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Abstract. Social networks enable anyone to publish potentially boundless amounts of information. However, such information is also highly prone to creating and/or diffusing mistakes and misunderstandings in scientific issues. In 2013 we produced a website (www.sunability.unina2.it) reporting on some research outputs from the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli (formerly the Second University of Naples, SUN), and shared it on Facebook and Twitter to analyse the effectiveness of these platforms in scientific dissemination. The study results suggest that (i) a regular update of the website stimulates the user's interest, (ii) Campania's citizens are more concerned with pollution problems than natural hazards, and (iii) direct involvement of researchers effectively enhances web-mediated scientific dissemination.

The Marsili volcano is the largest known seamount in Europe, located in the Marsili Basin (Aeolian Arc, Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy). The Marsili seamount shows a high probability to generate a volcanogenic tsunami in the near future, and the coasts of Southern Italy could be affected by this event. We conducted a qualitative risk perception analysis by distributing a questionnaire at the population from three different regions that are surrounded by the Tyrrhenian Sea. Data from questionnaires were analyzed in order to understand the tsunami risk perception of the population. Our data were compared with a probabilistic tsunami scenario due to a Marsili seamount flank collapse. Results underlined the need for a proposed campaign that aimed at informing the Southern Italy population about tsunami risk and the phenomena that can potentially generate a tsunami event.

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The comment was uploaded in the form of a supplement: http://www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci-discuss.net/nhess-2015-305/nhess-2015-305-AC2-supplement.pdf