An international scientific study, with participation from the University of Granada and the Canary Islands Institute of Volcanology (Involcan), examines the warm heart of magma beneath Tenerife. Located less than 10 kilometers from Teide’s crater mouth, the find could signal the precursors of an explosive process.
The discovery results from a cooperative effort involving researchers from the Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics at Novosibirsk, Involcan, and the University of Granada. The study reveals hidden features inside Tenerife through a seismic tomography analysis that integrated microseismic data collected within the island, as reported by the University of Granada.
Involcan notes that the results help verify and interpret the observed rise in seismicity in Tenerife, along with ongoing carbon dioxide emissions from Teide’s crater—a process the institute has monitored since late 2016.
The team suggests a slow ascent of a diapir, a magmatic bubble, from Teide at depths beyond 10 kilometers. This new information could be crucial for detecting and predicting signs of a potential eruption in Tenerife more rapidly.
According to the researchers, tomography clearly indicates that the crust beneath the Las Cañadas caldera could host small magmatic pockets at depths of less than five kilometers.
very explosive explosions
The presence of these reservoirs would allow magma to cool and alter its chemical composition to phonolite, a magma type capable of pronounced explosions. Scientists describe this as resembling one of six Plinian eruption types that occurred at Montaña Blanca roughly two thousand years ago.
The study also explains why explosions in Tenerife outside the Las Cañadas caldera tend to be more vigorous in character.
The findings were published in a leading geophysics journal, highlighting the Journal of Geophysical Research, a prominent international outlet in the field published by the American Geophysical Society. The work benefited from the 2016 launch of the Canary Islands Seismic Network, now operated by Involcan, which includes nineteen broadband seismic stations and has enhanced the capability to sense and locate thousands of micro-earthquakes in Tenerife.
Data from prior recordings by the National Geographic Institute (IGN) augmented the seismic tomography analysis, enabling the team to map the interior of the island and determine seismic wave velocities to depths of up to 20 kilometers. This approach is especially sensitive to the presence of hydrothermal fluids and magma.
Attribution: Journal reference, Journal of Geophysical Research, 2022, as noted in the publication: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2022JB025798 [Cited: AGU 2022 Journal of Geophysical Research article].
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Note: this article does not include contact addresses or publication dates beyond those referenced in the study itself.