Vulcanian explosions at Anak Krakatau, Indonesia
After weeks of phreatic activity, Vulcanian type of explosions started at the Anak Krakatau volcano in Indonesia on July 20, 2023.
According to the country’s Vulcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center (PVMBG), the first explosion took place at 01:43 UTC and lasted 73 seconds. The height of the ash plume was estimated to be about 500 m (1 640 feet) above the crater or about 657 m (2 155 feet) above sea level.
The second explosion was registered at 01:51 UTC, with a duration of 59 seconds, and thick gray to black ash up to 1 657 m (5 436 feet) a.s.l.
The third explosion followed at 01:52 UTC, with the height of the ash column observed to be about 2 157 m (7 075 feet) a.s.l. This eruption was recorded on a seismograph with a maximum amplitude of 61 mm and a duration of 182 seconds.
The volcano remains at Level III (Standby).
Situated in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, the Krakatau volcano emerged from the remnants of an ancestral volcano that collapsed around 416 or 535 CE, creating a 7 km (4.3 miles) wide caldera. Its catastrophic eruption in 1883 caused the death of over 36 000 people, primarily due to tsunamis, and destroyed two of its cones, Danan and Perbuwatan.
Post-eruption, Anak Krakatau (Child of Krakatau) formed within the caldera and has been an active eruption site since 1927.
Featured image credit: PVMBG
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