Ty Week 4: Mount Vesuvius

Mount Vesuvius

This week I traveled to the famous (or infamous) Mount Vesuvius volcanoe on the west coast of Italy. Mount Vesuvius is famous for its eruption in 79 A.D. that destroyed the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Although the eruptuion that destroyed the two cities is arguably the most famous of Vesuviuses eruptions, it has erupted at least fifty other times that scientists are aware of. Mount Vesuvius sits on the Companian Arc which sits on a tectonic boundry which means it sits on a convergance zone. During past eruptions, Mount Vesuvius has had catastrophic eruptions that brought both clouds of ash that covered cities, but also pyroclastic flows of lava that reached the ocean because the magma was mainly comprised of andesite. Andesite has been known to cause both violent eruptions and consistent lava flows due to its medium density. Mount Vesuvian eruptions can shoot ash and lava multiple kilometers into the air in the shape of what looks like a tree which is known as a Plinian eruption. During the explosion tht destroyed Pompeii it was obviously in an explosive state and has moved back and forth frome a state of inactivity and activity since. Its last eruption was in the 1940's but it is still considered an active volcano, however it is in a state of quiesence. Mount Vesuvius has many hazards that could accompany another eruption because of the close proximity to large towns like Naples Italy. It is estimated that over two million people live in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. So a large eruption(s) could have the potential to harm a large amount of people. As Mount Vesuvius is an active volcano it i not a question of if it will erupt again, but when. The only question tht is not certain is how large the eruption will be and how long will the volcano remain in an explosive state.

Credit: Science.howstuffworks.com