Scientists are monitoring Spain’s highest volcano after it recorded 34 mini earthquakes over the past 10 days.
Mount Teide is the iconic volcano that towers 3,715 metres above sea level in Tenerife, in the Canary Islands.
None of its recent tremors were felt by residents, and officials say there’s no reason yet to panic. But the flurry of underground activity has sparked renewed attention from the nation’s top volcanologists.
The tremors – all registering below magnitude 1.7 – were mostly concentrated around May 23 and 26.
While low on the Richter scale, their frequency and location have been enough to catch the attention of those tasked with keeping Teide’s activity in check.
Itahiza Dominguez, director of the National Geographic Institute (IGN), told El Dia that there has been a ‘rebound’ but rules out the possibility of swarms.
In seismology, an earthquake swarm is a sequence of seismic events occurring in a local area within a relatively short period.
‘There has been an increase in recent years that is within the normal range after an increase in volcanic activity was detected in 2023,’ Dominguez explained.
So far, no one is sounding the eruption alarm. But scientists are keeping one eye on their monitors and the other on recent history.
The 2021 La Palma eruption, which displaced thousands, was preceded by swarms of tremors – some reaching up to magnitude 4.8, and strong enough to be felt across Tenerife.
Teide, by contrast, isn’t currently showing signs of a similar scenario.
Teide’s simmering core
Researchers believe the seismic flutter is tied to a so-called ‘hot heart’, made up of pockets of magma sitting less than 10 kilometres beneath Teide’s surface.
First described in 2023, these subterranean reservoirs were discovered through a major international study using seismic tomography, which allowed scientists to peer deep into the island’s interior.
The collaborative research effort included the Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics in Russia, the Volcanological Institute of the Canary Islands (Involcan), and the University of Granada.
According to the findings, small magma chambers lie just beneath the Las Cañadas caldera at depths of less than five kilometres. This, scientists say, could explain the persistent low-magnitude quakes and the increase in carbon dioxide emissions from the crater observed since late 2016.
Two key hotspots
The quakes over the past week have been concentrated in two specific areas: the upper reaches of La Orotava Valley and the highlands between Vilaflor and Guia de Isora – both inside or bordering the protected zone of Teide National Park.
While the island’s volcano remains calm on the surface, scientists from Spain’s Scientific Committee for the Evaluation of Volcanic Phenomena met earlier this year to review the ongoing activity. Their conclusion was that the signals are ‘anomalous’, but not yet alarming.
The official stance remains measured: ‘The signs do not appear to be precursors of a short-term eruptive process, but they do indicate an increase in the probability of one occurring in the medium or long term.’
Scientists believe that subtle shifts have been happening for nearly a decade.
According to the experts, the seismic changes detected since 2016 could be attributable to a possible increase in pressure in the hydrothermal system beneath the island of Tenerife, which makes it necessary to increase seismic monitoring.
The IGN and Involcan are now maintaining intensified surveillance around Teide and its surrounding municipalities.
The message from experts is clear: there’s no immediate threat, but the island’s volcanic pulse is being watched closer than ever.
