Common description of the catastrophic disaster.
The Vesuvius eruption occurred in the ancient Italy, on 24th August, 79 A.D. (Jashemski, Meyer, 2002, p.38-40). The eruption was unexpected and the inhabitants were not aware of the coming disaster despite the precursor earthquakes occurred before. It is estimated that 13,000 people in total died from the eruption. The preserved remains in Pompeii city and the observational notes of Pliny the Younger is the evidence of the Mount Vesuvius eruption in ancient times (this day in history).
1.2. Location of the event. .
Vesuvius is the only active volcano located on Italy's west coast, in the borders of the Bay and the modern city of Naples. It sits in the crater of the ancient Somma volcano. Tens of kilometres high spreads of ash and pumice continuously erupting from the Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. (Jashemski, Meyer, 2002) covered the whole ancient Pompeii town and apparently destroyed the nearby Herculaneum and Stabiae cities (sciencedirect). .
1.3. Plate tectonic setting and type of eruption.
Two continental plates African and Eurasian through their convergence form the Mount Vesuvius. First, the subduction zone was formed by the African plate pushing the Eurasian plate upward and the volcano was located deep in the ocean in the Bay of Naples. Multiple eruptions formed the layers of the earth and that raised the oceanic volcano upward and connected to the mainland. There are two different causes of why the magma rises up to the surface. The first one explains that when two converging plates interconnect and then separate, the holes and breaks occurring between them cause the rise of the magma through them. Another explanation tells about the heat occurrence between the plates when they converging. The molten rock starts melting and becomes less dense then the surrounding rock, this way it raises the magma upwards (Loeb). The type of the Vesuvius eruption is Plinian.
