CLASSROOM EARTH
Unforgettable Applied Volcanology in Italy
Dani McDowell, SA-8828, Senior in Applied Geology, Metropolitan State University
Edited by: Dr. Uwe Kackstaetter PhD, MEM-2437 Professor of Applied Geology, Metropolitan State University
This summer, the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Metropolitan State University of Denver, through their Applied Geology program offered a two-week internation- al field course in Applied Volcanology in Southern Italy. Incidentally, Italy contains the only active volcanoes in mainland Europe and some of the most active volcanoes in the world. Italian volcanism is the result of plate conver- gence between the oceanic components of two tectonic plates, Eurasia and Africa. Subduction of oceanic crust remnants caused magma upwelling and has cre- ated an “island arc” system comprised of these very active volcanoes. The trip was led by Dr. Uwe Kackstaetter and was designed to explore and research these volcanoes. Each student who attended was also expected to research and write an expert paper on a particular location of their choosing. They say the best geologists have seen the most rocks… but what about eruptions?
the ancient city. Rome has an entire aqueduct system in the subsurface and continuously cycles fresh water throughout its pipes and fountains. This system was set in place when Romans first built the city, and we all drank out of the same fountains that they did.
After our time in Rome, we packed our bags once again and headed south to the city of Pozzuoli—home to The Phlegraean Fields, otherwise known as Campi Flegrei. This is a large active volcanic area situated to the west of Naples, Italy, near the Gulf of Naples. The 13km wide nested cal- dera encompasses 24 craters and volcanic edifices within this supervolcano system. This area also shows major evidence of bradyseism, a phenomena directly related to the filling and emptying of the magma chamber that causes major fluctuations in land elevations. To fully experience this anomaly, we put on wet suits, hopped on a boat, and dove into the supervolcano’s main caldera to see the
Dani McDowell standing on the ridge of Mt. Stromboli during the 924m sunset hike. Mt. Stromboli’s crater can be seen to the left.
sunken parts of the Roman city of Baiae. Around the 4th century the lower part of the city dropped about 50ft beneath the sea due to the last negative bradyseism event as the magma chamber deflated.
The MSU Denver students at a vineyard on the slopes of Mt. Vesuvius. (From left to right: Kaite Burger, Dani McDowell, Jared Current, Laura Kackstaetter, Lindsay Mota, Uwe Kackstaetter, Gianna Antunovich, Celine Gill, Adlin Botkin)
The trip began in the heart of Rome, where we indulged in authentic Italian food, tourism, and of course, lectures. The first several days were heavily focused on the historical significance of Rome and the impressive hydrogeology under
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Jan.Feb.Mar 2019
The students and professor in their wet suits prior to snorkeling the super volcano caldera and seeing the underwater city of Baia, the ancient city destroyed by bradyseism
Over the next three days the class focused on the stratovolcano Mt. Vesuvius, and the ancient Roman cities destroyed in the notorious 79 C.E. erup- tion. We were absolutely humbled to be able to walk the ruins of Herculaneum and Pompeii, the two Roman cities demolished by pyroclastic flows. While we all enjoyed the archaeological sig- nificances, we were all also anticipating climbing to the crater of our first volcanic mountain. We set off to Mt. Vesuvius National Park and climbed the long, winding road as far as we could get before we hiked the rest. As we reached the top, our jaws dropped at the first sight of the immense crater. After a brief lecture, every student could be seen sitting on the ash covered ground, hounding for small (1 to 10 mm), perfectly euhedral monoclinic pyroxene crystals found lit- erally everywhere along the tourist foot path and within the loose ash. Needless to say, when we retreated back to the
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