This morning saw a series of seismic activity in the west of Tenerife, specifically in the Teno-Rasca marine area, for the first time in six years. According to the National Geographic Institute (IGN) there have been at least 40 earthquakes in the sea, which have been deep, more than 40 kilometres, and with a magnitude less than 1.2 on the Richter scale.
In just over ten hours, from 8pm last night (Sunday) to 6:30am today, these tremors took place occurred without interruption. The IGN says they have been able to locate the epicentre of 15 of them, at depths between 40 and 50 kilometres which have not been noticeable to the public due to their low magnitude.
This seismic activity on the west coast of Tenerife is considered a rarity within the seismic catalogue of the island. Tenerife has well-defined seismic points, such as Las Cañadas del Teide, Arico, and the Enmedio Volcano, which is the area in the sea that separates Tenerife from Gran Canaria.
However, this is the first time since 2017 that seismic activity has been recorded on the west coast of Tenerife, but it does not mean there is "any change in the state of the island's volcanic activity due to the low number of events and its small magnitude."
Although up to now there are no clear indications of a connection with volcanic activity, IGN researchers will continue to monitor this phenomenon to determine if it is maintained continuously and to corroborate whether or not it is related to volcanism in the Canary Islands, mainly because of its location.
