Search

The Campi Flegrei volcano (or Phlegraean Fields), Campania, Italy, generated the largest eruption in Europe in at least 200 ka. Here we summarise the volcanic and human history of Campi Flegrei and discuss the interactions between humans and the environment within the “burning fields” from around 10,000 years until the 1538 CE Monte Nuovo eruption and more recent times. The region’s incredibly rich written history documents how the landscape changed both naturally and anthropogenically, with the volcanic system fuelling these considerable natural changes. Humans have exploited the beautiful landscape, accessible resources (e.g. volcanic ash for pulvis puteolana mortar) and natural thermal springs associated with the volcano for millennia, but they have also endured the downsides of living in a volcanically active region—earthquakes, significant ground deformation and landscape altering eruptions. The pre-historic record is detailed, and various archaeological sites indicate that the region was certainly occupied in the last 10,000 years. This history has been reconstructed by identifying archaeological finds in sequences that often contain ash (tephra) layers from some of the numerous volcanic eruptions from Campi Flegrei and the other volcanoes in the region that were active at the time (Vesuvius and Ischia). These tephra layers provide both a relative and absolute chronology and allow the archaeology to be placed on a relatively precise timescale. The records testify that people have inhabited the area even when Campi Flegrei was particularly active. The archaeological sequences and outcrops of pyroclastic material preserve details about the eruption dynamics, buildings from Roman times, impressive craters that now host volcanic lakes and nature reserves, all of which make this region particularly mystic and fascinating, especially when we observe how society continues to live within the active caldera system. The volcanic activity and long record of occupation and use of volcanic resources in the region make it unique and here we outline key aspects of its geoheritage.

International audience; Volcanic risk at Vesuvius is one of the highest in the world due to the ~670,000 inhabitants living in the Red Zone, the area exposed to both pyroclastic flows and tephra fallout, to be evacuated before renewal of any eruptive activity. The national emergency plan for Vesuvius builds its risk zonation on a scenario similar to the last sub-Plinian eruption, which occurred in 1631. This study aims at providing new insights on the geometry of the caldera associated with this historical eruption. The impact of past Vesuvius eruptions on present-day soil CO2 concentration has been investigated by means of an extended geochemical survey carried out for identifying the circulation pathways of hydrothermal fluids inside the volcano. We performed 4018 soil CO2 concentration measurements over the whole Somma-Vesuvius volcanic complex, covering an area of 50 km2. Besides relatively low values, the results show a significant spatial CO2 concentration heterogeneity over Somma-Vesuvius ranging from the atmospheric value (~400 ppm) up to ~24,140 ppm. The summit of Vesuvius shows an area with anomalous CO2 concentrations well matching the crater rim of the 1906 eruption. Along the cone flanks, secondary CO2 anomalies highlight a roughly circular preferential pathway detected along 8 radial profiles at distances between ~840 m and ~1150 m from the bottom of the present-day crater resulting from the last eruption in 1944. In depth review of the available literature highlights an agreement between this circle-like shaped anomaly and the 1631 sub-Plinian eruption caldera boundary. Indeed, based on the historical chronicles the depression produced by the 1631 eruption had a diameter of 1686 m, whereas the CO2 circular anomaly indicates a diameter of 1956 m. Finally, the results were compared with a 3-D density model obtained from a recent gravity survey that corroborates both the literature and the CO2 data in terms of potential buried structure at the base of the Vesuvius cone.

We present the results of a statistical study on tephra dispersal in the case of a reactivation of the Campi Flegrei volcano. To represent the spectrum of possible eruptive sizes, four classes of eruptions were considered. Excluding the lava emission, three classes are explosive (Small, Medium, and Large) and can produce a significant quantity of volcanic ash. Hazard assessments were made through simulations of atmospheric dispersion of ash and lapilli, considering the full variability of winds and eruptive vents. The results are presented in form of conditional hazard curves given the occurrence of specific eruptive sizes, representative members of each size class, and then combined to quantify the conditional hazard given an eruption of any size. The main focus of this analysis was to constrain the epistemic uncertainty (i.e. associated with the level of scientific knowledge of phenomena), in order to provide unbiased hazard estimations. The epistemic uncertainty on the estimation of hazard curves was quantified, making use of scientifically acceptable alternatives to be aggregated in the final results. The choice of such alternative models was made after a comprehensive sensitivity analysis which considered different weather databases, alternative modelling of submarine eruptive vents and tephra total grain-size distributions (TGSD) with a different relative mass fraction of fine ash, and the effect of ash aggregation. The results showed that the dominant uncertainty is related to the combined effect of the uncertainty with regard to the fraction of fine particles with respect to the total mass and on how ash aggregation is modelled. The latter is particularly relevant in the case of magma-water interactions during explosive eruptive phases, when a large fraction of fine ash can form accretionary lapilli that might contribute significantly in increasing the tephra load in the proximal areas. The variability induced by the use of different meteorological databases and the selected approach to modelling offshore eruptions were relatively insignificant. The uncertainty arising from the alternative implementations, which would have been neglected in standard (Bayesian) quantifications, were finally quantified by ensemble modelling, and represented by hazard and probability maps produced at different confidence levels.

The ongoing unrest at the Campi Flegrei caldera (CFc) in southern Italy is prompting exploration of its poorly studied offshore sector. We report on a multidisciplinary investigation of the Secca delle Fumose (SdF), a submarine relief known since antiquity as the largest degassing structure of the offshore sector of CFc. We combined high-resolution morpho-bathymetric and seismo-stratigraphic data with onshore geological information to propose that the present-day SdF morphology and structure developed during the initial stages of the last CFc eruption at Monte Nuovo in AD 1538. We suggest that the SdF relief stands on the eastern uplifted border of a N-S-trending graben-like structure formed during the shallow emplacement of the Monte Nuovo feeding dike. We also infer that the high-angle bordering faults that generated the SdF relief now preferentially allow the ascent of hot brines (with an equilibrium temperature of 179°C), thereby sustaining hydrothermal degassing on the seafloor. Systematic vertical seawater profiling shows that hydrothermal seafloor venting generates a sizeable CO2, pH, and temperature anomaly in the overlying seawater column. Data for the seawater vertical profile can be used to estimate the CO2 and energy (heat) outputs from the SdF area at ∼50 tons/day (∼0.53 kg/s) and ∼80MW, respectively. In view of the cause-effect relationship with the Monte Nuovo eruption, and the substantial gas and energy outputs, we consider that the SdF hydrothermal system needs to be included in monitoring programs of the ongoing CFc unrest. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Transient seismicity at active volcanoes poses a significant risk in addition to eruptive activity. This risk is powered by the common belief that volcanic seismicity cannot be forecast, even on a long term. Here we investigate the nature of volcanic seismicity to try to improve our forecasting capacity. To this aim, we consider Ischia volcano (Italy), which suffered similar earthquakes along its uplifted resurgent block. We show that this seismicity marks an acceleration of decades‐long subsidence of the resurgent block, driven by degassing of magma that previously produced the uplift, a process not observed at other volcanoes. Degassing will continue for hundreds to thousands of years, causing protracted seismicity and will likely be accompanied by moderate and damaging earthquakes. The possibility to constrain the future duration of seismicity at Ischia indicates that our capacity to forecast earthquakes might be enhanced when seismic activity results from long‐term magmatic processes, such as degassing, Key Points About 30 years of leveling data show constant rate subsidence of the resurgent block at Ischia (Italy)Mechanical and thermo‐petrological simulations indicate magmatic degassing as main cause of the subsidence of the resurgent blockSeismicity marks an acceleration of decades‐long subsidence, driven by degassing that will continue for hundreds/thousands years

New data on the ancient landscape of Naples (southern Italy) during the middle and late Holocene from geo-archaeological excavations associated with public transport works were used to reconstruct the hill and coastal environment to the west of the ancient Graeco-Roman polis, where remains of human settlements date to the late Neolithic. The rich stratigraphic and archaeological records that emerged from the digs and from previous boreholes were measured and analysed by combining sedimentary facies analysis, tephrostratigraphy and archaeological data. Between the 5th and 4th millennia BP, a rocky profile with a wave-cut platform cutting across pyroclastites emplaced from the surrounding volcanoes was predominant in the coastal landscape. During the 3rd millennium BP, this rocky coast was progressively replaced by a sandy littoral environment primarily due to marine deposition, with a coastline located some hundred meters inland with respect to the modern one. The sedimentary record of the Greek and Roman periods indicates short-term fluctuations of the coastline, leading to the establishment of a backshore environment towards the end of the 6th century AD, when prograding river mouths and lobes of debris flows contributed to the advancing trend of the shoreline. The frequent archaeological remains from these periods indicate a stable settled area since Roman times. The shoreline was still subject to short-lived fluctuations between the 12th and 16th centuries, and attained its present position during the modern era with man-made reshaping of its profile. The construction of Relative Sea Level curves for two coastal sites reveals that the persistence of the foreshore environment in the Naples coastal strip during the 5th and 4th millennia BP was controlled by the counterbalancing effect of either the concurrent eustatic sea level rise or subsidence. On the other hand, the morpho-stratigraphic record for the last two millennia shows a significant correlation between sedimentation rate and settlement history, accounting for the dominant role of the anthropogenic forcing-factor in late Holocene landscape history. In particular, land mismanagement during Late Antiquity seems to have triggered a slope disequilibrium phase, exacerbating soil erosion and increasing the sediment accumulation rate in both foothill and coastal areas. Nonetheless, the environmental changes of the Chiaia coast during the last 2000 years clearly show volcanic–tectonic perturbations influencing coastline development up to the modern era.

This paper was partially supported by a grant to S.C. (Project INGV-DPC Paroxysm V2/03, 2008–2010) funded by the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia and by the Italian Civil Protection.

The Campi Flegrei caldera in southern Italy is one of the greatest geohazard areas on Earth. Evidence of an active magmatic and geothermal system is provided by ongoing ground uplift, with volcano-tectonic and long-period (LP) seismicity, the persistent degassing of ~1500 tonnes of CO2 per day, the presence of hot fumaroles at temperatures of 90–150 °C, brine-rich aquifers (with total dissolved solids up to 33 g l−1) and high thermal gradients in the crust (with temperatures reaching 420 °C at 3,050 m b.s.l.). Since the 1940s, more than 100 exploratory boreholes have been drilled in the area to depths of 80–3,100 m by the Azienda Geologica Italiana Petroli (AGIP) and the Societa Anonima Forze Endogene Napoletane (SAFEN). To date, however, no systematic reanalysis of the drilling data has been carried out, and the buried volcanic structure has not been updated using the most recent scientific results and previous findings. By integrating unpublished data from the AGIP and SAFEN reports with published information from geological, volcanological, petrological, petrophysical and geophysical studies, this paper presents an improved picture of the Campi Flegrei caldera that will be useful for volcanic hazard assessment and mitigation in the Naples area and for future research planning. The results suggest that intra-caldera activity has been influenced by how the magmatic system at depths greater than about 4 km has determined the transfer of magma, volatiles, and heat to the overlying geothermal system and, ultimately, to the surface. In particular, intriguing is that the most volcanically active central-eastern sector of the caldera, which is subject to intense bradyseismic ground movement and gas emission, coincides with a structurally delimited subsurface rock volume characterized by an uprising of the 100 °C isotherm, a deep water supply to the shallower aquifer, the early disappearance of secondary calcite, LP seismicity and high seismic S-wave attenuation. In this area, we also document evidence of repeated injection at depths of c. 1.5–3.0 km of isolated and small-volume batches of magma, where occurred their crystallization and degassing. Shallow intrusions and degassing of magma are thus identified as two of the key processes that drive unrest in Campi Flegrei.

Archaeological and volcanological studies conducted in the Naples area have revealed that numerous high-intensity explosive eruptions that occurred in the past 10 ka caused damage and victims in the human communities living in the plain surrounding the Neapolitan volcanoes. These catastrophic events were interspersed by hundred to thousand year long periods of quiescence, usually exceeding a human life-time. During the Early Bronze Age in particular, the Campania Plain was densely inhabited due to favourable climatic conditions and soil fertility. The archaeological and volcanological investigation of the sequences found in archaeological excavations has permitted the detailed reconstruction of the effects of eruptions and deposition mechanisms of their products on settlements. This paper discusses the example of Nola-Palma Campania during a most interesting, though poorly known, period of activity bracketed by the Vesuvian Pomici di Avellino (Early Bronze Age) and Pollena (AD 472) Plinian eruptions. Through this time-span the Plain was variably inhabited, crossed by long-lived roads and subject to agricultural exploitation. Eruptions caused significant breaks in the occupation of the area, but also maintained the plain's extraordinary fertility. During this period, at least eight other eruptions occurred: the Pomici di Pompei Plinian event (AD 79), two sub-Plinian to phreato-Plinian events, and five violent Strombolian to Vulcanian events. Thin and poorly developed to thicker and mature palaeosols or erosional unconformities separate the various pyroclastic deposits. Almost all the eruptions and related phenomena interacted with human settlements in the Campania Plain, and in their sequences many traces of the displacement of people during the eruptions may be seen, as well as land reclamation and re-utilization soon afterwards. Despite the various kinds of hazard posed by volcanic and related phenomena, humans nevertheless found good reasons for settlement in the Campania Plain and flourished there. A multidisciplinary approach has yielded detailed information regarding the evolution of the area and the effects of eruptions on settlements. These data are of paramount importance for an improved understanding of past events and in evaluating the hazard of eruptions and related phenomena.

The volcanic history of each active volcano is assembled through detailed field work that establishes stratigraphic position of the eruption deposits, radiometric ages and study of historical sources. The volcanic history is important for hazard assessment, thus the scientific community must validate the strength of conclusions. Fedele et al. (2011) propose a new reference chronostratigraphic framework for Holocene Phlegrean activity, and discuss the implications for the Campi Flegrei (CF) volcanic history and related volcanic hazards. In particular, the authors propose to amend the previously established Holocene chronostratigraphy of volcanic activity of Campi Flegrei caldera, presented in Di Vito et al. (1999), Orsi et al. (2004), Isaia et al. (2009). The proposed changes of Fedele et al. (2011) are based on new geochronologic data, a calibration of already existing C ages, and a stratigraphic survey (Perrotta et al. 2010). However, the new chronological data are limited and pre-existing stratigraphic studies have not been considered, and this yields an eruption chronology that is inconsistent with the actual stratigraphic framework.

To develop a model of both the structure and evolution of the Campi Flegrei caldera (CFc) magmatic feeding system, geochronological, geochemical and Sr, Nd, Pb and B isotopic data of representative volcanic products of the past 15 ka have been combined with geophysical and melt inclusion literature data, structural setting and dynamics of the resurgent caldera. According to previous petrological data, the CFc magmatic feeding system consists of a deep reservoir, in which mantle-derived K-basaltic parental magmas differentiate to shoshonite, latite and trachyte, through combined crustal contamination and fractional crystallization processes, and shallow reservoirs where the evolved magmas further differentiate and mingle/mix before eruptions. The Sr, Nd, Pb, and B isotope data allow recognition of three distinct magmatic components. One component is believed to be residual magma from the Neapolitan Yellow Tuff (NYT) caldera forming eruption. The NYT component (87Sr/86Sr of 0.70750–53, 143Nd/144Nd ratio of ca. 0.51246, 206Pb/204Pb of ca. 19.04 and δ11B of ca. –7.9‰), has been the most prevalent component over the past 15 ka being mixed, in most cases, with the other two components. One of these other components is best recognized in the Minopoli 2 magma, first erupted 10 ka ago. Minopoli 2 magma is shoshonitic in composition and is the most enriched in radiogenic Sr (87Sr/86Sr of ca. 0.70860) and unradiogenic Nd and Pb (143Nd/144Nd ratio of ca. 0.51236, 206Pb/204Pb of ca. 18.90), and is characterised by δ11B value of ca. –7.32‰. The third component is trachytic in composition and has higher 206Pb/204Pb (ca. 19.08), lower 87Sr/86Sr (ca. 0.70726) and δ11B (−9.8‰) and higher 143Nd/144Nd (ca. 0.51250), with respect to the NYT component. This third component is best recognized in the Astroni 6 magma and did not appear until ca. 4 ka. The identified isotopically distinct magmatic components were erupted in different sectors of the CFc. During both I (

Pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) generated during the Plinian eruption of the Pomici di Avellino (PdA) of Somma–Vesuvius were investigated through field and laboratory studies, which allowed the detailed reconstruction of their eruptive and transportation dynamics and the calculation of key physical parameters of the currents. PDCs were generated during all the three phases that characterised the eruption, with eruptive dynamics driven by both magmatic and phreatomagmatic fragmentation. Flows generated during phases 1 and 2 (EU1 and EU3pf, magmatic fragmentation) have small dispersal areas and affected only part of the volcano slopes. Lithofacies analysis demonstrates that the flow-boundary zones were dominated by granular-flow regimes, which sometimes show transitions to traction regimes. PDCs generated during eruptive phase 3 (EU5, phreatomagmatic fragmentation) were the most voluminous and widespread in the whole of Somma–Vesuvius’ eruptive history, and affected a wide area around the volcano with deposit thicknesses of a few centimetres up to more than 25 km from source. Lithofacies analysis shows that the flow-boundary zones of EU5 PDCs were dominated by granular flows and traction regimes. Deposits of EU5 PDC show strong lithofacies variation northwards, from proximally thick, massive to stratified beds towards dominantly alternating beds of coarse and fine ash in distal reaches. The EU5 lithofacies also show strong lateral variability in proximal areas, passing from the western and northern to the eastern and southern volcano slopes, where the deposits are stacked beds of massive, accretionary lapilli-bearing fine ash. The sedimentological model developed for the PDCs of the PdA eruption explains these strong lithofacies variations in the light of the volcano’s morphology at the time of the eruption. In particular, the EU5 PDCs survived to pass over the break in slope between the volcano sides and the surrounding volcaniclastic apron–alluvial plain, with development of new flows from the previously suspended load. Pulses were developed within individual currents, leading to stepwise deposition on both the volcano slopes and the surrounding volcaniclastic apron and alluvial plain. Physical parameters including velocity, density and concentration profile with height were calculated for a flow of the phreatomagmatic phase of the eruption by applying a sedimentological method, and the values of the dynamic pressure were derived. Some hazard considerations are summarised on the assumption that, although not very probable, similar PDCs could develop during future eruptions of Somma–Vesuvius.

The stratigraphic succession of the Pomici di Avellino Plinian eruption from Somma-Vesuvius has been studied through field and laboratory data in order to reconstruct the eruption dynamics. This eruption is particularly important in the Somma-Vesuvius eruptive history because (1) its vent was offset with respect to the present day Vesuvius cone; (2) it was characterised by a distinct opening phase; (3) breccia-like very proximal fall deposits are preserved close to the vent and (4) the pyroclastic density currents generated during the final phreatomagmatic phase are among the most widespread and voluminous in the entire history of the volcano. The stratigraphic succession is, here, divided into deposits of three main eruptive phases (opening, magmatic Plinian and phreatomagmatic), which contain five eruption units. Short-lived sustained columns occurred twice during the opening phase (Ht of 13 and 21.5 km, respectively) and dispersed thin fall deposits and small pyroclastic density currents onto the volcano slopes. The magmatic Plinian phase produced the main volume of erupted deposits, emplacing white and grey fall deposits which were dispersed to the northeast. Peak column heights reached 23 and 31 km during the withdrawal of the white and the grey magmas, respectively. Only one small pyroclastic density current was emplaced during the main Plinian phase. In contrast, the final phreatomagmatic phase was characterised by extensive generation of pyroclastic density currents, with fallout deposits very subordinate and limited to the volcano slopes. Assessed bulk erupted volumes are 21 × 106 m3 for the opening phase, 1.3–1.5 km3 for the main Plinian phase and about 1 km3 for the final phreatomagmatic phase, yielding a total volume of about 2.5 km3. Pumice fragments are porphyritic with sanidine and clinopyroxene as the main mineral phases but also contain peculiar mineral phases like scapolite, nepheline and garnet. Bulk composition varies from phonolite (white magma) to tephri-phonolite (grey magma).

Tephra fallout associated with renewal of volcanism at the Campi Flegrei caldera is a serious threat to the Neapolitan area. In order to assess the hazards related with tephra loading, we have considered three different eruption scenarios representative of past activity: a high-magnitude event similar to the 4.1 ka Agnano-Monte Spina eruption, a medium-magnitude event, similar to the ∼3.8 ka Astroni 6 eruption, and a low-magnitude event similar to the Averno 2 eruption. The fallout deposits were reconstructed using the HAZMAP computational model, which is based on a semi-analytical solution of the two-dimensional advection–diffusion–sedimentation equation for volcanic tephra. The input parameters into the model, such as total erupted mass, eruption column height, and bulk grain-size and components distribution, were obtained by best-fitting field data. We carried out tens of thousands simulations using a statistical set of wind profiles, obtained from NOAA re-analysis. Probability maps, relative to the considered scenarios, were constructed for several tephra loads, such as 200, 300 and 400 kg/m2. These provide a hazard assessment for roof collapses due to tephra loading that can be used for risk mitigation plans in the area.

Pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) are extremely dangerous phenomena so their modeling is essential for hazard and risk purposes. However, PDCs are governed by very complex processes, making their deterministic prediction impossible. Probabilistic approaches are in a pioneering phase and feature large (and still unknown) uncertainties, from the natural variability of PDCs (aleatory uncertainty) to the main sources of epistemic uncertainty (input, parametric, theoretical and structural). In this chapter, we quantify these uncertainties by using the Energy Cone Model (ECM) in a Monte Carlo scheme applied to Mount Vesuvius. According to our results, theoretical uncertainty has the largest impact, 5 to 100 times bigger than input uncertainty, which seems to play a minor role. We find that conditional probabilities of PDC arrival (given an eruption of a specific size) show spatial distributions related to the surrounding topography. In particular, for medium and large eruptions, the conditional probability of PDCs traveling beyond Mount Somma is 1%-15% and 50%-60%, while they reach the Napoli airport in about 0%-1% and 0%-15% of the simulations, respectively. Small-eruption PDCs remain restricted to the south flank and summit area. These results may guide future research devoted to reduce epistemic uncertainties and improve volcanic hazard analyses associated with PDCs. © 2017 by the American Geophysical Union.

A continuous-coring borehole recently drilled at Camaldoli dellaTorre on the southern slopes of Somma^Vesuvius provides constraints on the volcanic and magmatic history of the Vesuvian volcanic area since c. 126 ka BP. The cored sequence includes volcanic units, defined on stratigraphical, sedimentological, petrological and geochemical grounds, emitted from both local and distal vents. Some of these units are of known age, such as one Phlegraean pre-Campanian Ignimbrite, Campanian Ignimbrite (3 9 ka), Neapolitan Yellow Tuff (14 ?9 ka) and Vesuvian Plinian deposits, which helps to constrain the relative age of the other units. The main rock types encountered are shoshonite, phonotephrite, latite, trachyte and phonolite. The seque nce includes, from the base upwards: a thick succession of pyroclastic units emplaced between 126 and 3 9 ka, most of them attributed to eruptions that occurred in the Phlegraean area; the Campanian Ignimbrite; the products of a local tuff cone formed between 3 9 ka and the deposition of the products of the earliest activity of the Mt. Somma volcano; the products of the Somma^Vesuvius volcano, which include from the base upwards a thick sequence of lavas, pyroclastic rocks and the products of a local spatter cone dated between 3 ?7 ka and AD 79.The data obtained from the study of the borehole show that, before the Campanian Ignimbrite eruption, low-energy explosive volcanism took place in the Vesuvian area, whereas mostly high-energy explosive eruptions characterized the Campi Flegrei activity. In the Vesuvian area, Campanian Ignimbrite deposition was followed by the eruption of a local tuff cone and a long repose time, which predated the formation of the Mt. Somma edifice. Since 18 ?3 ka (Pomici di Base eruption) the activity of Somma^Vesuvius became mostly explosive with rare lava effusions. The shallowest cored deposits belong to the Camaldoli dellaTorre cone, formed between the Pomici di Avellino and Pomici di Pompei eruptions (3 ?7 ka^AD 79). New geochemical and Sr^Nd^Pb^ B-isotopic data on samples from the drilled core, together with those available from the literature, allow us to further distinguish the volcanic rocks as a function of both their provenance (i.e. Phlegraean or Vesuvian areas) and age, and to identify different magmatic processes acting through time in the Vesuvian mantle source(s) and during magma ascent towards the surface. Isotopically distinct magmas, rising from a mantle source variably contaminated by slab- derived components, stagnated at mid-crustal depths (8^10 km below sea level) where magmas differentiated and were probably contaminated. Contamination occurred either with Hercynian continental crust, mostly during the oldest stages of Vesuvian activity (from 3 9 to 16 ka), or with Mesozoic limestone, mostly during recent Vesuvian activity. Energy constrained assimilation and fractional crystallization (EC-AFC) modelling results show that contamina- tion with Hercynian crust probably occurred during differentiation from shoshonite to latite. Contamination with limestone, which is not well constrained with the available data, might have occurred only during the transition from shoshonite to tephrite. From the 'deep' reservoir, magmas rose towards a series of shallow reservoirs, in which they differentiated further, mixed, and fed volcanic activity.

The Agnano–Monte Spina tephra (AMST), dated at 4100 years BP by 40 Ar / 39 Ar and 14 C AMS techniques, is the product of the highest-magnitude eruption in the Campi Flegrei caldera (CFc) during its last epoch of activity (4800–3800 years BP). The sequence alternates magmatic and phreatomagmatic pyroclastic-fallout, -flow and -surge beds and bedsets. Two main pumice-fallout deposits with variable easterly-to-northeasterly dispersal axes are about 10 cm thick at 42 km from the vent area. High particle concentration pyroclastic currents were confined to the caldera depression; lower concentration flows overtopped the morphological boundary of the caldera and traveled at least 15 km over the surrounding plain. The unit is subdivided into six members, named A through F in stratigraphic sequence, based upon their sedimentological characteristics. Isopachs and isopleths maps suggest a vent location in the Agnano plain. A volcano-tectonic collapse begun during the course of the eruption, took place along the faults of the northeastern sector of the resurgent block within the CFc, and generated the Agnano plain. The early erupted trachytic magma had a homogeneous alkali–trachytic composition, whereas later-erupted magma shows small-scale hetereogeneities. Trace elements and Sr-isotope compositions, indicate that two isotopically distinct magmas, one alkali–trachytic and the other trachytic, were tapped and partially mixed during the eruption. The small volume (1.2 km3 DRE) of erupted magma and the structural position of the vent suggest that the eruption was fed by a dyke intruded along a normal fault in the sector of the resurgent block under a tensional stress regime.

New geochronological, geochemical, and Sr-isotopic data on volcanics erupted before the Campanian Ignimbrite (CI, 37 ka) and the Neapolitan Yellow Tuff (NYT, 12 ka) caldera-forming eruptions at Campi Flegrei (CF) have allowed us to investigate the behavior and temporal evolution of the Phlegraean magmatic system. The most prominent feature of the CF magmatic system was the existence of a large, trachytic magma chamber, episodically recharged, which fed eruptions for tens of thousands years before the CI and NYT eruptions. During the pre-CI caldera activity, magmas were episodically erupted from vents located outside the present caldera structure. These magmas ranged in composition from trachyte to alkali-trachyte, with Sr-isotope ratios increasing through time, and becoming identical to that of the CI magma, at about 44 ka ago. This suggests that the Phlegraean magmatic system before the CI eruption was acting as an open system. It was being progressively replenished by new batches of magma that mixed with the resident less radiogenic, fractionating trachytic magmas and was periodically tapped. The magma chamber evolution culminated in the catastrophic eruption of the voluminous (150 km3 DRE), chemically and isotopically zoned CI trachytic magmas, and in the resultant CI caldera formation. Subsequent to the CI eruption, during a period of moderate subaereal volcanic activity of about 20 ka duration, magmas predominantly trachytic to alkali-trachytic in composition and isotopically similar to the last emitted CI magma were erupted from vents located inside the CI caldera. The temporal trend shown by Sr-isotope ratios provides evidence for a new input of alkali-trachytic magma, at ca. 15 ka, with 87 Sr / 86 Sr ratio identical to that of the alkali-trachytic magma feeding the first phase of the NYT eruption. These data testify to the arrival in a short time span of a new trachytic to alkali-trachytic magma in the system, isotopically distinct from the CI magma, that gave rise about 3 ka later to eruption of the NYT (40 km3 DRE).

New geochemical and Sr-isotope data have been acquired on samples representative of volcanic units erupted inside the resurgent Campi Flegrei caldera (CFc) over the past 12 ka. These data, integrated with previous published petrological, and with newly acquired geochronological, volcanological and geothermal data, shed light on the nature and timing of the processes that controlled the evolution of the Phlegraean magmatic system. In the past 12 ka, three isotopically and geochemically distinct magmatic components were erupted at the CFc as either homogeneous or mixed magma batches. One component, Campanian Ignimbrite component (CIc) ( 87 Sr / 86 Sr =0.70735–0.70740), is similar to the trachytic magma extruded during the first phase of the Campanian Ignimbrite (CI) eruption (37 ka). A second component, Neapolitan Yellow Tuff component (NYTc) ( 87 Sr / 86 Sr =0.70750–0.70757), is similar to the latitic–alkali–trachytic magma batches extruded during the course of the Neapolitan Yellow Tuff (NYT) eruption (12 ka). A third component, Minopoli component (MIc) ( 87 Sr / 86 Sr ≈0.7086), is similar to the trachybasaltic magma of the Minopoli 2 (MI) eruption (9.7 ka). These components were erupted as either single batches of magma, or mixed CI–NYT or MI–NYT batches of magma, through vents located either along the structural boundary of the NYT caldera or inside the NYT caldera, mainly on portions of the resurgent block under extensional stress. The CI and NYT components represent residual portions of older, large-volume magma reservoirs which have fed eruptions since about 60 and 15 ka, respectively. The least-evolved MI component was erupted only during the 12–9.5 ka and 8.6–8.2 ka epochs of activity, through vents located on a NE–SW regional fault system. This component could represent a deeper reservoir tapped by the NE–SW regional fault system reactivated after the NYT caldera collapse. Deeper MI and shallower CI and NYT magmatic systems interacted by mixing among batches of magma during their rise to surface. Overall, the data suggest that the CFc magmatic system today is characterized by the presence of two larger, independent reservoirs, filled by residual portions of the CI and NYT magmas. These generated many smaller, shallower pockets of evolved magma, that fed most of the eruptions that occurred in the CFc over the past 12 ka. Moreover, a deeper reservoir (MI), tapped by the NE–SW regional fault system, provided batches of less-evolved magma that mixed with magma present in the shallower pockets.

This paper presents the results of an investigation carried out on young volcanic rocks from the Gedemsa and Fanta 'Ale complexes, located in the Main Ethiopian Rift, the site of an intense magmatism since Eocene-Oligocene. The earlier NW-SE direction of extension of the Rift, which generated NE-SW trending faults, rotated around E-W in Quaternary times, and produced the still active N to N-NE Wonji Fault System, The Gedemsa volcano is located in the central part of the Ethiopian Rift, about 100 km SE of Addis Ababa. It is characterized by a wide central caldera, about 8 km in diameter. The general stratigraphic sequence in the area includes, from base upwards, rift-floor ignimbrites, pantelleritic and subordinate trachytic pyroclastic deposits and lava flows and domes, and widespread basaltic deposits. The Fanta 'Ale volcanic complex is located in the northern part of the Main Ethiopian Rift, where the Afar depression begins. It is characterized by a summit caldera of which the diameter is about 4 km. This volcano erupted trachytic and rhyolitic lavas, whereas the most diffuse unit is an ignimbrite related to the caldera collapse. Explosive activity has occurred inside and outside the caldera, forming tuff cones and thick pumice-fallout deposits. The only mafic unit is represented by a basaltic eruption that occurred in 1870 AD. Historical eruptions and intense fumarolic activity are evidence for the persistence activity of the Fanta 'Ale in this part of the Main Ethiopian Rift New geochemical and Sr-Nd-Pb isotope data on representative samples from Gedemsa and Fanta 'Ale volcanoes are presented and discussed in order to shed light on the genesis of mafic and felsic magmas, the genetic link between them, and their possible interaction with the local crust. Volcanic rocks show a typical mafic-felsic bi-modal distribution with few intermediate terms (Daly Gap), as observed at regional scale along the Main Ethiopian Rift as well as on the plateau. Geochemical data and modeling suggest that magmas evolved mainly through fractional crystallization processes, accounting for the entire mafic-felsic compositional variation. However, Sr-Nd-Pb isotope data reveal also open-system evolution processes. The most differentiated, Sr-poor rhyolites suffered important low temperature contamination by shallow fluids of hydrothermal and/or meteoric origin. This affected mostly the Sr isotopic composition of whole-rocks, and much less that of separated feldspars that provide more reliable Sr-87/Sr-86 values. Mafic rocks, as well as the least contaminated felsic rocks, provide evidence for two components involved in the genesis and evolution of mafic magmas: a mantle component, carrying the isotopic composition of the Afar plume, and a crustal component, likely Pan-African sialic lower crust, that might have been added in small amounts, about 2%, to mafic magmas. The origin of the primary magmas is inferred to have occurred by 7% partial melting of a mixed source region including both depleted and enriched mantle components. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sensory analysis of bee honey is an important tool for determining its floral origin, for subsequent quality control practices and which ultimately will determine consumer preferences towards this product. A procedure for the selection, training and monitoring of assessors was applied. Unifloraleucalyptus and clover honeys produced in Argentine were assessed using descriptive quantitative analysis. The sensory profiles differentiated clover honey (light, fruity and floral flavor with low intensity) from eucalyptus honey (more intense flavors, vegetable notes, aromatic, warm, small crystals with a high tendency to quick crystallization in mass). The analysis by principal components showed higher intensities of sweetness and smell for eucalyptus honeys and graininess for clover honeys. These appropriate indicators of quality provide a differentiating tool to increase the added value of these honeys. Fil: Ciappini, Maria Cristina. Universidad del Centro Educativo Latinoamericano; Argentina Fil: Di Vito, M. V.. Universidad del Centro Educativo Latinoamericano; Argentina Fil: Gatti, M. B.. Universidad del Centro Educativo Latinoamericano; Argentina Fil: Calviño, Amalia Mirta. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Química y Metabolismo del Fármaco. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Química y Metabolismo del Fármaco; Argentina

We have collected new stratigraphic data in the Campi Flegrei caldera through surface geological mapping and study of cores drilled to various depths. We integrate these data with geological, geochronological and geophysical constraints available in the literature to reconstruct the volcanic and deformational history of the caldera. The caldera is a resurgent, nested structure resulting from two main collapses related to the Campanian Ignimbrite (37 ka) and the Neapolitan Yellow Tuff (12 ka) eruptions. While the structure is affected by a broad subsidence, ongoing local resurgence and unrest occur inside the younger, nested caldera structure. Although most of the caldera floor consists of multiple structural blocks due to long-term deformations, magmas were able to erupt only in one sector of the resurgent part. The caldera has shown signs of unrest during the past 25 years, with short-term deformations that have generated a net uplift of 3.5 m. The short-term deformations are related to the Neapolitan Yellow Tuff caldera resurgence and interpreted as the net result of brittle and ductile components. The long-term deformations likely represent the sum of the permanent, brittle component of each short-term deformational event.

The lithological and compositional characteristics of eighteen different pyroclastic deposits of Campanian origin, dated between 125 cal ky BP and 22 cal ky BP, were described. The pyroclastic deposits were correlated among different outcrops mainly located on the Apennine slopes that border the southern Campanian Plain. They were grouped in two main stratigraphic and chronologic intervals of regional significance: a) between Pomici di Base (22.03 cal ky BP; Somma–Vesuvius) and Campanian Ignimbrite (39 cal ky BP; Campi Flegrei) eruptions; and b) older than Campanian Ignimbrite eruption. Three new 14 C AMS datings support the proposed correlations. Six eruptions were attributed to the Pomici di Base-Campanian Ignimbrite stratigraphic interval, while twelve eruptions are older than Campanian Ignimbrite. Of the studied deposits two originated from Ischia island, five are related to Campi Flegrei, and three to Somma–Vesuvius. Two eruptions have an uncertain correlation with Somma–Vesuvius or Campi Flegrei, while six eruptions remain of uncertain source. Minimum volumes of five eruptions were assessed, ranging between 0.5 km 3 and 4 km 3 . Two of the studied deposits were correlated with Y-3 and X-5 tephra layers, which are widely dispersed in the central Mediterranean area. The new stratigraphic and chronologic data provide an upgraded chrono-stratigraphy for the explosive activity of Neapolitan volcanoes in the period between 125 and 22 cal ky BP.

Volcaniclastic-rich alluvial fans developed in the southern Campanian Plain (Italy) during the late Pleistocene and Holocene in an area eastward of the Somma-Vesuvius and Campi Flegrei volcanoes. Meanwhile, bedrock-rich alluvial fans developed in areas unaffected by pyroclastic deposition. Late Pleistocene and Holocene volcaniclastic-rich alluvial fans show some important differences: (i) late Pleistocene alluvial fans were dominated by hyperconcentrated flow deposits, whereas the Holocene ones were dominated by debris flows deposits; and (ii) late Pleistocene fans consist of several superimposed sedimentary bodies, characterized by homogeneous volcaniclastic material, whereas Holecene fans show either volcaniclastic bodies with homogenous lithology or mixed lithology (i.e., juvenile fractions eroded from different tephra layers). These differences are not related to the amount of volcaniclastic supply in time, but seem to be linked to changes in climatic condition between late Pleistocene and Holocene. Rapid remobilization of the pyroclastic material was favored by climatic and vegetation conditions of the study area during the late Pleistocene, when a semiarid setting dominated by steppe-like vegetation prevailed. During Holocene, the general increase in temperature and humidity favored vegetation and soil development and stabilization of the loose volcaniclastic materials. Thus, part of volcaniclastic material was stored in the catchments and was available for erosion a long time after an eruption. Shallow soil slips, active also today, generated volcaniclastic debris flows characterized by mixed lithology of pumice and scoria.

A core drilled within the northern part of the city of Napoli has offered the unique opportunity to observe in one single sequence the superposition of the four pyroclastic flow units emplaced during the Campanian Ignimbrite (CI) eruption. Such a stratigraphic succession has never been encountered before in natural or in man made exposures. Therefore the CI sequence was reconstructed only on the basis of stratigraphic correlations and compositional data (in literature). The occurrence of four superposed CI flows, together with all the data available (in literature) allowed us to better constrain the chemical stratigraphy of the deposit and the compositional structure of the CI magma chamber. The CI magma chamber includes two cogenetic magma layers, separated by a compositional gap. The upper magma layer was contaminated by interaction with radiogenic fluids. The two magma layers were extruded either individually or simultaneously during the course of the eruption. In the latter case they produced a hybrid magma. But no evidence of input of new geochemically and isotopically distinct magma batches just prior or during the eruption has been found. Comparison with the exposed CI deposits has permitted reconstruction of variable eruption phases and related magma withdrawal and caldera collapse episodes. The eruption was likely to have began with phreatomagmatic explosions followed by the formation of a sustained plinian eruption column fed by the simultaneous extraction from both magma layers. Towards the end of this phase the upward migration of the fragmentation surface and the decrease in magma eruption rate and/or activation of fractures formed an unstable pulsating column that was fed only by the most-evolved magma layer. This plinian phase was followed by the collapse of the eruption column and the beginning of caldera formation. At this stage expanded pyroclastic flows fed by the upper magma layer in the chamber generated. During the following major caldera collapse episode, the maximum mass discharge rate was reached and both magma layers were tapped, generating expanded pyroclastic flows. Towards the end of the eruption, only the deeper and less differentiated magma layer was tapped producing more concentrated pyroclastic flows that traveled short distances.

We present in this work data about a peculiar type of alluvial fans formed exclusively by volcaniclastic material from large explosive eruptions. Each alluvial fan results formed by the superimposition of several sedimentary bodies, each of them formed by quite homogeneous volcaniclastic material. Lithological analyses allow us to correlate each sedimentary body with the emplacement of pyroclastics from Phlegrean Fields or Somma-Vesuvius. The development of these alluvial fans is controlled by three main factors: area of dispersion of pyroclastics, morphological features of the supplying basin (i.e. mean slopes and area) and climate. Finally, we present an assessment of the minimum time needed for the complete remobilization of pyroclastics of Pomici di Base and Greenish eruptions.

The Campi Flegrei caldera is a restless, nested structure resulting from two major collapses related to the Campanian Ignimbrite (37,000 years BP) and the Neapolitan Yellow Tuff (12,000 years BP) eruptions, respectively. Detailed stratigraphical, structural, volcanological and 14 C (AMS) geochronological studies, devoted to the reconstruction of the volcanic and deformational history of the Campi Flegrei caldera in the past 12,000 years have been carried out. The results of these studies show that in this time span, intense both volcanic and volcano-tectonic activity was confined inside the Neapolitan Yellow Tuff caldera. Volcanism was concentrated in epochs of intense activity, alternating to periods of quiescence. The I epoch lasted from 12,000 to 9500 years BP giving rise to 34 explosive eruptions, each every 70 years on average. During the II epoch, dated between 8600 and 8200 years BP, six explosive eruptions took place at an average interval of 65 years. The III epoch lasted from 4800 to 3800 years BP and produced 16 explosive and four effusive eruptions which followed each other at mean intervals of 50 years. Eruption vents of the I epoch were located mostly along the marginal faults of the Neapolitan Yellow Tuff caldera, while those of the II epoch aligned on the northeastern sector of this margin. During the III epoch volcanism was confined in the northeastern sector of the Neapolitan Yellow Tuff caldera floor. The caldera floor is disjointed in blocks with variable vertical movements by fault and fracture systems mainly trending NE–SW and NW–SE. The still active resurgence of the caldera floor began soon after its collapse. Onset of both II and III epoch of activity coincides with increase in resurgence rate of La Starza marine terrace, the most uplifted part of the resurgent block.

Positive and negative optogalvanic signals appear in the optoacoustic detection as either heating or cooling, and a different dependence on the pressure and the current was observed.

Light-induced heating and cooling of a positive column discharge are demonstrated by combining the optogalvanic and optoacoustic detection. The phenomena that we have observed for laser radiation resonant with several Ne and He transitions are compared with a simplified energy model.

The Averno 2 eruption (3,700 ± 50 a B.P.) was an explosive low-magnitude event characterized by magmatic and phreatomagmatic explosions, generating mainly fall and surge beds, respectively. It occurred in the Western sector of the Campi Flegrei caldera (Campanian Region, South Italy) at the intersection of two active fault systems, oriented NE and NW. The morphologically complex crater area, largely filled by the Averno lake, resulted from vent activation and migration along the NE-trending fault system. The eruption generated a complex sequence of pyroclastic deposits, including pumice fall deposits in the lower portion, and prevailing surge beds in the intermediate-upper portion. The pyroclastic sequence has been studied through stratigraphical, morphostructural and petrological investigations, and subdivided into three members named A through C. Member A was emplaced during the first phase of the eruption mainly by magmatic explosions which generated columns reaching a maximum height of 10 km. During this phase the eruption reached its climax with a mass discharge rate of 3.2 106 kg/s. Intense fracturing and fault activation favored entry of a significant amount of water into the system, which produced explosions driven by variably efficient water-magma interaction. These explosions generated wet to dry surge deposits that emplaced Member B and C, respectively. Isopachs and isopleths maps, as well as areal distribution of ballistic fragments and facies variation of surge deposits allow definition of four vents that opened along a NE oriented, 2 km long fissure. The total volume of magma extruded during the eruption has been estimated at about 0.07 km3 (DRE). The erupted products range in composition from initial, weakly peralkaline alkali-trachyte, to last-emplaced alkali-trachyte. Isotopic data and modeling suggest that mixing occurred during the Averno 2 eruption between a more evolved, less radiogenic stored magma, and a less evolved, more radiogenic magma that entered the shallow reservoir to trigger the eruption. The early phases of the eruption, during which the vent migrated from SW to the center of the present lake, were fed by the more evolved, uppermost magma, while the following phases extruded the less evolved, lowermost magma. Integration of the geological and petrological results suggests that the Averno 2 complex eruption was fed from a dyke-shaped shallow reservoir intruded into the NE-SW fault system bordering to the west the La Starza resurgent block, within the caldera floor.

The optogalvanic effect in the positive column of a neon discharge is investigated in combination with the simultaneous observations of the optoacoustic effect and the electroacoustic effect, a modification in the discharge temperature produced by an external electrical modulation of the current. The observations of current and power dissipated in the discharge are analyzed through a discharge model for the ionization of neon metastable by electron collisions.