Rapid magma ascent beneath La Palma revealed by seismic tomography

Abstract For the first time, we obtained high-resolution images of Earth's interior of the La Palma volcanic eruption that occurred in 2021 derived during the eruptive process. We present evidence of a rapid magmatic rise from the base of the oceanic crust under the island to produce an eruptio...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Luca D’Auria, Ivan Koulakov, Janire Prudencio, Iván Cabrera-Pérez, Jesús M. Ibáñez, Jose Barrancos, Rubén García-Hernández, David Martínez van Dorth, Germán D. Padilla, Monika Przeor, Victor Ortega, Pedro Hernández, Nemesio M. Peréz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2022-10-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-21818-9
Description
Summary:Abstract For the first time, we obtained high-resolution images of Earth's interior of the La Palma volcanic eruption that occurred in 2021 derived during the eruptive process. We present evidence of a rapid magmatic rise from the base of the oceanic crust under the island to produce an eruption that was active for 85 days. This eruption is interpreted as a very accelerated and energetic process. We used data from 11,349 earthquakes to perform travel-time seismic tomography. We present high-precision earthquake relocations and 3D distributions of P and S-wave velocities highlighting the geometry of magma sources. We identified three distinct structures: (1) a shallow localised region (< 3 km) of hydrothermal alteration; (2) spatially extensive, consolidated, oceanic crust extending to 10 km depth and; (3) a large sub-crustal magma-filled rock volume intrusion extending from 7 to 25 km depth. Our results suggest that this large magma reservoir feeds the La Palma eruption continuously. Prior to eruption onset, magma ascended from 10 km depth to the surface in less than 7 days. In the upper 3 km, melt migration is along the western contact between consolidated oceanic crust and altered hydrothermal material.
ISSN:2045-2322