Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
Sci Rep. 2019 Jan 24;9(1):677. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-37050-3.
Large-scale landslides at volcanic islands are one of the most dangerous geological phenomena, able to generate tsunamis whose effects can propagate far from the source. However, related deposits are scarcely preserved on-land in the geologic records, and are often difficult to be interpreted. Here we show the discovery of three unprecedented well-preserved tsunami deposits related to repeated flank collapses of the volcanic island of Stromboli (Southern Italy) occurred during the Late Middle Ages. Based on carbon datings, on stratigraphic, volcanological and archaeological evidence, we link the oldest, highest-magnitude investigated tsunami to the following rapid abandonment of the island which was inhabited at that time, contrary than previously thought. The destructive power of this event is also possibly related to a huge marine storm that devastated the ports of Naples in 1343 (200 km north of Stromboli) described by the famous writer Petrarch. The portrayed devastation can be potentially attributed to the arrival of multiple tsunami waves generated by a major landslide in Stromboli island, confirming the hypothetical hazard of these phenomena at a regional scale.
火山岛的大规模滑坡是最危险的地质现象之一，能够引发海啸，其影响可以从源头传播很远。然而，相关的沉积物在陆地上的地质记录中很少保存下来，而且往往难以解释。在这里，我们展示了对意大利南部斯特龙博利火山岛（Stromboli）多次山体滑坡相关的三个前所未有的保存完好的海啸沉积物的发现。基于碳年代测定、地层学、火山学和考古学证据，我们将最古老、规模最大的海啸与随后的岛屿迅速废弃联系起来，这与之前的想法相反。这次事件的破坏力也可能与 1343 年摧毁那不勒斯港口的一场巨大海洋风暴有关（斯特龙博利岛以北 200 公里），这场风暴被著名作家彼特拉克（Petrarch）所描述。所描绘的破坏可能归因于斯特龙博利岛发生的一次重大山体滑坡引发的多次海啸波的到达，这证实了这些现象在区域范围内的假设危害。
