The cinder cones of Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain): implications for volcanic hazard and volcanic risk.

Abstract

Tenerife, the most extensive and high island of the Canarian Archipelago, is characterized by its volcanic complexity, due to the accumulation of different volcanic materials over several million years. Different types of volcanic edifices can be recognized (shield volcano, stratovolcano, calderas, maars, tuff cones, tuff rings, domes, cinder cones...), among which stand out 297 basaltic monogenetic volcanoes. The large number of these edifices, with respect to the other existing morphological types, indicates that they correspond to the most common eruptive process occurred in the recent geological past of Tenerife and, therefore, the one with most probability of occurrence and the shortest recurrence period. In this paper, a theoretical model is presented with the most outstanding volcano-morphological features of the monogenetic volcanoes of Tenerife and of the main morphostructures of the island, with the aim of establishing a characteristic volcano-type. A self-designed and simple methodology has been applied, based on statistical correlations and modal intervals of the morphological and morphometric parameters best defining their morphology. The basaltic monogenetic volcano-type obtained corresponds to a small size volcano (height lt;100 m, volume lt;0.01 km3 and area lt;0.2 km2), constructed by fissural eruptions, moderated in magnitude and of strombolian to violent strombolian dynamics. The setting up of this volcano-type theoretical model has allowed to define the most probable eruptive activity in the future, the most common hazards associated and the potential volcanic risks derived from this activity.