Spas and fumaroles:here is the first hydrogeological map of Ischia

Born from the collaboration between Ingv and Federico II University, the map was published in the international scientific journal Journal of Maps

NAPLES – It was created through a multidisciplinary study recently published in the international scientific journal Journal of Maps the first map of the hydrogeological complexes of the island of Ischia.To note it the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV).

The map, created at 1:10,000 scale, was published in the study 'Geohydrologic units of Ischia Island (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy)', and is the result of the collaboration of a multidisciplinary team of researchers from the Vesuvian Observatory of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (Ingv-Ov) and the Department of Earth, Environmental and Resource Sciences (Unina – DiSTAR) of the University of Studies of Naples Federico II.

The work was based on the most recent geological and volcanological cartography of the island of Ischia, on new volcanological and hydrogeological surveys of the countryside, on the INGV database and on a detailed survey of the natural and thermo-mineral springs, which allowed us to close the gap between the historical-documentary sources and the cartography that has existed up to now.

“The geochemical characterization of the fluids and groundwater that circulate in volcanic systems has always aroused particular interest in the scientific community”.Thus Silvia Fabbrocino, DiSTAR researcher, associated with Ingv and co-coordinator of the study group, who adds:“The chemical and mechanical processes associated with the migration and evolution of magma bodies can in fact have repercussions on hydrothermal systems. The evaluation of the conditions that regulate underground water circulation in active volcanic areas is, therefore, a useful tool not only for the management of the huge water resource, but also for the evaluation of volcanic danger.“.

The volcanic system of the island of Ischia is characterized by intense hydrothermal activity, documented since the beginning of the 16th century. The island's fame, in fact, is largely linked to the seventeenth-century study by Giulio Iasolino which represents the first systematic analysis of the island's thermal springs for therapeutic purposes. Since then, multiple studies have followed which have contributed to the refinement of knowledge on the volcanic, hydrogeological and hydrothermal characteristics of the island, highlighting the strong interaction between hydrothermal circuits and volcano-tectonic processes.

“Until today, the scientific community lacked a fundamental and basic tool such as the Map of hydrogeological complexes at a detailed scale that we have just published,” continues Sandro de Vita, INGV researcher and co-coordinator of the research group.

“Thanks to the presentation of the recognized hydrogeological series and the identification – in some cases the rediscovery – of the numerous thermo-mineral springs and fumaroles present in the area, our work represents a synthesis of the volcano-tectonic history of Ischia and the related underground water flow conditions, essential for the optimal design of a hydrogeological, geochemical and volcanic monitoring network on the island“, concludes Mauro Antonio Di Vito, director of the INGV Vesuvian Observatory (Ingv-Ov) and co-coordinator of the research group.