geography: past, present, future. volume 1 vesuvius: has · maltman's geographic geography:...
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Maltman's GeographicGeography: past, present, future. Volume 1
Is Italy ready?
his reporter has reviewed concerns re‐
garding Italy's disaster relief plans and
uncovered worrying concerns it might
fall short in the event of an eruption.
"Put simply, we do not know which generation will pay the price"
Member of the Green Party, Francesco
Emilio Borrelli was quoted in he Tele‐
graph [September, 2013] querying
whether the civil protection agency had
adequately planned for a major eruption.
According to the 2011 plan, how many people could be affected?
here are 550,000 people, living in 19
towns surrounding Mount Vesuvius cov‐
ered by the present plans, extending over
200 square kilometres. he current
emergency plan is based on an eruption
similar to the one in 1631. While this
was a serious eruption, it was nowhere
near as serious as the catastrophic erup‐
tion that destroyed Pompeii and Hercu‐
laneum in 79 AD. his reporter has un‐
covered further evidence that a future
eruption could eclipse that of 79 AD and
more likely resemble a recently docu‐
mented eruption of 1780 BC, which
reached Naples. here are 3 million peo‐
ple living in Naples.
Recently scientists have said the next
eruption could kill more people than
any other volcano in history.
Mount Vesuvius towers more than 4000
feet over the city of Naples. A volcanic
eruption similar to that of 1780 BC
would see a cloud of debris hurtling
down the side of the volcano at more
than 450 mph. hat's faster than a For‐
mula 1 racing car! Anyone within 10
miles of the crater would be caught in
the death zone. he cloud would move
across the bay towards Naples, picking
up speed as it went, with temperatures of
300-400 C, more than enough to boil the
blood in your body.
Volcanologists had always assumed an
eruption would not reach Naples.
However recent research from Angevin
Castle, from 1780 BC shows a deposit
was found right in the centre of Naples.
his deposit is 4 feet thick. he layer is
an accumulation of ash from the Bronze
Age. It travelled 10 miles across the bay.
his has changed the way we think about
Vesuvius and the size of a potential erup‐
tion.
In 1780 BC it is estimated 63 billion cu‐
bic feet of rock fell on the surrounding
area. hat's enough to cover the entire is‐
land of Manhattan with 100 feet thick in
ash or cover the entire city of London
(ive times the size of Manhattan) in 20
feet of ash. his eruption should be the
blueprint for the worst-case scenario,
certainly not 1631 or 79AD. A cloud like
this over Naples could cause millions of
deaths.
Mount Vesuvius needs to be under
constant surveillance. It is now the
most closely monitored volcano on
earth.
Lack of current activity is not necessarily
a reassuring sign. Researchers have not‐
ed where Vesuvius is concerned, you
have a time of quietness and then a large
eruption, and then again, more quietness
and then an eruption (see Eruption
Timeline). he longer it stays quiet, the
more magma is allowed to accumulate,
and therefore more power if it does
erupt.
New scientiic techniques prove there is a huge magma pool under the volcano.
In 2001 scientists revealed that there is a
huge magma ield under Vesuvius. hey
used sound waves and various explosive
detonations to investigate. hey discov‐
ered by measuring the sound waves they
could map a ghostly and terrifying
shape. he chamber is so wide it stretch‐
es well beyond the mile wide base of
Mount Vesuvius: 250 square miles, half
the size of New York.
Dr Nick Pet ford (Univers ity of
Bournemouth) says, "for an eruption to
happen volcanoes need two things: they
need a source of magma near the surface
and they need a trigger." So as we can
see, Vesuvius already has a huge pool of
magma, but what about a trigger?
It appears no-one knows for sure what
might trigger an eruption. However,
looking at earthquake activity alongside
eruptions, a pattern emerges, according
to Dr Petford, "Mount Vesuvius is so well
documented which is why we can see a
good pattern over the last 400 years". A
statistical link has been found between
earthquake activity and Vesuvius' erup‐
tions. However, it seems from 2008 re‐
search there is also a theory that the
huge size of the magma reservoir has
meant it has been migrating towards the
surface, which may mean a milder erup‐
tion.
he idea that earthquakes cause erup‐
tions is hotly debated by scientists. Dar‐
win irst proposed this theory (Chile
1835). He experienced an earthquake
and then a few days later observed there
was a volcano eruption. Scientists believe
the next major eruption of Vesuvius may
be triggered by an earthquake, by the
shockwaves squeezing the magma cham‐
ber. he effect of an earthquake on the
magma chamber could be delayed, it
may take days, months or even years.
he pressure waves may take a long
while and it may take many earthquakes
to push Vesuvius to a critical eruption.
Dr Petford states: "it is a geological cer‐
tainty that Naples will one day fall foul to
Mount Vesuvius."
If earthquakes are the trigger for Vesuvius, it's possible the eruption has already started.
Since the beginning of this century, two
massive earthquakes have sent shock‐
waves racing around the ground near to
Vesuvius. he irst one in 2002 at San
Guiliano di Puglia , 40 miles north east
of Vesuvius was a 5.4 tremor where 34
died and thousands were evacuated. In
2009 at L'Aqulia, 60 miles north of Vesu‐
vius, with a magnitude 6.3 killed more
than 300 people. hese earthquakes may
have already shaken Vesuvius' huge mag‐
ma chamber. Dr Petford says, "historical
patterns suggest the trigger may already
have been pulled."
"Scientists and civil authorities cannot
agree on how to prepare for a future
eruption." Nature.com, 2011
Vesuvius: has the fuse already been lit?
2 Geogrpahy Project, Lara Fox-Hill 4M
In 79 AD, in just 24 hours two cities in
the Bay of Naples in the South of Italy
were buried by a catastrophic eruption of
Mount Vesuvius.
he morning probably started like any
other day in March for those living Pom‐
peii and Herculaneum. By all accounts,
Pompeii and Herculanuem were ordi‐
nary Roman cities. hey were very dif‐
ferent from each other though. Pompeii
was the larger city and commercial cen‐
tre, with an estimated population of
12,000 - 15,000 inhabitants. Hercula‐
neum inhabitants were more in the re‐
gion of 4,000 - 5,000. here were baths,
theatres, temples and markets, a large va‐
riety of dwellings, from luxury homes to
small houses and workshops. he two
cities were bustling with modern Roman
life.
For Romans living around the Bay of
Naples, Vesuvius was considered as just a
fertile mountain. Although Vesuvius had
been active in the 8th century BC, it had
been dormant ever since, leaving the
people of the cities with a false sense of
security.
For several days before the eruption
there had been earth tremors affecting
the surrounding area. We know about
what happened as the volcano erupted
from the eyewitness account of Pliny the
Younger. He watched from his mother's
house at the top of the Bay of Naples, at
Cape Misenum. He wrote two letters in
which he told of the events of the day
and their effects.
At lunchtime, ater several small explo‐
sions, Vesuvius erupted creating a tall
mushroom cloud, sending rocks and gas
over 20 kilometers into the sky. he
cloud blew southwards, plunging every‐
thing into total darkness.
Pliny wrote:
"...about One in the aternoon a cloud
was ascending, the appearance of which
I can give you a more exact description
of than by likening it to that, of a pine
tree, for it shot up to a great height to a
form of a very tall trunk, which spread
itself out at the top into a sort of branch‐
es; occasioned, I imagine, either by a
sudden gust of air that impelled it, the
force of which decreased as it advanced
upwards or the cloud itself being pressed
back again by its own weight, expanded
in the manner I have mentioned; it ap‐
peared sometimes bright and sometimes
dark and spotted, according as it was ei‐
ther more or less impregnated and earth
and cinders."
Twelve hours ater the eruption Vesuvius
was still gushing tons of debris. Pliny's
observations at this point included
something odd: a huge swathe of debris
that broke away from the main column,
formed a landslide and covered Pompeii.
Researchers dismissed this observation
until 1980, when Washington State's
Mount St. Helen's erupted producing a
storm of scorching hot ash and debris.
he event was captured on ilm and
shows a massive avalanche, called a pyro‐
clastic current, sliding down from the
volcano.
Volcanologists believe that what hap‐
pened in North America, explained what
happened in Italy 2, 000 years ago. But
the Vesuvius avalanche was much bigger
and there were many more of them,
probably about 6 in all. he irst
avalanche did not reach Pompeii, so peo‐
ple were able to lee. hey returned later
to collect valuables, thinking the worst
was over. It was a terrible mistake. When
the worst pyroclastic wave reached both
cities, no-one could escape its path and
Pompeii and Herculaneum were buried.
Areas surrounding Vesuvius have been inhabited for 2000+ years, so there's much information concerning eruptions. Best known is the eruption destroying Pompeii and
Herculaneum (79 AD). here were also large eruptions in 1631 and 1944. Recent excavations show a much larger eruption in 1780 BC (Bronze Age) reaching the heart of Naples.
Eruption Timeline
People died where they lay
Pompeii and Herculaneum, 79 AD
Eruptions over time
3Geogrpahy Project, Lara Fox-Hill 4M
Ray Small, 1944
As with all things, seeing is believing.
While Pliny the Younger provided a
marvellous account of what it was like
that day in March 79AD, we have other
records now of when Vesuvius has erupt‐
ed.
Ray Small, a wireless operator stationed
at the Royal Palace at Caserta (Allied
Forces Headquarters in Italy), wrote a
gripping letter home to his parents about
the eruption in 1944 (March 18th -
23rd).
"One aternoon, when Jeff and I were
out for a walk, we noticed a greater
amount of smoke than usual, but
thought no more about it. Ater dark,
however, we noticed a deep red glow on
the peak and could see molten lava be‐
ing thrown high into the sky and cascad‐
ing down over the sides. It was the most
amazing sight....We still didn't realise
quite what was happening until we read
the morning papers that Vesuvius had
given its most spectacular display for 15
years. It got more and more spectacular
as the days went by, and we saw mil‐
lions of tons of molten rock slithering
down the sides. he papers were saying
this was the worst eruption for over two
hundred years. Unfortunately, it was
rather misty on many days, and all we
could see was the steam and smoke from
the streams of lava, which, by the ith
day were almost down to the plain.. It
was much better at night as we could
clearly see the lava being thrown high
into the sky every few seconds, to fall
back in a great cascade on the mass al‐
ready moving down the mountain. All
we could see of the stream lower down
was the glow from burning trees and the
face of the thirty-foot wall of lava ad‐
vancing on the towns of San Sebastiano
and C e rc o l a , at 3 0 0 y ard s an
hour....Can you imagine a 10 to 30 foot
mass of molten rock slowly enguling
Wembley High Street, and when it was
over, not a stone was let in sight?"
he eruption took several days and Ray
continued to describe the eruption:
"...everyone was using some sort of head
covering - umbrellas, saucepans and
such like. We also noticed that every‐
thing was covered in what looked like
rust-coloured snow......Imagine our sur‐
prise when we were stung by millions of
minute particles of rock. hey were
small, but they stung, and were thick
enough to cause a fog."
Another example of an eyewitness ac‐
count is one by Lt. Col. Sir Charles
Delme-Radliffe in 1906. He was the
British military attache to the Italian
government.
"Naples itself was covered in a layer, 6-
inches deep over everything, of a very
ine volcanic ash...and yellowish pink in
colour. It covered everything like a dirty
layer of snow.....It was as dark as in a
bad yellow London fog......he lava had
irresistibly overwhelmed everything in
its track and burnt up everything in‐
lammable. Its speed had been on the
average 10 metres a minute but in steep
places much more.....Here and there on
the surface were lying volcanic bombs
up to 3 feet in diameter".
Pliny he Younger also wrote a very im‐
portant account of the eruption in 79
AD:
"...between two and three in the ater‐
noon my mother drew[my uncle's] at‐
tention to a cloud of unusual size and
appearance."
"For being like an umbrella pine [the
mushroom cloud]....hey debated
whether to stay or take the chance in the
open."
"You could hear women shrieking, chil‐
dren screaming, men shouting. [Some]
raised their hands to the gods, but most of
them thought there were no gods at all."
Letter to Tacitus, 106 AD.
Example of a PIinian column eruption
Devastation caused by 1906 eruption
Pliny the Younger
Eruption of Mount Vesuvius, 1944
Seeing with your own eyes: eyewitness accounts
4 Geogrpahy Project, Lara Fox-Hill 4M
his reporter attended the Pompeii exhi‐
bition in Los Angeles in December 2014.
he exhibition featured over 150 pre‐
cious artifacts on loan from the Naples
National Archeological Museum in Italy.
hese artifacts give us a glimpse into the
daily life and disastrous end of this an‐
cient Roman society.
One of the most interesting parts of the
exhibit were the full body casts of Vesu‐
vius' victims. he casts capture the last
breath or position of each person,
whether they were children, adults or the
elderly (even pets). It was really quite
horrifying. he exact cause of death had
been a mystery for hundreds of years. I
learned they could not have died from
the molten lava, which burned at 1200
degrees celsius because it would have
burned up everything in its path leaving
no remains. It had been assumed for a
long time that the igures, covered in ash,
had choked to death. Recently scientists
realised suffocation would have meant
people would have, 'passed out into a re‐
laxed, unconscious state, not suspended
and in rigid poses' as many were. What
killed them, was a heat surge, so extreme
it killed instantly. he rain of ash then
preserved them ater they died.
I really enjoyed some of the other ex‐
hibits as well, particularly the beautiful
jewellry on show. I was amazed how well
it looked, looking like it was made only
yesterday. Of course, only very rich peo‐
ple would have worn jewellry like this.
here was also the most amazing
armour, probably worn by gladiators.
Gladiators were adored, just as elite ath‐
letes are today.
Cast of a Pompeiian, Pompeii exhibition
Gladiator's armour, Pompeii exhibitionGold necklace at Pompeii exhibition
Pompeii he Exhibition, Los Angeles 2014