The Italian super-volcano Campi Flegrei erupted 40,000 years ago and 15,000 years ago. Now researchers have discovered that prior to 29 000 years ago, apparently, a further outbreak occurred. The volcano is still active today. the Clara Hellner
Still, the Italian super-volcano Campi Flegrei is seething. Except for the hot thermal sources, small craters and exiting gases, you get most of the time from him nothing. The volcano extends underground over nearly 150 square kilometres between Naples and the Mediterranean coast. But the calm is deceptive. Eruptions of super volcano’s are probably more common than previously thought, report researchers at the University of Oxford.
Between the strongest eruption 40,000 years ago, the volcanic ash and Rocks flung up to Russia, and a second, somewhat weaker Eruption 15,000 years ago was a good degree of peace and quiet, so the previous assumption. A Team led by archaeologist Paul Albert has discovered, however, that the volcano was in this time did not stop: in Front of 29 000 years ago, another eruption of the Campi Flegrei.
The Masseria del Monte Tuff described the event could be any volcano associated with it. The researchers, who published their findings in the journal Geology, solve the mystery of a layer of volcanic ash, called the Y-3 Tephra, which at that time covered over 150 000 square kilometres of the Mediterranean.
Since the 1970s, it has been demonstrated again and again in the sea sediments, but in terms of their origin, were researchers in the dark. Now the British scientists have found two holes in Naples and in a nearby rock formation of volcanic glass.
In the case of the matching with the layer of ash from the Mediterranean sea turned out to be: age and chemical composition of the two samples match. On the basis of the distribution of Y-3 Tephra and the thickness of the layer was also calculated that the eruption with a magnitude of 6.6, was about as severe as the before 15 000 years. The most powerful volcanic eruptions ever measured on this scale, at 8.
The super volcano, which is also referred to as the “phlegraean fields”, is also today still active. Since some time, there is even evidence for a new awakening of the volcano: on the surface of The measured Gas increases, and the Magma is changing similar to how before the last eruptions.
again and again it comes to earthquakes and deformations of the soil. Now the volcano is assigned to the outbreak, the researchers see as a possible further indication that the volcano erupts at intervals shorter than thought – and that he could do so much more quickly than expected. Such an Eruption would threaten millions of people: Campi Flegrei is located in one of the most densely populated regions of Europe.
