Two long-dormant “supervolcanoes” on two separate continents appear to be stirring to life. Well, maybe. In recent months, more than a thousand minor earthquakes have rattled the area around the Campi Flegrei volcano in southern Italy, stoking fears that it may soon erupt again after nearly five centuries.
In a study published in June in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, Kilburn and his colleagues used a model to analyze the volcano’s behavior and found that the crust of Campi Flegrei is becoming weaker, making it more prone to rupturing. But even if the crust reaches its breaking point, that wouldn't necessarily have catastrophic consequences, Kilburn said. “If there’s a rupture, there is no guarantee that magma is going to erupt,” he said.