A photo is going around the world and at the center is Naples again. This time the province of Naples with his Lake of Averno. The shot immortalizes the famous body of water, known to be "The door of hell" in Dante's Divine Comedy, completely pink. Furthermore, after Lake Averno, the waters of the sea between Baia and Lucrino.
Between amazement and concern, local citizens and others are paying attention to this mutation of water. What is it due to? Let's see the reasons together.
The intervention of the Municipality of Pozzuoli
On March 16 the commissioner Nicoletta Sensale, of the Municipality of Pozzuoli, immediately carried out a site inspection at Lake Averno to investigate the first change in the color of the water. At the time the nuances were reddish and the causes, as stated in the interview, were to be adduced to a phenomenon completely natural.
A natural alga has changed the color of the water
Also the ARPAC emphasized this hypothesis, the coloring red water (which also takes on nuances pink) is to be connected to an alga that releases a series of substances that alter the color. We can immediately reassure ourselves, because the seaweed is not toxic.
Recently a new test water from the ARPAC, which will offer further details and information.
Does the color of the water have anything to do with bradyseism?
Given the multiple shocks of bradyseism at the Campi Flegrei, the citizens were afraid that the change in the color of the Avernus water was due to this activity. In this regard, he promptly intervened the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology to reject this hypothesis: the phenomenon it is absolutely not related to seismic activity.
This is what was stated:
Lake Averno, Campi Flegrei, is red. It changed color towards the end of March.
This phenomenon - of which the (media) visibility is increasing in these days. also because it occurred “close” to the very slow bradyseism in progress or to seismic activity - it is NOT linked to the same bradyseism or to other volcanic phenomena.
It is a seasonal, transient, fairly frequent phenomenon (last year too), and is due to the proliferation of certain types of algae and eutrophication of the lake in conjunction with certain cymatic conditions. This ends up giving the water that red-brown color.
The INGV-OV researchers have released statements in this regard on various national newspapers, as did Arpac, and #INGV intends to reiterate it also with this post: the change in color of Lake Averno is certainly not a phenomenon linked to volcanic activity.
