Inés Galindo Jiménez

Instituto Geológico y Minero de España | IGME · Canary Islands Unit

Secondary volcanic hazards (SVH) are not usually considered in volcanic hazard analysis, nor are they specifically included in volcanic risk management plans. However, SVH may cause more damage than primary volcanic hazards (PVH). The magmatic unrest on El Hierro Island in 2011–2012 is a perfect example of how SVH can be one of the leading causes o...

The submarine eruption of La Restinga, now known under the name of Tagoro volcano, began in early October 2011 offshore the southern coast of El Hierro island and ended in early March 2012. This eruption produced a volcanic cone, hornitos, a thick pyroclastic apron that prograded towards the base of the volcanic edifice and volcanic products that e...

Hydrovolcanism, resulting from the interaction of magma with water, is a frequent volcanic process found in many geotectonic settings and fundamental in the growth of oceanic islands. Examples of shallow to intermediate-depth hydrovolcanic activity are frequent in the Canary Islands and characterise volcanism from the seamount stage and emergent is...

The volcanic eruption of Cumbre Vieja in the La Palma (2021) is located on the western flank of the Cumbre Vieja and Cumbre Nueva Ridges, a mountain range of volcanic origin that crossed the island from N to S. For 85 days of the eruption it was emitting tephra in the central part of the island, only reaching the entire island of La Palma during th...

On 19 September 2021, a new monogenetic volcano (Tajogaite) erupted on the island of La Palma (Canary Islands, Spain). After 85 days of strombolian style eruption, with emissions of volcanic material, a pyroclastic cone 200 m high and 800 m in in its basal diameter was formed. Successive lava flows descended the western slopes and reached the Atlan...

This work constitutes the first geochemical, mineralogical and textural analysis of the early fumarolic deposits that appeared in the Tajogaite Volcano (La Palma island, Spain) one month after the official end of the eruptive process. Fourteen fumaroles grouped into 5 study areas have been characterized following a novel methodology that includes o...

On 19 September 2021, a new monogenetic volcano (Tajogaite) erupted on the island of La Palma (Canary Islands, Spain). After 86 days of strombolian eruption, with emissions of volcanic material, a pyroclastic cone 200 m high and 800 m in diameter was formed. Successive lava flows descended the western slopes and reached the sea on 29 September. On...

Rhodoliths occur extensively around the shores of Fuerteventura Island in the Canary Archipelago, with Lithothamnion cf. corallioides being the most prominent species. A large number of rhodoliths end up washed onshore, the debris from which contributes to the formation of sediments constituting modern beaches. In a previous study by one of the co-...

The geoheritage and geodiversity of the national parks contribute, together with biodiversity, to make them protected natural areas that are unique in Spain, but also unique worldwide. Geoheritage is non-renewable and if it is lost or degraded it does so forever. Under the Global Change and Climate Change scenario, the geoheritage of the Canary nat...

Within the framework of the LIGCANARIAS research project (2018-2021), the Inventory of Geological Sites of Interest of the Canary Islands has been carried out, which is part of the Spanish Inventory of Places of Geological Interest (IELIG) for the domain of this archipelago. The inventory has used the IELIG methodology adapted to an eminently volca...

The volcanic eruption of La Palma, which began September 19th and officially ended on December 24th 2021, generated numerous volcanic products and structures (lava flows, tephra cones, pyroclasts, erratic blocks, mineral precipitates, levees, fissures, lava deltas, volcanic tubes, hornitos, etc.). The new volcano is the most modern Geosite of the S...

On September 19th 2021, a volcanic eruption began on the La Palma island (Canary Islands, Spain) that lasted for 85 days. The volcanic event gave rise to the formation of a pyroclastic cone ~200 m high in the area called Cabeza de Vaca-Tajogaite, reaching an altitude of 1,050 m at the end of the eruption, with a lava fields of more than a thousand...

A las 14:10 UTC del 19 de septiembre de 2021 comenzó la erupción en la isla de La Palma, en la zona de Tajogaite-Cabeza de Vaca, en el municipio de El Paso. La erupción se dio por finalizada el día 13 de diciembre de 2021 a las 22:21 UTC, durando 85 días y 8 horas. La erupción, considerada fisural y de tipo estromboliano, produjo coladas de lava en...

It was with much interest that we read the comment made by Meco et al. (2022), regarding our work on "Range expansion of tropical shallow-water marine molluscs in the NE Atlantic during the last interglacial (MIS 5e): Causes, consequences and utility of ecostratigraphic indicators for the Macaronesian archipelagos". We welcome the discussion genera...

The physical processes that operate within, and beneath, a volcano control the frequency, duration, location, and size of volcanic eruptions. Volcanotectonics focuses on such processes, combining techniques, data, and ideas from structural geology, tectonics, volcano deformation, physical volcanology, seismology, petrology, rock and fracture mechan...

This paper reports on the expedition to the Cumbre Vieja volcano (Canary Islands, Spain) in November 2021 to assess stand-off laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy for real-time measurements of the lava streams from a safe point. The paper provides insight on the analytical approach to the problem, the rationale of the instrument design and construc...

Controlled by ecological and physical factors, marine species distribution may vary due to global climatic changes that result from range expansion or contraction (the latter caused by local disappearances, i.e., extirpations). Spanning from 13° to 39°N, the Macaronesian region encompasses five archipelagos located within warm-temperate to tropical...

The analysis of the historical documentary sources together with evidence from the geological record is essential to understand the impact and processes triggered by tsunamis on the Canary Islands. This archipelago has been affected by tsunamis caused by different geological processes, of which the most studied have been those generated by prehisto...

The European Interreg AGEO project focuses on the management of geological risks in different areas of European countries with territories in the Atlantic area. AGEO will launch several Citizen’s observatory pilots on geohazards according to regional priorities. The aim is to engage with local communities to actively participate in risk preparednes...

Se presenta el proyecto europeo Interreg AGEO que se focaliza en la gestión de riesgos geológicos en la zona Atlántica Europea. En el proyecto tienen cabida todos los fenómenos geológicos con mayor incidencia de ocurrencia en las zonas elegidas por parte de los países participantes. Por ejemplo, Lisboa se centra en terremotos e inundaciones, la Bre...

This project examines the role of North Atlantic storms degrading a Late Pleistocene rocky shoreline formed by basaltic rocks overlying hyaloclastite rocks on a small volcanic peninsula connected to Gran Canaria Island in the central region of the Canary Archipelago. Conglomerate dominated by large, ellipsoidal to angular boulders eroded from an ad...

The evolution of complex volcanic structures usually includes the occurrence of flank collapse events. Monogenetic cones, however, are more stable edifices with minor rafting processes that remove part of the cone slopes. We present the eruptive history of Mazo volcano (Lanzarote, Canary Islands), including the first detailed description of a syn-e...

The evolution of complex volcanic structures usually includes the occurrence of flank collapse events. Monogenetic cones, however, are more stable edifices with minor rafting processes that remove part of the cone slopes. We present the eruptive history of Mazo volcano (Lanzarote, Canary Islands), including the first detailed description of a syn-e...

The Platform for Atlantic Geohazard Risk Management (AGEO) is a new project co-nanced under the Interreg Programme for the Atlantic Area which aims to launch ve Citizens' Observatory pilots on geohazards according to regional priorities: Citizens' observatory on rockfalls and rockfall-triggers in the Canary Islands, Spain Peat-slides and peat massm...

Canary Islands constitute an active volcanic archipelago. From the time immediately before the conquest of the islands, 17 volcanic eruptions have occurred: 2 prehispanic and 15 historical, some of them with multiple eruptive vents, affecting the islands of Lanzarote, Tenerife, La Palma and El Hierro. In order to carry out the geosites inventory of...

Historical volcanic eruptions in Canary Islands have traditionally been considered as quiet eruptions, mostly effusive and with scant explosions (VEI 1-2), attending to the general characteristics of this volcanism. Nevertheless, the geological record of these eruptions shows abundant signs of moderately explosive activity with PDC desposits and bo...

Fossiliferous outcrops are golden gates for the study of past events. The Quaternary is a period marked by several oscillations of the sea level, resulting in several glacial and interglacial events. The Last Interglacial period, with the warmest interval occurring between ~128 ka to ~116 ka (Marine Isotopic Stage 5e or MIS 5e) had a mean global te...

Accelerated erosion is an essential attribute of geological environments in the Mediterranean area, which distinguishes them from those of northern Europe. In addition, young mountain ranges (Alpine orogeny) are also common features in countries like Spain (average elevation 660 m). Therefore, Quaternary deposits are scarce, soils are thin (Leptoso...

The volcanic origin and the short, geological age of the islands have not allowed the development of an extensive paleontological record, although this record constitutes a unique witness of the evolution of life in the Canary archipelago. However, these characteristics support the selection of a series of Paleontological Geological Interest Sites...

Las Palmas detritical Formation constituted during the nineteenth century a paleontological site of forced visit and study for those extraordinary geologists and paleontologists who visited Gran Canaria: von Buch, Lyell, von Fristsch or Rothpletz. Those first works, which had the invaluable collaboration of some Canarian naturalists -as Pedro Maffi...

In the 1960s, the Canary Islands underwent a major change in their economic model, moving from the model based on agriculture to the tourist model. There was a generalized abandonment of farmland, fishing and salt mines, and hotel infrastructures were started, located mainly in the coastal areas. One of the areas affected by this tourism developmen...

Introducción En nuestro país, la valoración de ele-mentos destacados de la gea como parte del patrimonio natural tiene un largo reco-rrido dentro de las actividades conservacio-nistas (Casado, 2014; Díaz-Martínez et al., 2014). No obstante, la formalización de la protección legal del patrimonio geológico como tal no se llevó a cabo hasta el año 200...

Introducción La fragmentación del territorio canario y la fragilidad de los ecosistemas que contiene condicionan enormemente la conservación de su patrimonio natural. El Hierro es la isla más pequeña y occidental del archipiélago canario, y también la que presenta una his-toria geológica más reciente. El extraordina-rio patrimonio geológico de esta...

Introducción En nuestro país, la valoración de ele-mentos destacados de la gea como parte del patrimonio natural tiene un largo reco-rrido dentro de las actividades conservacio-nistas (Casado, 2014; Díaz-Martínez et al., 2014). No obstante, la formalización de la protección legal del patrimonio geológico como tal no se llevó a cabo hasta el año 200...

Divulgation of geological heritage is one of the fundamental tools of geoconservation, and at the same time a useful instrument for the public dissemination of Earth sciences. To expand its scope and effectiveness, divulgative activities with appropriate contents can be inserted in festivals and other cultural events. The success of these activitie...

Volcanic oceanic islands are large buildings that grow from the ocean floor up to their highest peaks above sea level. It is estimated that only a small part of the volcanic edifices emerge above sea level, leaving almost 90% of the volcanic structure submerged. The geology of this submerged area is mainly known from indirect geophysical studies, g...

The inventory of the Lanzarote and Chinijo Islands UNESCO Global Geopark (UGG) includes 82 geosites, out of which 17 are linked to the deposits associated with the eruptions of Timanfaya, that took place between 1730 and 1736, and Chinero and Tinguatón eruption, which occurred in 1824. The volcanic field originated during these two historical event...

Lanzarote and Chinijo Islands are part of the Canary archipelago situated in the Atlantic Ocean and they have been included into the UNESCO Global Geopark network since 2015. The formation and evolution of Lanzarote and Chinijo Islands can be understood through the visit of 82 geosites, included in eight geological frameworks, which are representat...

The volcanic origin of Lanzarote and the islets located to the north and their relatively young age does not allow an extensive paleontological record, which does not exceed the upper Miocene (around 7 Ma). However, the fact of being oceanic volcanic islands defines the urgent need to preserve the few paleontological sites that allows us to reconst...

Lanzarote and Chinijo Islands UNESCO Global Geopark (UGG) presents a long geological history dating back to the Oligocene, where several constructive and destructive geological processes have taken place up to nowadays. Lanzarote has been built almost only from basaltic materials, grouped in three stages of volcanic construction, one submarine and...

Lanzarote is a well-established tourist destination with numerous geosites located in tourist centers on the island, such as seven Art, Culture and Tourism Centers, the Timanfaya National Park, Cesar Manrique’s Foundation and some tourist attractions like Los Hervideros cliff, Salinas del Janubio or El Golfo volcano. Although these places are visit...

The geological record is a suitable tool for the study of eruptive activity in volcanoes. The hydromagmatic explosive eruptions can generate deformation in sediments, which were deposited on the volcanic cone. The hydromagmatic sediments can be liquefied when the energy released by the explosion exceeds seismic magnitudes of 5-5.5 (sand sediment si...

This paper presents a combined onshore-offshore morpho-structural characterization of the El Golfo giant landslide, island of El Hierro (Canary Archipelago, Spain). Offshore data from multibeam echosounders, chirp sub-bottom profiles and multichannel seismic reflection data and onshore data coming from water wells and galleries have been analyzed....

Risk management stakeholders in high-populated volcanic islands should be provided with the latest high-quality volcanic information. We present here the first volcanic susceptibility map of Lanzarote and Chinijo Islands and their submarine flanks based on updated chronostratigraphical and volcano structural data, as well as on the geomorphological...

Extremely voluminous landslides with a long run-out (also known as megalandslides) on oceanic volcanic islands are infrequent denudational processes on such islands. At the same time, they represent a major geological hazard that must be looked into to avoid negative consequences for the inhabitants of these islands. Their occurrence can be related...

The first complete volcano-structural map of El Hierro (Canary Islands, Spain) has been developed in order to provide a tool for volcano-tectonic analyses and volcanic hazard evaluation on the island. This map is a synthesis of collated and interpreted field data and bathymetric maps. We have integrated information obtained from: (1) high-resolutio...

New age data have been obtained to time constrain the recent Quaternary volcanism of El Hierro (Canary Islands) and to estimate its recurrence rate. We have carried out 40Ar/39Ar geochronology on samples spanning the entire volcanostratigraphic sequence of the island and 14C geochronology on the most recent eruption on the northeast rift of the isl...

Update of the Quaternary Map of Spain (e. 1: 1,000,000) and Spanish contribution to the International Quaternary Map of Europe (e. 1: 2,500,000): This contribution deals about a new project started by the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain with a dual purpose. First, to update the geological data of the Quaternary Map of Spain at 1:1,000,000...

Evaluar la peligrosidad volcánica en zonas activas resulta un desafío a la par que una tarea imprescindible. La zona volcánica más activa de España, el archipiélago Canario, se caracteriza por una baja frecuencia eruptiva, lo que ha conducido, en cierto modo, a subestimar la peligrosidad inherente a los procesos eruptivos. La última erupción ocurri...

Timanfaya historical volcanic deposits are included into the “Recent Volcanism of Timanfaya (Lanzarote)” Global Geosite in the geoheritage inventory of international significance inventory for Spain. This Geosite has been defined by the Global Geosites Project, a global inventory of the Earth’s geological heritage (IUGS-UNESCO) and it is representa...

Using new surface structural data as well as subsurface structural data obtained from seventeen water galleries, we provide a comprehensive model of the volcano-tectonic evolution of El Hierro (Canary Islands). We have identified, measured and analysed more than 1700 volcano-structural elements including vents, eruptive fissures, dykes and faults....

Rifts zones in volcanic oceanic islands are common structures that have been explained through several theo-ries/models. However, despite all these models it is as yet unclear whether it is the intense intrusive activity or the sector collapses that actually control the structural evolution and geometry of oceanic-island rift zones. Here we provide...

Brittle strain analysis in Tenerife and Lanzarote islands (Canary Islands, Spain). Preliminary results): One of the parameters that control the dynamics of a zone is the strain field. The studies of brittle strain in Canary Islands are scarce, for this reason this paper is focussed in the study of microfaults by means of fault population analysis i...