The Supervolcano That Killed The Neanderthals Might Be Waking Up
The Supervolcano That Killed The Neanderthals Might Be Waking Up
New research suggests continued monitoring is needed for major Italian site
By Alasdair Wilkins
Dec 26, 2016 at 1:00 PM ET
The Italian city of Naples has the worst luck when it comes to volcanoes. It sits less than six miles west of Mount Vesuvius, which most infamously buried Pompeii nearly 2,000 years ago. But somehow Vesuvius isn’t the biggest volcanic threat the modern city faces: Within the Naples metropolitan area is Campi Flegrei, a supervolcano whose eruption 40,000 years ago might have wiped out the Neanderthals. And, according to new research, the supervolcano could be stirring from its slumber.
An iconic volcano is an exploding mountain — think Vesuvius or Washington’s Mount Saint Helens, which erupted in 1980 — but supervolcanoes typically look unassuming. Campi Flegrei, or the Phlegraean Fields, is actually hidden underneath the Mediterranean Sea, forming a complex network of craters and geysers. Any supervolcano eruption has the potential for significant loss of life and environmental damage. That Campi Flegrei is located right at the doorstep of a city of a half-million people only exacerbates the danger.
A team of Italian and French researchers have examined the recent activity at the site. There’s still a lot unknown about how supervolcano eruptions occur, but the researchers argue that the movement of magma can cause the sudden, massive release of gases, which then heat up and deform the rocks that would otherwise be keeping a lid on the supervolcano. The researchers found that Campi Flegrei’s recent activity of surface deformation appears to fit that model, suggesting it is entering a critical state where an eruption is theoretically possible.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the Phlegraean Fields are going to erupt tomorrow or anytime soon. Forecasting supervolcano eruptions is an inexact science, and the researchers end their paper by calling for continued monitoring of the area, not an evacuation.
More:
http://www.vocativ.com/386939/the-supervolcano-that-killed-the-neanderthals-might-be-waking-up/
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