The Mercato eruption (Pomici di Mercato) of
Mount Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius ( ) is a Somma volcano, somma–stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of several volcanoes forming the Campanian volcanic arc. Vesuv ...
was a
Plinian eruption
Plinian eruptions or Vesuvian eruptions are volcanic eruptions characterized by their similarity to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, which destroyed the ancient Roman cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii. The eruption was described in a le ...
that occurred around 8,010 ± 40 14C yr BP (8,890 ± 90 cal yr BP).
[
]
The
Global Volcanism Program
The Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program (GVP) documents Earth's volcanoes and their eruptive history during the Quaternary Period of Earth's geologic history, with particular emphasis on volcanic activity during the Holocene Epoc ...
claims that the eruption had a
Volcanic Explosivity Index
The volcanic explosivity index (VEI) is a scale used to measure the size of explosive volcanic eruptions. It was devised by Christopher G. Newhall of the United States Geological Survey and Stephen Self in 1982.
Volume of products, eruption c ...
(VEI) of 5,
while Zanella ''et al.'' (2014) estimate it had a VEI of 6.
[ The eruption was preceded by 7,000 years of rest and followed by about 4,000 years of rest.][
]
See also
*List of large volcanic eruptions
This is a sortable list of large eruptions that occurred between 11.7 Ka and 450+ Ma. Uncertainties as to dates and tephra volumes are not restated, and references are not repeated. The inclusion criteria here only covers entries with a Volca ...
References
External links
Stratigraphy and eruptive dynamics of a pulsating Plinian eruption of Somma-Vesuvius: the Pomici di Mercato
Mount Vesuvius
Prehistoric volcanic events
Volcanic eruptions in Italy
Prehistoric Italy
VEI-5 eruptions
VEI-6 eruptions
7th millennium BC
Plinian eruptions
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