Eruption at Anak Krakatau, Indonesia
Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau volcano started erupting again early March 24, 2022, ejecting ash up to 1 157 m (3 800 feet) above sea level at 04:10 UTC. The observed ash column was white to gray with thick intensity towards the south.
The country’s Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation has registered two eruptive events so far today – the first at 09:12 LT (02:12 UTC) and the second at 11:10 LT (04:10 UTC).
The eruptions were recorded on a seismograph with a maximum intensity of 40 and 45 mm, respectively.1
Volcano Krakatau pic.twitter.com/K4MLG5ovhc
— VolcanoYT (@VolcanoYTz) March 24, 2022
Anak Krakatau on February 3, 2022. Credit: Copernicus EU/Sentinel-2, ADAM Platform, Antonio Vecoli
Geological summary
The renowned volcano Krakatau (frequently misstated as Krakatoa) lies in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. The collapse of the ancestral Krakatau edifice, perhaps in 416 CE, formed a 7 km (4.3 miles) wide caldera.
Remnants of this ancestral volcano are preserved in Verlaten and Lang Islands; subsequently Rakata, Danan and Perbuwatan volcanoes were formed, coalescing to create the pre-1883 Krakatau Island. Caldera collapse during the catastrophic 1883 eruption destroyed Danan and Perbuwatan volcanoes and left only a remnant of Rakata volcano.
This eruption, the 2nd largest in Indonesia during historical time, caused more than 36 000 fatalities, most as a result of devastating tsunamis that swept the adjacent coastlines of Sumatra and Java. Pyroclastic surges traveled 40 km (25 miles) across the Sunda Strait and reached the Sumatra coast.
After a quiescence of less than a half-century, the post-collapse cone of Anak Krakatau (Child of Krakatau) was constructed within the 1883 caldera at a point between the former cones of Danan and Perbuwatan. Anak Krakatau has been the site of frequent eruptions since 1927.2
References:
1 MAGMA Indonesia – March 24, 2022
2 Anak Krakatau – Geological summary – GVP
Featured image credit: PVMBG
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