The 472 AD Pollena eruption of Somma-Vesuvius (Italy) and its environmental impact at the end of the Roman Empire |
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| Institution: | 1. Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00147 Roma, Italy;2. Dipartimento di Scienze, Sezione di Geologia, Università degli Studi “Roma Tre”, L.S. Leonardo Murialdo 1, 00146 Roma, Italy;3. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Sapienza, Università di Roma, p.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy;1. ETH Zurich, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, Zurich 8092, Switzerland;2. V.N. Sukachev Institute of Forest SB RAS, Krasnoyarsk, Akademgorodok 660036, Russia;3. Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen 5232, Switzerland;4. UFZ — Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Department of Catchment Hydrology, Theodor-Lieser-Straße 4, 06120 Halle, Germany;5. Siberian Federal University, Krasnoyarsk, Svobodniy 79 660049, Russia;6. University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA;1. University of Leicester, Department of Geology, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK;2. Università di Palermo, Dip. Scienze della Terra e del Mare (DISTEM), Via Archirafi 22, 90123 Palermo, Italy;3. Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), Sezione di Palermo, Via U. La Malfa 153, 90146 Palermo, Italy;4. University of Hull, Geology, School of Environmental Sciences, Cottingham Road, Hull HU6 7RX, UK;5. Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143 Roma, Italy;6. NM Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources, New Mexico Tech, 801 Leroy Place, Socorro, NM 15 87801, USA;7. Institut des Sciences de la Terre d''Orléans (ISTO), Campus Géosciences, 1A Rue de la Ferollerie, 45071 Orléans Cedex 2, France;1. Department of Geoscience, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA;2. Retired from Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales MARN, San Salvador 76230, El Salvador;1. Department of Geology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand;2. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Pisa, Via S. Maria 53, 56126 Pisa, Italy;3. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Sapienza-Università di Roma, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy;4. Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143 Rome, Italy |
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| Abstract: | Catastrophic sedimentary processes associated with explosive eruptions represent a significant geologic hazard in volcanic areas. Here we report a striking historic example of an intermediate-scale explosive event whose environmental effects were strongly amplified by secondary rapid mass flows and hydrogeologic disasters. The 472 AD Pollena eruption of Somma-Vesuvius (Campania, Italy) took place in the critical period of the fall of the Western Roman Empire. On the basis of an integrated geologic–archaeologic study we point out evidence of human habitation at the time of the eruption, effects induced and recovery time in a wide territory of Campania, and how the eruption significantly accelerated the deterioration of the local society during the Late Ancient age. The eruption began with a pulsating, sustained eruption column, followed by pyroclastic surges and scoria flows. Hydromagmatism acted early in the event, different from the typical Plinian eruptions of Somma-Vesuvius. Specific facies associations of primary and secondary volcaniclastic deposits characterize three depositional domains, including the volcano slopes, the surrounding alluvial plains and the distal mountains of the Apennine Range. Both volcano slopes and distal mountain slopes supplied loose pyroclastic material to the hyperconcentrated floods and debris flows that spread across the alluvial plains. The great impact of secondary volcaniclastic processes arose from: (1) the high vulnerability of the territory due to its geomorphic context; (2) the humid climatic conditions; (3) the hydromagmatic character of the eruption; (4) the decline of land management at the end of the Roman Empire. |
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