Potential Disaster in the Making 10

[phamENG]

Cumbre Vieja, a volcano on La Palma in the Canaries, just erupted a couple of hours ago. National Geographic did an episode on it as part of a 'Disaster Earth' series a few years ago. Essentially, there's evidence of a massive landslide on the island a few hundred millennia ago, the likes of which would have formed a tsunami large enough to hit the east coast of the US. A recent earthquake seems to have restarted the process and formed a large fissure along the island.

Here's to hoping it doesn't move any more....

 

[1503-44]

This is the time of year when the winds are lightest and the most variable. They should get around to more consistant northerly direction in a month or so.

The immigrants take advantage of the lack of Northern winds that make coming up from Senegal difficult. Not that it's easy in any case. We get a thousand a week during this season.

Dark Ash cloud. Overcast today with some very lite rain. The plume was drafting low clouds from the Eastern side of the island over the ridge and up into the plume.
[

 

[1503-44]

DESTRUCTION/CONSTRUCTION IN PROGRESS
29 09 2021 11:58 UTC

 

[dik]

Thanks for the update...

Rather than think climate change and the corona virus as science, think of it as the wrath of God. Feel any better?

-Dik

 

[Compositepro]

1000 per week?!. Are they sent to the mainland?

 

[1503-44]

That's actually peak rate during the high season. So far 17,000 this year, (

https://www.antena3.com/noticias/so...-meses_202011205fb7eaac4674470001cda412.html)

so yeah, +/- 500/wk average, but they don't attempt those voyages during winter, so yes, some weeks a K or more arrive. Often over a 100 per boat.

Some stay for awhile until most get shuffled off to the peninsula sooner or later.

I think over 2000 more didn't make it this year alone. Its the most dangerous route to the EU. Spanish Maritime Rescue often tows in boats that would have drifted past the islands entirely, from the open ocean a few hundred miles or more to the south. If they drift past us, they're finished. Nothing out there for a long long way.

This boat only had 60. They drift for weeks out there.

 

[itsmoked]

I suspect the lava, now that it's reached the ocean, will keep a hot melted channel flow going so a river will be maintained, unlike when it's just wandering in the flats. Let's hope so, so more homes are preserved.


After watching hours/days of the LiveFeed It seems like more tons of gas have been puked out than tons of lava. Even when little lava is being ejected you can see a continuous steady MASSIVE gas jet going.


There is no road going around the other side of the island? I'm kinda shocked if that's the case.

Keith Cress
kcress -

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[RedSnake]

All the blue is roads so you will be able to go round.

“Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.“
Albert Einstein

 

[RedSnake]

I do have my headset connected just laying on the side of the computer and the sound is on from live feed from the volcano.
And I can hear that something is happening the sound has changed but when I look at the live pictures they have zoomed out but it doesn't feel like the picture goes together with the sound.

It looks to peaceful, the smoke is slowly going up but the sound is much more like a roar..
Maybe someone turned up the sound on the microphone.

“Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.“
Albert Einstein

 

[itsmoked]

Thanks for the roads Red!

The picture NEVER goes with the sound on these videos because the microphones are about 16 seconds away from what you're seeing. You watch the spewing volcano and look for events that likely will cause unique sounds and start counting while listening to the ongoing sound track. Often you will see the correlation about 15~17 seconds later.

Watch this video start counting when you see the shockwave.

Keith Cress
kcress -

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[RedSnake]

Well I know about the "thunder effect" but it was a constant high rumbling and roaring for quite a long time but the smoke coming out was just like from a chimney a calm day. ;-)

It was really quiet when this was going on ?...

“Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.“
Albert Einstein

 

[1503-44]

It recharges its batteries every so often. Yesterday was the explosive phase.

There is a new vent discharging lava outside the natural dikes made by the previous flows. Where will it go???

80 million m3 of lava has been discharged. Twice that of the 1979 eruption in 15% of the time.

There are roads around the island, but its not easy. All are two lane and low speed limit, full of slow drivers and banana trucks. One lost tourist ahead and that 50km around will be two hours. It took us 50m to go 30km today and there is no volcano here. Just normal off-expressway travel on curvy roads. Not even a banana truck today. In general the roads here are curvey and slow with steep grades. There are a few expressways, but all on the other side of the island. We have 50kph limits for most. There are tunnels, curves and going inland there can be 20%+ grades on the less traveled roads 17% on heavily traveled roads. Tiede is 3718m 12,000 something ft. high and its hard to get farther than 15km away, so that's an average grade of 25%, which is why there are few roads going directly inland. Most go around and around. One road here has 22 hairpin turns rising a 500m cliff. We don't even notice any grade less than 10%. Its not often we can do better than a 60kph average speed, which is probably more like 45. I used to get an average of 50kph in the Colombian Andes, so we could be worse than that here. Straight line distance from me to the south airport is 45km, but about 90 by road. An hour and a half if I cross the mountain on a good day with no fog up there. If I go around the island, I can pick up an expressway at KP30 but its 122km, so that's still 1.5 hrs. La Palma doesn't have any expressways and probably a higher percentage of banana trucks. Going around isn't going to be convenient. A few snaps from Street View for that go-around route. Keep in mind that this is the ONLY alternate road and probably full of cars and trucks all trying to do the same.

This is one road outside my town below on the "Isla Baja". N 28°22', W 16°50'. No street view, so a Google Earth 3D view. It goes around the point on the NW corner of Tenerife. 250m 825' STRAIGHT drop to the ocean rocks below, 3 tunnels and a bunch of hairpin turns. There is a tomato farm round the point, so often a few trucks on it. Do not pass, or ... sleep with the fishes!

 

[RedSnake]

Well I looked at the live feed 2 hours ago before it got dark and it looked as it had started to burn in the trees in this area.

Looking at the live feed now I can also see a lot of birds flying around, can't really determine how close they are neither to the volcano
or the camera, but my thought was that they are catching flying insects that are trying to escape the burning trees.


“Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.“
Albert Einstein

 

[1503-44]

The vents are changing.

29 09 2021 11:36 UTC

30 09 2021 12:17 UTC

 

[1503-44]

Yes. Its into banana plantations and houses over there now.
The new streams.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jMB-p5ayl9A

 

[1503-44]

1 10 2021 12:09 UTC
Now with ash accumulations.
Some talk about degrading air quality and SO4 oder.

 

[itsmoked]

Thanks for the road update!

Questions, questions, inquiring minds need to know.

A) Where was this cool smoke coming from or is it fog?

B) Is THAT another lava flow??!

C) Is this a day-old newer flow or is this the same old one been going for more than a week?

D) Is this another vent or something burning?



Keith Cress
kcress -

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[RedSnake]

A.) I have been thinking about that one too.
I think it is ash, it is a very defined area so I guess that it is warm enough and there is enough pressure from the volcano there to push out small particles of ash or something looking like "fog" if it had been moist it would evaporate going over volcano top.
It should be hot enough there to make it disappear.

“Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.“
Albert Einstein

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

I think it ornagraphic lift cloud.

All that heat pulls air in to replace it which comes from off the sea and is near its dew point. Air cools at 3 Deg per 1000 ft raised so cloud forms as it condenses

 

[RedSnake]

I was thinking that too, but I decided it does not fit, the area where they form would be much warmer then area bellow since it is closer to the crater and the lava gravel is probably much warmer there and warms up from the volcano.
If it had been a normal mountain then it would be natural with these lift cloud since it gets colder the higher you get, but it isn't the case here I think...

“Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.“
Albert Einstein

 

[RedSnake]

I have also noticed that where this lumps of lava falls down there also becomes this white smoke drifting away.
It is not easy to catch it in a series of pictures but you can se it here in the left side beneath the crater.

“Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.“
Albert Einstein