NASA MODIS Image of the Day: September 12, 2012 – Plume from Mount Anak Krakatau, Indonesia
In early September, 2012, the Anak Krakatau volcano began a new eruptive phase with the largest eruption in ten years. The Global Volcanism Program reported increasing seismicity in August, followed by an eruption at 1830 UTC on September 2. This Strombolian eruption – a type of mildly explosive eruption – ejected lava 200-300 meters (626 – 984 feet) above the crater. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite captured this true-color image at 0250 on September 3, 2012. A large, tan plume can be seen rising from Anak Krakatau, which lies in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java (southeast) and Sumatra (northwest). The plume blows generally to the north, but also appears to spread over the region. The Darwin Volcano Ash Advisory Center reported that ash plumes rose to altitudes of 1.4-4.3 km (8,000- 14,000 feet) and drifted 35-95 km north on that same day. Anak Krakatau, or “Child of Krakatau” emerged from the waters of Sunda Strait in 1927, as a remnant of the infamous Krakatau volcano which collapsed in the devastating eruption of 1883. The eruption of Krakatau killed about 36,000 people, most due to tsunamis which swept the coast of Java and Sumatra. Since its emergence, Anak Krakatau has remained active, with sporadic low-level eruptions.
