- 1Instituto Volcanológico de Canarias (INVOLCAN), Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, Canary Islands
- 2Instituto Tecnológico y de Energías Renovables (ITER), Granadilla de Abona, Tenerife, Canary Islands
- 3Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
- 4Centre for the Observation and Modelling of Earthquakes, Volcanoes and Tectonics (COMET), Nottingham, UK
- 5Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Group of Atmosphere, Aerosols and Climate, IPNA CSIC, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.
- 6Consejería de Transición Ecológica y Energía, Gobierno de Canarias, Spain
- 7Hamtec Consulting for EUMETSAT, Lincolnshire, UK
- 8Centro de Investigación en Química Sostenible, CIQSO, University of Hueva, Huelva, Spain
During volcanic eruptions, a variety of metals and metalloids are emitted along with gases and particulate matter. These elements are released in trace amounts, often bound to volcanic ash, gases, and aerosols, and can be transported over long distances by wind currents. Some of the key metals and metalloids commonly found in volcanic emissions include Arsenic (As), Cadmium (Cd), Chromium (Cr), Lead (Pb), Selenium (Se), Thallium (Tl), Tungsten (W), Antimony (Sb), Beryllium (Be) and Copper (Cu). These elements are of concern because several of them, such as As, Cd, Pb, and Cr, are toxic and pose significant risks to both human health and the environment. Their presence in volcanic emissions contributes to air and water pollution, with potential long-term effects on ecosystems and populations living in affected areas.
During the Tajogaite eruption (2021) at Cumbre Vieja volcano (La Palma, Canary Islands), a substantial amount of CO2 and SO2 was released into the atmosphere. Throughout this eruption observations of SO2 emissions were made using ground-based instruments, in transverse mode, as well as by numerous satellite instruments. Data from the Sentinel-5P instrument TROPOMI was combined with the PlumeTraj back-trajectory analysis toolkit to produce sub-daily SO2 fluxes that can be directly compared to the ground-based miniDOAS observations (Hayer et al., 2022). Daily OP-FTIR volcanic gas composition measurements throughout the 2021 Tajogaite eruption revealed consistently high CO2/SO2 ratios in the plume (Asensio-Ramos et al., 2025). Combined with the estimated SO2, ~1,6 Mt (Albertos et al. 2022; Esse B. et al. 2025), the total amount of CO2 emitted during the 2021 eruption was estimated to be ~28 Mt CO2 (Burton et al., 2023).
Daily aerosol samples, or particulate matter smaller than 10 microns (PM10), were collected on 150 mm quartz microfiber filters at a flow rate of 30 m3/h in the western part of La Palma Island during the Tajogaite eruption. The elemental composition of the aerosols was determined through acid digestion (HF:HClO4:HNO3) followed by analysis using ICP-MS and ICP-OES. Additionally, daily PM10 samples were collected on 47 mm quartz filters according to the UNE EN 12341:2015 standard, which outlines the standard gravimetric method for measuring the PM10 or PM2.5 mass concentration. The various metals in the samples were then analyzed in the laboratory following the UNE-EN 14902:2005 standard.
In this study, we present the estimated trace element emission rates from the Tajogaite eruption plume by combining the observed Xi/SO2 ratios in aerosols and PM10 particles (where Xi represents a trace metal) with the measured SO2 emission rate. Preliminary results of trace element emissions range from 0.04 to 14.02 t·d-1 for As, 0.05 to 7.85 t·d-1 for Cd, and 0.30 to 78.88 t·d-1 for Pb, spanning from September 29 to November 11, 2021
References
Albertos, V. T., Recio, G., Alonso, M., et al. (2022). https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-5603
Asensio-Ramos, M., Pardo Cofrades, A., Burton, M. et al. (2025), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2024.122605
Burton, M., Aiuppa, A., Allard, P. et al. (2023), https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-01103-x
Esse, B., Burton, M., Hayer, C. et al (2025) submitted to Bull. Volcano.
Hayer, C., Barrancos, J., Burton, M. et al. (2022), https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-12201
How to cite: Pérez, N. M., Burton, M., Rodríguez, S., Vilches Sarasate, J., Hernández, P. A., Esse, B., López Darias, J., Melián, G. V., Hayer, C., de la Rosa, J., Padrón, E., and Asensio-Ramos, M.: Trace Element Emissions from the Tajogaite Eruption Plume, La Palma, Canary Islands, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-13986, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-13986, 2025.
