Old Peak Blows

September 21, 2021 4:27 AM

On Sunday, the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma erupted. The hot, thick, fast-moving lava is flowing to the sea, slowly but surely. There's a lot in its way. Thousands have been evacuated, many homes have been destroyed, more destruction is inevitable. No fatalities have been reported. And it's hardly the first time Cumbre Vieja has erupted. Watch live.
posted by chavenet (12 comments total)

"Devastating volcano eruption can be used to lure tourists to Canaries, says minister.
Tourism minister derided for suggesting La Palma volcano could lure visitors to Spanish archipelago"
Guardian Newspaper Link:

I don't think I've read a more 'wtf' Pollyannaisim (so far) in my life.
posted by Faintdreams at 5:07 AM on September 21, 2021 [2 favorites]

Never pass up a good disaster marketing opportunity.

Cumbre Vieja didn’t make this list, but here are The 27 Most Active Volcanoes In The World And What Could Erupt Next, Forbes, Jim Dobson; Apr 9, 2021:

I spoke with Dr. Greg A. Valentine, Professor of Geology and Volcanologist at the Center for Geohazards Studies [link], who says, “I think that if you look on the scale of the whole globe, the amount of eruption activity really is not increasing. We have a much higher awareness and much better connectivity with videos, rapid dissemination of information, and just more people sharing information these days than even a decade ago. So, it's not so much that activity is increasing so much as that we are much more aware of it.”

Let the international traveller beware.
posted by cenoxo at 5:44 AM on September 21, 2021 [2 favorites]

Volcanoes are always interesting. I'm glad that people have been evacuated successfully and I can find the eruption interesting without having to worry about people getting hurt, despite the loss of homes and other property.

Do you ever just stop for a minute and think about how hostile to life the whole planet basically is? Volcanoes, tornadoes, tsunamis, drought, floods, winds... Here in the Midwest we get electrical storms, which, when you think about it—giant bolts of electricity arcing between the sky and the land. It boggles the mind.

I'm interested in how this lava looks almost like coffee grounds in some pictures, and how it's dropping boulders at the leading edge. I did see that the flow is very thick, and I suppose that accounts for it, along with slow-moving. I just hadn't seen any that looked liked that before.
posted by Orlop at 6:34 AM on September 21, 2021 [2 favorites]

Wait, isn't this the volcano that was supposed to be at risk of collapsing and triggering a mega-tsunami that would wipe out the eastern seaboard of the US? Happily it looks as if the earlier estimates of this happening have been revised. I remember the BBC documentary the Wikipedia article mentions as one of a cheerful series about possible global catastrophes, and consoling myself with the thought that the couldn't all happen at once. And now w're already having the pandemic...
posted by Fuchsoid at 7:46 AM on September 21, 2021 [3 favorites]

I’m glad that no one has been killed, but I can say that as someone from a volcanic island, that news footage of the destruction in La Palma is absolutely terrifying to watch.

It’s all too easy for me to imagine this happening in neighborhood’s of Reykjavík or other Icelandic towns. We’ve been lucky, both with the current eruption, but also recent ones, but luck only holds for so long.

No one has died, but there’s a lot of fear and hurt in the Canary Islands right now.
posted by Kattullus at 7:58 AM on September 21, 2021 [4 favorites]

Sandatlas > Types of Lava Flows includes examples from previous eruptions at La Palma, and Wikipedia has a detailed Lava article. Although it’s not a true lava, perhaps the most unusual and beautiful volcanic flow is “blue lava” (burning sulfur), visible only at night.
posted by cenoxo at 8:06 AM on September 21, 2021 [1 favorite]

Cool short video of lava meeting backyard pool. I'm sorry that the people living there are now homeless, but lava is fascinating. In Antigua, Guatemala, we sat in a rooftop cafe and watched 2 volcanoes spit at night. We have the most amazing planet, and should consider taking better care of it so we can keep living here.
posted by theora55 at 10:01 AM on September 21, 2021 [1 favorite]

cenoxo another view - I read a while back about likelihood of the expanding-warming ocean enhancing isostatic rebound and leading to an increase in large earthquakes, and increase in magma production. Seems the science has advanced since I read about it - its a very live area of study.

Evaluating the Relationship Between Climate Change and Volcanism

"Many conceptional models use the example of Iceland to suggest that post-glacial isostatic rebound will significantly increase decompression melting" [article continues to say this is apparently happening now in Iceland]

Anthropogenic Earth-Change: We are on a Slippery Slope, Breaking New Ground and It’s Our Fault—A Multi-Disciplinary Review and New Unified Earth-System Hypothesis. < This covers most of the processes known of in 2013.

This is as bad (far worse) and complicated as my reading about eCO2 effects on plants; there are multiple, often unrelated effects, and all of the outcomes are detrimental to humankind.
posted by unearthed at 12:16 PM on September 21, 2021

Here is a better link to live stream…
posted by skinnerneil at 11:33 PM on September 21, 2021 [1 favorite]

The flow has really started again. I've been watching hypnotized for an hour and a half. At the beginning there was almost nothing.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 12:29 PM on September 27, 2021 [1 favorite]

The live stream regularly changes its address. If you connect to a black screen, look at the other YouTube selection and you'll find the new live stream. (They also have the Iceland eruption).

The eruptions are impressive, a fountain-like gusher.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 6:42 AM on September 28, 2021

According to the moderator at the live stream: La Palma volcano is erupting from main and side vents, with lava fountains 300-500 m high. Lava flow is 4.2 km long, 1.46km from ocean.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 6:49 AM on September 28, 2021