As of: February 29, 2024, 4:47 a.m
By: Johannes Welte
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The supervolcano near Naples in southern Italy is causing unrest again.
New swarm earthquakes accompany the uplift of the area to new record heights.
And the craters seem to be steaming like never before.
Pozzuoli - For months, the supervolcano near Naples in southern Italy has been causing fear among the approximately 350,000 citizens who live in the red zone of the area around the port city of Pozzuoli in southern Italy.
The earthquakes have been increasing again since the beginning of the year.
On Monday night (February 25th), a swarm of 29 tremors caused unrest among the locals, the strongest having a magnitude of 1.6.
The bay also shook eight times on Tuesday.
There was even a magnitude 3 earthquake on February 17th.
Swarm earthquake around supervolcano in Italy: warning sign of possible eruption
The tremors affect the southern area of the supervolcano, and tremors are even recorded in the sea.
The focus of the quakes, however, is the Solfatara volcanic crater, where there are hot springs.
And there is a lot of steam this winter; many locals cannot remember such large steam clouds, both from the hot springs - the fumaroles - inside the crater and those on the outer edge in the town of Pisciarelli.
Steam also comes from the upper side walls of the Solfatara.
There is even a steam column above a borehole behind a furniture store, where the hot underground was planned to be used for geothermal energy in 2020 - right next to a residential building.
Users post videos of the steam clouds on Facebook.
The earthquakes in the Gulf of Pozzuoli this year.
The darker, the more current.
© INGV
Many commentators try to appease: “The fumaroles have always been steaming, on certain days they even smoked through the grilles of the manhole covers,” writes one user.
“It depends on atmospheric conditions and does not necessarily mean that danger is imminent.” But regular reports from the Vesuvius Observatory, which also monitors the activity of the Phlegraean Fields supervolcano, show that the supervolcano's activity is increasing.
According to the National Geological and Volcanological Institute (INGV), the level of the port city of Pozzuoli has risen by 115.5 centimeters since January 2011, up to last week; two weeks earlier the institute had reported a height of 115 centimeters.
Most recently, the INGV stated an uplift rate of ten millimeters per month.
Signs of a volcanic eruption?
The ground around Pozzuoli is rising and rising
Scientists disagree about whether the uplift accompanied by the quakes only comes from hot water heated by lava in the depths or whether lava itself rises.
In any case, the ground level of Pozzuoli is currently 27.5 centimeters higher than it was during the last crisis in the 80s.
At that time, the city was evacuated due to the earthquakes and the ground uplift, as there were fears of strong tremors and a volcanic eruption.
The effects of the ground uplift can be seen in the old port of Pozzuoli, where grass now grows.
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And another measurement parameter is noteworthy: In the monthly report for January, the INGV reports that “the geochemical parameters confirm the trends of heating and pressure increase of the hydrothermal system that have been ongoing for years.”
It goes on to say: “The CO2 flow from the ground in the Solfatara area has been confirmed to be high and is rising to around 5,000 tons per day.” In December it was only 4,000 tons per day.
“These are values that are comparable to those found in the plume of active volcanoes with ongoing degassing,” the INGV continues.
5,000 tons per day is several times more than the output of the notorious Merapi in Indonesia, which erupts repeatedly and has recently claimed hundreds of lives.
Scientists believe the supervolcano's eruption is long overdue
The Phlegraean Fields supervolcano consists of a huge crater, a caldera, 16 kilometers in diameter, which was formed in a gigantic eruption 39,280 years ago.
At that time, all life within a radius of about 80 kilometers was wiped out.
Ash flew as far as Siberia, and scientists even linked the extinction of the Neanderthals to the catastrophe that caused a global climate shock.
The Solfatara volcano's steam clouds are currently very high.
© Lisa Mazzella Di Bosco/Facebook
There were further major supervolcano eruptions between 29,000 and 15,000 years ago.
Since then, around 70 new eruptions have formed in the huge cauldron.
During the last eruption, which was relatively small, the crater hill Monte Nuovo was formed west of Pozzuoli in 1538.
If one assumes a fixed rhythm of super eruptions, an eruption of the super volcano would be overdue.
Some researchers fear this, including for neighboring Vesuvius.
The INGV has already decided to move the Vesuvius Observatory, which is in the danger zone, to a safe area.
The volcano in Iceland that keeps erupting is currently making headlines.
Italy itself is struggling primarily with rock and mountain falls.