Mantle: Campi Flegrei (PDF) (Report). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-08-10. Retrieved 25 September 2005.
  10. doi:10.1016/0377-0273(93)90017-L
    . Retrieved 2008-09-20.
  11. S2CID 129476314
    .
  12. ^ Kathryn E. Fitzsimmons et al., The Campanian Ignimbrite Eruption: New Data on Volcanic Ash Dispersal and Its Potential Impact on Human Evolution, 2013 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0065839
  13. ^ Neanderthal Apocalypse Documentary film, ZDF Enterprises, 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  14. S2CID 129762185
    .
  15. ^ Kathryn E. Fitzsimmons et al., The Campanian Ignimbrite Eruption: New Data on Volcanic Ash Dispersal and Its Potential Impact on Human Evolution, 2013 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0065839
  16. ^ Giaccio, B. et al., High-precision 14C and 40Ar/39Ar dating of the Campanian Ignimbrite (Y-5) reconciles the time-scales of climatic-cultural processes at 40 ka. Sci Rep 7, 45940 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/srep45940
  17. ^ Bennett, E.A. et al., Genome sequences of 36,000- to 37,000-year-old modern humans at Buran-Kaya III in Crimea. Nat Ecol Evol (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02211-9
  18. S2CID 140602189
    .
  19. doi:10.1029/2009GL040513
    .
  20. ^ Antonio Denti, "Super volcano", global danger, lurks near Pompeii, Reuters, August 3, 2012.
  21. PMID 26279090
    .
  22. ^ "Naples astride a rumbling mega-volcano".
  23. ^ "Campi Flegrei volcano eruption possibly closer than thought".
  24. ^ "One of World's Most Dangerous Supervolcanoes is Rumbling". 22 December 2016. Archived from the original on December 23, 2016.
  25. Independent.co.uk. 21 December 2016. Archived
    from the original on 2022-05-26.
  26. ^ "Italian Supervolcano Could be Closer to Erupting Than Previously Thought". 15 May 2017.
  27. ^ "M 4.3 - 5km NW of Monte di Procida, Italy". USGS.
  28. ^ "Ischia earthquake: cheers go up as rescuers free third trapped brother". Guardian. 22 August 2017.
  29. ^ "Campi Flegrei volcano (Italy) status report: no significant variations in activity". www.volcanodiscovery.com. 21 November 2019.
  30. ^ "Campi Flegrei volcano (Italy) status report: continuing slow inflation". www.volcanodiscovery.com. 27 February 2020.
  31. ^ "Campi-Flegrei-volcano-(Italy):Seismic swarm reported". www.volcanodiscovery.com. 27 April 2020.
  32. ^ Europe's super volcano. Deutsche Welle (4' video). 21 January 2022.
  33. ^ a b Giuffrida, Angela (28 September 2023). "Fears rise of volcanic eruption near Naples after strongest earthquake in 40 years". The Guardian.
  34. ^ a b "Italy plans for mass evacuation as quakes continue around supervolcano". The Guardian. Reuters. 5 October 2023.
  35. doi:10.1038/s43247-023-00842-1
    .
  36. ^ "The First 100 IUGS Geological Heritage Sites" (PDF). IUGS International Commission on Geoheritage. IUGS. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  37. ^
    ISBN 1-55297-720-X
  38. doi:10.1016/S1296-2074(00)01097-9
    .
  39. doi:10.1007/s00445-022-01573-5
    .
  40. ^ "Pozzuoli: history, archeology, art, architecture, environment".
  41. S2CID 144299365
    . Significance of Ecological Factors in the Middle to Upper Paleolithic Transition

Further reading


External links

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