A Tall Plume on the La Palma Volcano

With two live cameras directed towards the La Palma volcano, anyone can be an observer.

Close up observations

A close up camera, situated across from the volcano, details the changes on the ground.

A whole little mountain has been created in the space of a few weeks. The morphology of the terrain changes by the day, with lava flows and new fissures replacing old ones.

Enormous forces are at play. Sometimes constructive in building terrain, and sometimes destructive in tearing down what had recently been created.

Distant observations

A camera at a distance shows nothing more than a plume of volcanic ash.

The volcano itself is hidden behind a tall ridge.

However, the camera provides for some interesting insights.

For one, the plume of volcanic ash settles into the same thin strata of the atmosphere regardless of the intensity of the eruption. A sudden burst of activity at the ground doesn’t translate into a higher plume.

Electric explanation

An electric explanation for this would be that the atmospheric strata matches the electric charge of the ejected dust, which in turn matches the electric charge inside the volcano itself.

This might mean that the potential energy inside the volcano can be derived in part from how high the plume is.

If the plume is low, there’s little remaining energy. If it’s tall, there’s a potential for major eruptions. Even if the plume appears thin and lackluster at the ground.

Seen in this respect, it’s interesting to note that the plume on the La Palma volcano has become taller over time.

Energy appears to be building up. So, we can expect eruptions to become stronger in the days ahead.