Iceapelago

by Peter Brennan

The ORM boardroom was full to capacity. A sense of anticipation was in the air. While everyone had worked all hours of the day and night on their assigned tasks, they only had a preliminary assessment across all the target zones.

  Mark stood up to address his team with his coffee cup, as ever, in his hand. He looked strained – as well he might. He had had little sleep since his arrival on La Palma. ‘Let’s recap the data we’ve gathered over the past week. I’m keen to get a clear picture of the current situation so that we can start planning for all eventualities.’

  ‘Franco, let’s start with you and your team.’

  Franco Bradelle shuffled to the front. ‘As agreed, we focused on two areas where there had been a noticeable increase in activity. All the seismometers have been working as programmed and have been monitored on a 24/7 basis. We started with relatively mild tremors at uneven intervals, but in the past twenty-four hours we’ve had two 3.1 Richter scale events within twenty minutes of each other. What is causing us some concern is that not only are both shallow, but it now appears there are at least two epicentres, and they may be linked.’

  ‘Two?’ Mark asked.

  ‘Yes, one is located some three thousand metres to the right of where we are, in the centre of the National Park near Pico Bejenado. The second is offshore, some five kilometres north of the island.’

  ‘Talk to me about the offshore readings,’ Mark said casually, not wishing to exacerbate stress in an already fraught group. He knew the emerging situation was anything but routine.

  ‘The NASA satellite and our instruments have tri-located the epicentre at a depth of ten kilometres, some five kilometres off the northern coastline in a line from the town of Barlovento,’ said Franco. ‘There are no records of previous earthquake activity in this area offshore. We therefore can’t explain the phenomenon.’

  ‘What makes you suggest that they may be linked?’ said Mark.

  ‘It now appears that the magma chamber that’s under the Pico Bejenado was the reason for the recent volcanic activity along the Ruta. The onshore eruptions may have caused a fracture and allowed a deeper chamber to emerge. If that’s the case the parameters of a significant volcanic eruption could be as wide as twenty square kilometres. This may mean that the entire northern part of the island, including a zone five kilometres offshore is at risk.’

  ‘Anyone got some good news?’ asked Mark, instinctively knowing the answer would be negative.

  ‘I’m afraid not,’ said Franco. ‘The drones have mapped the Pico Bejenado target areas in detail with infrared thermal sensors and chemical sensors. While there have been no vents apart from the secondary fissure Maria and Claudine saw some days ago, there are five significant hotspots all growing in intensity that are sub-surface for the time being.’

  Mark knew everyone was expecting him to call it given the growing evidence.

  ‘I was expecting these results from around Cumbre Vieja as we’re getting similar readings from La Gomera. But the prospect of an offshore epicentre has me totally puzzled. Antonio, you should alert Marco Lesle and the Guardia Civil. Tell them to start evacuating the villages on the northern shores. The emergency centre in Santa Cruz de la Palma should be able to manage as the area is not heavily populated. I’m glad hill walking and mountain trekking were suspended a few days ago. Many of the tourists have left the island. This make matters a bit less complicated.’

  Having spoken to the head of the island’s Guardia Civil, Simon and Ros had no confidence there was the slightest chance Marco Lesle would be bothered. He always seemed to have other priorities than his principal job.

  As the brothers suspected, Antonio Farillo’s urgings to the head of the Guardia Civil fell on deaf ears.

  Mark knew the pattern. It was inevitable that there would be at least one major eruption. What was known was that a volcanic eruption close to the National Park was practically a certainty. The known unknowns were its intensity, the likelihood of multiple vents, and the impact that a major earthquake could have on the stability of the entire length of the Caldera de Taburiente.

  ‘We’re scientists in the first instance, so let’s do our job. The largest hotspot that PD1 has identified in the National Park is close to Pico Bejenado. We need a physical inspection of the terrain. We also need to get rock and gas samples. Would anyone like to volunteer to join me in undertaking this task?’

  The Rodriquez brothers, Claudine and Maria raised their hands simultaneously.

  ‘Youthful enthusiasm. I trust the girls will not take offence, but it’s perhaps best if the boys joined me on this occasion.’

  Maria could see that Claudine was about to object. She touched her on her arm with a warning look. While she shared her sister’s frustration, she knew now wasn’t the time to get into gender politics.

  ‘We’ll need to get you fitted out in the heat suits,’ Mark addressed the brothers. ‘Have you worn one before?’

  ‘No,’ replied Ros.

  ‘I had a dozen shipped here on the Sikorsky. They are the latest design and can withstand temperatures as high as 1,650 degrees Celsius. They have built in radio communications headsets so we can all talk to each other and to the control room here. We tested the suits last year in Iceland. I’m confident, provided we stay at a safe distance, and they are not penetrated, that they will protect us.’

  Mark spoke to Pedro Dunato. ‘The two drones should be deployed at the perimeters of the area we’re going to investigate. There’s not much else you can do other than to be on hand should an emergency rescue be necessary. The Sikorsky team have been briefed and know what to do if called upon. By my reckoning we could witness a significant volcanic eruption within twenty-four hours. Let’s get kitted out and be on site before the fireworks start.’

  They headed to the changing rooms in the basement of the ORM complex. They got into the protective suits but didn’t seal them. Within minutes they were equipped and ready to go.

  Mark drove the ORM’s Range Rover down the mountain and into the middle of the National Park. Despite the earlier incident, the car park at La Cumbrecita was selected as the most suitable site because there was a direct line of vision to the ORM over one thousand metres above.

  While Mark and the brothers were en route – it would take them ninety minutes to arrive at the car park – the drone operators got to work. Pedro knew how to get the best from his toys. He set the drones on autopilot in a circular pattern at either end of a diameter, around a kilometre apart. In that way the cameras were able to get a full panoramic perspective of the base of the National Park. Once in a holding pattern he turned on the infrared thermal detectors and waited for the results. The shade of red indicated on his monitors had deepened compared to the previous day. The alert on the monitors started to shrill. In the control room it jarred everyone’s senses.

  Without hesitation he called Mark on his mobile phone in the Range Rover.

  ‘Mark, this is Pedro.’

  ‘Yes, Pedro. Trouble?

  ‘I think we’re even closer to an eruption than we expected. Where are you now?’

  ‘Just short of the car park.’

  ‘I suggest you stay there. The infrared sensors show a growing area of thermal activity on the left flank of Pico Bejenado. That’s no more than a kilometre from your location.’

  ‘Pedro, we’ll wait a while as you suggest. Time to be cautious. We have to respect Mother Nature. Keep your mobile on and give us a running commentary. We’ll switch to radio communications once we’re sealed into our protective suits.’

  Pedro moved towards the computer screen that displayed the camera feed from PD1. Maria and Claudine looked over his shoulder. Soon a large deep red semi-circle formed in the middle of the screen. He had seen this phenomenon before in Iceland. He was watching one of nature’s most unique features: the birth of a volcano.

  ‘I better fly PD1 higher. I suspect we’re about to
witness an explosion.’

  He turned off the autopilot. No sooner had the drone withdrawn from the immediate vicinity than lava started to ooze slowly from one vent at first and within minutes an area of three hundred square metres was alight. The lava was just below the surface and rising.

  ‘Wait for it.’

  The sound was deafening. The drone’s acoustic capability did the business in relaying the blast in stereophonic sound. Seconds later the sound wave hit the ORM and the Range Rover’s passengers almost simultaneously.

  From a height of over a kilometre, PD1 had a grandstand view of the main vent of the emerging volcano that started to spew lava bombs over a wide area. Some rocks were thrown almost two hundred metres into the air. The slow trickle of lava suddenly changed as the flow increased. There was a further loud explosion that blew open what was by now a large cavity. Lava bombs flew in all directions like arrows from a bow. As if in slow motion, the top of the mountain fractured and collapsed inside the volcano’s growing crater. A dense brown ash cloud grew, like a small nuclear mushroom cloud, and rose higher and higher into the otherwise clear blue morning sky. As particles of ash rubbed together, they created an electrostatic charge that soon turned into a flow of electricity. This current exploded the air around it, creating multiple lightning flashes.

  It could have been a scene from Dante’s Inferno. PD2 was the first casualty. Although located at what should have been a relatively safe distance, a cluster of lava bombs struck the drone and it melted and disintegrated. Its monitors went blank.

  This was not a good sign.

  ‘Pedro, pull back PD1 for goodness sake,’ shouted Mark from the relative safety of the front seat of the Range Rover, when he heard what had happened.

  The drone operator manoeuvred the gear stick and PD1 flew out of immediate danger.

  ‘Mark, check out the seismic readings on your laptop.’

  Mark turned to the laptop that was on the front passenger seat to see the amplitude graph zigzag at speed. The reading lines darkened the page they were so close together.

  ‘Don’t tell me that’s offshore, oh please don’t!’

  His worst fears were confirmed. A Richter 4 earthquake reading pinpointed the Pico Bejenado episode at a depth of five kilometres. An almost identical reading was recorded at a similar depth and at the same time due north of the island. The initial tremors lasted thirty minutes. Mark and the Rodriquez brothers remained in safety in the Range Rover. They knew there would be aftershocks. After an hour, Mark decided it was time to move. He was, as ever, impatient.

  ‘Boys, let’s get going.’

  ‘Back to the ORM?’

  ‘Hell no. I will drive the Range Rover to a safe distance from the Pico Bejenado. I want to get samples and to see what type of volcano we’re dealing with.’

  ‘You can’t be serious,’ said Simon. He was surprised at Mark’s reaction.

  ‘I am,’ replied Mark. ‘In my experience, after the initial volcanic blast, there may be a period of relative calm before the eruptions start again. We need to take rock and chemical samples if we are to make any sense of what is happening.’

  The brothers trusted Mark Doyle. After all, he was the doyen of the volcanic scientific community. They did not demur further or question his intentions.

  As the tarmac road wasn’t badly damaged, they got to the car park without any trouble. They got out of the Range Rover. It didn’t take long to seal the heavy survival suits.

  They observed the scene a kilometre away. The distinctive peak of the Pico Bejenado that had stood at some 1,800 metres for many millennia was shattered. The initial lava explosion had resulted in the top edges falling into a wide volcanic crater that was bubbling with small bursts of liquid magma.

  ‘Holy Shit,’ said Mark.

  ‘What’s happening?’

  ‘Simon, once an eruption of this type breaks the surface, we can expect it to expand and the lava flows to move by gravity down the most direct route. The initial blast has opened up a crater about a hundred metres in diameter. With a bit of luck there will be a pause before another episode. We can expect some minor aftershocks though, so be alert.’

  The brothers were scared. They had every reason to be. They knew that forming volcanoes were notoriously unpredictable. The theory of volcano formation, which they had been studying for years, was suddenly starkly real in front of them. Only three weeks ago they hadn’t a care in the world. If only the clock could be turned back!

  ‘We should try to take some samples from the edge of the lava activity. If the lava is slow moving and dense then the development of this crater may be slow. If the magma is highly liquid that would suggest a deep chamber is feeding the volcano. If that’s the scenario we’ll get out of here as fast as we can.’

  Mark adjusted his protective suit and tested the radio communications. ‘Pedro, I’m with Simon and Ros. We’re going to walk to the edge of the formation to take some samples. The lava bombs have stopped. For as long as it is safe, we’ll proceed.’

  ‘Roger that. PD1 is unscathed and back at the ORM. We’ll insert a new lithium battery and have it overhead within the hour.’

  ‘Good. It’ll take us that long to walk the trail to Pico Bejenado in these suits.’

  Mark took the lead on the uphill climb. This was one of the island’s more testing walks in normal circumstances. In protective suits it was a serious challenge. They passed along a forestry track through sparse pine with Canary citrus undergrowth. They could see that the trees at a higher altitude were on fire. They zigzagged along fire breaks. They stopped at the sheer wall of the Punta de los Roques cliff face to take stock.

  ‘Are you alright?’ Mark spoke softly on his radio microphone.

  ‘I guess so.’

  The reception was so poor that Mark could not ascertain which of the boys had spoken. He knew they were well out of their comfort zone. They needed to hear a calm and confident voice.

  ‘Good. Stay alert.’

  ‘Simon, look after yourself.’ Maria’s voice could be heard over the radio from the ORM.

  Simon sensed the nervousness in her trembling voice.

  ‘Maria. Don’t worry. We’re in safe hands with Mark.’

  He hoped that were true.

  Without notice, a severe earthquake shook the ground. The rocks at the top of the cliffs they were using for shelter hurtled toward them. Worse still, lava bombs – some the size of dustbins – started to fall from the sky and exploded on impact. They knew it was only a matter of time before the tinder dry Canary pine needles would be alight.

  ‘Mark, get back to the car park now.’

  Pedro’s instruction fell on deaf ears. Mark’s head and shoulder took a glancing blow from a lava bomb. It split his suit between his lower neck and shoulder. He collapsed. Oxygen whistled out of his suit.

  ‘Mark’s down,’ screamed Ros.

  They were beside him in a moment. He and Simon assessed that he was alive. The rock had concussed him badly, but he was breathing. They got him into a prone position and moved him under the edge of the cliff face. The lava bombs fell around them. Being so close to the cliff face protected them from another direct hit.

  ‘What are we going to do?’ Simon spoke his thoughts aloud and got an instant response from Claudine.

  ‘You and Ros need to get Mark back to the Range Rover pronto. It will take you ages if you try to do so in your protective suits. Leave Mark’s on but take off yours. It’s a gamble I know but the situation around the Pico Bejenado is deteriorating.

  ‘It sure is,’ said Pedro.

  He continued. ‘PD1’s thermal image detector is showing rising levels of subterranean volcanic activity. The footprint of the Pico Bejenado volcano is expanding. Get moving boys.’

  The suits were stripped off within seconds. The smell of sulphur was immediately evident. They knew fro
m experience it wasn’t yet at a toxic level. They lifted a still-unconscious Mark and propped him between their shoulders.

  ‘On my call: one, two, off we go.’ Ros took charge.

  While they struggled for the first hundred metres, as soon as they got into a rhythm their pace accelerated. The path back to the car park was downhill and this also helped.

  All the while they talked to each other. Pedro and the girls had enough sense not to interrupt. Besides, Pedro had other matters to address. He couldn’t tell the boys, but the thermal readings showed rapidly rising levels of underground magma covering a much greater area. He knew immediately that the initial eruption at the Pico Bejenado was only a foretaste of a larger event. If only the boys and Mark could get to the Range Rover, they had a chance of avoiding what could be a catastrophic increase in volcanic activity.

  Ignorant of what was happening many metres underneath them, the boys arrived at the entrance gate that was on the edge of the car park. The Range Rover was only thirty paces ahead. They paused, took a deep breath and with care got Mark to the door of the car.

  He started to gain consciousness.

  ‘What’s going on?’ he mumbled. ‘My head aches.’

  The boys ignored him. Ros opened the rear passenger door and manhandled him onto the seat. They then swiftly got into the front seats. No time for safety belts.

  ‘I’ll drive,’ said Mark.

  ‘Not on this occasion I’m afraid.’ Simon took the wheel and started the engine.

  The ground shook violently.

  The tremor rocked the Range Rover.

  The boys looked in absolute terror into each other’s eyes.

  Despite its weight the Range Rover was catapulted into the air like a soft toy and thrown upside down over the side of the cliff on which the car park was situated. As it dropped over the vertical edge, a blast of lava from what was to become known as the Pico Bejenado eruption incinerated it in an instant. Only bits of the steel frame remained in mid-air before striking the forest far below in a firebomb. The occupants died instantly – cindered in a second.