Scientists warn of a Vesuvius eruption
March 7, 2006
U.S. and Italian scientists are warning the next eruption of Mount Vesuvius might be significantly more deadly than Italian authorities expect.
Current Italian plans call for the evacuation of as many as 600,000 people from Naples, but the researchers say as many as 3 million people might be at risk.
Vesuvius is best known for its eruption in 79 A.D. that destroyed the Roman city of Pompeii. Modern plans for the evacuation of Naples are based on a similar-sized eruption, the BBC reported Tuesday.
But the scientists say there was even a greater Vesuvius eruption about 3,780 years ago which produced lava flows extending about 16 miles northwest of the volcano -- over and well past modern Naples.
Ruins of an ancient Pompeii temple
The co-author of the study, Michael Sheridan of the University of Buffalo, said the pattern has been a monstrous eruption of Vesuvius every 2,000 to 3,000 years -- and it's been 2,000 years since the last one.The study, led by Giuseppe Mastrolorenzo of the Vesuvius Observatory at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Naples, appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
-
Ancient sewer excavation sheds light on the Roman diet
Jun 17, 2011 |
4.3 / 5 (17) |
7
-
Computer scientist to 'unroll' papyrus scrolls buried by Vesuvius
May 24, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (16) |
1
-
Vesuvius, the world's most closely watched volcano
Apr 22, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (4) |
0
-
Crystals improve understanding of volcanic eruption triggers
Aug 28, 2008 |
4 / 5 (1) |
0
-
Geologists Discover Magma and Carbon Dioxide Combine to Make 'Soda-Pop' Eruption
Jul 10, 2008 |
4 / 5 (10) |
0
-
Engineers build first sub-10-nm carbon nanotube transistor
Feb 01, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (31) |
30
-
Something old, something new: Evolution and the structural divergence of duplicate genes
Jan 31, 2012 |
4.6 / 5 (7) |
1
-
The hidden nanoworld of ice crystals: Revealing the dynamic behavior of quasi-liquid layers
Jan 30, 2012 |
5 / 5 (3) |
1
-
Stock market network reveals investor clustering
Jan 27, 2012 |
3.9 / 5 (23) |
8
-
Of microchemistry and molecules: Electronic microfluidic device synthesizes biocompatible probes
Jan 26, 2012 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
More news stories
Europe stakes billion-dollar bet on new rocket
A pencil-slim rocket is scheduled to lift into space from South America on Monday, carrying a billion-dollar bet that Europe can grab a juicy slice of the market to place satellites in low orbit.
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
7 hours ago |
3.5 / 5 (2) |
0
NASA sees wide-eyed cyclone Jasmine
Cyclone Jasmine's eye has opened wider on NASA satellite imagery, as it moves through the Southern Pacific Ocean.
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
23 hours ago |
3.5 / 5 (2) |
2
NASA sees Giovanna reach cyclone strength, threaten Madagascar
Tropical Storm 12S built up steam and became a cyclone on February 10, 2012 as NASA's Terra satellite passed overhead. Residents of east-central Madagascar should prepare for this cyclone to make landfall ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
23 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
Political leaders play key role in how worried Americans are by climate change: study
More than extreme weather events and the work of scientists, it is national political leaders who influence how much Americans worry about the threat of climate change, new research finds.
Feb 06, 2012 |
5 / 5 (6) |
69
Humans may have helped the decline of African rainforests 3000 years ago
(PhysOrg.com) -- Large areas of rainforests in Central Africa mysteriously disappeared over three thousand years ago, to be replaced by savannas. The prevailing theory has been that the cause was a change ...
Feb 10, 2012 |
4.3 / 5 (13) |
16
|
Walney offshore wind farm is world's biggest (for now)
(PhysOrg.com) -- The Walney wind farm on the Irish Sea--characterized by high tides, waves and windy weather--officially opened this week. The farm is treated in the press as a very big deal as the Walney ...
GPS court ruling leaves US phone tracking unclear
A US Supreme Court decision requiring a warrant to place a GPS device on the car of a criminal suspect leaves unresolved the bigger issue of police tracking using mobile phones, legal experts say.
Study finds that anti-diabetic medication can prevent the long-term effects of maternal obesity
In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting, in Dallas, Texas, researchers will report findings that show that short therapy with the anti-diabetic medication ...
Netflix settlement trims 14 pct off 4Q earnings
(AP) -- Netflix pressed the rewind button on its fourth-quarter earnings after settling allegations that the video subscription service violated a consumer-privacy law.
Europeans protest controversial Internet pact
Tens of thousands of people marched in protests in more than a dozen European cities Saturday against a controversial anti-online piracy pact that critics say could curtail Internet freedom.
Google users warned of threat to smartphone wallets
Users of Google smartphone wallets were being warned on Friday that there is a way to crack pass codes intended to thwart thieves from going on illicit shopping sprees.
