Multimedia Gallery - Map showing how Pompeii's buildings caused changes in direction and temperature of flows.

Photo shows map of Pompeii's buildings causing changes in direction and temperature of flows.

December 12, 2007

Map showing how Pompeii's buildings caused changes in direction and temperature of flows.

This map shows how the city of Pompeii and its buildings caused changes in the direction and temperature of the pyroclastic flows that entered Pompeii during the A.D. 79 eruption. Our results show that the presence of the city caused the flow to move in different directions, such as moving along roads and around city walls. The presence of the city also influenced the flow temperature. The flows were cooled in places, although not to temperatures that would be comfortable for humans sheltering in the remains of the city. Imagine being in front of a ground-hugging cloud that is moving toward you at a hundred miles an hour or more, and it contains sand, rocks and bits of building, and (if that's not enough already) has a temperature of more than 100 degrees Celsius (212 degrees Fahrenheit).

Credit: Gurioli et al., 2005

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