Researchers fear the eruption of the super volcano in Italy!
It is an area that extends over more than 150 square kilometers and starts right on the outskirts of Naples. It also includes the Italian islands of Ischia, Procida and Nisida. In the region of the Phlegraean Fields there are countless thermal springs, the ground can get very hot due to volcanic activity, there are more than 50 eruption foci. Two-thirds of the volcano's caldera, the bowl-shaped structure formed by eruptions, is submerged. About 360,000 people live on the super volcano. The Phlegraean Fields and the volcano Vesuvius share a common magma chamber at a depth of about ten kilometers.
Italian supervolcano Phlegraean Fields last erupted in 1538
The last eruption of the supervolcano Phlegraean Fields dates back to 1538, but the volcano has been very restless for the past 70 years. According to experts, tens of thousands of small earthquakes were measured during this period, lifting the coastal town of Pozzuoli by almost four meters.

The Phlegraean Fields in southern Italy are considered a supervolcano. (Archive image) © imago/Milestone Media
In a new study, researchers from University College London and Italy's National Research Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) have closely examined the supervolcano. The study, published in the journal Nature Communications Earth & Environment, shows that the Phlegraean Fields have become weaker and more prone to cracking, making an eruption more likely.
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Research group investigates supervolcano Campi Flegrei in Italy
To arrive at this finding, lead author Christopher Kilburn's research team applied a volcanic fracture model to the supervolcano. The model helps interpret earthquake and ground heave patterns. The conclusion of the research group: parts of the volcano were stretched almost to the point of fracture. Co-author Nicola Allesandro Pino explains in a statement: "Our results show that parts of the volcano are weakening. That means it could crack, even if the tensions pulling it apart are less than they were during the last crisis 40 years ago.”
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Adds lead author Kilburn: “Our new study confirms that the Campi Flegrei are getting closer to eruption.” However, he also qualifies: “This does not mean that an eruption is guaranteed. The rupture could open a rupture through the crust, but the magma still needs to be pushed up in the right place for an eruption to occur.”
Supervolcano in Italy is behaving as predicted
Kilburn's research group first applied their model to the supervolcano in 2017 and found that the Campi Flegrei have been behaving as predicted ever since: There has been an increasing number of small earthquakes - in April alone, more than 600 small tremors were recorded, as many as never before in a month. In addition, the ground beneath the city was raised by about ten centimeters each year.

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We can't yet say for sure what will happen. It is important that we are prepared for all developments.
Stefano Carlino, Vesuvius Observatory
According to a statement accompanying the study, this activity is related to the movement of liquids about three kilometers below the surface. The last turbulent phase of the supervolcano was probably caused by magmatic gas entering fissures in the rock and filling the three-kilometer-thick crust like a sponge. Earthquakes occur when faults are displaced due to stretching of the crust.
Researchers fear super volcano eruption in Italy
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