Scientists Create First 3D Map of Tenerife’s Magmatic Interior
Researchers have developed the first 3D map of Tenerife’s interior, revealing magmatic structures that provide critical insights into the island's volcanic activity and seismic patterns.
New research published in the journal Scientific Reports has provided the first-ever 3D map of Tenerife’s interior. According to the Canary Islands Volcanological Institute (Involcan), this breakthrough offers a clearer picture of how magma is distributed between the oceanic crust and the upper mantle—a vital area for monitoring volcanic activity in the region.
The study was led by Víctor Ortega Ramos in collaboration with the Complutense University of Madrid, the Technological and Renewable Energy Institute (ITER), and universities in Geneva and Portugal. The team found that the island’s oceanic crust is about 10 kilometers thick and quite rigid. More importantly, they identified four major seismic anomalies between 10 and 30 kilometers deep. These areas show slow wave speeds, which suggests the presence of magma and changes in the rock's mineral makeup.
Researchers are particularly focused on the island’s western side, where they detected exceptionally low S-wave velocities. Using thermodynamic models, they linked these findings to "magmatic underplating," a process where magma from the mantle builds up at the base of the crust. This process changes the subsurface and appears to be directly connected to recent earthquake activity on the island.
The study suggests that as magma moves upward, it causes decompression, which releases gases like carbon dioxide. This movement of fluids toward the surface helps explain the low-frequency and hybrid earthquakes recorded in recent years. This 3D map is a major milestone in geophysics, providing experts with a powerful new tool to link deep-earth activity to the seismic events observed on the surface.