Old Volcanism: Scientists have discovered (danger) “megabeds” formed by volcanic eruptions thousands of years old at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. These megabeds show evidence of catastrophic events occurring in these areas over the past several thousand years at intervals of a few thousand years.
These megabeds are materials deposited on sea valleys or floors for thousands of years due to events of destructive nature such as volcanic eruptions. These megabeds were found by researchers while examining sediments at the bottom of the Tyrrhenian Sea, near a volcano. The Tyrrhenian Sea is a part of the Mediterranean Sea off the west coast of Italy.
Scientists had already received the signal
Earlier, scientists’ research had revealed the sedimentary volcanic deposits of the Tyrrhenian Sea. There is something mysterious hidden beneath the sea, but new research was recently published in the journal Geology in which high-resolution pictures of it were shown.
33 to 82 feet thick megabed
Derek Sawyer, associate professor of earth sciences at Ohio State University (USA), and his colleagues took high-resolution images of the layers of the Tyrrhenian Sea floor. They discovered a series of four megabeds. The thickness of each of these was between 33 and 82 feet (10 to 25 meters). Another characteristic of these was that each sediment layer was different. All the layers were made of different materials.
all made in different years
According to research published in the journal Geology, the oldest layer was about 40,000 years old. The next layer was 32,000 years old and the third was 18,000 years old. The youngest sediment core was formed about 8,000 years ago.
How are these the remains of a volcanic eruption?
According to the research published in the journal Geology, the team of researchers studied a previously known volcanic field to find the source of the megabeds. The area in which the beds formed is volcanically active and includes the Campi Flegrei supervolcano, which recently erupted.