Project M3.3.G MISSÕES/A/001/2021

With the aim of studying this eruption, and taking advantage of the collaboration between the Institute for Research in Volcanology and Risk Assessment (IVAR) and the Instituto Vulcanológico das Canárias (INVOLCAN), the opportunity arose for PhD students in Geology at the Institute of Research in Volcanology and Risk Assessment (IVAR) at the University of the Azores to join the local teams that are managing the current situation in La Palma. This opportunity came about through an invitation made by the Instituto Vulcanológico das Canárias (INVOLCAN) for PhD students from the Azores to reinforce the research teams on site.

On September 19 of this year, the volcanic eruption began in Cumbre Vieja, on the island of La Palma, in an unpopulated area, in Cabeza de Vaca, municipality of El Paso. The area affected by the eruption is around 742 hectares, with a maximum width of 2,350 meters, with 1923 buildings affected, of which 1826 are totally destroyed and 97 in danger. This is the eighth eruption in La Palma since historical records were kept and the seventeenth in the Canary Islands.

In general, the work to be monitored and developed will focus on petrology, with the collection of samples for future studies, geochemistry, which is dedicated to the study of diffuse degassing of volcanic gases, and also physical volcanology. , which allows estimating the eruptive parameters of the event.