Enlarge / The Cumbre Vieja volcano’s eruption was difficult and never completely what consultants anticipated. (credit score: Andreas Weibel)
Final fall’s Cumbre Vieja volcanic eruption within the Canary Islands was shocking for a number of causes. Most predominantly, the eruption did not trigger tsunamis to unfold throughout the Atlantic Ocean, as some consultants had predicted. However for volcanologists, the eruption displayed a number of different surprising options which will assist consultants higher forecast which volcanos are most vulnerable to calamitous eruptions, permitting for higher long-term planning for La Palma and related volcanic areas.
Researchers are nonetheless within the early phases of analyzing the wealth of information they collected throughout the almost three-month-long eruption (85 days and eight hours, to be exact). However as highlighted in a current perspective article, the eruption might reply quite a few ongoing questions whereas elevating a number of new ones—significantly about its shock finale.
Uncommon studying alternative
The 2021 Cumbre Vieja eruption lasted longer and produced extra lava (over 200 million m3) than every other in La Palma’s recorded historical past. This lengthy length, mixed with the comparatively handy location of the Canary Islands, supplied a uncommon alternative for researchers all over the world to check the volcano’s progress intimately. The observations included geophysical and geochemical measurements—earlier than, throughout, and after the eruption—in addition to insights into the magma circulation beneath floor and the lava paths above.
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