Morphological evolution of the 2021 Tajogaite cone (Cumbre Vieja, La Palma, Spain) between January 2022 and July 2024: a quantitative UAS study

Morphological evolution of the 2021 Tajogaite cone (Cumbre Vieja, La Palma, Spain) between January 2022 and July 2024: a quantitative UAS study | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Morphological evolution of the 2021 Tajogaite cone (Cumbre Vieja, La Palma, Spain) between January 2022 and July 2024: a quantitative UAS study Riccardo Civico, Tullio Ricci, Ulrich Kueppers, Víctor Ortega-Ramos, and 6 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8768044/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 12 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Volcanic eruptions shape the landscape. While some events may locally cause mass loss (e.g., gravitational failure, explosive excavation, or collapse following magma withdrawal), constructive processes are dominant: volcanic deposits create new land, cover the landscape, and build new cones around vents. The 2021 Tajogaite eruption (La Palma, Spain) produced a cinder cone complex that was initially 187 m taller than the pre-eruption topography (January 2022). This new volcanic edifice presented an unparalleled chance to quantitatively track its post-eruptive morphological changes. To this end, we are using seven UAS surveys with optical cameras between January 2022 and July 2024. This unique dataset allows us to constrain these changes at high temporal and spatial resolution. Over the course of our observation period the cone "shrank" by more than 11 m in height and lost almost 0.85 x 10 6 m 3 of volume. The rate of these changes was highest at the beginning (6.3 cm height loss/day between January and March 2022) and then decreased exponentially. Towards the end of the observation period (August 2023 to July 2024), the average rate was 0.5 cm/day. These quantifications show that surface processes (wind, rain) accounted for only approximately 10% of the volume loss, with ca. 63 x 10 3 m 3 redeposited at the base of the cone. We attribute most of the observed shape change of the Tajogaite cone to local endogenous processes, either in the shallow plumbing system under the cone, such as 1) decrease of magmatic pressure, bubble collapse and magma drainage, 2) volume loss due to cooling, or within the cone itself, by, e.g., 3) compaction of tephra deposits. Explosive eruption deformation subsidence magma drainage Unoccupied Aerial Systems UAS Structure-from-Motion SfM photogrammetry Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files Civicoetal2026TajogaiteevolutionsupplementaryBOV.docx S3.mov Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 28 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 27 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 21 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 31 Mar, 2026 Reviews received at journal 08 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 07 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 25 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 11 Feb, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 10 Feb, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 05 Feb, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 04 Feb, 2026 First submitted to journal 02 Feb, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8768044","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":586408984,"identity":"1b45fcf4-20eb-420e-a665-d447fb8830bd","order_by":0,"name":"Riccardo 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