“In Sicily I’m not there signs of danger similar to that of Phlegraean Fields, but they are there local bradyseism phenomena to keep under control. Given that in the past, unfortunately, they have also caused victims.” Giovanni Barreca, researcher of structural geology of the department of Geological and Environmental Sciences ofUniversity of Catania, takes stock of the volcanological situation of the island, in the same hours in which Campania trembles due to the continuous tremors in the Neapolitan area. According to theIngv, National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, “there is an ongoing seismic swarm in the area”, which starting from May 21st “has preliminarily recorded approximately 150 earthquakes with a maximum magnitude of 4.4 degrees“. The tremors caused strong alarm, with thousands of people taking to the streets, so much so that the government called a meeting inter-ministerial meeting to evaluate interventions. “Our volcanism is different, there are no phenomena of this intensity,” reiterates Barreca. “In any case, it’s good to keep your guard up, though pick up on danger signals“.
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Campi Flegrei, no similar alarm in Sicily
The phenomenon that occurs in the Campi Flegrei it is known as bradyseism. According to the Civil Protection, which monitors the area, it is “one soil deformation which involves slow phases lowering, alternating with phases of faster lifting, generally accompanied by shallow, low-magnitude earthquakes.” They may be causing it various factorsas the rising gas or lava material. For the Neapolitan area the technicians favor the second hypothesis. “L’set of scientific results strengthens the evidence of presence of magma at depth as the triggering cause.” During the twentieth century, crises occurred in the area, the most important of which were in 1970-1972 and 1982-84. The current one has been ongoing since 2005, and has had one in recent months clear acceleration. For this reason, the Meloni government has already allocated in the autumn of 2023 52 million euros for protection interventions, starting with the “Extraordinary Plan of vulnerability analysis addressed to public and private building stock“.
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The territories under observation on the island
As mentioned, they also exist in Sicily bradyseism phenomena, although much less extensive than the Neapolitan. “The most famous on the island are those that occur inSalinelle di Paternò area, in the Catania area, and in the reserve of Maccalube of Aragon, in the Agrigento area”, explains Barreca. In these areas there are gas rises that bring with them mud, which creates… “small volcanoes” on the surface. The latter are monitored by the local INGV headquarters as indicators of local volcanic activity, and generally do not cause concern. “Normally the phenomena are of limited intensity, but sometimes there are some violent explosions, that remind us of gods geysers of gas and mud, like the one that led to the 2015 death of two children who played right in Aragon”, observes the geologist. The name Maccalube itself, moreover, “derives from a Arabic term meaning ‘overturning‘. Demonstrating that an apparently harmless phenomenon must be kept under control, because However, it can have dangerous implications“.
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Critical monitoring for safety
They are not the only ones who change between Sicily and Campania extension and intensity of phenomena but the very type of volcanism. “Etna, for example, is a effusive type volcano, although in recent years it seems to be changing. In Neapolitan, however, there has always been aexplosive activity“, says Barreca. The difference is not negligible. “Explosive volcanism means there can be gods sudden phenomena, like theeruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, which in a few seconds submerged the inhabitants of Pompeii with a flow of eruptive material, without giving them time to escape“. Luckily, many things have changed since then. “Today we have technical means that allow us to monitor the phenomena, as is being done today in the Campi Flegrei, and to pick up the signals of any dangerous situations, for secure the population without giving in to fear or useless alarmism.” For this reason, concludes the expert, “data study and prevention are fundamental, in Campania as in our territory, that is still volcanic“.
