tranquility

During the night of Wednesday, July 22, to Thursday, July 23, Tenerife trembled due to the effect of hundreds of small earthquakes. In a few hours, the automatic detectors captured more than 500 earthquakes, although manually, under review by seismologists, the figure was reduced to 100. In total, since then, around 1,500 very low magnitude earthquakes have been reported, many of them hybrid. This means that they are produced both by the breakdown of rock and by the underground movement of fluids. In volcanic territories, such as Tenerife, this is especially worrying, since this fluid could be the magma of a volcano awakening from its slumber. Even so, experts call for calm. Earthquake swarms They are normal in these areas and would have to be more intense to really represent the preamble to an eruption. It is something that, according to what they say from The Countryalready happened in 2004, but even then it turned out to be a false alarm. 750 small earthquakes. The majority of earthquakes in this swarm of Tenerife earthquakes have a magnitude of between 1 and 2. This is a very low intensity to cause concern to the population. Although there were some before and have continued to happen after, most of these tremors took place between 2 and 5 in the morning, at depths of 10 to 15 kilometers. Yes, it could be due to the movement of magma, as has happened with other recent swarms. Since February, about 10 similar episodes have been recorded. In all cases they have been hybrid earthquakes, but of low magnitude. Some have been slightly more intense than these and still nothing has happened. That is the reason why there is a call for calm. Active, inactive or extinct. A volcano is considered active when it has erupted on recent geological scales. Normally 10,000 years are used as a reference figure, although it may vary depending on the source. An example is Mount Etna in Italy.. Dormant volcanoes are those that have not erupted for many thousands of years, but still have the potential to do so, as there is still a source of magma available. This is the case of the Mount Omuro volcano, in Japan. Finally, extinct volcanoes are those that can no longer erupt, because they have lost connection with their magma source, which may have diverted, solidified, or disappeared completely. In Spain, the Cabo de Gata volcanoes in Almería are in this state. In the case of the volcanoes of Tenerifeare considered active, since it has been just over a century since their last eruption. Even so, that does not mean that there will be another one imminently. The latest eruptions. There have been no eruptions in Tenerife since November 1909, when the Chinyero eruption. This was preceded by intense seismic activity, which began in March 1908, more than a year earlier. However, they were much more intense tremors than those happening now. There was even a strong emission of fumaroles in the Teide crater. Other sources suggest that the tremors began a little later, but in any case more than 6 months before the eruption and always of great intensity. It is true that, since they occurred so long ago, there is no record of the magnitude of those earthquakes. However, there are many testimonies from neighbors who felt them, while those that are happening in Tenerife now are of such a low magnitude that it is very difficult for the population to notice them. Magma on the surface. In addition to fumaroles, the movement of magma on the surface is one of the signs that a volcanic eruption is close. It is another reason why geologists insist that this seismic swarm does not predict an eruption in the short or medium term. With the earthquakes of 2004 there was more concern, because yes they were felt by the populationalthough they did not have a magnitude either very high. In addition, magma was detected very close to the surface. Even so, the systems for detecting and monitoring earthquakes and possible volcanic eruptions were not as good as those today. Today the preambles of a volcano eruption are much better known and, with what is currently happening, there is nothing to fear. Images | Wikimedia Commons/IGN In Xataka | The last time Mount Fuji erupted was 318 years ago. The Japanese government has turned to AI in case it happens again