Characteristics of The Eruption
"Assessment of volcanological factors" in one scientific study reconstruct a minimum eruption time of 3 hours in which an initial explosion raised a column of 23 km (75,000 ft) and deposited about 0.32 km3 of white pumice ("the white pumice phase"), while a second, more intense explosion raised a column of 31 km (102,000 ft) depositing 1.25 km3 of grey pumice ("the grey pumice phase"). These pumices appearing in Apulian pottery can be used to establish relative chronology of pottery phases.
A 2008 study of the lithofacies (deposits from the eruption) distinguishes three phases. Pyroclastic flows (PDC's) of Phases 1 and 2 were generated by "magmatic fragmentation" and had "small dispersal areas" mainly on the slopes of Vesuvius. Phase 3 was created by "phreatomagmatic fragmentation," in which clastic fragments are driven by superheated steam from ground water mixed with the other gases released from the magma. The authors characterize Phase 3 as "the most voluminous and widespread in the whole of Somma-Vesuvius' eruptive history." Some facies a few cm thick were found 25 km (16 mi) from the source. The vent was 2 km (1.2 mi) west of today's center. About 50 cm (20 in) fell on Avellino.
Read more about this topic: Avellino Eruption
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