New Zealand is characterized by its great biodiversity and its landscapes that have amazed its citizens and tourists for years. But within its characteristics, it must be said that volcanism is one of the most important, so much so that basically all the geographical peculiarities that exist on the large island have been formed by volcanoes. Lake Taupo is precisely one of these regions that includes a sublime landscape dominated by a volcano and seismologists warn that it is awakening.
Taupo is a stunning natural aquifer formation fed by the blue waters of the Waitahanui, Tongariro and Tauranga Taupo rivers. In its surroundings you can also see waterfalls and cliffs of naturally carved precious stones, but perhaps the characteristic that most attracts those who know Taupo is its bubbling caldera of magma from the supervolcano of the same name.
Geologists believe that 25,400 years ago, a huge earthquake occurred that led to the formation of the crater that is now covered by the lake. However, it is not asleep, even today its activity is visible to seismologists who have detected earthquakes and earthquakes coming from this epicenter.
Records say the Taupo supervolcano has been active at least 25 times so far in the last 12,000 years. It is believed that the last major eruption occurred in the year 232 of the Common Era and that, together with the other violent explosions, they have managed to create a very active magma chamber.
Will Taupo volcano erupt?
Research over the last 42 years has shown that although Taupo has not had an eruption, it has had destructive episodes. Movements have been detected in the subsoil that have finally generated subsidence and swelling of the .
“Taupo is an active caldera volcano and, although it has not erupted since 232 AD. C., has undergone periods of historical upheaval that can involve a large amount of seismic activity and ground deformation,” explains Finnigan Illsley-Kemp, from the University of Victoria.
*Credits: NASA
The analysis of the territory over the years has been able to track the deformation of the soil in that region of the globe. Near Horomatangi, the volcano has raised the ground by at least 16 centimeters and further north of the lake, there is a subsidence of 14 centimeters.
These movements have led seismologists and volcanologists to ask the inevitable question: Is Taupo going to explode? And the answer is a bit contradictory, since while the violent shaking indicates that the supervolcano is not completely asleep, they are not a clear marker that it is waking up either. “It does not mean that it is waking up and is going to explode,” the researchers conclude.
References: Illsley-Kemp, F. Volcanic Unrest at Taupō Volcano in 2019: Causes, Mechanisms and Implications. Advancing Earth and Space Science, DOI