(AGENPARL) - Roma, 30 Giugno 2023 - (AGENPARL) – ven 30 giugno 2023 In a new multidisciplinary study, the phases that preceded the iconic Pompeii eruption of
79 AD have been reconstructed, opening new research fronts
on predicting large eruptions.
[Rome-Naples, 30th June 2023]
Nearly 2000 years after the eruption that destroyed a significant portion of the Vesuvian territory
and its cities, a team of researchers has developed a model that describes how the magma chamber
that generated the eruption in 79 AD grew over the centuries leading up to the event. It deformed the
ground over a vast area extending beyond the volcanic edifice, as evidenced by numerous historical
documents and geological data.
By integrating the physical and numerical model with geomorphological, archaeological evidence,
thermodynamic and petrological data, the researchers have been able to develop a model of magma
chamber growth, confirming the archaeological data of uplift, from decimeters to meters, estimated
from the city of Naples to Pompeii and Herculaneum.
The study, titled “Magma reservoir growth and ground deformation preceding the 79 CE Plinian eruption
of Vesuvius” recently published in the prestigious journal ‘Communications Earth & Environment’ by
the Nature group, was conducted by the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), in
collaboration with the Department of Earth, Environmental and Resource Sciences at the University of
Naples Federico II (DiSTAR-UniNA) and the Department of Biosciences and Territory of the University
of Molise (DiBR-UniMOL).
The research was carried out as part of the research project ‘Pianeta Dinamico – Working Earth’ funded
by INGV.
“The integration of the deformation model with archaeological evidence of ground uplift and petrological
data, including possible phases of magma chamber growth, has allowed us to reconstruct the sequence of
thermomechanical processes that occur, inevitably, in the years preceding Plinian eruptions.” explains
Domenico Doronzo, volcanologist at INGV – Osservatorio Vesuviano (INGV-OV) and co-author of
the study. “In particular,” Doronzo continues, ”in the centuries prior the 79 AD eruption, the territory
around Vesuvius experienced significant uplift accompanied by seismic events and degassing, all
phenomena connected to the deep magma recharge.”
The volcanic activity of Vesuvius in the centuries before the eruption was characterized by a
long phase of reactivation, laying the groundwork for the preparatory phase of the eruption
itself.
The research was then compared with other cases, both past and recent, of reactivation of volcanoes
worldwide, highlighting that although preparatory phases may last for centuries, the transition to the
irreversible eruptive phase could be much shorter in time.
Another aspect highlighted by the study concerns “the different capacity of magma storage by magma
chambers of different shapes, given the same surface ground deformation and volume of magma intruded
into the chamber. This means that in some chambers the irreversible phase is delayed, given the same
initial conditions. A direct implication is that monitoring a single manifestation of volcanic activity, such
as ground deformation alone, may not be sufficient to predict an impending volcanic eruption”, adds Elisa
Trasatti, a researcher at INGV who participated in the study.
PressRelease/ComunicatoStampa
VESUVIUS | Reconstruction of the processes preceding
the 79 AD eruption
continued on next page
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
Press Office
Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II