A review of the methods of obtaining water in the Canary Islands (Spain) is presented, dividing the islands into two groups: the eastern islands and the western islands. This division is due to the different origins of water resources, with western islands using mainly underground sources, while the eastern ones main source is seawater desalination. Water sources define the way in which water is obtained, as well as the energy expenditure to obtain it. In this review, the energy consumption of different methods of drinking water collection is studied, as well as the resources that make up the energy mix in the Canary Islands. In addition, a projection is made for drinking water consumption and energy consumption related to water use in the archipelago up till the year 2035, in order to observe the expected trends in these sectors.

This paper aims to study the relationship between teamwork competences and successful innovative projects. Empirical insights are provided on this relationship from a study carried out at the School of Mining and Energy Engineering (UPM) in Madrid (Spain). The results of this study establish a strong connection between teamwork and innovative projects using Hierarchical (AHP) and statistical analysis. Throughout this article, the study of successful innovative projects and specifically the role that work teams play in them is proposed to build a model for the creation of work teams that serves as a tool to develop innovative projects of success. The final motivation of this line of research is that if the aspects that define successful innovative projects are known, the model can be fed with the characteristics that these projects include, predict and even prioritize in a portfolio of projects the allocation of resources that will be necessary. The deepening of work teams allows establishing a relationship between successful innovative projects and the composition of these teams, thus being able to propose a team-building model as a diagnostic and planning tool for innovation projects. As a whole, the paper highlights the importance of team composition and development in order to achieve success in innovative projects.

Heterogeneity of volcanic materials that constitute the Canary Islands (Spain) means that mining work in water galleries excavated on these islands, drilling into the terrain for many kilometres, is very challenging. They are composed of materials that vary significantly in terms of cohesion, ranging from very consolidated to loose and highly unstable. Water galleries have been key in the development of the Canary Islands, in order to obtain drinking water from the aquifer. Generally, aquifers are located in mountainous areas with difficult access, which complicates the drilling work. This article analyses the main geotechnical problems encountered in the construction of subterranean water galleries in the Canary Islands, as well as possible solutions to these problems, so that these can be applied to similar territories. As a general conclusion, the instabilities inherent in volcanic materials affect this type of work, and it is necessary to take specific measures for each type of geotechnical risk, as proposed in this article.

En el archipiélago canario existe un amplio espectro de rocas volcánicas con diferentes propiedades para ser utilizadas en obras públicas. El objetivo de este estudio es analizar las propiedades físico-mecánicas de todas las rocas volcánicas presentes en el archipiélago canario con el fin de determinar su idoneidad para ser utilizadas en obras de construcción marítima. La gran variedad de rocas volcánicas presentes en las islas, se han agrupado en litotipos basados en un comportamiento geomecánico similar. Los resultados de los ensayos de laboratorio obtenidos para estos litotipos establecen su idoneidad o no para ser utilizados como material de escollera de acuerdo con la normativa española.

Water galleries are mines that seek to supply drinkable and irrigation water from the aquifer, in order to meet the demand for water in the Canary Islands. This sort of work entails a series of health risks in the form of gases. This document compiles three different studies on the gases that can be found in water galleries in the Canary Islands, having divided the document as follows: 1) the presence of carbon dioxide in 13 galleries in operation on the island of Tenerife; 2) the presence of radon gas in galleries on the islands of Tenerife, El Hierro and La Palma; and 3) the incidence of gases that are harmful to health in a thermal water gallery on La Palma. The results have shown that, in general, the water galleries contain concentrations of gases which are toxic to human health, such as radon, where average radon values measured with both passive detectors are from less than 800 Bq/m 3 to around 10,200 Bq/m 3 . Therefore, it is important to protect the health of the workers who undertake the maintenance of these installations.