La Palma eruption update 7th December 2021: Cracks observed in the main cone remain stable

La Palma eruption update 7th December 2021: Cracks observed in the main cone remain stable

Daily summary

The eruptive activity remains centred around several emission points in the centre and southeast part of the main cone, with pulsing strombolian activity and ash emission, and also the effusive vents to the west of the main cone. The effusive vents emit very degassed and fluid lavas, that are travelling through various streams, including through a lava tube to a cliff in the Las Hoyas area (flow 9), and also to the SW over previously unaffected areas. At the central cone, the cracks observed yesterday in the upper part of the northeast secondary cone have not shown any changes since the last observation.

Seismicity continues to be low and concentrated largely at intermediate depths (<20 km), with 34 events being registered, peaking at M4.0. Tremor remains at low levels, and has decreased relative to yesterday. Deformation remains as yesterday, with no trends seen near the eruptive centre, and stability in the distal stations apart from a remote station showing slight deformation.

Regarding emissions, the SO2 emissions from the plume remain high although still remaining a long-term decreasing trend. The gas levels in the exclusion zone were lower than the last few days, allowing access from both the north and south, although access from the sea was blocked. The concentration of SO2 at stations elsewhere ranged between good and fair, although the Puntagorda station recorded SO2 concentrations above the hourly limit and even the alert threshold level (500 μg/m3) for very unfavourable conditions yesterday. PM10 concentrations have increased slightly due to the increased presence of Saharan dust, with unfavourable conditions measured in Los Llanos de Aridane and La Grama. In all other stations, the PM10 concentrations are between reasonably good and regular.

An erupting volcano, with a thick grey plume being emitted from the top. The roofs of houses are seen in the foreground.

An image of the eruption on the 7th taken from El Paso, with strombolian activity seen from the main cone. Image credit: INVOLCAN

Sources: Government of the Canary Islands, PEVOLCA, Involcan, IGN, DSN, Cabildo La Palma, 112 Canarias, Tolouse VAAC, Copernicus EMS

Lava flows

Earthquakes

Exclusion zone map

Exclusion zones shown here have been approximated from press releases from the Cabildo de La Palma and will not be exact, nor claim to be official maps of the exclusion zones. For official information, please contact the Cabildo de La Palma.

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News articles

  • Meteorological Tech International – Detecting volcanic ash rain in the Canary Islands – here
  • El Mundo – Latest on the eruption – here

To see our full news archive, visit our open data section or click here.

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Eruption footage

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Interactive Lava Flow Map

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