THE IMPACT OF HIGHLY EXPLOSIVE VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS

Fabio Arzilli, ricercatore di Geologia Università di Camerino

Emily Charlotte Bamber, ricercatrice in Vulcanologia Università di Torino

Giuseppe La Spina, ricercatore in Vulcanologia Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia Catania

Lucia Mancini, ricercatrice in Materiali e Scienze della Terra Istituto Nazionale Sloveno di Ingegneria Civile e Edile Lubiana

Franco Zanini, ricercatore Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste

Explosive volcanic eruptions have a large impact on communities and the environment, as they release gas, ash and metals into the atmosphere. Therefore, to reduce the risk from active volcanoes, it is important to understand their eruptive behaviour. The ash erupted during a volcanic event can be analysed to investigate the processes which occur during magma’s ascent to the surface. Synchrotron based techniques, such as high-resolution 3D X-ray imaging, can analyse the eruption products to reconstruct volcanic processes below the surface and provide greater insight into the causes of explosive activity.