The Teide HPC supercomputer maintains surveillance of the volcanic activity of La Palma. Since the eruption of Tajogaite in Cumbre Vieja, on September 19, 2021, this infrastructure, located in the ITER facilities, makes predictions that indicate the advance of gases through the analysis of the wind regime in the area. Some data that was very useful during the eruptive process and that continues to be so now, when the entire environment continues to degas.
The Cabildo de Tenerife, through the Technological and Renewable Energy Institute (ITER) and the University of La Laguna, maintains this task with the Teide HPC supercomputer. This is the monitoring and surveillance of the volcanic activity that occurs on the Isla Bonita. Specifically, ITER performs meteorological simulations and climate projections for various gas emission scenarios.
The island president, Pedro Martín, highlights that the Tenerife Cabildo has maintained «a close and constant collaboration with the Island, whose volcanic surveillance we began long before the eruption occurred, on September 19. In addition, he adds «moving to La Palma all the human and material resources of Involcan that were necessary; his work has been decisive ».
For his part, the Minister of Innovation, Enrique Arriaga, affirms that “the projects carried out at ITER were very useful during the months of eruption and now, despite having finished, they continue to be an important work tool for scientists ». He emphasizes that “from the Cabildo de Tenerife we are totally at the disposal of the people of La Palma to lend them a hand in whatever is necessary”.
The Teide HPC supercomputer is a weather forecasting device that was used during the 85-day eruption to help monitor the activity of the Tajogaite volcano. Throughout this period, the supercomputing group of the Technological and Renewable Energy Institute (ITER) and the University of La Laguna (ULL) also made available to researchers, both in the ITER Environment area and those of the Volcanological Institute of the Canary Islands (Involcan), the Planclimac and Grider projects. Both are dedicated to carrying out weather and climate simulations and predictions.
The Environment group of ITER and the Volcanological Institute of the Canary Islands used these devices to provide detailed predictions of the wind regime in the area of the eruption. Particularly interesting data were obtained, since they indicated the advance of the gases that emerged from the eruptive mouth.
In the same way, the wind simulation was essential to have a weather forecast that would allow the implementation of efficient and safe measures. In addition, it is worth remembering the emergence of several eruptive mouths, which made it necessary to have multiple predictions at different points.
The techniques used and the results obtained in the development of these projects have been used during the volcanic eruption to follow and monitor the process. A work available to the scientific community for in-depth analysis.
