The Marsili experts say could still erupt

Italy has a long tradition volcanology , from the time of Pliny the Younger, who in a letter to Tacitus defines the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD as the " blackest night and thicker than any night , although it was mitigated by numerous torches and from various sources ." In the twenties of the last century it was discovered the Marsili volcano , which is named after the Italian scientist Luigi Ferdinando Marsili . The volcano has been included along with the Magnaghi , the Vavilov and Palinuro , including dangerous underwater volcanoes of the Tyrrhenian Sea . The Marsili 70 km long and with a width of more than 30 , covers on the bed of the Tyrrhenian Sea, between Calabria and Sicily. The mountain rises about 3000 meters from the seabed , reaching the summit with a height of about 450 meters below the sea surface. The Marsili experts say could still erupt. To determine this , a recent study published of Gondwana Research, was an international research team that includes the Institute for Coastal Marine Environment of the National Research Council of Italy ( CNR - IAMC ) and the Institute National Institute of Geophysics and volcanology of Rome ( INGV ) . But what would be the consequences of a possible eruption Marsili ? The collapse of the walls would move millions of cubic meters of material , which would be capable of generating a powerful tsunami that would invest the coasts of Campania, Calabria and Sicily. While you manage to activate as soon as coastal defense systems , complicated by the fact that it is very expensive , there are those who think of the marine volcano as a possible source of geothermal energy. And ' this fact, the aim of the Italian project " Marsili Eurobuilding Project ," which aims to build a geothermal power plant at sea taking advantage of the huge reservoir of geothermal fluids of the volcano.

Overheads required for carrying out installation of an electrical capacity of 800 MW
on the submarine volcano Marsili

INSTALLATION OF A
CAPACITY 'ELECTRIC
800 MWe ON THE VOLCANO
SUBMARINE MARSILI


AMOUNTS
(in EUR)


NOTES
APPLIED RESEARCH
PRODUCTION
60 million

GEOTHERMAL WELLS AND
PLANT
400 million service life system:
20 years
PLATFORM SUPPORT 1.2 billion

INFRASTRUCTURE
ENERGY TRANSMISSION
ELECTRIC
300 million

TOTAL INVESTMENT 1.96 billion 20% VAT
TOTAL 1.960.000.000 €

The project involves the construction , by 2015, 4 extractive platforms for a total production of about one thousand MW of geothermal energy resulting from the flow of water of volcanic origin. The Ola points out that in the preliminary study of the environmental Eurobuilding refers to the risk of " induced seismicity " and the project is considered as a kind of test case for assessing the environmental impact caused by the exploitation of the geothermal field of Marsili . " Basically - emphasizes the Ola - a real experiment that would threaten the entire ecosystem of the Tyrrhenian Sea and four coastal regions ( Campania, Basilicata, Calabria and Sicily) ." The risk of induced seismicity associated with the drilling he's too busy Professor Benedetto De Vivo, University of Naples Federico II , according to which , reports Ola , "the consequences would be devastating , not excluding the tsunami danger ."

The Ola ( Lucan environmentalist organization ) announces that the process of the research permit for geothermal fluids called " Southern Tyrrhenian 1" - Eurobuilding the spa, in collaboration with the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology ( INGV ) - proceeds without stop . In fact , the company's Servigliano (Ascoli Piceno ) is waiting to obtain a positive opinion of the Ministry of Environment Via ( Environmental Impact Assessment ) for the drilling of the exploratory well " Marsili 1".

Drilling operations - located in the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea - should reach a depth of 2.5 km in order to exploit the reserves of geothermal fluids of the submarine volcano Marsili still active which is located about 100 kilometers from the Aeolian Islands and overlooking the Tyrrhenian coast Sicily, Calabria and Basilicata . The project to be over 2 billion euro investment - as a result of some investigations carried out in the years 2005, 2009 and 2011 - has been included within a broader marine field that could provide for the construction , by 2015, as much as 4 mining platforms for a total production of about 1,000 MW of geothermal energy resulting from the flow of water of volcanic origin.

The Ola points out in the Preliminary Environmental Study produced and deposited by Eurobuilding spa this is a dangerous contradiction. In fact, while on the one hand it refers to " no less important effects related to volcanic risk , induced seismicity ," on the other hand the project " Southern Tyrrhenian 1" is regarded as a kind of test , or the " starting point the assessment of environmental impacts caused by the exploitation of the geothermal field of the Marsili volcano is the identification of the natural context of reference (" zero " ) , which is the first observation of the state of the environment of human intervention . "

In essence, a real "experimentation" that would threaten the entire ecosystem of the Tyrrhenian Sea and 4 coastal regions ( Campania, Basilicata, Calabria and Sicily) "to understand the extent to which human activity may cause changes that harm the ' ecosystem formed and , consequently, a floor plan of containment and mitigation of the risks involved . " And the risk of induced seismicity associated with the perforations in the Marsili - the largest underwater volcano in Europe - and in the Campi Flegrei , if they are busy - expressing their opposition - many geologists , as Professor Benedetto De Vivo , a professor geochemistry of the University Federico II of Naples. The consequences would be devastating , not excluding the " tsunami danger ."