Eruption of ultralow-viscosity basanite magma at Cumbre Vieja, La Palma, Canary Islands

The viscosity of magma exerts control on all aspects of its migration through the crust to eruption. This was particularly true for the 2021 eruption of Cumbre Vieja (La Palma), which produced exceptionally fast and fluid lava at high discharge rates. We have performed concentric cylinder experiments to determine the effective viscosities of the Cumbre Vieja magma, while accounting for its chemistry, crystallinity, and temperature. Here we show that this event produced a nepheline-normative basanite with the lowest viscosity of historical basaltic eruptions, exhibiting values of less than 10 to about 160 Pa s within eruption temperatures of similar to 1200 to similar to 1150 degrees C. The magma's low viscosity was responsible for many eruptive phenomena that lead to particularly impactful events, including high-Reynolds number turbulent flow and supercritical states. Increases in viscosity due to crystallization-induced melt differentiation were subdued in this eruption, due in part to subtle degrees of silica enrichment in alkaline magma.

Automated summary

The viscosity of magma plays a crucial role in its migration and eruption. The 2021 eruption of Cumbre Vieja volcano produced highly fluid lava with low viscosity, resulting in high-Reynolds number turbulent flow and supercritical states. The increase in viscosity due to crystallization-induced melt differentiation was not significant in this eruption.