Six new underwater volcanoes discovered just miles from deadly Vesuvius in Italy

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Six previously unknown volcanoes have been discovered just miles from Italy’s deadly Vesuvius.

The newly found submerged volcanoes lie just three kilometres from the Gulf of Naples.

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Circle are the 6 new underwater volcanoes in the Gulf of Naples near Mt Vesuvius. Other signs are areas were CO2 extrusion has been measured. Map by INGV

6 previously undiscovered volcanoes have been found off of the coast of Naples, all of which are situated close to the deadly Mt Vesuvius.

Mt Vesuvius is responsible for one of the most deadly eruptions in human history. During its huge eruption in 79 AD the volcano submerged the city of Pompeii, killing all 11,000 inhabitants of the ancient Roman-ruled area.

Researchers discovered the new volcanoes during a campaign in 2014 to garner more information on Vesuvius, which is overdue an eruption, but information has only just been released.

Lead scientist explains: We detected new points of carbon dioxide emissions in the Gulf of Naples, which is quite common in geothermal and volcanic areas such as Naples. And here we have discovered six volcanic structures (cones and domes) with a diameter of 800 meters, unknown until now.

The results of this research have allowed us to determine that at least three of the detected volcanic structures were formed before 19,000 years, while one of them erupted in ancient times.

The discovery of the new volcanoes will create fear for Italians and its European neighbours with Mt Vesuvius overdue an eruption. This animation by Zero One recreates the same drama and terror as when a series of eruptions wiped out Pompeii over 48 hours on August 24, 79 AD:

The 4,200-foot high volcano last erupted in 1944 and usually has an eruption cycle of every 20 years, meaning that it has been building up for almost four times that amount.

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