La Palma Volcano Eruption: Hidden Tunnels Helping Lava

La Palma Volcano Eruption: Hidden Tunnels Helping Lava

LA PALMA, SPAIN — As the La Palma volcano continues to erupt after two months, molten lava is travelling down toward the Atlantic Ocean at speeds of up to one meter per second through new lava tubes, according to the Canary Islands Volcanology Institute, cited by CNN.

Harvard University’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences explains that these tubes occur when the top surface of a lava flow cools more rapidly than the underlying lava, forming a crust that insulates the lava below, which stays hotter and flows further as a result.

According to the Canary Island Volcano Association, different types of activity at different vents are driving the lava flow.

Last month the extent of the damage prompted the president of a neighboring island to suggest bombing the volcano in order to change the direction of the flow, according to Live Science.