No Lava has emerged since 1971 from Cumbre Vieja volcano. After 2 weeks of increased seismicity, a situation of alert has been declared by autorities. Cumbre Vieja is erupting! Since the 19th of September, at 15:12 local time (UTC +1 hour), Cumbre Vieja eruption has started.
Geostationary Earth Orbiting (GEO) and Low Earth orbiting) LEO satellite sensors to generate alert products dedicated to aviation stakeholders. The use of SEVIRI instruments is critical for such event as it provides continuous near real-time observations
At the moment, no selective detection of SO2 is implemented in ALARM EWS. Looking at GEO and LEO data we can see that the volcanic plume is not ash-rich.
On September, 20, at 14:13 UTC, the overpass of TROPOMI (UV-vis-NIR hyperspectral sensor) detected the SO2 plume from Cumbre Vieja (see illustration). For a height of about 15 km, the SO2 mass estimate is ~28 kt. Using the analysis of SEVIRI images and model outputs, the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) of Toulouse reported the volcanic plume reached FL150 (flight Level which corresponds to an altitude of about 4.5 to 5 km). The mass of SO2 from Cumbre Vieja volcano measured by TROPOMI (24 hours after the start of the eruption) can be estimate to 40 kt/day. La Palma Airport in Santa Cruz was briefly closed this Sunday afternoon (19 September) just after the start the volcanic eruption in the Cumbre Vieja. Initially, two Binter Canarias ATR 72-600 aircraft diverted to Tenerife North. The manager of air navigation in Spain, Enaire, had issued the recommendation as a preventive measure that no flights depart to the island of La Palma. The next scheduled plane to La Palma was a TUIfly Belgium Boeing 737-800 registered OO-JEF from Amsterdam on flight OR567. After taking different contradictory directions, the flight crew eventually decided to land at Santa Cruz despite the Enaire recommendation or after it was lifted.
Since the beginning of the eruption, the dispersion of the volcanic plume of Cumbre Vieja is located over La Gomera, Tenerife and Gran Canaria Islands, with most likely SO2 contamination (and potential sulphidation process; see technical Report of OPAS Engage-KTN project; https://engagektn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/C6-OPAS-final-technical-report.pdf).
The next overpass of TROPOMI is very soon. This will probably confirme an SO2 mas loading of ~20-40 kt (per day)
Here it is!! Check Tropomi’s sensor on Sept 21 13.54 UTC
