[Rockhounds] An Italian volcano’s massive eruptions fit a pattern — and the cycle may have restarted

[Kreigh Tomaszewski]

New research indicates that a volcano near Naples, Italy might be in the
early stages of gearing up for an eruption large enough to change the
area’s landscape.

The study, published today
<http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/11/eaat9401> in *Science
Advances,* may be of particular interest to the 1.5 million people living
within the bounds of the volcanic complex. Fortunately for them, there’s no
indication that this massive event will happen any time soon. Volcanic
eruptions like this can take thousands of years to develop, and there’s no
way for volcanologists to tell when, or even *if, *this particular type of
eruption will occur. Still, it’s a fascinating and rare look at the innards
of one of the most dramatic phenomena on Earth.

In the study*, *researchers found that molten rock (magma) under the Campi
Flegrei volcano could be slowly building up toward a massive eruption, one
big enough to carve out a huge depression on the landscape called a caldera.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/14/18095657/campi-flegrei-naples-italy-volcano-eruption-pattern-crater-lava-cycle