A Pebble in the Atlantic

El Hierro’s offshore volcano is erupting again. Here’s a photo which my friend took from the Tamajara viewpoint, near the main village of El Pinar. The volcano is the silvery bit, which is where the bubbles are reaching the surface. There have been 29 earthquakes so far this year, but none of them were large enough for anyone to feel.

If you’re keen to see a volcano safely, this is one of the best chances you’re going to get.

Celebrating new year is a big thing in Spain, although El Hierro’s had a rough year and I imagine that many people will opt for family parties rather than going out for dinner.  Many people dress up – I mean really dress up, as though they were going to the opera at Covent Garden. At midnight, people traditionally eat one grape for each “boing” of the clock. If you manage all twelve on schedule, it’s supposed to bring good luck, or prosperity, or something. (It usually gives me indigestion.) People drink champagne, and town halls let off fireworks.

I hope 2012 brings all my readers whatever they most wish for. It should finally bring my first e-book to market – “The Dodo Dragons and Other Stories” followed by “A breathtaking Window on the Universe: a guide to the Roque de Los Muchachos observatory”

Happy New Year!

The volcano is still erupting, but the earthquakes have practically stopped, and El Hierro is back to normal, except that it’s quieter than ever.

However you celebrate, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas.

The submarine eruption continues off La Restinga, and if anything, it seems to be growing. It’s bubbling like there’s a horror-film monster about to surface. Yesterday there was a huge bubble which may have been as high as 25 m. I’m beginning to think that we may get a new island after all.

Nobody except the emergency services is allowed into La Restinga, and the village still smells of sulphur,although the air is safe to breathe.

And the earthquakes continue, mostly under the sea to the north of the island. The most “interesting” day was Halloween, appropriately enough, with over 150 tremors. They’ve had 20 so far today, although most of them are too small to be felt.

Perhaps surprisingly, it’s still safe to visit El Hierro (except for La Restinga), and it might be your best chance to see an an eruption. I believe you get a very good view from the top of the hill at Tanajara.

I found these photos of the eruption south of La Restinga, and they’re much better than mine. http://www.flickr.com/photos/noticiacanaria/6257404217/in/photostream/

Meanwhile, the small earthquakes are continuing, centred on an area 12 km out to sea on the other side of the island, but still some 12-20 km down. La Restinga is still on red alert, and the rest of the island is still on yellow alert.

In other news, the public health department recommends against swimming in any water affected by the eruption – basically anywhere that looks green or smells bad. The scientists are still studying it, but preliminary results are that the water is slightly acidic, and contains sulphur compounds. (The normal water quality tests only check for micro-organisms)

Yes, the low-lying areas of the village of La Restinga have been evacuated, and is on red alert. It looks as though magma is heading toward the surface somewhere in the vicinity.

I’m not a geologist, but I think they’re worried about an eruption in shallow water.

The one time Canarian volcanoes go BANG is when water gets into the magma chamber. This isn’t a problem well out at sea because a mile or so of water on top of the eruption has much the same effect as sandbags on top of a grenade. But in shallow water, you get an explosion and a tidal wave. Probably not the size of the one they had in Japan recently, but you wouldn’t want to be in a house right beside the harbour if it happened.

I would point out that a) you don’t evacuate when you think it’s probably going to blow. you evacuate as soon as it seems halfway likely. And b) it’s quite simple to evacuate one village. It’s not like trying to evacuate, say, New York. I don’t know how many people have had to leave their homes, but I would guess that it’s a only couple of hundred.

After some confusion, it appears that there really is an eruption in the sea, 5 km to the south of La Restinga (the southernmost point of El Hierro) and in water 2 km deep.

It’s far too small to create a new island, at least not yet. (Maybe in a thousand years or so.)

There’s nothing much to see on the surface, because the water pressure is so high that the water’s not boiling, so there’s no bubbles coming up. Fishing vessels are advised to stay 4 km away, just in case.

Breaking news: the population of the village of La Restinga has apparently been evacuated to the football ground. I’ll post more when I know more.

The island has moved 35 mm since July, and the small earthquakes are continuing, but still at the same depth (14 – 10 km below sea level). There’s no indication that the earthquakes are getting any closer to the surface, which is important.

The experts believe that there’s a mama chamber some 14 km under the island, which is filling up. This causes small earthquakes just above the magma, which in turn causes smaller ones near the surface and moves the island by millimetres.

The Foreign Office likes to have a register of British nationals anywhere abroad, just in case of unpleasant surprises. Then if there’s a revolution or erupting volcano, they know who they’re trying to evacuate. You can register at http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/staying-safe/Locate/ and if you’re on El Hierro, it’s probably worth taking 5 minutes to do so.

If you want to contact the British Consulate on Tenerife, they open from Monday to Friday 08:30 – 13:30, and they’re at Plaza Weyler 8, 1º, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 38003.
Phone:(+34) 902 109 356 or (+34) 91 334 2194
Fax:(34) 922 28 99 03
Website:http://ukinspain.fco.gov.uk/en/