Field trip to the Ischia resurgent caldera, a journey across an active volcano in the Gulf of Naples

Abstract

schia is one of the most impressive examples of post-caldera resurgence in the world, with its almost 1,000 m of uplift in less than 30 ka. This three-days field trip will lead the participants through the geological and volcanological history of the island, illustrating the volcanic and related hazardous phenomena threatening about 50,000 inhabitants. Effusive and explosive eruptions, catastrophic earthquakes and huge debris-avalanches struck the island that, since Neolithic times, experienced a complex history of alternating human colonization and natural disasters. The field trip consists of three routes: 1) the circumnavigation of the island, aimed to outline its main volcanological, geomorphological and tectonic features and to observe the oldest volcanic rocks exposed, stimulating discussions about coastal evolution and the relationships between volcanism, volcano-tectonism and slope instability; 2) an onland excursion on peculiar aspects of the products related to Ischia more recent period of volcanic activity; 3) a route focusing on the Mt. Epomeo Green Tuff caldera forming eruptions (55-60 ka), encouraging a discussion on the dynamics of the intracalderic resurgence and the geomorphological evolution of the Mt. Epomeo slopes, with ongoing Mass Rock Creep (MRC) processes culminating in rockavalanche, debris-avalanche and lahar deposits.