Mount Vesuvius

1
Mount Vesuvius

• By
• Kim Adamson
• Kelly McGowan

2
General Information

• Overlooks Naples, Italy
• Stratovolcano
• 4,190 feet high
• 3 million living within vicinity
• Last erupted in 1944

3
Geologic Background

• African Plate has been subducted under the
  Eurasian Plate
• Around 25,000 years ago magma rose to the surface
  causing an eruption
• Over time collection of debris around vent caused
  it to grow
• Is fed by a large magmatic sill

4
Pompeii

• 79 AD
• Most famous and destructive eruption
• Several thousand deaths
• Also destroyed surrounding cities of Herculaneum
  and Stabiae

5
Pompeii

• Small earthquakes several days prior
• Heated column of rock, ash,and gas ejected high
  into atmosphere
• Falling ash and rock fragments cover wide area
• Pyroclastic flow

6
Vesuvius Observatory

• 1st volcanological station ever built
• International center of research and testing
  ground for volcanic risk management
• Makes predictions based on variations in
  chemical-physical parameters

7
Present Day Evacuation Techniques

• Several evacuation centers set up
• Warning signals are in place should an eruption
  be detected
• Regular drills take place, not all successful
• Geophysical networks monitor fluctuations in
  magma levels