Italian supervolcano is active again, like it hasn't been for months. An earthquake raises concerns about an eruption in the sea - with a devastating mega-tsunami.
On Thursday afternoon alone (April 11th), over 60 shocks were reported within 24 hours in the Bay of Pozzuoli in southern Italy. Experts have been warning of an impending outbreak for months and have created models that show the potential tsunamis that arise from eruptions of different sizes in different locations. An eruption of the Phlegraean Fields would be devastating even on land, as a look at previous eruptions shows. In the worst case, however, 30 meters high waves could hit the U.S. coast, most likely around one and a half meters high and half a half miles wide. The area around PozzUoli has risen by 1.25 meters since 2005. Researchers believe this uplift is caused by hot water fueled by a lava chamber in the earth. However, magma prefers to penetrate upwards into fracture zones in theearth's crust, which end here under water.