Indonesian Island Collapse and Devastating Tsunami Not Caused by Powerful Volcanic Blast

[Grim Reaper 6]

The dramatic collapse of Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau volcano in December 2018 resulted from long-term destabilizing processes, and was not triggered by any distinct changes in the magmatic system that could have been detected by current monitoring techniques, new research has found. The volcano had been erupting for around six months prior to the collapse, which saw more than two-thirds of its height slide into the sea as the island halved in area. The event triggered a devastating tsunami, which inundated the coastlines of Java and Sumatra and led to the deaths of more than 400 people.

Dr. Sebastian Watt, in the University of Birmingham’s School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, is senior author on the paper. He said: ‘This type of volcanic hazard is rare, extremely hard to predict, and often devastating. Our findings show that, although there was a dramatic, explosive eruption after the collapse of Anak Krakatau, this was triggered by the landslide releasing pressure on the magma system – like a champagne cork popping.

https://scitechdaily.com/indonesian-island-collapse-and-devastating-tsunami-not-caused-by-powerful-volcanic-blast/

Downward-propagating eruption following vent unloading implies no direct magmatic trigger for the 2018 lateral collapse of Anak Krakatau published 15 January 2022 Peer Reviewed Journal: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0012821X21005884?via%3Dihub