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The Campi Flegrei caldera in southern Italy is one of the most populated active volcanoes on Earth. It has an unprecedented record of historical unrest and eruption that dates back to Roman times.
Unrest and recent activity
Since 1950, Campi Flegrei has undergone four episodes of caldera-wide uplift that have raised the coastal town of Pozzuoli, near the centre of unrest, by about 4 m and triggered the repeated evacuation of some 40,000 people. The post-1950 uplift is the first to have occurred for more than 400 years and suggests that the caldera is responding to a new disturbance in the magmatic system.
Since 2000-2004, Pozzuoli has again been undergoing a slow uplift at c. 3-4 cm per year. Although this rate is much slower than the peak rates of 50-80 cm per year observed in 1970-1972 and 1982-1984, its long duration is unusual compared with caldera’s behaviour since 1950.
Key questions to be resolved are whether the current uplift reflects a change in the state of the volcanic system and, if so, whether it can indicate the likelihood of an eruption in the near future.
Volcanic hazards
Given the explosive history of Campi Flegrei and its high resident population of more than 360,000 people, it is of prime importance to identify areas which may potentially be affected by volcanic hazards so that civil authorities and business communities can prepare suitable mitigation measures and plan for future volcanic activity.
Key aims for developing emergency-mitigation procedures are to identify the most likely location, size and style of a future eruption. In the past, eruptions at Campi Flegrei have produced pyroclastic flows and ash fall, which blanketed the surrounding regions. The last eruption produced the cone of Monte Nuovo in 1538, and is the only historic eruption witnessed by the local population of the time.
Resources:
Researchers: Christopher Kilburn, Alexander Steele
Related Hazard Centre publications:
UCL Hazard Centre:
Hazard and Risk: Our operational programmes aimed at enhancing disaster risk reduction, response and relief.
History: A brief history of the centre.
Publications: Examples of our research articles, posters, books, field guides, and more...
Contact us:
Director: Christopher Kilburn
Email: c.kilburn@ucl.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3108 6325 (56325)