Indonesia’s Volatile Child of Krakatau Collapsed, but Now It’s More Explosive

Anak Krakatau is creating its own ‘volcano thunderstorm,’ sending ash more than a mile skyward in eruptions as frequently as every minute

Anak Krakatau spews hot ash during an eruption Muhammad Adimaja/ANTARA FOTO/Reuters

Waiting.....
And still waiting ....
For lefties to find a way to blame the eruption on Trump - to prove to themselves
that the eruption is man made.


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By Jake Maxwell Watts


Dec. 29, 2018 7:00 a.m. ET


Anak Krakatau spewed hot ash during an eruption on Friday.


ANYER, Indonesia—The volcano that unleashed a tsunami and k**led more than 400 people has collapsed to about a third of its previous height and is ejecting superheated magma into the sea, magnifying the power of the eruptions and sending ash more than a mile into the air.

The volcano, called Anak Krakatau, partially collapsed in a violent spasm on Dec. 22, causing a massive landslide that sent high waves barreling toward both shores of the Sunda Strait, the narrow passage between the islands of Java and Sumatra. The volcano’s cone is now about 360 feet above sea level, Indonesian officials said Saturday, reduced from more than 1,000 feet before the collapse.



Volcanoes erupt or collapse when a buildup of pressure inside becomes too much for the cone to sustain. Anak Krakatau has been erupting since June and scientists say it is impossible to tell what it will do next, but it could erupt violently or the stress on the rock could force another collapse and send a landslide into the strait, triggering another tsunami.




How a Volcano Triggered a Tsunami

Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau volcano k**led hundreds of people when part of it collapsed and caused a tsunami Dec. 22. The volcano has grown on the ruins of its infamous parent, Krakatau (also known as Krakatoa), which destroyed itself in an 1883 eruption.




Note: The illustration is not to scale.

Sources: International Tsunami Information Center; Indonesia's volcanology agency

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The earlier collapse pushed Anak Krakatau’s active vent underwater, creating a constant reaction with the sea that instantly turns water to steam. As it expands, the steam blows apart the molten rock.

“The big difference is unlike prior to the collapse, the erupting magma is being exposed directly to seawater, so the eruptions are more explosive and actually creating its own ‘volcano thunderstorm’ from all the steam, ash and volcanic gases,” said Erik Klemetti, a volcano expert at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. “It is inherently unstable as it’s just made of layers of lava and ash and debris.”

On Friday, it was sending ash more than a mile skyward in eruptions as frequently as every minute, officials said. Anak Krakatau has been barely visible from shore for the past week, partly due to storms. But even when the sky clears, the plume of ash generated by the underwater reaction, known as a pyroclastic cloud, smothers the silhouette. After dark, lightning strikes caused by energy released from the eruption can be seen every few seconds.

Perhaps most likely, scientists say, the volcano will erupt slowly and grow foot by foot, piling fresh lava on top of old. Over time, the cone will again push higher above the surface. Officials said Saturday the volcano’s smaller size makes the chance of another large collapse unlikely.