Empedocles (volcano)
Coordinates: 37 ° 10 ' N , 12 ° 43' E
The Empedocles (ital. Empedocle ) is an underwater volcano in the Strait of Sicily . The highest point is around seven to eight meters below the sea surface. The Empedocles is part of an underwater volcanic massif, on which the underwater volcano Ferdinandea , which first emerged from the sea as an island in 1831, is located a little further to the west . The volcanic cone was named after the natural philosopher Empedocles of Agrigento , the founder of the four-element theory , who, according to a legend, plunged into Etna .
The underwater cone of the volcano and the entire volcanic massif were discovered in June 2006 by the volcanologist Giovanni Lanzafame and the surgeon Domenico Macaluso. The horseshoe-shaped massif has an extension of 20 to 30 km², corresponds to Etna in terms of area, but rises only 500 m above the sea floor. The discovery was documented by an accompanying film team. Caluso concluded the existence of Empedocles from a series of historical tidal waves and earthquakes on the southern coast of Sicily. A strong outbreak of Empedocles could trigger a tsunami .
Web links
- Volcano of the sea depth. Director: Tullio Bernabei
- Popular science page of a geologist on the subject
Individual evidence
- ^ Peter Popham: Underwater volcano discovered off Sicily. In: The Independent . June 23, 2006, accessed on March 16, 2017 (English): “It measures 25km by 30km at the base, and is thus comparable in size to Etna - though it is smaller than Etna in height, extending only 500m above the sea bottom . "