Ferdinandea

Ferdinandea is a submerged volcanic island which forms part of the newly discovered underwater volcano Empedocles, 30 km south of Sicily. Currently a seamount, eruptions have raised it above sea level several times before erosion has caused it to submerge again. When it last rose above sea level after erupting in 1831, a four-way dispute over its sovereignty began, which was still unresolved when it disappeared beneath the waves again in early 1832. During its brief life, the French geologist Constant Prévost was on hand, accompanied by an artist, to witness it that July; he named it "Île Julia", for its July appearance, and reported in the "Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France". [ "Notes sur l’ile Julia pour servir a l’histoire de la formation des montagnes volcaniques" in "Mémoires de la Soc. Géol. de France", 1835 ( [http://decobed.club.fr/Julia.html "L’exploration de île Julia"] and [http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/template.cfm?name=Ferdinandea Geological Society, "From out the azure main" 31 January 2003] )]

History

Ferdinandea lies in a volcanic area known as the "Campi Flegrei del Mar di Sicilia" (Phlegraean Fields of the Sea of Sicily), which lies between Sicily and Tunisia in the Mediterranean Sea. Many submarine volcanoes (seamounts) exist in the region, as well as some volcanic islands such as Pantelleria. Volcanic activity at Ferdinandea was first reported during the First Punic War, and the island has appeared and disappeared four or five times. Several eruptions have been reported since the 17th century. [" [http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=0101-07= Campi Flegrei Mar Sicilia] ", Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program, accessed 9 May 2006]

1831 eruption

Ferdinandea's most recent appearance as an island was in July 1831. It was subject to a four-way dispute over its sovereignty, originally claimed for the United Kingdom and given the name Graham Island. The King of Naples, Ferdinand II, after whom the island was named Ferdinandea, sent ships to the nascent island to claim it for the Bourbon crown. The French Navy also made a landing, and called the island Julia. Spain also declared its territorial ambitions.

The eruptions of 1831 resulted in the island increasing in size to about 4 square kilometres. However, it was composed of loose tephra, easily eroded by wave action, and when the eruptive episode ended it rapidly subsided, disappearing beneath the waves in January 1832, before the issue of its sovereignty could be resolved. Fresh eruptions in 1863 caused the island to reappear briefly before again sinking below sea level.

Recent activity

After 1863 the volcano lay dormant for many decades, its summit just eight metres below sea level. In 1987, it was allegedly mistaken for a Libyan submarine and bombed by a U.S. Air Force plane on its way to bomb Tripoli. [" [http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article217779.ece The island that time remembered] ", Independent Online, accessed 9 May 2006]

In 2002, renewed seismic activity around Ferdinandea led volcanologists to speculate that a new eruptive episode could be imminent, and the seamount might once again become an island. To forestall a renewal of the sovereignty disputes, Italian divers planted a flag on the top of the volcano in advance of its expected resurfacing. [" [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2516655.stm Volcano may emerge from the sea] ", BBC news online, accessed 9 May 2006] However, the seismicity did not lead to volcanic eruptions and as of 2006 Ferdinandea's summit remains about six metres below sea level.

ee also

*List of volcanoes in Italy

References

External links

* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,396512,00.html "Bourbons surface to retake island" - Guardian Unlimited]
* [http://www.vulkaner.no/v/volcan/etna/ferdinan_e.html Information from 'Volcanoes and Volcanism']
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2516655.stm BBC News article]
* [http://www.grifasi-sicilia.com/isolaferdinandeagbr.html Information from Angelo Grifasi's Sicilian Almanac]
* [http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/2000/0320/volcano.html "Fire from the Sea" - Time Magaine]