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THIS apparently wintery
scene seems fitting for many
at this time of year, if somewhat
extreme. Yet this isn’t snow. It
is a deep layer of ash deposited
by the Cumbre Vieja volcano on
the island of La Palma in Spain’s
Canary Islands. The image was
taken by Emilio Morenatti, chief
photographer for the Associated
Press in Spain and Portugal.
Since 19 September, Cumbre
Vieja has been continuously
erupting, forcing the evacuation
of about 7000 residents and
destroying around 2700 buildings.
The activity has been explosive,
spewing enormous amounts of
lava, ash and gases such as carbon
dioxide and sulphur dioxide into
the air, and has been accompanied
by ongoing earthquakes.
The Cumbre Vieja volcano
last erupted in 1971, and scientists
are trying to work out what
is causing the current outburst.
Signs that trouble was looming
may have emerged as early as
October 2017, when clusters of
quakes, dubbed “earthquake
swarms”, were detected. Many
more swarms occurred in the
intervening years, but eight
days before this eruption began,
the number of earthquakes
increased sharply, to several
hundred every day.
The volcano’s infrequent
eruptions make it difficult to
forecast future activity, but
evaluating what is happening
this time could help with future
volcanic risk management in
the region. ❚
Gege Li
Photographer Emilio Morenatti
Agency AP/Shutterstock
18/25 December 2021 | New Scientist | 47