Volcanology internship on Tenerife

Emma Harris (BSc Earth and Environmental Science) spent a month of her summer 2018 as an intern in Tenerife monitoring CO2 on Teide Volcano, with a company called INVOLCAN in partnership with GeoTenerife. Here, she talks about her experience.

I worked on the North West Rift Zone (NWRZ) of the Teide Volcano using a machine that measures the diffuse CO2 degassing over time. In total over 350 locations were measured in the NWRZ alone. As well as CO2, a temperature gradient was measured and soil gas samples were extracted for further lab analysis.

I was also lucky enough to be part of the team of interns and volcanologists who travelled to the crater of the volcano to undertake these measurements too! It was very precarious working on the volcano cone and I slipped down the flanks numerous times!

The view from the top of volcano was like no other; I felt so lucky to be accepted onto this internship. As I applied during my first year of my Earth and Environmental Science BSc, I did not think I would be chosen, but I think my enthusiasm and passion for volcanology really showed in my application.

This experience has been invaluable to my career and my growth as a young scientist. I’m hoping to be able to research Martian volcanoes in my future career as there is still so much to learn about the terrestrial planets.