The Malvizza mud volcanoes are the largest array of mud volcanoes in the southern Apennines of Italy. [1] The phenomenon is purely sedimentary in nature, in contrast to volcanic phenomena like mofette, fumaroles, and solfatare. The Malvizza mud volcanoes show some affinities with the salse (saltwater springs) of the central-northern Apennines and with the maccalube (mud fountains) of Sicily. [1]
The Malvizza mud volcanoes (from malvizza, the name of a bird in the Irpinia dialect [2] ) are located in the Campania Apennines, in the municipal territory of Montecalvo Irpino, along a plateau of the Miscano valley at an altitude of 518 m (1,699 ft) above sea level. They are characterized by the emission of gaseous hydrocarbons—primarily methane, which at most sites accounts for more than 90% of emissions [1] —as well as a continuous flow of weakly alkaline water (pH = 8) at a temperature of 18 °C (64 °F). [3] The solid component of the mud is composed of more than 95% illitic clay, with only traces of calcite and quartz. The deep layers of the subsoil of the Malvizza mud volcanoes are primarily scaly clays, [4] alternating with regular layers of brecciole and nummulitic limestone. [5]
The volcanoes are located along the provincial road that leads from the state road 90 bis to Castelfranco in Miscano. The existence of an additional single mud volcano is attested on the opposite side of the Miscano valley, about 5 km from the site of the Malvizza mud volcanoes. It is located along the Fràscino arm (a branch of the Pescasseroli-Candela sheep track), south of the Miscano river, and at an altitude of 400 m (1,300 ft) above sea level. [6]
The mud volcanoes are caused by the presence of deep deposits of gaseous hydrocarbons which, in response to the compressive tectonic stresses typical of the Apennines-Adriatic area, tend to rise towards the surface. This produces bubbling in the spring waters they infiltrate. [1]
Due to extensive liquid emissions, the volcanoes' surface structures are short in height, even during droughts. They are sometimes nearly flat due to rainwater erosion, which enlarges the affected area and inhibits the development of vegetation.
The presence of methane and other flammable (and potentially explosive) gases in the subsoil is well-known in the Miscano valley. In 1867, a firedamp spill and its subsequent explosion (triggered by torches used for lighting) caused the death of an entire team of workers during the construction of the Cristina railway tunnel near the station at Castelfranco in Miscano, along the Naples-Foggia line. This incident occurred almost halfway between the Fràscino branch and the Malvizza mud volcanoes. [7]
The Malvizza mud volcanoes (and more generally the Miscano valley) have been the subject of scientific studies to determine the possible exploitation of natural gas resources, the volcanoes' contribution to the global greenhouse effect (methane is a typical greenhouse gas), and the hypothesis that abnormal variations in emission radon levels may be precursors of seismic events. [1] The site is also an ecological niche of a very peculiar microflora and microfauna. In 2005, a new species of gram-positive bacterium Alkalicoccus saliphilus was discovered, isolated among the green algae of the Malvizza Bubbles. This new species shows a 99.9% affinity with a strain of bacteria isolated in a soda lake in Inner Mongolia (China), and over 97% with two other strains isolated in a lake basin of the Rift Valley (Kenya). [3]
The geography of Italy includes the description of all the physical geographical elements of Italy. Italy, whose territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical region, is located in southern Europe and comprises the long, boot-shaped Italian Peninsula crossed by the Apennines, the southern side of Alps, the large plain of the Po Valley and some islands including Sicily and Sardinia. Italy is part of the Northern Hemisphere. Two of the Pelagie Islands are located on the African continent.
Mefitis was the Samnite goddess of the foul-smelling gases of the earth, worshipped in central and southern Italy since before Roman times, with her main shrine at the volcano Ampsanctus in Samnium. There was a temple dedicated to her in Cremona, and another on the Esquiline Hill in Rome. It is theorized that Mefitis was originally a goddess of underground sources, such as natural springs—the fact that many of these springs were sulfurous led to her association with noxious gases. She is almost always identified with volcanoes, having been worshipped at Pompeii. Her name, which likely means "one who smokes in the middle", is also seen as Mephitis.
An oil well is a drillhole boring in Earth that is designed to bring petroleum oil hydrocarbons to the surface. Usually some natural gas is released as associated petroleum gas along with the oil. A well that is designed to produce only gas may be termed a gas well. Wells are created by drilling down into an oil or gas reserve that is then mounted with an extraction device such as a pumpjack which allows extraction from the reserve. Creating the wells can be an expensive process, costing at least hundreds of thousands of dollars, and costing much more when in hard to reach areas, e.g., when creating offshore oil platforms. The process of modern drilling for wells first started in the 19th century, but was made more efficient with advances to oil drilling rigs during the 20th century.
A cold seep is an area of the ocean floor where hydrogen sulfide, methane and other hydrocarbon-rich fluid seepage occurs, often in the form of a brine pool. Cold does not mean that the temperature of the seepage is lower than that of the surrounding sea water. On the contrary, its temperature is often slightly higher. The "cold" is relative to the very warm conditions of a hydrothermal vent. Cold seeps constitute a biome supporting several endemic species.
Caciocavallo[ˌkatʃokaˈvallo] is a type of stretched-curd cheese made out of sheep's or cow's milk. It is produced throughout Southern Italy, particularly in the Apennine Mountains and in the Gargano peninsula. Shaped like a teardrop, it is similar in taste to the aged Southern Italian Provolone cheese, with a hard edible rind.
A mud volcano or mud dome is a landform created by the eruption of mud or slurries, water and gases. Several geological processes may cause the formation of mud volcanoes. Mud volcanoes are not true igneous volcanoes as they do not produce lava and are not necessarily driven by magmatic activity. Mud volcanoes may range in size from merely 1 or 2 meters high and 1 or 2 meters wide, to 700 meters high and 10 kilometers wide. Smaller mud exudations are sometimes referred to as mud-pots.
The Province of Caserta is a province in the Campania region of southern Italy. Its capital is the city of Caserta, situated about 36 kilometres (22 mi) by road north of Naples. The province has an area of 2,651.35 square kilometres (1,023.69 sq mi), and had a total population of 924,414 in 2016. The Palace of Caserta is located near to the city, a former royal residence which was constructed for the Bourbon kings of Naples. It was the largest palace and one of the largest buildings erected in Europe during the 18th century. In 1997, the palace was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Savignano Irpino is a village and comune in the province of Avellino, in the Campania region of southern Italy.
Ariano Irpino is an Italian city and municipality in the province of Avellino, in the Campania region. With a territory of 186.74 square kilometres (72.10 sq mi) and a population of 22,535 (2017), it is one of the largest settlements in the Irpinia historical district and the modern province. Located 264 kilometres (164 mi) east-southeast of Rome and 104 kilometres (65 mi) east-northeast of Naples, the comune was granted the official status of Città ("City") by a presidential decree of 1952, October 26; it has been recognized as an arts town, too.
Volcanic gases are gases given off by active volcanoes. These include gases trapped in cavities (vesicles) in volcanic rocks, dissolved or dissociated gases in magma and lava, or gases emanating from lava, from volcanic craters or vents. Volcanic gases can also be emitted through groundwater heated by volcanic action.
The Hirpini were an ancient Samnite tribe of Southern Italy. While generally regarded as having been Samnites, sometimes they are treated as a distinct and independent nation. They inhabited the southern portion of Samnium, in the more extensive sense of that name, roughly the area now known as Irpinia from their name—a mountainous region bordering on Basilicata towards the south, on Apulia to the east, and on Campania towards the west. No marked natural boundary separated them from these neighboring nations, but they occupied the lofty masses and groups of the central Apennines, while the plains on each side, and the lower ranges that bounded them, belonged to their more fortunate neighbors. The mountain basin formed by the three tributaries of the Vulturnus —the Tamarus, Calor, and Sabatus, which, with their valleys, unite near Beneventum, surrounded on all sides by lofty and rugged ranges of mountains—is the center and heart of their territory. They occupied the Daunian Mountains to the north, while its more southern portion comprised the upper valley of the Aufidus and the lofty group of mountains where that river takes its rise.
Greci is an Arbëreshë town and comune in the province of Avellino, Campania, Italy, located about 100 km northeast of Naples and about 50 km southwest of Foggia. It is a mountain agricultural village lying astride the Apennines and represents the only existing linguistic minority in Campania; Arbereshe people have settled in Greci since the 15th century.
Montecalvo Irpino is a town and comune in the province of Avellino, Campania, southern Italy.
Rocca San Felice is a town and comune in the province of Avellino, Campania, southern Italy.
Castelfranco in Miscano is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Benevento in the Italian region Campania, located about 90 km northeast of Naples and about 30 km northeast of Benevento.
Methane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula CH4. It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Earth makes it an economically attractive fuel, although capturing and storing it poses technical challenges due to its gaseous state under normal conditions for temperature and pressure.
Aequum Tuticum was a Roman vicus in southern Italy, about 35 km east-northeast of Beneventum. The site lies beside Saint Eleuterio hamlet, overlooking Miscano Valley at an elevation of 575 m, about 15 km north of the modern Ariano Irpino, within Irpinia historical district. The vicus name is partly Latin and partly Oscan.
The geography of Campania illustrates the geographical characteristics of Campania, a region of Italy.
The Arianese dialect, typical of the territorial area of Ariano Irpino, is a vernacular variety of the Irpinian dialect, belonging in turn to the Neapolitan group of southern Italian dialects. Like all Romance languages, it descends directly from Vulgar Latin, a language of Indo-European stock that has been widespread in the area since Roman times.
