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Ferdinandea

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: European Geography

   Approximate location of Ferdinandea
   Enlarge
   Approximate location of Ferdinandea

   Ferdinandea is a submerged volcanic island that forms part of the newly
   discovered underwater volcano Empedocles 30 km south of Sicily.
   Currently a seamount, eruptions have raised it above sea level several
   times before erosion has caused it to submerge again. When it last rose
   above sea level after erupting in 1831, a four-way dispute over its
   sovereignty began, which was still unresolved when it disappeared
   beneath the waves again in early 1832. During its brief life, the
   French geologist Constant Prévost was on hand, accompanied by an
   artist, to witness it that July; he named it Île Julia, for its July
   appearance, and reported in the Bulletin de la Société Géologique de
   France.

History

   Ferdinandea lies in a volcanic area known as the Campi Flegrei del Mar
   di Sicilia (Phlegraean Fields of the Sea of Sicily), which lies between
   Sicily and Tunisia in the Mediterranean Sea. Many submarine volcanoes (
   seamounts) exist in the region, as well as some volcanic islands such
   as Pantelleria. Volcanic activity at Ferdinandea was first reported in
   the region during the First Punic War, and the island has appeared and
   disappeared four or five times. Since the 17th century several
   eruptions have been reported.

1831 eruption

   Painting depicting Ferdinandea's 1831 eruption
   Enlarge
   Painting depicting Ferdinandea's 1831 eruption

   Ferdinandea's most recent appearance as an island was in July 1831. It
   was subject to a four-way dispute over its sovereignty, originally
   being claimed for the United Kingdom and given the name Graham Island.
   The King of Naples, Ferdinand II, after whom the island was named
   Ferdinandea, sent ships to the nascent island to claim it for the
   Bourbon crown, while the French Navy also made a landing and called the
   island Julia. Spain also declared its territorial ambitions.

   The eruptions of 1831 saw the island increase in size to some 4 km².
   However, it was composed of loose tephra, easily eroded by wave action,
   and after the end of the eruptive episode it rapidly subsided,
   disappearing beneath the waves in January 1832, before the issue of its
   sovereignty could be resolved. Fresh eruptions in 1863 caused the
   island to reappear briefly before sinking again below sea level.

Recent activity

   After 1863 the volcano lay dormant for many decades, with its summit
   just 8 m below sea level. In 1986, it was allegedly mistaken for a
   Libyan submarine and bombed by a U.S. Air Force plane on its way to
   bomb Tripoli.

   In 2002, renewed seismic activity around Ferdinandea led volcanologists
   to speculate that a new eruptive episode could be imminent, and the
   seamount might once more become an island. To forestall a renewal of
   the sovereignty disputes, Italian divers planted a flag on the top of
   the volcano in advance of its expected resurfacing. However, the
   seismicity did not lead to volcanic eruptions and as of 2006
   Ferdinandea's summit remains only about six meters below sea level.

Trivia

   The novel Jingo by Terry Pratchett is loosely based around similar
   events.
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