Impacts of a newly formed lava delta on the marine environment: Lava-induced upwelling and abrupt chlorophyll depletion during the Tajogaite eruption (La Palma, 2021).

The 2021 Tajogaite eruption in La Palma (Canary Islands, Spain) emitted vast volumes of lava during 85 days, which reached the ocean in several occasions at the western flank of the island. Most of these flows merged to create a primary lava delta, covering an area of 48 ha, with an additional 30 ha underwater. Here we characterize the effects of the lava-seawater interaction on the surrounding marine environment.

Unveiling the inherent physical-chemical dynamics: Direct measurements of hydrothermal fluid flow, heat, and nutrient outflow at the Tagoro submarine volcano (Canary Islands, Spain).

Tagoro is one of the few submarine volcanoes in the world that has been monitored since its early eruptive stage in 2011 to present day. After six multidisciplinary oceanographic cruises conducted between 2014 and 2023 to gather a comprehensive dataset of georeferenced video-imagery and in situ measurements of hydrothermal flow velocities and hydrothermal fluid samples, we provide a robust characterization of the ongoing hydrothermal fluid velocity, heat flux, and nutrient release, along with an accurate delimitation of the hydrothermal field area. Our results reveal that Tagoro hydrothermal system extends from the main hydrothermal crater up to the summit, covering an area of 7600 m.

Distribution and transport of microplastics in the upper 1150 m of the water column at the Eastern North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre, Canary Islands, Spain.

Nowadays it is widely known that pollution by microplastics (MP) at the open ocean covers immense areas. Buoyant plastics tend to accumulate in areas of convergence at the sea surface such as subtropical gyres, while non-buoyant plastics accumulate at the seafloor. However, previous studies have revealed that the total amount of plastic in the different oceans is not well correlated with the concentrations measured at the sea surface and the sea floor, evidencing a significant amount of missing plastic in the oceans.