Lava touches the sea: damage is increasing – science – life

lava from the volcano Spanish island of La Palma Today’s progress is much smoother and I have already reached the sea. On its way, it entered an area of ​​banana trees and burned plastic from greenhouses and fertilizer, creating a toxic, already diluted cloud. The lava flow from the eruption of the La Palma volcano has reached the sea in a cliff area on the coast Tazacourt.

(You may be interested in: What happens if lava falls into the sea?: it will happen in La Palma, Spain)

The lava was slowly falling and the only thing seen from afar were the red-hot stones falling into the sea, according to Canary TV broadcasts from a ship and images provided by the Spanish Institute ship. Oceanographer Ramon Margalv.

to read: Science cannot know how long a volcanic eruption will last

The darkness of the night does not allow to see the plumes of water vapor that were supposedly formed by the thermal shock of the lava with the sea, plumes that carry gases that can be toxic to the eyes, lungs, and skin.

Lava fell into the sea from a height of about a hundred meters Next to a cliff located near El Guirre Beach, in Tazacorte. The toxic cloud did not cause harm or danger to people, because it remained within the exclusion zone (forcing only those who were nearby with permission to remove their belongings and perishable products to evacuate) and emanated from the area of ​​banana trees in which contained ammonia and boron trichloride, among others. other ingredients.

The emergency plan for the Spanish archipelago of the Canary Islands (Pivolca) does not exclude the possibility of a recurrence of this episode, depending on what materials the lava burns.

Hawaiian type rash

Right now, the lava emission is much larger than the lava emission released over the past week and, above all, smoother, it’s a Hawaiian-type eruption or a spill, according to the Volcanic Institute of the Canary Islands (Involcan). After reactivating the volcano yesterday after being practically inactive for about ten hours, the lava followed previous flows – almost stopped – with a front that widened dramatically and crossed downtown Todoc.

(what’s more: Astronaut photography of a volcano erupting in Spain)

There, the obstacle on Mount Todoque was in his path as he passed it to the side. It is precisely because of the “drainage channel” that yesterday’s volcanic eruption was reactivated, through which lava flows, and although there is still strombolian activity in the main crater, at this time the Hawaiian phase prevails and experts do not rule out that it could occur again . Sharp explosions.

In addition, on this ninth day of the eruption of the volcano old summit The ash emission increased and the ash cloud now reached a height of 7000 m, which led to the issuance of a new VONA Notice to Civil Aviation (Volcano Observatory Aviation Notice), as well as to maintain monitoring in case air movement is possible. In addition to La Palma, in other Canary Islands such as La Gomera and Tenerife.

According to experts, the estimated volume, by thermal measurements, of the cone created so far is 10 million cubic meters and its shape is constantly changing, with successive growth and reconfiguration processes.

The earliest evidence of human activity is found in the Americas

Other data that must be taken into account are the rate of sulfur dioxide emission, which recorded on Monday a “remarkable decrease” of about 567 tons per day, and seismicity, in the last hours located at a depth of about 10 km, in addition to some surface tremors near the cone. Soil deformations continue to settle in the horizontal components and there has been a decrease in the vertical.

La Palma declared a disaster area

Damage from the volcano is increasing: so far, lava has covered 258 hectares and damaged 686 buildings, 589 of which have been destroyed, according to the latest census of the European Earth Observing System Copernicus, while the number of people evacuated from their homes stands at about 6000.

Faced with this situation, the Spanish government declared La Palma a disaster area and agreed to an aid of 10.5 million euros (about 12.2 million dollars at the current exchange rate), of which 5.5 million euros (6, 4 million dollars) will go to the purchase of 107 homes and the rest to the purchase of basic necessities, Such as refrigerators or kitchens, among others, by making a “wallet card”.

This constitutes only the first phase of assistance, as there will be a second phase during which the “La Palma Reconstruction Plan” will be implemented, which will consist of repairing and restoring damage to homes and infrastructure of hydraulic roads, livestock and crop farms, forest areas and public facilities, as well as promoting tourism and revitalizing Industry.

EFE

More science news

Why Using Your Head Too Much Works Against Intelligent Thinking

Colombia and India seek cooperation to produce vaccines against Covid-19