‘Lava tunnel’ is guiding flows directly to the sea giving some respite to affected areas

Although the eruptive activity on La Palma continues without showing signs of easing, the Cumbre Vieja volcano has given some respite to the population of the Aridane Valley, especially those who have their houses and farms in the vicinity of the main flows, that are now running through the interior of a ‘lava tube’ that is directing it straight to the new delta forming in the sea.

Vicente Soler, a volcanologist from the CSIC says that a long volcanic tube has been created in the lower half of the existing flows that have cooled, and that “the lava is travelling enclosed inside the tube, thermally protected, thus maintaining a low viscosity, staying liquid, and easily reaching the cliff of the fajana at the sea. This is good news as it is the best way to carry the lava from the main cone to the sea without it spreading and affecting a wider area", says the scientist.

However, the eruptive process is constantly mutating and this situation can easily change. “If the dynamics vary and there is a stop in the expulsion of magmatic material for a few hours, or if small collapses in the cone modify the channel of the lava flows, there would be a loss of temperature and the next lava could run above the tube causing overflows," says Soler.

Stavros Meletlidis from the IGN said “the tube can drain the lava from the main cone if the supply is continuous. If there is an interruption in the supply and if the pause is very long, it is likely that it will find another way to escape or destroy the tube itself. It can also break this channel if too much lava is emitted.”

According to Meletlidis "the lava tube is a typical structure of the eruptive process, as these channels are created in the ravines that the lava has already flowed through because it cools on the surface but continues to flow underneath as it maintains thermal energy and fluidity.”

One of the longest volcanic tubes in the world, the Cueva del Viento, is in Icod de Los Vinos, in Tenerife, and in Lanzarote, thousands of people visit tunnels of this type such as the Cueva de Los Verdes or the Jameos del Agua, every year.

[BNOXPOSTS]