DIVE INTO THE AEOLIAN ISLANDS, AT THE HEART OF ONE OF EUROPE'S MOST IMPORTANT VOLCANIC SYSTEMS

The Aeolian archipelago consists of seven main islands: Alicudi, Filicudi, Lipari, Panarea, Salina, Stromboli, and Vulcano. Located north of the Sicilian coast, it is part of a vast volcanic system that also includes the volcanoes of the southern Tyrrhenian basin, notably Vesuvius and Etna. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Aeolian Islands are home to one of the most significant concentrations of volcanoes on the Old Continent.

Although invisible from the surface, volcanoes are also very active at depth. In spring 2022, an 1 OCEAN exploration mission will be organized to explore the Panarea underwater caldera. It will accompany a scientific mission by the INGV (National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology) led by volcanologist Francesco Italiano.

The first dive is breathtaking: just a few meters below the surface, constant gas eruptions coming directly from the volcano's magma chamber escape from the bowels of the Earth to form impressive curtains of bubbles. In the caldera, some sites release more than a million liters of gas per day.

The next stage of our exploration takes us much deeper, to a depth of over seventy meters. During their last mission, INGV divers made an extraordinary discovery: The Smoking Land. The seabed there is covered with hydrothermal vents, which sulfur has given a distinctive orange color. They continuously expel high-temperature acidic fluids.

For photographer Alexis Rosenfeld, it is a breathtaking sight: "The underwater volcanoes of Panarea are one of the most striking landscapes I have ever seen. Sometimes you are more than seventy meters deep, in the middle of a field of volcanic vents spewing hot, toxic gases and fluids... It's a breathtaking atmosphere, where you're enveloped by the infinite silence of the ocean and witness to this Dantean spectacle, a bit like standing at the gates of hell. You realize then that the Earth is alive. From the surface, you have no idea."

UNDERWATER VOLCANOES, THE CRADLE OF LIFE

Paradoxically, the extreme conditions in these deep-sea environments could also hold the key to one of humanity's greatest questions: the origin of life. According to scientists, it was around these volcanic eruptions that the first organisms came into being; this is where minerals transform into living matter. Volcanologist Francesco Italiano explains: "It is on these hydrothermal vents that chemical components are transformed into living matter. This is where life begins."

The seabed of the Panarea caldera is dotted with white patches that are usually found at the base of gas columns. These patches are actually clusters of bacteria that feed mainly on carbon. They are the first link in the food chain, the basis of terrestrial ecosystems.

IDMAR, A JOINT SCIENTIFIC LABORATORY

Francesco Italiano is certain: “Panarea is a unique place. It is a natural laboratory where many different scientific disciplines can come together and work together.”

Together with INFN (National Institute of Nuclear Physics) and CNR (National Research Center), the volcanologist and other researchers from INGV are creating a large-scale project around Sicily: the IDMAR project. At the heart of this project is a multidisciplinary scientific platform for hosting and sharing data, with the aim of continuously collecting and centralizing a multitude of data. IDMAR is science working together to improve our understanding of underwater phenomena in Sicily.

PANAREA – STROMBOLI, AN UNSTABLE AXIS

Thanks to this program, Francesco Italiano and his team can listen to the volcanoes around the clock. In recent years, they have observed worrying changes in the behavior of the region's volcanoes. Stromboli, in particular, has them on alert: for some time now, analyses have shown abnormal instability, leading scientists to fear a major event:

“Stromboli is an active volcano. It constantly generates low-intensity explosions, but sometimes its activity changes in nature. It then produces lava flows as well as huge explosions that can be very dangerous for humans.” – Francesco Italiano

A few years ago, a phreatic explosion in the Panarea caldera opened a fault line all the way to Stromboli and caused a collapse on the volcano. This gas eruption released more than a billion liters of carbon dioxide every day. Recently, scientists made an important discovery: Stromboli and the Panarea caldera are actually connected to a single magma chamber.

TSUNAMIS: A MAJOR RISK AND COORDINATED MANAGEMENT BY THE IOC-UNESCO

One of the main concerns for scientists is the possibility that an eruption could generate a large-scale tsunami, which would pose a major risk to the region's population.

“One of the risks is the possibility of a tsunami. The main problem in dealing with this risk is the short distance between the islands. A tsunami travels at very high speed, at least 186 mph. A tsunami can therefore reach one of the islands in just a few minutes.”

Tsunamis pose a major risk to coastlines and can travel long distances. In 1960, an earthquake measuring 9.5 on the Richter scale—the highest ever recorded—occurred near Valdivia, Chile. The resulting tsunami crossed the entire Pacific Ocean, causing damage as far away as the coast of Japan, approximately 10,500 miles from the epicenter.

In response to this possibility, UNESCO is working on a training program for coastal populations. The organization already has extensive experience in this field through its Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), which has been coordinating the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) since the 1960s. Since 2005, three new systems have been added to the program: the CTWS in the Caribbean, the IOTWS for the Indian Ocean, and the NEAMTWS for the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean.

In January 2022, this alert system coordinated by UNESCO enabled a very rapid response to a tsunami generated by an underwater volcanic eruption in the Tonga Islands. Although there was significant material damage, hundreds of lives were saved thanks to excellent multilateral cooperation.