Disasters often generate a fear, sometimes more irrational than others, that something similar or worse could happen again. We saw it with him Corona Virus, for example. Since its appearance in our lives, we tend to fear that a isolated case From any virus with a strange name, more than previously known to scientists, can turn into a pandemic again. As if this were not enough, some media will not help anything in this regard. Now, it’s your turn volcanoes. behind the eruption From the La Palma volcano, the fear of a new volcanic eruption is beginning to surface, both in Canary Islands As is the case in Peninsula. But how likely is the latter really?
We’ve hit the headlines that some peninsular volcanoes are a concern for experts; While the experts actually have enough of what they have Palms.
Yes, it is true that there are volcanoes in Iberian Peninsula. In the Spanish region of it, there are quite a few volcanic areas, which now it is inevitable to think about. But with the science at hand, there’s generally no reason to worry about them. Let’s see why.
peninsula volcanoes
In the region of Peninsular Spain there are five volcanic regions: Cabo de Gatain Almería, chests, in Valencia Calatrava field, in Ciudad Real, and Columbriets Islands, in Castellón, and no garrotxa, in Girona. Most of them are inactive areas. But what do we mean when we talk about volcano activity?
Volcanoes are classified as active, dormant, or extinct
According to academic sources consulted hip textIn this regard, volcanoes can be divided into three groups: Active, Quiet and Extinct. “the first recurring rash (on a historical scale, hundreds or thousands of years), seconds didn’t erupt in a long time, but It has not been disposed of Which they do in the future (tens of thousands or even a few hundred thousand years) and the third is the ones that haven’t erupted during human history (There is no fixed limit, but let’s say after 500,000-600,000 years).”
Returning to the peninsula volcanoes, of the above-mentioned areas only two are inactive: no garrotxa, located in the town of Olot, and the Calatrava fields From Ciudad Real. They can’t be framed in that group because they’re the only ones who supposedly have traces of explosions during Holocene. That is, in the last 11,700 years. However, the geologist we contacted tells us that there have been some academic discussions regarding Campos de Calatrava. “Dating younger, which proves to be active (about 6000 years), very controversial, because it is based on indirect dating of a material whose relationship to lava is not clear,” he points out. “There are researchers who obtained dates Older, from around 700,000 years“.
Even those from Olot are also causing some controversy. These are accepted as sleep. However, it is not clear when the last eruptions occurred. Located Between the middle Pleistocene and early Holocene. The problem is that obtaining a young age using radiometric methods is usually very controversial, as it poses multiple problems of interpretation, so it is difficult to know for sure which period is somewhat more accurate. In any case, “the good preservation of the volcanic buildings in this area indicates that it is so very modern“.
Can they wake up from their slumber?
Well, yes, most of the volcanoes on the peninsula have been without activity for millions of years. But in 2021, anything can happen. Or so we fear. Any of them can return to life?
It is highly unlikely that the La Garrotxa volcanoes will erupt in the near future
“Here it depends on the time scale we’re talking about,” the expert explains. “On a human level, say a few thousand years, it is Unlikely for a dormant volcano to become active again. At the geological level (millions of years), anything can happen.”
This is inactive. But what about sleepers, like those at La Garrotxa? “It cannot be ruled out, but fortunately, volcanoes usually give signs of life before awakening and could be prevented.” This refers to earthquakes, for example the emission of certain gases or changes in ground elevation. Even if the area was not monitored, seismic activity would be so significant that it might issue a wake-up call like the one below. she gave The old summit on La Palma..
Anyway, it should be noted that even looking at who sleep Olot volcanoesIt is not expected to erupt in the near future. “Let’s see, you can never be overt about science, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to explode in Next future (on a human time scale)”.
In short, never say never. few peninsula volcanoes They could wake up from their slumber, yes, but this is highly unlikely. There are a lot of potential disasters and accidents that worry us to a much lesser degree, so we should put the media influence aside and try to relax about it. Because no, the peninsula volcanoes do not worry experts. So, they shouldn’t worry us either.
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