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In this perspective piece, we reflect on scientific progress in volcanic risk reduction and its prospects for future development. In spite of recent advances, a dichotomy still exists between the products of academic research and the desire for practical applications. The main themes to emerge are (1) the need to find the most effective ways to explain the ever growing amount and complexity of volcanological data to non-specialist stakeholders, and (2) how to transfer to future generations of applied scientists the lessons from practical experience that are often missed by theoretical guidelines. Recommendations for sustaining progress in these fields include improving the accessibility of knowledge and data, embracing novel tools to communicate volcanic risk and uncertainty for decision making, and investing effort on transferring practical experience across generations.En este breve artículo, reflexionamos sobre los adelantos científicos para la reducción del riesgo de erupciones volcánicas y en las oportunidades para continuar progresando. A pesar de avances recientes, todavía existe un desfase entre los resultados de investigaciones científicas y su aplicación práctica. Los temas clave que identificamos son (1) la necesidad de encontrar maneras más efectivas de explicar la cantidad incremental de información volcanológica (y su creciente complejidad) a todos los grupos interesados, especialmente los no-especialistas y (2) cómo transmitir y transferir, a futuras generaciones de cientificos, la experiencia y los aprendizajes prácticos que no figuran en directrices y manuales. Recomendaciones para mantener avances en estos campos incluyen: mejorar la accesibilidad de la información y datos científicos, adoptar nuevas técnicas para comunicar: el riesgo volcánico, la incertidumbre en información científica y para apoyar la toma de decisiones, e invertir en transferir experiencia práctica a las generaciones futuras.

Two remarkable 2021 eruptions – Fagradalsfjall (Reykjanes, Iceland) and Cumbre Vieja (La Palma, Spain) – have been captured in imagery and videography at unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution by tourists, volcano-enthusiasts, and media organizations. We propose this represents the start of a new era for observational volcanology, with the abundance of eruption imagery leveraged for scientific use., Nature Communications, 13, ISSN:2041-1723

Historic and recent (last 2,000 years) eruptions on the active volcanic island of Tenerife have been predominantly effusive, indicating that this is the most probable type of activity to be expected in the near future. In the past, lava flow invasion caused major damage on the island, and as the population and infrastructure have increased dramatically since the last eruption, lava flows are the most important short-term volcanic risk on Tenerife. Hence, an understanding of lava flow behaviour is vital to manage risks from lava flows and minimise future losses on the island. This paper focuses on the lava flows from the historic eruptions in Tenerife, providing new data on the volumes emitted, advance rates and the timing of the emplacement of flows. The studies show three main stages in the development of unconfined flow fields: the first stage, corresponding to the fast advance of the initial fronts during the first 24–36 h of eruption (reaching calculated velocities of up to 1.1 m/s); the second stage, in which fronts stagnate; and a third stage, in which secondary lava flows develop from breakouts 4–7 days after the initial eruption and farther extend the flow field (velocities of up to 0.02 m/s have been calculated for this stage). The breakouts identified originated at sites both proximal and distal to the vent and, in both cases, caused damage through lengthening and widening the original flow field. Hence, the probability of damage from lavas to land and property is highest during stages 1 and 3, and this should be accounted for when planning the response to a future effusive eruption. Tenerife’s lava flows display a similar behaviour to that of lava flows on volcanoes characterised by basaltic effusive activity (such as Etna or Kilauea), indicating the possibility of applying forecasting models developed at those frequently active volcanoes to Tenerife.