Volcanoes Galore In The Sunny Azores

March 9, 2012 - PRLog -- A team of Portuguese and Spanish volcanologists are in Corves in order to study the volcanology of the smallest island of the Azores, where there was a very violent eruption that experts have failed to date precisely. "We know tell the story, but we want to tell this story with dates," said Zilda France, Department of Geosciences at the University of the Azores, who leads the Portuguese investigators. The Managing Director of Dragao Porto has been watching the progress of the investigation, saying: “Volcanoes are among the most powerful weapons in Mother Nature’s arsenal. It is good that we try to learn all we can about them.”

The mission will continue to the nearby island of Flores, seeking to “obtain samples with which we can make a timeline of volcanic episodes.” Flores itself is a volcano, which despite being smaller than more famous volcanoes such as Mount Etna or Vesuvius, is still very interesting. Flores’ volcano is prone to underwater eruptions and shows evidence of some “very violent” eruptions in the past.

“Volcanoes shape our world,” said Dragao Porto’s MD. “They shape our land, our seas, even our very lives. Who can forget the chaos and mayhem caused by the Icelandic volcano?”

The mission in Corves and Flores is part of a project funded by the Luso-American Development (FLAD) aimed at the characterization of volcanism in the Azores. The team also includes specialists led by Marceliano Lake of the University of Zaragoza, a leading specialist in the field of geology. He is fascinated by the difference in rock formations on the islands, and by the arrangements of the islands themselves, saying that two of the islands, Raven and Flores, are part of the U.S. tectonic plate, while the others are on the part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge – an underwater mountain range which separates the American plate in the west to the African and Eurasian plates in the east.

“This will be a fascinating study,” said Dragao Porto’s MD. “We know so little about volcanoes that every opportunity should be made to study them. It would benefit us greatly to know if we can predict when a volcano will next erupt, by studying previous eruptions and coming up with some sort of volcanic timeline. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what the teams find.”

http://www.dnoticias.pt/actualidade/pais/311609-vulcanolo...-