Sharjah24 – Reuters: The current La Palma eruption has a good chance of becoming the island’s longest in 500 years, according to El Pais English, as yet another new fissure vent opened on Saturday, releasing lava which headed through previously populated areas down towards the ocean.
The island’s El Martin volcano erupted for 82 days in 1646, but the record was set in 1585, when the Tahuya volcano erupted for 84 days, according to Spanish newspaper El Razon.
The Cumbre Vieja volcano began erupting on September 19, 2021, which means December 13 could be the day the record is broken.
Volcanologists think the activity is generated by a ‘hotspot’ beneath the Canary Islands, a reservoir of extremely hot magma that seeks ways to emerge, according to El Pais.
However, the Volcano Discovery site explains that while seismic activity has been decreasing at the volcano over recent days, emission of sulfur dioxide remains high, albeit on a decreasing trend, implying that there is still a log of magma available to erupt.
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