Sea Water Around Campi Flegrei Volcano Turns Red, Worrying Scientists for Volcanic Unrest

Following the reddening of the water in the Averno Crater Lake last week due to an extremely severe algal bloom, portions of the sea in the Gulf of Pozzuoli have lately turned red, apparently due to the same phenomena.

Algae blooms at Averno Lake are most common in the winter, when deep water is warmer than at the surface and rises, bringing with it algae that can spread explosively.

However, this year's algal bloom, particularly its spread into the neighboring open sea, appears to be considerably stronger than inhabitants can recall in recent memory.

Many people are concerned about whether there is a link between the increasing seismic and degassing activity of the caldera volcano.

Italy's 'supervolcano'

(Photo : DEVI RAHMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

The Campi Flegrei volcanic area, which is located on the western outskirts of Naples, Italy, and spreads out into the Mediterranean Sea, is dotted with overlapping craters of various sizes.

More than 500,000 people have moved around the dormant volcano, whose rumblings and effusive fumes reveal the fire that still lurks underneath, as per National Geographic.

Large blasts of volcanic ash and rock have blanketed the region twice in the previous 60,000 years, and a sprinkling of smaller bursts have occurred before and after each great eruption, including the most recent occurrence in 1538.

A team of experts has now investigated the chemistry of volcanic rocks and glass from previous eruptions for hints on what's occurring in the magma chamber below, using that data to develop a computer model to mimic the conditions leading to an eruption.

Their findings, which were published today in the journal Science Advances, might help scientists better understand the waking and sleeping cycles of these cataclysmic volcanoes.

"We can guess that may happen, but we don't know when," explains lead author Francesca Forni of the Swiss ETH Zürich.

She emphasizes that the study focuses on chemical cycles, not "when or if Campi Flegrei is likely to erupt soon."

Furthermore, many scholars who were not involved in the study voiced worry about applying the findings to present settings.

Read more: Scientists Observing Threat of Developing Supervolcano Beneath US 

The residents are quite concerned about the matter.

To be clear, the volcano is not immediately on the verge of erupting.

Researchers are continually monitoring the system and learning about the indicators that might indicate an impending eruption.

Any imagined enormous detonation would most likely occur thousands of years or more in the future.

Many locals are concerned about a possible link because the state of the Campi Flegrei has been in the first stage of rising discontent for some time.

One theory is that the algal bloom in the water is caused by increased heat flow at the seafloor as a result of greater volcanic degassing.

There is no apparent link between the algal bloom and volcanic activity.

There has been no scientific evaluation from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), which monitors the volcano's activity, but if the two are genuinely related, scientists will certainly find out.

Earthquakes in the Campi Flegrei region continue to be above background levels.

More than 175 quakes have occurred in the area in the last 30 days, including two quakes with magnitudes of 3.5 and 3.6 under the Solfatara crater on March 16 and 29, respectively, which were felt by numerous inhabitants.

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