Volcanica

Understanding Attachment to Place in the context of the 2021 Tajogaite eruption crisis and recovery, La Palma

2025-02-10T18:19:47+00:00

Previous research on place attachment in disaster contexts has focused on its influence on risk perception, evacuation, relo- cation, and its re-establishment post-disaster. However, consideration of place attachment in risk management has hitherto been little studied. The 2021 eruption of Volcán de Tajogaite, La Palma, significantly damaged urban areas and some residents still wait to be rehoused or allowed to return to their homes. Here we show that: (i) place attachment, particularly to the home, was largely neglected during the emergency yet strongly influenced resident experiences, and (ii) attachment to place is being re-established amongst the communities in temporary housing, encouraging people to stay on the island. Drawing on these findings, we make recommendations for ‘place-based’ emergency management with broad relevance to volcanic islands.

Resumen

Los estudios anteriores sobre el apego al lugar y los desastres se han centrado en su influencia en la percepción del riesgo,la evacuación, la reubicación y su restablecimiento después de un desastre. La erupción del Volcán de Tajogaite en La Palmaen 2021 dañó gravemente las áreas urbanas, y muchos residentes aún esperan ser reubicados o regresar a sus hogares. Aquídemuestramos que: (i) si bien el apego al lugar no fue considerado durante las evacuaciones de emergencia, este tuvo unagran influencia en las experiencias de los residentes, y (ii) el apego al lugar se está reestableciendo entre las comunidades enviviendas temporales, lo que anima a las personas a permanecer en la isla. Con base en estos hallazgos, propongamos unagestión de riesgos "basada en el lugarçon amplia relevancia para las islas volcánicas.

A robust quantification of H2O in silicate glasses through micro-Raman spectroscopy: insights on the compositional effect

2025-03-10T16:16:21+00:00

Micro-Raman spectroscopy is considered one of the most promising, rapid and economical methods to measure the water content in small volumes (a few μm³) of natural glasses (e.g. volcanic glass matrix and melt inclusions in minerals), which is a fundamental parameter to obtain information and constraints on the feeding systems of volcanoes. In this article we report a new method for calibrating micro-Raman spectroscopy for water determination based on the analysis of a large number of silicate glasses (101) synthesized over a wide compositional (basalt, basaltic andesite, andesite, haplogranite, shoshonite, latite and phonolite) and physico-chemical range (T = 1000–1275 °C, P = 50–500 MPa, fO₂ = ±2.6 log units from the Ni-NiO buffer) with H₂O contents between 0.2 and 7.6 ±0.1 wt.%. A robust and reproducible method for baseline subtraction and measurement of the water and silicate areas and their ratio (Rw/s) is proposed. Rw/s data show an average error of ±0.07 confirming the high potential of Raman spectroscopy of accurately determining the water content. Regression analysis allows the achievement of improved water equations as a function of Rw/s and the anhydrous composition of the glasses, accounting for relatively low H₂O uncertainties (average error = 0.16–0.17wt.%; standard error of the estimate, σ_est, = 0.21–0.22wt.%) compared to previous calibrations based on smaller compositional ranges and sample numbers. These equations are reproducible and easily applicable to both experimental and natural glasses. Our analyses also indicate that the H and H/Σcations (hydrogen and sum of other cations, calculated on the 8-oxygen basis) vs. Rw/s relationships are affected by the amount of trivalent (Al³⁺ and Fe³⁺) and pentavalent (P⁵⁺) cations. This hypothesis requires additional investigations as, at the state of the art, the estimate of Fe³⁺/Fe²⁺ in experimental glasses is not sufficiently accurate.

The morphological response to the 13 May 2022 major explosive event at Stromboli volcano, Italy, characterised by high-resolution UAS surveys

2024-08-27T13:22:44+00:00

Since 2019, the frequency of major explosive eruptions at Stromboli volcano (Italy) has increased, heightening the exposure of population and scientists to the hazards posed by ejecta. Morphological changes can directly alter the hazard potential associated with these phenomena. Here, we present a quantitative morphological analysis of changes of the crater terrace area linked to the 13 May 2022 major explosive event. High resolution (2.5 cm pixel^-1) aerial imagery was acquired by unoccupied aircraft systems 2 hours before and 19 hours after the event. The 13 May 2022 major explosive event consisted of a minimum of seven explosions from four vents located in the south-central crater area. The opportune timing of this campaign enabled the quantification of morphological changes at Stromboli related to a single major explosive event at high temporal and spatial resolution. A total of 12.7 × 10³ m³ was excavated and 5.5 × 10³ m³ deposited. Via the mapping and classification of bomb distributions we observe that angular blocks make up the largest fraction of ballistics >0.2 m, from which we infer a strong interaction with wall rock and/or fragmentation of solidified plugs in the shallow plumbing system. The morphological changes observed provide valuable constraints on how much material is displaced, and the shift in location and the number of active vents during major explosive events at Stromboli.

Crystal cargo perspectives on magma assembly and dynamics during the 2021 Tajogaite eruption, La Palma, Canary Islands

2025-04-07T21:57:17+00:00

The 2021 Tajogaite eruption was the longest and most voluminous in recorded history on La Palma, Canary Islands. Extensive geophysical and geochemical data were collected before and during the eruption; however petrological monitoring saw little usage, largely restricted to rapid stereo microscope observations or off-island analyses. Here, we analyse lava and tephra sampled at near-daily frequency to investigate magmatic processes driving petrological, geochemical, and geophysical variations. Published whole-rock major and trace element data are combined with new QEMSCAN textural and mineral abundance data, major element analyses of macrocryst phases, and clinopyroxene trace element data, supported by mineral growth pressure–temperature modelling. Olivine Fe-Mg diffusion timescales from early tephra are compared with timescales of climactic unrest. Results indicate that more-evolved, mineralogically diverse magmas were tapped during the first week. Magma mixing only becomes apparent when more primitive magmas erupted after the first ~10 days, exemplified by reverse-zoned olivines. Clinopyroxene barometry suggests most material is fed from the upper mantle throughout. Timescales overlap and extend climactic unrest records, suggesting that destabilisation began before geophysical detection. From Stage 2 (~5–10 days) to eruption cessation (~85 days), crystal cargo chemistry is surprisingly uniform, with previously observed whole-rock and tephra glass changes not obviously reflected in the mineral record. We highlight the importance of combining both whole-rock and mineral scale observations to understand how eruptions progress, and ultimately end.