The inhabitants of Pompeii did not die suffocated by the ashes of Vesuvius, but instantly burnt to a temperature of 300 degrees. And 'what emerges from a study of researchers of the Vesuvius-INGV, Mastrolorenzi Giuseppe and Lucia Pappalardo, and biologists from the University of Naples' Federico II', Pierpaolo Petrone and Fabio Guarino. Today, research of these scholars is gaining considerable importance, not only from the point of view historical and speculative, but also practical. The hypothesis that Vesuvius will erupt again in a few years he became more and more consistency and studies Mastrolorenzi and colleagues could prove invaluable in the evacuation plans for adjustments to cope with the disaster. In the study conducted by these scientists are described in detail in all aspects of anatomical detail to support the view of almost a sort of "evaporation" of many of the victims of Pompeii. According to the study - in fact - has led to the extraordinary heat boiling the brain tissue, which literally splashed out in small bursts, leaving the bones of hapless typical signs of bluish burns. All this, as published, would be compatible with the extraordinary discoveries of the bodies in the posture in which they were found. The moisture vaporization of tissue, mixed with volcanic ash, would in fact create that protective shell that has preserved the bones from decay and, more importantly, has cemented the "positions" in which the victims were at the time of death. This information is crucial to distinguish those who were killed instantly by the eruption and those who were only later, after a phenomenon linked to the collapse of the column of hot ash and lapilli erupted from Vesuvius called pyroclastic flow . But when happens, if happens, a new eruption of Vesuvius? On this alarms recently launched by Guido Bertolaso, the head of Civil Defense, leave little room for doubt. The activity is expected in geologically short time and, although it is not possible to determine exact timing, Domenico Patan, INGV of Catania, interviewed by IlSussiadiario.net, reassured that "in recent years has moved from the volcanology giant. The dense monitoring exists today on volcanoes such as Mount Etna, Vesuvius or Campi Flegrei can also detect the weak signals that might suggest an eruption. Etna, for example, for decades we are able to provide although the eruption can not determine the exact moment that will happen. However, we can determine the change in status of a volcano, and then see if the next eruption. " But according to experts, in fact, this serebbe only a matter of time. And the more he goes by, the "charge" of the volcano is likely to be destructive. And if Mastrolorenzi, Pappalardo, Petrone Guarino and conducted an interdisciplinary research, analyzing as well as also described the volcanic deposits, the structure of DNA and the ashes of the victims, combined with computer simulations of the eruption - revealing for the first time the consequences of the volcanic cloud in 79 AD the inhabitants of Pompeii and other sites of the Vesuvian area - the current situation of the Vesuvius is very similar to that which preceded the catastrophic event that destroyed several cities bells at the time of the Roman Empire. The eruptions of the volcano explode it at full power during the next phase of quiescence, such as that which is currently the last eruption in 1944. The documents published on the website of the Civil Protection, referring to the Vesuvius, specifying that "if the activity should start within a few decades, the next eruption would be the sub-Plinian". That is, fortunately, not the kind ever more disastrous. The tragic effects of what happened in 79 AD, on the dynamics of which you can now have a range of information previously unknown. Responsible Research, University of Naples and the Vesuvius Observatory, entitled "Lethal Thermal Impact of at Periphery pyroclastic Surges: Evidences at Pompeii." According to the four authors of the study, contrary to what until now considered by the investigators, the victims did not suffer a lingering death by suffocation, but were killed instantly by exposure to high temperatures, between 300 and 600 C °. The new results on the thermal and mechanical events of the event in 79 AD reveal that the risk related to a possible future eruption of Vesuvius could be much higher than so far considered by researchers and civil protection. The report referred to in any case you can not just say its reassuring. But that is based on the assumption of a certain gradation of the effects of the eruption of Vesuvius on surrounding areas, but contradicted by new research. For the four researchers, and especially for Mastrolorenzi, therefore urgent drastic modification of the Emergency Plan. The experts of the Vesuvius Observatory have studied the levels of ash in different parts of the Vesuvius area. It tracks the profiles put forward some parameters: the height and speed of the cloud caused by the collapse of the pyroclastic column, which in this eruption reached the 30 km high.
calculating speed and height, the researchers were able to define the thickness and density of the cloud, and the time taken to pass on Pompeii: a little over a minute. But this is a very dense cloud, the mechanical effects must have been rather scarce. Now experts have begun to study casts of the victims, who presented the so-called cadaveric spasm, "a posture that is taken when the death is instantaneous. Looking at the bones and then, thanks to DNA analysis, was found evidence of changes caused by the high temperatures. Laboratory experiments were conducted on fragments of bone, exposing them to increasing temperatures and observing changes that were being produced. These fragments were then compared with the remains of the victims of Pompeii, leading to the conclusion that the bodies had been exposed to a temperature of 300 °, which in Herculaneum came to 600 degrees. Among the reasons why it is ruled out death by suffocation, the fact that the time of the passage of the cloud was between 1 and 2 minutes, during which a person can remain in apnea without dying. Those who were considered long positions that reflect a long agony, are therefore evidence of a sudden death: the high temperature. Article from IlSussidiario.net.
