The study presents significant advances in understanding the explosive dynamics of the Tajogaite volcano during the 2021 eruption. 

A new study on the temporal variability of explosive activity at the Tajogaite volcano, Cumbre Vieja (Canary Islands), during the 2021 eruption using ground-based infrared photography and videography has just been published in the prestigious international scientific journal Frontiers in Earth Science.

This work, promoted by the Volcanological Institute of the Canary Islands (INVOLCAN) and led by Janine Birnbaum, a researcher from Columbia University (USA), involved researchers from INVOLCAN, the Institute of Technology and Renewable Energies (ITER), and the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (Italy).

In recent years, INVOLCAN has solidified its expertise in the application of thermography as a tool for volcanic surveillance. The eruption of the Tajogaite volcano in 2021 marked a turning point with the acquisition of new thermographic instrumentation and collaboration with top-tier scientists and institutions in this field.

The study was based on capturing thermographic images and videos through thermal photography and videography from the ground during the Tajogaite volcano eruption. This allowed for the investigation of explosive activity evolution on multiple time scales (seconds-minutes, hours, and days-weeks). Thermal images revealed correlated activity among the multiple explosive vents, suggesting they must have been connected underground at shallow depths, with temporal variability controlled by gas flow.

Additionally, this study suggests that the variability in the proportion of eruptive material expelled effusively or explosively depends on whether the magma is gas-rich. This variation determines whether the eruption takes on a more explosive or effusive character, depending on the degree of magma degassing.

These works were possible thanks to the VOLRISKMAC (MAC/3.5b/124) and VOLRISKMAC II (MAC2/3.5b/328) projects, co-financed by the international cooperation program of the European Commission INTERREG V-A Spain-Portugal MAC 2014–2020. In addition to the projects Cumbre Vieja Emergencia, funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation of the Government of Spain; TFassistance, funded by the Insular Council of Tenerife; and LPvolcano, funded by the Insular Council of La Palma.

Reference to the article:

  • Birnbaum J, Lev E, Hernandez PA, Barrancos J, Padilla GD, Asensio-Ramos M, Calvo D, Rodríguez F, Pérez NM, D’Auria L and Calvari S (2023). Temporal variability of explosive activity at Tajogaite volcano, Cumbre Vieja (Canary Islands), 2021 eruption from ground-based infrared photography and videography. Front. Earth Sci. 11:1193436. doi: 10.3389/feart.2023.1193436