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Online Notes
A Synopsis of
the Krakatau
1883 Eruption:
The Story Told
by The Deposits
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The 1883
eruption of
Krakatau volcano
in the Sunda
Straits of
Indonesia, on
August 26 to
27th , 1883 was
the second
largest
explosive
eruption of
historic time.
Approximately
13.6 km3
of magma was
erupted during
this event,
mostly in the
form of
voluminous
pyroclastic
flows.
Fatalities from
this eruption
from the direct
effects of
tephra fallout,
and the indirect
effects of
volcanogenic
tsunamis totaled
over 36,000.
Despite the
notoriety of the
1883 eruption,
few studies of
its deposits
have been
undertaken.
Recent research
has documented
that over 78% of
the erupted
material
generated during
this event was
deposited on the
seafloor
surrounding the
volcano.
Consequently, an
accurate
reconstruction
of the eruption
process and
evolution of the
event would be
incomplete
without a
thorough study
of the submarine pyroclastic
deposits and a
thorough
comparison of
these to their
land-based
counterparts.
Study of
submarine
samples
recovered in
SCUBA cores has
now documented
that lethal
tsunamis from
this eruption
were generated
from pyroclastic
flows entering
the shallow sea
around the
volcano. More
importantly,
these deposits
from Krakatau
volcano
demonstrate the
potential hazard
of volcanogenic
tsunamis in
areas where
explosively
erupting
volcanoes are
surrounded by
shallow seas.
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