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The super volcano in southern Italy has caused another series of violent earthquakes after a long break. What is new is that the tremors are moving towards Naples.
Naples/Pozzuoli – For a year now, the super volcano of the Phlegraean Fields in southern Italy has been making headlines: a never-ending series of earthquakes that are becoming increasingly stronger is causing fear in the port city of Pozzuoli and in western Naples. Around 500,000 people live in the red zone, where there is a risk of an eruption or earthquake at any time.
The quakes are caused by the uplift of the area, which began in the last 50 years and is now over four meters. Since January 2011, the ground has risen by 1.25 meters alone. Last year, the average rate of uplift was one centimeter per month, and this year the rate has doubled to two centimeters. Scientists are debating whether magma is causing this huge bulge in the ground or whether it is just water and gases heated by deep magma that are generating the incredible pressure in the ground.
New swarm of earthquakes leaves half a million people shaking
In the autumn of last year, the earth shook more violently than it had since the last crisis in the 1980s, and a month ago the most violent series of earthquakes ever recorded occurred. The strongest tremor had a magnitude of 4.4. It was then very quiet for almost four weeks – until a new swarm of earthquakes began on Wednesday afternoon (July 2).
At around 3:10 p.m. there was the first major tremor with a magnitude of 2.9. This was followed by three other similarly large quakes with magnitudes between 2.5 and 2.7. After nine minor tremors, the strongest shock of the series with a magnitude of 3.2 shook people awake at 2:18 a.m. Eight smaller tremors followed until 7:14 a.m.
The quakes are moving ever closer to Naples city centre
No damage was reported, but one thing is notable: the epicenters were quite far to the east compared to the other tremors so far, which occurred in the Solfatara crater east of Pozzuoli and an area in the sea south of Pozzuoli. This puts the activity two to four kilometers closer to the city of Naples, which has a population of almost one million. Some of the tremors occurred just a few hundred meters from the Bagnoli district, where SSC Napoli is planning to build a new stadium.
A new study by the Frederick II University of Naples confirms that a new danger zone has developed in western Naples. The scientists have mapped the earthquakes of the last ten years using a new technique based on the integration of seismological data, geophysical parameters and geological information known in the study area. The study published online provides highly precise earthquake positions that make it possible to reveal the current situation and detect newly activated fault zones in the inner caldera.
The quakes occurred at a maximum depth of about three to four kilometers, with events of greater magnitude usually associated with greater depths. The spatial distribution of seismicity corresponds well with the geometry of faults previously identified in the Earth’s crust and activated over the course of the volcano’s tens of thousands of years of history.
Strong earthquake caused new fracture in the earth’s crust – even more violent quakes possible
Surprisingly, during the strongest earthquake last year, new fissures opened up in the Neapolitan urban area: “The results obtained in this study have allowed us to identify for the first time a new fault off the coast of Bagnoli–La Pietra, which was activated during the magnitude 4.2 earthquake of September 27, 2023 and was strongly felt by the population,” it says.
The crack is 400 to 700 meters wide and runs from north to south. The fault could cause new earthquakes with a magnitude of up to 5.1, “which significantly increases the seismic risk in the area,” warn the researchers. Another study reported a month ago that a new magma bubble had been discovered underground. The emergency plans for the area have recently come under criticism. Experts consider them to be naive.
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