Tidal modulation of the seismic activity related to the 2021 La Palma volcanic eruption

Abstract

AbstractThe volcanic eruption at La Palma started on September 19, 2021. The eruption was preceded by a seismic swarm that began on September 11, although anomalous seismicity has been observed on the island since 2017. During the co-eruptive phase of the seismic activity, hypocenters depth was generally less than 15 km, save for the period between November 10 and November 27, when hypocenters ranged in the depth from 15 to 40 km. The eruption ended on December 13, 2021. We compute tidal stress for each earthquake at the hypocenter depth and find statistically significant correlations between the occurrence times of the earthquakes and the confining tidal stress values and stress rates. The correlation is depth-dependent, and ocean-loading tides have a stronger effect than body tides. We find that tidal stress variations contribute to the eruption onset and that certain explosive events, typical in Strombolian type volcanoes, seem to occur preferentially when the tidal stress rate is high. Our analysis supports the hypothesis that tides may modulate earthquake activity in volcanic areas, specifically during magma migration at shallow depths. A conceptual model is proposed, which could have a general application in the Canary Islands archipelago and other volcanic islands.