There is a Section, in INGV, which has existed since even before Giuseppe Garibaldi left Quarto for Sicily, in that keystone of the Italian Risorgimento which will go down in history as the famous Expedition of the Thousand. A section with a glorious past, which has seen illustrious personalities from the scientific world come to Naples to study closely one of the most famous volcanoes in the world, even before Italy became a republic. We are talking about the Vesuvius Observatory, one of the three monitoring sections of the INGV as well as the first volcanological observatory in history.
Today's Observatory is a fundamental scientific center for the country, which over the course of its very long years has been able to expand the range of activities at the center of its institutional role, becoming an essential point of reference in the study and monitoring of Vesuvius, Campi Flegrei and Ischia Island, but also of the volcanoes of the Aeolian arc and in particular of Stromboli.
To learn more about the very rich history and numerous activities of the Vesuvius Observatory, we interviewed one of its best connoisseurs, Mario Castellano, INGV Technological Director who has always been involved in the seismological and geophysical monitoring of Campania volcanoes, as well as responsible for communication flows between OV and Civil Protection.
Mario, the history of the INGV Vesuvius Observatory has roots that go much further back in time than those of the Institute as we know it today. Do we want to retrace the most important stages?
I'd love that. The Vesuvian Observatory was the first volcanological observatory in the world. It was founded by King Ferdinand II of Bourbon in 1841 and inaugurated in 1845 on the occasion of the VII Congress of Italian Scientists. Over the years, many illustrious scientists have alternated in filling the role of Director of the Observatory, contributing to the growth of the research activities carried out by the OV in various fields of geophysics and volcanology. Among these, it suffices to recall Luigi Palmieri, who in 1856 created the first electromagnetic seismograph with which the correlations between seismic and volcanic activity of Vesuvius were studied, and Giuseppe Mercalli, perhaps the most famous Director, known for the seismic scale that bears his name as well as for the first catalog of historical Italian earthquakes. A strong modernization program of all the instrumentation operating at the Vesuvius Observatory was carried out by Giuseppe Imbò, Director from 1935 to 1970, who in 1944 was able to study in detail the last eruption of Vesuvius.
For decades the main object of studies and research carried out at the Vesuvius Observatory was Vesuvius, practically in continuous activity until the last eruption in 1944. But since the end of the 1969s attention has also been paid to the Campi Flegrei area, subject to the phenomenon of bradyseism, which in 1970-1982 and 1984-XNUMX was the site of two important crises linked to the volcanic dynamics of the area, with soil uplift, seismic activity and variations in the chemical composition of the fumaroles . During these bradyseismic crises, the Vesuvian Observatory was engaged in the detection and study of geophysical and geochemical signals, operating a first decisive strengthening of the monitoring networks in the Campi Flegrei area.
Finally, as regards the monitoring of the island of Ischia, the Vesuvius Observatory started a project in the mid-nineties which led to the installation of the first three seismic stations and a GPS station until reaching, over time, the current configuration with a geophysical monitoring system based on Seismic Network, GPS Network and Tiltmetric Network.
But the research activity was not limited to the volcanoes in Campania: being able to count on natural laboratories, the researchers of the Vesuvius Observatory carried out scientific experiments both in Italy (such as on Etna and the Aeolian Islands) and abroad (for example at Teide in the Canary Islands, at Colima in Mexico and at Deception in Antarctica) contributed to increasing knowledge of the typical dynamics of these active volcanoes.
What happened with the "birth" of INGV?
With the Law Decree 381/1999, which sanctioned the birth of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, the Vesuvius Observatory became a Section of the new Body bringing "dowry" all its cultural and scientific heritage of national and international importance and contributing in a fundamental way to the same growth of INGV. In this new phase of the life of the Vesuvius Observatory there has been no lack of seismic and volcanic phenomena that have engaged, and still do, the staff of the Section: just think of the new resumption of bradyseism in the Campi Flegrei, underway since the end of 2005, which December 2012 saw the Major Risks Commission proclaim the yellow alert level of "Attention", or the Ischia earthquake of August 21, 2017 which caused victims and significant damage in the Casamicciola area.
Over the last twenty years, the Vesuvius Observatory has continued to develop research and surveillance activities on the volcanoes of Campania and Stromboli, strengthening and modernizing the monitoring networks and analysis techniques and obtaining one of the most effective monitoring systems for active volcanoes worldwide.
The volcanoes around which the OV monitoring work is concentrated are, therefore, mainly those in Campania…
Yes, as I said, the Vesuvius Observatory carries out geophysical, geochemical and volcanological research, monitoring and surveillance activities on volcanoes in Campania (therefore Vesuvius, Campi Flegrei and Ischia); however, he also deals with Stromboli for the seismological part.
What are the surveillance activities carried out by the OV?
It is a multi-parameter type of surveillance, based on continuous monitoring networks supplemented by temporary networks and periodic measurement campaigns. On each volcano there are various geophysical and geochemical networks capable of detecting even minimal variations in the monitored parameters. Continuous surveillance is carried out with permanent and mobile seismic networks, networks for the control of soil deformations (such as GPS, tiltmetry and sea graph), geochemical networks for the analysis of the chemical composition of fumaroles and gases emitted from the soil, thermometric networks which measure changes in ground temperature. These are accompanied by periodic measurement campaigns such as relative and absolute gravimetry, thermometry with thermal cameras and thermocouples, analysis of satellite data, precision levelling.
The geophysical and geochemical measurements are accompanied by volcanological surveys on the geological formations present, important for the study and knowledge of the evolutionary history and eruptive mechanisms of the three volcanic areas.
Who takes care of collecting and analyzing all these measurements?
The signals of all the networks converge in the Monitoring Room where the 24-hour surveillance shifts are carried out by the research and technical personnel.
This activity has had a great boost in recent years thanks to the objectives set by the FISR-SOIR Project "Integrated Operations Rooms and Monitoring Networks of the future: INGV 2.0" bringing real integration between the Operations Rooms of the three monitoring Sections of the INGV : Vesuvian Observatory, Etna Observatory of Catania and National Earthquake Observatory of Rome.
In addition to the Monitoring Room activities, all the acquired data is processed in detail by the analysis laboratories of the respective topics from where they flow into the dedicated databases.
How does the "assembly line" work in the event of an eruptive event or substantial changes in the monitored parameters?
From the point of view of the state of volcanic activity, the three Campanian volcanoes are at different alert levels: Base Level (green) for Vesuvius and Ischia (which means normal monitoring parameters) and Warning Level (yellow) for Campi Flegrei (with monitoring parameters on anomalous values protracted over time).
Indeed, it is precisely for Campi Flegrei that we have been implementing the procedures envisaged for changing the alert level since December 2012. This means that the geophysical and geochemical monitoring networks have been strengthened, the periodic measurement campaigns intensified, and the geochemical sampling points increased in the area of greatest activity of Solfatara-Pisciarelli. Furthermore, as foreseen by the communication flows between INGV and the Department of Civil Protection (DPC), with the transition to the Yellow Level of Attention, the Update Bulletin on the state of the volcano has become weekly and is issued on Tuesdays.
In addition to upgrading the monitoring system and the frequency of communications with the DPC, the change in the parameters monitored at Campi Flegrei also entails a greater level of attention in surveillance activities, with the shift workers always in close contact with the on-call seismologist and volcanologist for continuous support for the analysis of the recorded data. Specifically, on call workers are alerted by shift workers in the event of significant seismic activity, such as earthquakes of greater energy or major seismic swarms, as well as following reports of volcanic events, such as the opening of new fumaroles or modifications of emissions in areas already subject to monitoring.
How long have you been at the Observatory and what does your job mainly consist of?
I began collaborating in the research and monitoring activities of the Vesuvius Observatory after graduating in Geological Sciences in 1979 and I became a Geophysical Researcher in 1986. Over the years I have mainly dealt with the study of the seismicity of Campania and Sicilian volcanoes, managing the Mobile Seismic Network of the Vesuvius Observatory to then become Head of the Permanent Seismic Network.
I am currently Head of the Functional Unit "Geophysical Monitoring" which deals with the management of all the geophysical networks set up for monitoring. Maintaining the correct and continuous functioning of the stations is a fundamental activity to guarantee a high level of monitoring: for this reason the collaboration of all colleagues who operate on every type of network is essential. Ours is a team effort in which researchers, technologists and technical personnel work together not only for the control and maintenance of the equipment but also for the development and enhancement of the monitoring systems.
In addition, I also coordinate the communication documents intended for the DPC: weekly and monthly surveillance bulletins and half-yearly reports. These documents contain the summaries of the monitoring activities on Campania volcanoes.
In your opinion, what is the perception that the local population has of this important Section of the INGV?
The Vesuvian Observatory has always been a point of reference for the citizens of Campania who are particularly sensitive and exposed to the seismic and volcanic activities of our Region: the relationship with the population is very close.
When earthquakes are felt, there are always numerous phone calls to our Operations Room to get information on the event and any evolution of the phenomenon.
With the resumption of bradyseism in the Campi Flegrei, where, among other things, the earthquake warning threshold is very low also due to the extreme superficiality of the events, the requests for information have increased considerably also through the social channels active for some years both at Institute and Section level. In this way citizens know they can count on accurate and reliable information especially in a period in which unreliable pages proliferate on the Internet where there is a tendency to make the "normal" "sensational" rather than to provide correct information, with the result to trigger unjustified fears and fears in the population.
What has been the most significant and amusing professional episode in these years at OV that you would like to remember?
Undoubtedly there have been many and varied, but there is one in particular that still excites me when I think about it.
It was back in 1983 and the Vesuvius Observatory was participating in the "European Geotraverse" research project which consisted in the recording with portable seismic stations of the signals produced by artificial explosions on land and at sea. The objective of the project was the reconstruction of the crustal and sub-crustal structure of the areas involved in the prospecting.
We were in Sardinia and formed three groups of operators, each of which equipped with a car: each group had to position the seismic stations supplied along a predefined profile and record the signals generated by the explosions. The explosions were programmed at certain times but if for some reason it was not possible to carry out the explosion, there were two backup times at the next two hours. There was no way of knowing if the main blast had been fired except by phoning the base of operations in the nearest town and being instructed to leave or stay for backup blasts, and this was done by the foreman of each group, one of which was me. At the time there were no cell phones, and the two-way radios, which we were also equipped with, were unable to cover the distances between the various groups.
It was the last day of the campaign in Sardinia and we were in the central-southern sector of the island, after the registration in the evening we had to embark in Olbia to continue the experiment between Emilia Romagna, Tuscany and Liguria. For this reason, we left the hotel with arms and baggage and the three groups headed towards their own intervention areas, meeting us in Olbia for boarding.
That day the explosions were at sea south of Sardinia but the sea was rough and the ship was unable to carry out operations either for the main explosion or for the reserves, postponing everything until the next day... but we had to leave in the evening! What to do? Respect the established program and go to Olbia or wait for the next day? There was no possibility of communicating with the foremen of the other two groups to organize ourselves and in the end I made the decision to return to our hotel, the only common point we had. When I entered the hotel car park and saw the other two Observatory cars parked, I got excited and realized that with the other two team leader friends we really were a close-knit group. We all hugged each other, happy as children to have made the same decision and to be able to continue the experiment.
Have the changes in our daily life brought about by the Covid-19 health emergency in recent months affected your work and, more generally, the work of the Observatory?
It was undoubtedly a complicated period with the introduction of smart working, but I must say that the organization created by the Section Management allowed everyone to do their job in the best possible way.
It was possible to keep the activities that could not be postponed such as surveillance shifts, and also the maintenance of the monitoring stations and the sampling or measurements on the ground were carried out while always maintaining full compliance with the safety provisions.
The support provided by colleagues at the IT Services Center (CSI) was also very important, allowing us to connect remotely to the Institute's servers to continue all the data analysis procedures essential for research and monitoring activities. In particular, the IT support has allowed colleagues in the Administrative Office of the Section to carry out practically all management activities from home, guaranteeing the full functionality of the Section itself.
Personally, I haven't had any particular problems in managing the Functional Unit or in research and communication activities with the DPC. For this I have to thank all the colleagues who deal with the various monitoring issues for their always punctual contributions, which have allowed the Vesuvius Observatory to issue the bulletins respecting the established times each time.
Furthermore, despite smart working, it was possible to carry out videoconferencing meetings managing to keep collaborations alive between colleagues and respect the times for a whole series of activities (from the submission of scientific publications to the progress of research projects) of fundamental importance for our working life. By videoconference it was also possible to carry out lessons for the training of new shift workers, training which then continued in the presence of the Monitoring Room always in compliance with the safety protocols, allowing colleagues to start shifts in July with the right preparation .
What do you wish for the future of your section?
From a working point of view, I hope that the Vesuvian Observatory will have an ever more driving role within INGV for all research and monitoring issues of volcanic areas. Collaborations with other Sections that deal with the same activities must be further encouraged also to jointly develop new monitoring and data analysis techniques by bringing together all the experiences gained so far.
I hope that the relationship with universities and high schools will become ever closer in order to be able to train new researchers, technologists and technicians within INGV who are able to continue the path of innovation and upgrading of infrastructures.
Personally, I'm lucky enough to work with colleagues who have become true friends over the years and in this way everything becomes easier, even the heaviest workloads. If I have to wish my colleagues at INGV something… it is to have the same luck as me!