EGU22-10531, updated on 28 Mar 2022
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-10531
EGU General Assembly 2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Lava flow dynamics during the 2021 Cumbre Vieja eruption, La Palma, Spain

Einat Lev1, Janine Birnbaum1, Pedro Hernandez2, José Barrancos2, Samantha Tramontano3, Laura Connor4, Charles Connor4, and Jose Gabriel5
Einat Lev et al.
  • 1Columbia Universiy, New York, USA
  • 2INVOLCAN / ITER, Spain
  • 3City University of New York, New York, USA
  • 4University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida
  • 5TICOM Solutions

Over the three-month duration of the 2021 Cumbre Vieja eruption, lava flows covered an area of 1,241 ha. (12.41 km2) out of the total 8,790 ha (87.90 km2) impacted by the eruption overall. Consequently, lava is responsible for the destruction of a majority of the 3,000 buildings and large agricultural areas. At the beginning of the eruption, authorities used a model to forecast the inundation areas. We compare that preliminary forecast with those produced by other models, such as MOLASSES, Q-LAVHA, MrLavaLoba, VolcFlow, and others. The different forecasted flow fields are also compared with the evolution of the flow field as observed by satellite and aerial mapping. Where available, we anchor dynamic model predictions for observables such as flow velocity to local measurements obtained from velocimetry on UAV and ground-based videos of flowing lava. Lava properties used in the models are informed by petrological analysis of samples collected during the eruption. 

How to cite: Lev, E., Birnbaum, J., Hernandez, P., Barrancos, J., Tramontano, S., Connor, L., Connor, C., and Gabriel, J.: Lava flow dynamics during the 2021 Cumbre Vieja eruption, La Palma, Spain, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-10531, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-10531, 2022.