Volcano for Monday

Italy is one of those places where you may think about volcanoes (hello, Pompeii), but you don't tend to consider tsunami hazards. Apparently they've got a real doozy, though, in the form of the Marsili Volcano. It's an undersea volcano, and there are concerns that an eruption (and the subsequent likely collapse of its sides) could cause a tsunami that would be bad news for Naples and anyone else around the Mediterranean.

And, as usual, the important word about risk:

"While the indications that have been collected are precise, it is impossible to make predictions. The risk is real but hard to evaluate."

Like with all volcanoes, the possibility is real, but impossible to predict when something might happen. It sounds like "soon," but we're also talking a geological "soon." It could be next week. Or it could be some time long after human beings have colonized other planets and turned Earth in to a giant historical theme park.