Undersea volcano threatens southern Italy: report

Undersea volcano threatens southern Italy: report

A vulcanologist has warned that the Marsili volcano -- Europe's largest undersea volcano -- could disintegrate and unleash a tsunami that would engulf southern Italy "at any time".

"Our latest research shows that the volcano is not structurally solid, its walls are fragile, the magma chamber is of sizable dimensions," he said. "All that tells us that the volcano is active and could begin erupting at any time."

www.physorg.com

The undersea Marsili, 9,800 feet tall and located some 90 miles southwest of Naples, has not erupted since the start of recorded history. It is 44 miles long and 19 miles wide, and its crater is about a quarter mile below the surface of the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Fox

The event would result in "a strong tsunami that could strike the coasts of Campania, Calabria and Sicily," Boschi said.

Breitbart


EDIT TO ADD:

I posted in this forum as I'm still not hearing anything about it on the television news and since it's hit every other news source, well, something seems fishy here and I hope to get to the bottom of it.

Could it be either the original report is a bogus hyped up report? Or in fact the television news isn't interested in starting a panic? (No way right?)

I mean it might be nothing but it seems really irregular to me. Why would something seemingly so important be so ignored on nightly news? In fact the evening news is on now - I'm listening to it as I type - and still hearing nothing.

Weird that.


Thank you ROBL240!

Is the Tyrrhenian Sea a Supervolcano?

Update:

Not a peep about this on the nightly television news - So, what I'm left wondering now?

Why all the Fear Mongering? Could this all be a tactic to divert attention from the Pope and the pedophile scandal???

[edit on 29-3-2010 by silo13]

Interesting to me this was in the written news, but, I heard nothing about it on the morning or afternoon news here in Sicily. Maybe as so many more watch the news instead of reading? I don't know but something just doesn't add up here. Not wanting to cause a panic maybe? I'll see what happens on tonight's local news.

Etna, on the other hand, the volcano that lives right outside my window is calm, putting up a puff or two of smoke and steam every so often but quieter than I'm used to.

Not sure if that's good or bad either, but, I'll keep an eye out and see what I can bring to the board as it happens (or not)...

(Pictures included taken just this afternoon from my front and side door.)

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/73a47f2f600b.jpg[/atsimg]

Top crater Etna, Catania side.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/a1fb396cd29a.jpg[/atsimg]

Ionian Sea (again Catania Side)

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/97893be92d3a.jpg[/atsimg]

So, troubles' brewing (possibly) to the north! If I can see the action from down here by Etna then we're really in trouble! So, no live updates I hope!

peace

[edit on 29-3-2010 by silo13]

I didn't see any mention of detected volcanic or "harmonic" tremors, or any reports of a seismic nature at all in this report to indicate that the volcano could erupt "tomorrow".

It would be good to know what kind of seismicity has been happening lately around this volcano. In addition, gas emission data and ground uplift or displacement data would need to be mentioned.

If it were just unstable walls, heck, look at the La Palma problem in the canary Islands. Talk about unstable! That sucker is supposedly hanging by a thread.

I think we need to see more on this before Italy freaks out.

reply to post by TrueAmerican


Yes, agreed - this quote just isn't near enough info:

"All that tells us that the volcano is active and could begin erupting at any time."

link

Then again, maybe it is...

reply to post by silo13


From that news item...

"The risk is real but hard to evaluate."

In other words they don't know.

Does anyone have access to seismic data from that region?

I'm glad they evaluated this region, as not too long ago on the "Fragile Earth" forum I posted a topic depicting a Caldera-like Feature which was the Tyrrhenian Sea itself. Numerous volcanoes dotted around the outside of the Caldera with a Central Active Volcano in the Centre.

reply to post by ROBL240


Can you get us a url to post here so we can go and see some more information?

I'd really appreciate it and I'm sure anyone else interested in this kind of thing would be also.

Thanks tons

peace

[edit on 29-3-2010 by silo13]

to be honest any volcano at this time could go off and devastate countries world wide, every volcano seems to be awakening.....

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Thank you Rob for the great 'super volcano' thread. I've linked to it in my original post and thank you again.

As for the news - the nightly news is over and not a peep about this. Berlusconi what are you thinking!

Very strange that - IMO.

Will check around a bit and see what else I can find - or not!

peace

[edit on 29-3-2010 by silo13]

I have seen nothing on this site that purports to be one that monitors volcanic activity:

www.interragate.info...

Jason

reply to post by hthjason


Jason - Thanks tons. I'll go and take a look at it right after I check some more news outlets.

IMO this is sounding more and more like a diversionary tactic to skew people away from the Pope and the pedophile scandal. Grrrr...

peace

[edit on 29-3-2010 by silo13]

Whilst I can find nothing in the many Volcanism sites I frequent I did find a Wikipedia page in Italian.

Translated into English this does seem to confirm some possible activity and the fact that a survey was started this year.

As True American said we would need seismic reports from the area - and generally a lot more info that currently seems to be forth coming.

The only thing I can say is that if the Smithsonian has nothing about it then it probably is not anything to worry about just yet. I will keep looking!

Addendum: A quote on Eruptions!

I am going to link this across to VolcanoWatch since I think it is interesting and if volcanologists (Eruptions!) have not heard of this one then we need to dig! (Metaphorically of course)

It has been done already!

[edit on 29/3/2010 by PuterMan]

hopefully it wo'nt trigger this one... :-(....this lady is also playing up last years.... compare it with yellowstone / toba / long valley........

en.wikipedia.org...


www.cprm.gov.br...

[edit on 29-3-2010 by ressiv]

[edit on 29-3-2010 by ressiv]

reply to post by PuterMan


seismic reports are very difficult to get since the vulcano ( strato 3000mtr)
lays 450 Mtr under the watersurface...:-(((

also on dutch MSM now...

www.nu.nl...

nice .PDF lots of info about the nearby supervolcano..

cires.colorado.edu...

[edit on 29-3-2010 by ressiv]

i to see a increase in earthquake activity however this peticular volcano has never erupted so why do they think its immenent?

reply to post by triplescorpio

just discouverd...

In the Tyrrhenian Sea, about halfway Naples and Sicily, Italian researchers have an enormous undersea volcano discovered that they "Il Marsili" have called. The volcano is at the base about 65 km long and 40 km wide. This means that it is the largest volcano in Europe. The volcano reaches a height of about 3 km, but because the Mediterranean spot is very deep, top left are still some 500 meters from the sea surface.

The leader of the research, Marani, the Tyrrhenian Sea is the latest in the Mediterranean basin and the area therefore no geological stability. That view is also shared by Il Marsili itself, which has built its huge size probably within the past 2000 years.

No not my Italia!

Would this effect the whole country? Would Firenze be hit bad?

on line webicorders of the region..:-)

www.ov.ingv.it.../tempo_reale/segnali_t_r.htm




[edit on 29-3-2010 by ressiv]

[edit on 29-3-2010 by ressiv]