The geographical location of Naples makes for a complex puzzle of interconnected pieces within Earth's Systems and it's morphology is incredibly diverse; its on a plate boundary, there's underground tunnels, it sits between coast and mountains, and it's in a Mediterranean climate, which in itself is unique. I was interested in applying as many concepts we learned this semester to one place. I also am naturally interested in classical history and have wanted to visit ancient ruins like Herculaneum and Pompeii since I first learned about Mount Vesuvius. Naples, called "the city with too much history," is overrun with medieval castles, greek and roman architecture, and even some of the city streets follow the same cobbled pathways once new to the city over 2000 years ago. The city was scarred by geographical disasters and the modern world grew up around them. I wanted to learn more about a city whose culture and history is so intricately tied to its geography ("World History"). 

Before my research, I knew some of the history of Naples; its proximity to Mount Vesuvius, the greek myths of Heraclese encountering giants in the 'fields of fire' known as The Phlegraean Fields, and I knew about Herculeanium and Pompeii. The relationship it has with Earth's systems were less known to me. Although, I did remember learning about the seismology resulting from it sitting on a convergent plate boundary. In some climate related news articles, I had read about the threat that Italy faces with a warming planet. The severe flooding, the droughts in summer, and the risk of earthquakes and landslides have all flashed across various newsfeeds in the convening years since my high school Earth Science class. 

My research felt rather scattered at first. With this being an introductory class, many of the studies I came across, either in the Madison college database, or google scholar, were too advanced for me to understand. I tried to wrestle with these at first, and I do have a few in my works cited page, but the majority of my research came from news articles for the general public and even geology and travel blogs. Every week I struggled to find credible sources that didn't require a graduate level of understanding but still related enough to the relatively niche topics for the paper. While I don't think anything we learned this semester was particularly hard to understand, it necessarily covered more breadth than depth. Because the project focuses on a particular location, threading that needle felt even more difficult.

 I also made things much harder on myself choosing a non-english-speaking location. I relied heavily on google translate, but learning the names of surrounding villages and larger municipalities was difficult but necessary to quickly skim study titles to make sure it was within the Campania region I chose. This is my first lengthy research project and I feel I've learned a lot about the process. If I were to do this again, I'd be much more organized at the start, build my bibliography over the semester and take more notes on why I chose a specific source and it's relavance to the paper. I'd also choose a place I'm more familiar with, both its geography and language. But I'm still happy I chose Naples, as it came from intrest rather than necessity. 

Mediterranean Cyclones

The Italian National Agency for New Technologies reported that temperatures will increase significantly in the Mediterranean by 2100. At the same time, the climate models showed a decrease in total annual precipitation with an increase in extreme weather. Below, figure 1 shows projected temperature increase across Italy while figure 2 shows changes in precipitation. Each figure compares four climate models (shown on the right) under three different emissions scenarios, demonstrating how outcomes by 2100 vary depending on the level of environmental policy implementation and mitigation efforts. 

SSP1 shows the lowest emissions while SSP5 shows the highest emissions scenario with no mitigation. 

The researchers note the value of localized climate modeling for local regions in the Mediterranean because it is "a climate hotspot characterized by a highly heterogeneous morphology" meaning that it's wildly diverse and so the complexity of the region necessitates a high degree of analysis.

In Naples, and the rest of the Campania region, projected warming and reduced average rainfall could dry and destabilize the volcanic soils, while increasingly intense rainfall events will raise the risk of flash floods and landslides as seen in past disasters like the Sarno event. (Finish Sarno event discussion)

The city of Naples and much of the surrounding villages and mountains sits atop an ancient tunnel system made up of ancient mines and aqueducts build beneath the city over 2,500 years ago. The Neapolitan yellow tuff is a durable volcanic sandstone composed of compacted layers of volcanic ash. Most Tuffs are relatively soft rocks, but the welded yellow tuff of Naples uniquely strong. While the exact process of its formation is still up for debate, researchers agree that it originates from a large explosive eruption somewhere in the Phlegraean Fields which deposited the pyroclastic flow, but the exact pathway wherein the loose volcanic material transformed into the unique, hardened yellow tuff is not yet fully settled ("Geomaterials in Neapolitan Architecture").

The study suggests that Campania needs better land-use planning, arguing that areas classified as highly vulnerable should receive stricter protections against the construction of industrial, agriculture, or waste-disposal areas. The study also suggested that industrial agriculture shift toward sustainable practices and away from the use of fertilizers and pesticides which can infiltrate shallow alluvial aquifers. For the city of Naples, the paper argues for regulation of waste management around Naples, as the city's landfills have also infiltrated local aquifers(Tufano et al).

Local Flora and Fauna