Scientists agree that in the spring of 2004, a series of earthquakes, some even felt by the population of the north of Tenerife, showed a change in the Teide volcanic activity. At that time, along with institutional interest, a group of lovers of volcanology was born in parallel, seeking to understand the signs of the sleeping giant. A desire for knowledge converted today into the Canary Islands Volcanoes Association. Your president, Victor Meloexplains in an interview granted to DIARIO DE AVISOS the great importance of healthy dissemination without alarms in a “volcanically” active territory.
– For what purpose was the Canary Islands Volcanoes Association created?
“A group of citizens, in the absence of official information in 2004, created a specific topic within a debate forum belonging to the Todogeologia.com portal. Our objective was to collect and centralize the information. From then on, we started collaborating with different scientific groups to train ourselves and increased our commitment in 2011, constituting ourselves as a national association”.
– What type of entity is it and how many people make it up?
“It is a totally independent, non-profit, national association and registered in the Ministry of the Interior of the Government of Spain. We are regulated by statutes that reflect our commitment to create information, dissemination and training initiatives that help society understand volcanic risk. Although we focus on the volcanic, we are also attentive to other natural risks that may affect us. Our volunteers dedicate their free time and work selflessly to achieve these goals. Currently, we have about thirty people between partners and stable collaborators. Being a citizen entity, we have all kinds of professional profiles in society: geographers, professors, designers, scientists who are experts in Earth sciences, psychologists or rescue experts, as well as citizens from other fields of work interested in volcanology and other natural phenomena. . It is actually an open association, where the main thing is social commitment and interest in nature and its manifestations”.
– A couple of weeks ago a new seismic swarm of low magnitude in the surroundings of Teide. What can you tell us about it?
“Our reference is the data offered by the body responsible for Volcanic Surveillance, the National Geographic Institute (IGN). Since 2004, when there was a significant change in the observed dynamics, variations in seismic activity have been occurring periodically and this, to which he refers, is yet another episode. Anyone can check it in the IGN seismic catalog. To explain its cause we must understand that Teide and Pico Viejo are part of an active volcanic system. Beneath them are one or more magmatic chambers and interacting aquifers. This interaction transmits pressure and tension in the materials that surround them, which in many cases release the energy in the form of earthquakes, seismic swarms and fumaroles”.
– I understand that you also collaborate with different institutions.
“Since 2004 we have regularly collaborated with many public institutions, both scientific and governmental. Thanks to the selfless collaboration of scientists from the IGN, the CSIC or the Canarian Universities, we have been able to organize innumerable training activities in volcanology that have been preparing us to better carry out our work. We are very grateful to them as they are always willing to help us better interpret volcanic phenomena. We also have international collaborators in active volcanic territories such as Iceland, Italy, Mexico or the United States who support us to continue learning from other volcanoes”.
– Going back to the third highest volcano in the world, what exactly happened in 2004?
“According to various scientific publications, a reactivation of Mount Teide and its surroundings has been observed since April 2004. This process made the authorities react when it became clear that there was no specific plan to deal with a volcanic emergency. It was a government awareness that laid the foundations for volcanic surveillance in the Canary Islands. In the summer of 2004, through Royal Decree 1476/2004 of June 18, the Government of Spain granted the IGN the responsibility of volcanic surveillance. From then on, the volcanic surveillance network began to be improved and at a regional level, PEVOLCA’s emergency plan began to be developed. We can say, without hesitation, that thanks to that warning given by Teide we have got our act together, volcanically speaking”.
– As I said, several episodes of earthquakes have been recorded on different slopes of Las Cañadas. What factors must coincide for an eruption?
“To answer this, volcanologists insist that we must understand what the normal base level is in a volcanic territory. In other words, knowing how to distinguish between an expected phenomenon, marked by a trend, and an anomaly. With the current indicators, as of today, experts do not expect an eruption in the short term. If there were other changes in the volcanic monitoring, such as soil deformation, radical changes in the seismic sequence or intense earthquakes felt or relevant variations in the properties of groundwater or gas emissions, it would be considered an anomaly. This anomaly could evolve into a rash or return to baseline, even without causing a rash. The main difficulty in Tenerife is that we have a much more complex stratovolcano and it can generate highly variable behaviors compared to what was observed in the eruptions of El Hierro and La Palma”.
– Regarding this last island, did you actively work on the eruption of Cumbre Vieja?
“It was an experience to remember because of its great learning. Intense and exhausting, but very satisfying. Our fundamental work was informative. Numerous media outlets insistently requested our presence to help their professionals interpret the phenomenon correctly. It was exhausting because we spent many hours on radio, television, newspapers, national and international digital media. They told us “we love you because you explain it clearly, realistically and without alarmism”. We also collaborate with the local authorities of La Palma in matters of communication. It was very pleasing to be useful to society in such a dramatic moment of volcanic emergency”.
– There are those who criticize the lack of foresight in La Palma by the authorities.
“It is easy to criticize from the sofa at home the decisions that are made in an emergency situation like this. It is the first time that a possible volcanic eruption had to be anticipated in a populated territory. The scientists gave their prognosis and the authorities made a decision with the data that was on the table at the time. We are convinced that neither one nor the other would have acted like this if they knew that the evolution towards the eruption was going to be so fast. There will always be errors in the management of a natural phenomenon because, until today, nature is beyond the control of human beings. The eruption of La Palma, just like the submarine eruption of El Hierro, will help to continue improving the PEVOLCA plan. Precisely the most important thing is not the failures, but the ability to correct them and improve the general emergency response system”.
– What projects is the Canary Islands Volcanoes Association currently working on?
“We continue 24 hours pending the informative follow-up of the volcanic activity in the Canary Islands through our website and social networks. Soon we will launch a very complete report on the activity on Teide and its surroundings. We have also been invited to participate in the Summer University of Adeje and another project with the University of Berlin. We are also awaiting several European projects. As you can see our slogan “At the rhythm of the Earth” defines us quite well”.
