Desirée Palomino

• Dra. en CC del Mar
• Instituto Español de Oceanografia

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 hydro...

The Spanish Institute of Oceanography has realized nineteen oceanographic cruises in order to monitor the geomorphological changes during the submarine eruption of the Tagoro volcano and later evolution. The major geomorphological features were achieved fundamentally by the use of Multibeam EM710 echosounder data. Eruption was characterized by two...

Since Tagoro volcano erupted in 2011, several impacts have been associated to the volcano formation process, some of which are still present to date. This chapter is a review of the marine environmental perturbations caused by Tagoro volcano as a new geological structure, but thoroughly onto the partly annihilated benthic and demersal pre-existing...

The shallow Tagoro submarine volcano monitoring represents a unique opportunity not only for improving our sparse understanding of submarine volcanic processes in specific scientific fields as physical and chemical oceanography or marine geology but also its interactions over the marine biology in one of the richest marine ecosystems in Europe. Thi...

Active volcanoes are key laboratories to carry out detailed research -and monitoring- about the history of magmas before, during and after eruptions. Tagoro, the submarine active volcano at El Hierro Island (Canary archipelago), is a highly favorable case to assess and monitor its daily ongoing behaviour, as well as to study the links between the p...

The bamboo coral Isidella elongata is often associated with a diverse community, including commercial fish species, playing an important role in the deep-sea Mediterranean as a biodiversity hotspot. There has been a drastic decrease of the populations of this species since the twentieth century, mainly related to impacts of fishing, leading to its...

Multibeam bathymetry, sub-bottom parametric profiler, multichannel seismic reflection data and sediment cores were used to detail the nature, morpho-sedimentary and internal structure of five newly discovered submarine mud volcanoes (MVs) in the Moroccan margin of the Gulf of Cadiz. The Henriet and Subvent MVs are located at 300–400 m water depth,...

The Columbretes Archipelago and their submerged surroundings are part of an unusual, Pleistocene volcanic field located in the Western Mediterranean. This zone was designated as a Site of Community Importance (SCI) in the Natura 2000 Network in the early 2000s. However, poor information about its habitats has been available until now. In the presen...

The Gulf of Cadiz and the Alboran Sea are characterized by tectonic activity due to oblique convergence at the boundary between the Eurasian and Nubian plates. This activity has favored a variety of tsunamigenic sources: basically, seismogenic faults and submarine landslides. The main tsunamigenic faults in the Gulf of Cadiz would comprise the thru...

The dense and deep water flow that leaves the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic flows through the upper and middle slope of the Gulf of Cádiz as a powerful bottom stream that models and interacts with bathymetry. The detailed analysis of underwater images, obtained with a photogrammetric sled in the central area of the upper and middle slope of the...

Rabaute A.; Gorini C.; Leroy S.; Alonso B.; Le Roy, P .; Frigola J.; Emmanuel L. ; Ketzer M.; Praeg D. ; Lopez-Gonzalez N. and the ALBACORE Scientific party 1 EGU22-6547 EGU General Assembly 2022 © Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. The Alboran Sea (Western Mediterranean) is a relatively s...

This paper integrates sedimentary, tectonic and volcanic geological processes inside a model of volcano-tectonic activity in oceanic intraplate domains related to rifted continental margins. The study case, the eastern Canary Basin (NE Atlantic), is one of the few places in the world where giant MDTs and Quaternary volcanic and hydrothermal edifice...

We present a multidisciplinary study of morphology, stratigraphy, sedimentology, tectonic structure, and physical oceanography to report that the complex geomorphology of the Palomares continental margin and adjacent Algerian abyssal plain (i.e., Gulf of Vera, Western Mediterranean), is the result of the sedimentary response to the Aguilas Arc cont...

One of the objectives of the LIFE IP INTEMARES project is to assess the impact of bottom trawling on the vulnerable benthic habitats of the circalittoral bottoms of the Menorca Channel (western Mediterranean), designated a Site of Community Importance (SCI) within the Natura 2000 network. The present study compares the epibenthic communities of fou...

Extensive beds of the deep-sea mussel Bathymodiolus mauritanicus (currently also known as Gigantidas mauritanicus ) linked to active cold seeps related to fissure-like activity on Al Gacel mud volcano, Gulf of Cádiz, were filmed and sampled for the first time during the oceanographic expedition SUBVENT-2 aboard R/V Sarmiento de Gamboa. Al Gacel mud...

The scientific exploration of Mallorca Channel seamounts (western Mediterranean) is improving the knowledge of the Ses Olives (SO), Ausias March (AM), and Emile Baudot (EB) seamounts for their inclusion in the Natura 2000 network. The aims are to map and characterize benthic species and habitats by means of a geological and biological multidiscipli...

Offshore geological hazards can occur in any marine domain or environment and represent a serious threat to society, the economy, and the environment. Seismicity, slope sedimentary instabilities, submarine volcanism, fluid flow processes, and bottom currents are considered here because they are the most common hazardous processes; tsunamis are also...

The Alboran Basin is a Neogene-Quaternary extensional basin located within the Betic-Rif alpine cordillera. The region where the current basin is located holds great oceanographic relevance, as it lies in the area of connection between the western (Atlantic Ocean basin) and eastern seas (ocean basins of the Ligurian Tethys and then Western Mediterr...

The seafloor of the Alboran Sea reflects its complex tectonic, sedimentary, and oceanography dynamics as a consequence of the geological context, involving interaction between the Eurasian and African plates, and oceanographic context, as it is where the Atlantic and Mediterranean waters meet. Their physiography has a semi-enclosed configuration ch...

The toponymy of the main submarine physiographic and morphological features of the Alboran Sea and the Strait of Gibraltar has been compiled without taking into account the coastal places that can be obtained from standardized land cartographic bases. For this, a review of the bibliography has been carried out and the most widely used features have...

The seafloor of the Alboran Sea reflects its complex tectonic, sedimentary, and oceanography dynamics as a consequence of the geological context, involving interaction between the Eurasian and African plates, and oceanographic context, as it is where the Atlantic and Mediterranean waters meet. Their physiography has a semi-enclosed configuration ch...

Two Quaternary plastered contourite drifts, with terraced and low-mounded morphologies, make up the continental slope and base-of-slope in the northwestern Alboran Sea, respectively, between the Guadiaro and Baños turbidite systems, close to the Strait of Gibraltar. Considering their significant lateral extent, the link between the contourite drift...

In this work, we integrate five case studies harboring vulnerable deep-sea benthic habitats in different geological settings from mid latitude NE Atlantic Ocean (24–42° N). Data and images of specific deep-sea habitats were acquired with Remoted Operated Vehicle (ROV) sensors (temperature, salinity, potential density, O2, CO2, and CH4). Besides doc...

This article offers an overview of the main sedimentary systems defining the geomorphology of deep sea environments from low to high latitudes. Mass-transport deposits, turbidite systems, contourites, volcaniclastic aprons, glacial trough mouth systems, carbonate mounds and other bathyal systems, such as pelagites, hemipelagites, mid-ocean channels...

Highlights Gazul MV presents a high geomorphological variability and diversity of bottom types. Six main epibenthic assemblages have been identified conforming habitats. Hard bottoms of the MV edifice contain the most biodiverse assemblages. Cold-water coral communities are dominated by Madrepora oculata. Gazul MV harbors different vulnerable...

It is well known that bottom trawling affects the abiotic (seafloor morphology, sediment resuspension, water turbidity) and biotic components (biodiversity, biomass and production) of habitats. However, comparative studies on the effect of trawling on epi-benthic communities of sedimentary bottoms are scarce. One of the objectives of LIFE IP INTEMA...

Based on geophysical (multibeam echosounder and very high resolution parametricprofiles) and sedimentological (Shipek dredge) data acquired during the INTEMARES-CANAL0419 expedition,different geomorphologic features have been identified. The study area is located in the continental shelf of the Menorca Channel between 37 and 116 m water depth(mwd)....

The Iberian margin in the Gulf of Cádiz hosts a fluid venting area embedded into a contourite depositional drift and is a natural laboratory to study how multiple interacting processes shape the seafloor. A high-resolution morpho-sedimentary analysis, based on geophysical data, sediment samples and submarine imagery, has been carried out; the onset...

The Canary Islands are a volcanic alignment of seven islands that conforms an archipelago located in the northwestern part of the still active Nubian (African) tectonic plate. The archipelago showed its latest volcanic activity south off El Hierro Island in 2011, resulting in the formation of the newest underwater volcano, known as Tagoro, for the...

The Gulf of Cádiz is influenced by the collision of the Alborán Domain with the North African and South Iberian margins, which ultimately promotes hydrocarbon-rich fluid venting. Regarding oceanography, the effects of the Eastern North Atlantic Central Water, the Mediterranean Outflow Water and their interaction, strongly influence seabed topograph...

The Djibouti Ville Drift is part of a contourite depositional system located on the southern side of the Djibouti Ville Seamount in the Alboran Sea (Western Mediterranean). The sedimentary record of a core located in the drift deposits has been characterized to achieve the possible sediment sources for the Saharan dust supply and the paleocurrent v...

A relationship between scleractinian cold-water corals and fluid venting submarine structures has been observed in Mediterranean and adjacent areas. Mud volcanoes and mud diapirs promote different substrate types for biological colonisation: from muddy bottoms with chemosynthesis-based communities and typical bathyal soft bottom fauna to hard botto...

Tagoro, the youngest submarine volcano of the Canary Islands, erupted in 2011 South of El Hierro Island. Pre-existing sea floor and inhabiting biological communities were buried by the newly erupted material, promoting the appearance of new habitats. The present study pursues to describe the first metazoans colonizing different new habitats formed...

A new temporal history of mass wasting processes for the west of the Canary volcanic province is presented. Its onset has been estimated in the middle–upper Miocene (∼13.5 ± 1.2 Ma), matching with a critical period of construction for this volcanic province. Seismic profiles show an emplacement longevity (from the Miocene to Quaternary) in multiple...

A new temporal history of mass wasting processes for the west of the Canary volcanic province is presented. Its onset has been estimated in the middle–upper Miocene (∼13.5 ± 1.2 Ma), matching with a critical period of construction for this volcanic province. Seismic profiles show an emplacement longevity (from the Miocene to Quaternary) in multiple...

Tagoro, the most recently discovered shallow submarine volcano on the Canary Islands archipelago, Spain, has been studied from the beginning of its eruptive phase in October 2011 until November 2018. In March 2012, it became an active hydrothermal system involving a release of heat and gases that produce significant physical–chemical anomalies in t...

A joint study and mapping of the morphological features and architecture of the Galicia margin based on high-resolution multibeam bathymetry data and multichannel seismic profiles, provides new insights of the margin morphostructure. Tectonic processes are the major control of the margin's morphology, where the imprint of the North Atlantic rifting...

The Gulf of Cádiz margin is characterized by geological processes that control seabed bathymetry and promote hydrocarbon-rich fluid venting in areas where the Eastern North Atlantic Central Water and the Mediterranean Outflow Water influence the substrate types. Geological and oceanographic processes determine the distribution of a wide variety of...

The seabed characteristics, the oceanographic circulation and the geomorphology heterogeneity of the Gulf of Cádiz (mud volcanoes, diapiric ridges, channels, etc.) promote a wide variety of biological communities.

The Eurasian-African NW-SE oblique plate convergence produces shortening and orthogonal extension in the Alboran Sea Basin (Westernmost Mediterranean), located between the Betic and Rif cordilleras. A NNE-SSW broad band of deformation and seismicity affects the Alboran central part. After the 1993-94 and 2004 seismic series, an earthquake sequence...

Submarine geomorphology is the study of landforms and processes in the underwater domain. The ocean hosts a tremendous variety of forms that reflect the action of a range of tectonic, sedimentary, oceanographic, chemical and biological processes at multiple spatio-temporal scales. Submarine geomorphological mapping provides fundamental and effectiv...

High-resolution multibeam bathymetry, seismic reflection data, sediment core and water samples were used to first detail the morpho-sedimentary structure and seepage environment of a recently discovered mud volcano (MV) in the Atlantic Moroccan margin during the SUBVENT-2 cruise. Henriet MV is the most eastern edifice of the Gulf of Cadiz, located...

The seabed geomorphology of the Passage of Lanzarote (PoL), between the Lanzarote and Fuerteventura islands and the West Africa Continental Margin (WACM), has been considered with the aim to improve the knowledge of the main active processes working on the seafloor. We have analyzed the acoustic data obtained in the oceanographic cruise SUBVENT2 ca...

The seafloor of the Alboran Sea shows morphological evidence of the activity of several tectonic structures that basically correspond to two large families of conjugated strike-slip faults, the first of WNW-ESE to NW-SE trend and right-lateral movement, and the second of NNE-SSW to NE-SW trend and left-lateral movement, likewise it has been recogni...

The central transect of the Alboran Sea is affected by an NNE-SSW seismic activity band and deformation zone. After the seismic series of 1993-94 and 2004, a new series has occurred in its southern sector during 2016-17 (main event Mw = 6.3, 01/25/2016), with epicenters grouped in two alignments. The northern one, WSW-ENE, is associated with focal...

The increasing volume of high-resolution multibeam bathymetry data collected along continental margins and adjacent deep seafloor regions is providing further opportunities to study new morphological seafloor features in deep water environments. In this paper, seafloor mounds have been imaged in detail with multibeam echosounders and parametric sub...

Derived digital elevation models (DEMs) are high-resolution acoustic technology that has proven to be a crucial morphometric data source for research into submarine environments. We present a morphometric analysis of forty deep seafloor edifices located to the west of Canary Islands, using a 150 m resolution bathymetric DEM. These seafloor structur...

New seismic profiles, bathymetric data and sediment-rock sampling document for the first time the discovery of hydrothermal vent complexes and volcanic cones at 4800-5200 m depth related to recent volcanic and intrusive activity in an unexplored area of the Canary Basin (Eastern Atlantic Ocean, 500 km west of the Canary Islands). A complex of sill...

Report on the environmental monitoring (geophysics, seabed sampling, physical and chemical characteristics, and planton) made on the submarine volcano of Tagoro (El Hierro Islands) to evaluate the degree of affection and recovery on the marine ecosystem of the last volcanic eruption in the Canary region, making it extendable to other regions of the...

Report on the geophysics and seabed sampling made on the submarine canyon of Algeciras to know its geological, geomorphological and benthic characteristics. In addition, a series of underwater mounds were studied in two sectors of the northern margin of the Alboran Sea.

Submarine volcanic eruptions are frequent and important events, yet they are rarely observed. Here we relate bathymetric and hydroacoustic images from the 2011-2012 El Hierro eruption with surface observations and deposits imaged and sampled by ROV. As result of the shallow submarine eruption, a new volcano named Tagoro grew from 375 to 89 m depth....

Seabed morphology, sub-bottom characteristics and benthic communities of the Hespérides volcanic complex, located in the continental slope of the Gulf of Cadiz, have been analyzed. The aim of this study is to characterize the morphological features, the geological processes and near-bottom water masses for understanding the relationships between th...

Between October 2011 and March 2012 a submarine volcanic eruption took place at the offshore of El Hierro Island. The extensive study of the eruption and subsequent degassing process has allowed monitoring the newly generated volcanic edifice. Multibeam bathymetric has enabled building a digital high-resolution bathymetric model (grid 1x1 m). The p...

Mercator mud volcano has been explored by direct visual observations using a ROV at 350 to 370 m depth. Underwater images, taken mainly at the summit, have allowed characterizing the fluid venting environment, where different microforms, habitats and associated biota, with typical seepage components have been identified. Chemosynthetic bacterial co...

Habitat characterization using underwater images has been carried out in 4 mud volcanoes (Gazul, Almazán, St. Petersburg and Aveiro) and one mud volcano/diapir complex (Hespérides) located at the middle slope of the Spanish margin of the Gulf of Cádiz (360-1200m depth). A total of 126 species, mostly cnidarians, sponges, brachiopods, crustaceans an...

Seafloor morphotectonic features on the NE Alboran Sea have been analyzed using a mosaic of multibeam bathymetry and a mesh of reflection seismic profiles. A geomorphologic analysis and their relationship with active and Quaternary tectonic structures has been realized. Morphotectonic features are: i) fault scarps; ii) elongated ridges correspondin...

Seabed morphology, sub-bottom characteristics and benthic habitats of a sector of the Gulf of Cadiz continental slope have been analyzed. The aim is to recognize morphological features, geological processes and near-bottom water masses for understanding the relationships between the occurrence of fluid venting related edifices and their associated...

In this work, we present a morphometric analysis of 41 mounded edifices located on the seafloor to the west of Canary Islands, from 4800 to 5200 m water depth, using a 150 m resolution DEM and very high resolution seismic profiles. The objective of this study is to establish mound morphological relationships related to the possible variability in f...

General book DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.CH.2015.07.en

A seismic analysis of the Pliocene and Quaternary stratigraphy was conducted in the Alboran Sea (westernmost Mediterranean) using more than 1250 profiles consisting of single- and multi-channel seismic records. This allowed for the updating and renaming of the stratigraphic boundaries and the establishment of a new Pliocene and Quaternary seismic s...

The margin of the continental slope of the Volcanic Province of Canary Islands is characterised by seamounts, submarine hills and large landslides. The seabed morphology including detailed morphology of the seamounts and hills was analysed using multibeam bathymetry and backscatter data, and very high resolution seismic profiles. Some of the elevat...

The analysis of a data set of multibeam bathymetry plus high resolution seismic and parametric profiles allow us to characterize the geomorphologic units on the Alboran Sea-floor as well as the evolution of morpho-sedimentary systems along the Pliocene and Quaternary, later than the main erosive Messinian event. Since the opening of the Gibraltar S...

Análisis de imagen para la identificación de objetos en filtros procedentes de las plumas de turbidez Image analysis to identify objects in filters obtained from turbidity plumes Abstract: The study of turbidity plumes developed in front of the river mouth, have an increasing scientific interest due to its contribution to infralittoral sediment tra...

The seabed morphology, type of sediments, and dominant benthic species on eleven mud volcanoes and diapirs located on the northern sector of the Gulf of Cádiz continental slope have been studied. The morphological characteristics were grouped as: (i) fluid-escape-related features, (ii) bottom current features, (iii) mass movement features, (iv) tec...

Morfometría de montículos submarinos del talud inferior del margen continental canario (O de las Islas Canarias): Análisis basado en un MDT Abstract: We present a morphometric analysis of 41 mounded edifices located on the seafloor to the west of Canary Islands, using a 150 m resolution DEM and very high-resolution seismic profiles. In order to car...

Extrusive edifices and structural reliefs, catalogued as mounds and located on the seafloor to the west of Canary Islands were analyzed by acoustic data obtained with multibeam and parametric echosounders during several oceanographic expeditions. They were carried out at deep waters, from 4800 to 5200 m, and they have allowed characterizing 41 newl...

Mud volcanism represents an important migration pathway for methane and other gases from deeper reservoirs to the surface; however most submarine sources remain poor quantified. During SUBVENT2 cruise, water column over several mud volcanoes were surveyed for gas seepage characterization. Water samples of ROV Niskin and Rosette-CTD Niskin bottles w...

The northeastern sector of the Gulf of Cadiz continental margin has been deeply studied the last two decades. The seafloor is characterized by the Gulf of Cadiz Contourite Depositional System, strong diapirism and seepage related to the mobility of the frontal units of the Gibraltar Arc. Since 2010 high resolution bathymetric data and high and very...

The Passage of Lanzarote is an example of a wide oceanic corridor. It extends between the eastern Canary Islands and the Western Africa continental margin. Seafloor morphology of this passage has been analyzed with the aim to know the morphogenetic processes related to both the oceanography and the geology. Multibeam bathymetric data and high and v...

Five different groups of gullies have been distinguished along the northeastern slope of the Gulf of Cádiz using geostatistical analysis. A Grouping Analyst has been carried out to six morphological variables of the gullies: area, straight line length, width/depth ratio, width, depth and stream order. The spatial distribution of the identified five...

New high-quality high-resolution bathymetric data along the northeastern slope of the Gulf of Cadiz continental margin reveals three gullies fields. The morphological and morphometric features of these gullies have been studied. The following morphometric variables have been measured in every gully in order to make a quantitative morphological anal...

The mud volcanism in the Iberian and Moroccan margins of the Gulf of Cadiz is well known over more than a decade. Nevertheless, new structures and morphologies related to fluid venting are still discovered in the recent oceanographic cruise SUBVENT2 in 2014 along the Moroccan margin. Four new mud volcanoes have been identified along two sector of M...

The Gulf of Cadiz is located in the boundary of two lithospheric plates, this tectonic activity promote fluid rich hydrocarbon emissions from subsurface reservoirs and the formation of several mud volcanoes. The seabed and sedimentological heterogeneity, the complex oceanographic circulation, and the low fishing activity in certain areas may promot...

The continental slope of the Canary Islands volcanic province is characterized by the occurrence of several seamounts and large landslides that have been widely documented. A detailed morphological study of the Echo seamount has been done by using multibeam bathymetry, backscatter data and very high resolution seismic profiles. The seamount shape,...

The seabed morphology and the sub-bottom characteristics of a sector of the Gulf of Cádiz continental slope have been analyzed from different data sets. The morphological characteristics, the type of sediments and dominant benthic species of Gazul mud volcano and adjacent areas have been studied. The morphological characteristics identified were gr...

Contourite drifts are one the main morphosedimentary features in the Alboran Sea and their sediments are important archives of the past oceanographic conditions and sedimentary processes. The end-member modelling approach lets to decompose multimodal grain-size distribution into genetically meaningful subpopulation that may be related to different...