SPUR Project

2012 winner (3 of 14)

Hazard assessment in the restless Campi Flegrei Caldera (Italy) through field and laboratory investigations
Supervisor: Dr Marcello Di Bonito (Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences)

The Campi Flegrei Caldera (CFC) is a densely inhabited active volcanic field, with one of the highest associated volcanic risk on Earth. The project will include the field study and samples collection from Santa Teresa and Torregaveta eruptive products. By comparing the findings of this study with already available data this investigation will enable an estimate of the depth of the reservoirs originating the upraising magma, possibly after recharge and mixing, and the mechanisms triggering new eruption within the CFC. This will constitute an important base model of the CFC plumbing system and its variation with time, which can in turn represent an important tool to define and better understand the volcanic hazard linked to this urban settlement. Student tasks will include field sampling, sample preparation and analysis using various laboratory techniques. Students will be encouraged to publish the findings.