The year 1883 saw one of the deadliest eruptions in volcanic history, erupting from the Indonesian volcano Krakatoa (or sometimes referred to as Krakatoa). The location was the Sunda Strait, which lies between the islands of Java and Sumatra.
The force of the eruption was so devastating that it caused a massive tsunami, bringing darkness to half the Earth, and destroying much of the island. Years later, a new island volcano named Anak Krakatoa (or Child of Krakatoa) rose from the ocean but partially collapsed in 2018. But the story of Krakatoa is not just one of devastation and disaster.
The rise of the self-destructing volcano Krakatoa and the birth of Anak Krakatoa
Krakatoa existed long before its famous 1883 eruption as a volcanically active island due to tectonic forces associated with the Pacific Ring of Fire. The island was located on top of a subduction zone characterized by movements of the Indo-Australian plate beneath the Eurasian plate, creating high underground pressures. Based on the findings reported in the Journal of Applied Earth Sciences and Engineering, previous volcanic collapses may have led to the formation of the caldera hundreds of years ago.As NASA reported, in May 1883, Krakatoa became highly active again with ash clouds, tremors, and explosions, indicating increased underground pressures within the volcano. Finally, on August 27, 1883, four volcanic eruptions occurred that blew up most of the island in just several hours. After all the calculations, scientists concluded that the eruption had spewed about 18-21 cubic kilometers of volcanic products into the air.
It is worth noting that the explosion was so powerful that it was heard several thousand kilometers away. NASA described the noise as “the loudest noise in human history.”
The explosion that destroyed an entire island
However, the explosion caused more than just the destruction of rocks and ash. Huge tsunami waves up to 30 meters high occurred and caused massive damage to residents of coastal areas of Java and Sumatra, resulting in the death of more than 36,000 people, who died not due to volcanic eruptions, but due to tsunamis.According to meteorologist J. G. Simons’s 1884 publication “The Eruption of Krakatau and Subsequent Phenomena,” the Royal Society set up a committee “to collect accounts of the eruption [sic] Krakatau and its subsequent phenomena for their preservation and usefulness.”Later, volcanologists, through a research paper in the journal Nature, provided more information about the causes that led to the tsunami caused by the volcanic eruption. They noted that lava flows resulting from the eruption fell into the sea and facilitated the occurrence of tsunami waves.In addition, the explosions caused a temporary change in weather conditions. Ash and sulfur particles rose into the atmosphere, making the sunset unusually beautiful and causing the planet to cool for a while.
Anak Krakatoa: Return of the Child of Krakatoa
It seems that nature had another trick up its sleeve for Krakatoa; It seems that the destruction was not the end. A new volcanic cone began emerging from the ocean waters in 1927, nearly fifty years after the initial event, which locals called Anak Krakatau.The island has continued to expand over the decades, growing thanks to multiple volcanic eruptions and lava flows. Satellite images provided by NASA revealed that new lava appeared in late 2012, expanding the island’s coastline.Unfortunately, like its predecessor, Anak Krakatau is also unstable. In December 2018, some of the island’s material fell into the ocean, triggering another devastating tsunami that killed several people near the coast.Once again, Krakatoa’s life cycle proves to be somewhat cyclical. To this day, Anak Krakatau remains a very active volcanic island, serving as a witness to a unique process of creation and destruction.
