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Report on Krakatau (Indonesia) — 29 August-4 September 2012


Krakatau

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 29 August-4 September 2012
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2012. Report on Krakatau (Indonesia) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 29 August-4 September 2012. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (29 August-4 September 2012)

Krakatau

Indonesia

6.1009°S, 105.4233°E; summit elev. 285 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


CVGHM reported that during 1 June-1 September observations of Anak Krakatau were often prevented by fog; occasionally diffuse white plumes were observed rising from the crater in June. Seismicity increased significantly in August. On 2 September seismicity again increased, and at 1830 a Strombolian eruption ejected lava 200-300 m above the crater. The Alert Level remained at 2 (on a scale of 1-4). Residents and visitors were warned not to approach the volcano within 1 km of the crater.

Based on analyses of satellite imagery, the Darwin VAAC reported that on 3 September ash plumes rose to altitudes of 2.4-4.3 km (8,000-14,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted 35-95 km N.

Geological Summary. The renowned Krakatau (frequently mis-named as Krakatoa) volcano lies in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. Collapse of an older edifice, perhaps in 416 or 535 CE, formed a 7-km-wide caldera. Remnants of that volcano are preserved in Verlaten and Lang Islands; subsequently the Rakata, Danan, and Perbuwatan cones were formed, coalescing to create the pre-1883 Krakatau Island. Caldera collapse during the catastrophic 1883 eruption destroyed Danan and Perbuwatan, and left only a remnant of Rakata. This eruption caused more than 36,000 fatalities, most as a result of tsunamis that swept the adjacent coastlines of Sumatra and Java. Pyroclastic surges traveled 40 km 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 Danan and Perbuwatan cones. Anak Krakatau has been the site of frequent eruptions since 1927.

Sources: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM), Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC)