POZZUOLI – The Campi Flegrei caldera also extends into the marine area in the Gulf of Pozzuoli where the “Medusa” multi-parametric geophysical monitoring network is already present. In order to strengthen the multiparametric geochemical research and monitoring infrastructure of the Vesuvian Observatory of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV-OV) right in the submerged sector of the Phlegraean caldera, a new multiparametric observatory has recently been installed for the study of the submarine hydrothermal degassing process. This installation, also created thanks to the contribution of the Department of Civil Protection, is part of the numerous activities for the implementation and strengthening of the networks and general investigations on this sector of the caldera. The installation was made possible thanks to the INGV underwater group, coordinated by the Fluid Geochemistry Functional Unit of the INGV-Vesuvian Observatory, in coordination with the Campi Flegrei Archaeological Park and the other authorities responsible for protecting the territory.
THE NEW OBSERVATORY – The area concerned has been identified in a particular sector of the Gulf of Pozzuoli known as “Secca delle Fumose”, already the subject of studies and monitoring and where the installation of other marine scientific instruments is planned. The new marine observatory allows continuous monitoring of the temperature of hydrothermal emissions at the bottom, the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) of volcanic origin dissolved in sea water and the marine current: all useful parameters for estimating the energy associated with the underwater degassing process and monitoring any variations. This new instrumentation enhances the Multiparametric Network infrastructure already existing in the Campi Flegrei caldera in the submerged sector of the caldera, which presents objective logistical difficulties.
