BJ Deming

Krakatoa Update (March 31, 2023, 1631 UTC)

Okay, it’s called Anak Krakatau — Child of Krakatoa — now, but I suspect it is still “Krakatoa” to most folks outside Indonesia who don’t happen to be volcanophiles.

Update on name: Per the Royal Society’s 19th-century report on the 1883 eruption, this volcano’s name is related to a local word for “crab,” which it did resemble.

Chris DHDR via Wikimedia, public domain.

MAGMA Indonesia still-image webcams.

Update, March 31, 2023, 9:31 a.m., Pacific: Krakatau reportedly is quiet today, but yesterday they got a wonderful picture of it from space:

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

March 28, 2023, 9:18 a.m., Pacific: Anak Krakatau has been simmering along since the last update several months ago.

It’s still simmering, actually, but just made the news because of a series of somewhat stronger but still low-level explosions that Indonesian volcanologists reportedly characterize as “…part of an eruption phase associated with the formation of a new body for the volcano.”

Here’s some video, although I don’t understand the Indonesian narration:

Per today’s alert (autotranslated), “There is no bang” currently. Level III continues unchanged.

November 22, 2022, 12:37 p.m., Pacific: All is well. I just came across a nice picture of Anak Krakatau, hard at work but, for now, not endangering anyone:

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

June 29, 2022, 12:28 p.m., Pacific: There’s glow showing on one of the cams (it’s night, on June 30, in Indonesia).

Per the current VONA list, that “crab” out the Sunda Strait has had several vulcanian explosions recently.

The alert level has not been raised, though explosions are a little more frequent and incandescence must be from lava in that crater. It’s not really a new development. Krakatau had lava flows earlier in the current activity phase.

I think it just paused a bit until the magma reservoir could be recharged and now may have enough melt available, in the right conditions, to resume lava flows.

As the experts all say, the biggest hazard here right now is not an impending repeat of 1883’s events but collapse of the present volcanic edifice, with resulting tsunami (and air traffic hazards from any ash that might reach flight levels from an explosive burst).

No one wants a repeat of the 2018 tragedy.

June 16, 2022, 5:46 p.m., Pacific: Five VONAs released by MAGMA Indonesia since late on June 14th UTC, but all eruptions were small.

Or, as the volcano just tweeted:

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Aviation Code is still Orange and there’s a 5-km exclusion zone in effect (the Sunda Strait is much wider than that).

June 15, 2022, 10:21 a.m., Pacific: A visual — under difficult conditions — of Krakatau’s most recent vulcanian pop; there is power to it, so this will stay pinned.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

June 11, 2022, 9:07 a.m., Pacific: Another small eruption about three hours ago.

Here is the Darwin advisory — the only information I can find just now (this 13-year-old post on how to read an advisory may help):

FVAU01 ADRM 111320
VA ADVISORY
DTG: 20220611/1320Z
VAAC: DARWIN
VOLCANO: KRAKATAU 262000
PSN: S0606 E10525
AREA: INDONESIA
SUMMIT ELEV: 813M
ADVISORY NR: 2022/158
INFO SOURCE: HIMAWARI-8
AVIATION COLOUR CODE: ORANGE
ERUPTION DETAILS: VA TO FL050 MOV W, LAST OBS AT 11/0130Z
EST VA DTG: 11/1300Z
EST VA CLD: SFC/FL050 S0606 E10526 – S0611 E10518 – S0604
E10514 – S0603 E10518 – S0605 E10525 MOV W 05KT
FCST VA CLD +6 HR: 11/1900Z SFC/FL050 S0605 E10527 – S0607
E10527 – S0611 E10520 – S0605 E10518 – S0603 E10524
FCST VA CLD +12 HR: 12/0100Z SFC/FL050 S0607 E10526 – S0611
E10521 – S0605 E10518 – S0603 E10524 – S0605 E10526
FCST VA CLD +18 HR: 12/0700Z SFC/FL050 S0608 E10527 – S0609
E10522 – S0605 E10519 – S0603 E10522 – S0602 E10526 – S0605
E10528
RMK: VA NOT DISCERNIBLE ON LATEST SAT IMAGERY DUE TO MET
CLOUD. HOWEVER, VA EMMISSION EXPECTED TO BE ONGOING.
FORECAST AND HEIGHT BASED ON HIMAWARI-8 AND MODEL GUIDANCE.
NXT ADVISORY: NO LATER THAN 20220611/1920Z=

Update, June 9, 2022, 6:25 a.m., Pacific: Anak Krakatau erupted yesterday.

Darwin VAAC gave it a “oneoff advisory,” but the visuals are interesting:

Vulkane-Net

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

The ash dissipated quickly, but it was ash, not just gas, and apparently an explosive eruption (vulcanian, per Volcano Discovery) rather than a steam-driven event, so I’ll pin this post again and wait to see if anything more happens.

June 4, 2022, 4:59 p.m., Pacific: A nice clear view! (No advisories currently from Darwin VAAC.)

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

May 20, 2022, 12:17 p.m., Pacific: Darwin VAAC issued the last advisory today.

Since clouds obscure the volcano, I’ll keep this pinned for a little while longer, but, hopefully, this episode has ended. 🤞

12:29 p.m.: So I get on Twitter after posting that update and find this. That “crab” out in the Sunda Strait still needs watching!

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

May 17, 2022, 9:39 a.m., Pacific: There’s no change apparently. Darwin VAAC issued another advisory. Their remarks:

: VA NOT IDENTIFIABLE ON SATELLITE IMAGERY DUE TO MET
CLOUD IN AREA. WEAK VA PLUME LAST OBS 17/0930Z EXTENDING N
OF VOLCANO. WEBCAM SHOWS STEAM EMISSION ONGOING. VA HEIGHT
AND FCST MOV BASED ON HIMAWARI-8 IMAGERY AND MODEL GUIDANCE.
NXT ADVISORY: NO LATER THAN 20220517/1915Z=

I’ll post new advisories only if there is any change. Unfortunately, the CCTV images I can find online are almost a week old. Does anyone know of more frequently updated webcams?

May 15, 2022, 12:17 p.m., Pacific: An update yesterday, from Volcano Discovery — a tremendous resource.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Darwin VAAC still has the advisory listed, but no new ones. No VONA found on the MAGMA Indonesia page, and the Anak Krakatau Twitter account (whoever is running that) doesn’t mention anything new (they did forward this tweet).

Given that relaxed attitude locally, plus the fact that the ongoing activity is effusive (red lava) rather than explosive, my concern is less (whatever that’s worth from a layperson 😄 ).

Will keep this pinned until they lower the alert level, though. Krakatau is tricky because it can’t easily be monitored, being mostly underwater.

May 14, 2022 9:12 a.m., Pacific: Darwin VAAC has issued an advisory, but I’m still looking for information from local official sources.

If I understand aircraft terminology, it wasn’t a very big emission. FL080 is 8,000 feet, right? And it was mostly steam.

Wonder if it was a one-off shot or if Anak Krakatau is feeling restless again.

May 13, 2022, 1:18 p.m., Pacific: Things are still quiet, alert level still elevated.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

May 4, 2022, 10:50 a.m., Pacific: Nothing new, but here is a neat satellite view and update in English:

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Hope it stays at this level!

April 30, 2022, 9:13 a.m., Pacific: Still quiet, still at elevated alert.

Spectacular footage of Anak Krakatau (the new central land built since the much larger caldera, mostly underwater as shown here, blew in 1883).

Twitter translation:

Another angle of the image of Mount Anak Krakatau as of April 28, 2022.

It can be seen that the crater holes that were open after the 2018 eruption and tsunami were closed and the growth of the mountain body was very significant.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

April 29, 2022 12:12 p.m., Pacific: A new cone!

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Things have been quiet, fortunately. At the moment, there only appears to be a hint of incandescence from the shore.

Per satellite view on the 27th:

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

April 27, 2022, 7:06 a.m., Pacific: Per the latest VONA (scroll down):

Eruption with volcanic ash cloud at 05.00 UTC (12.00 local). Eruption and ash emission is continuing. Best estimate of ash-cloud top is around 10102 FT (3157 M) above sea level, may be higher than what can be observed clearly. Source of height data: ground observer. Visuals directly from the cctv were observed eruptions with the color of the thick white-grey-black eruption smoke 3000m from the top of the volcano, the wind direction slowly to the south-southwest.

It’s night there now, and the cam view appears quite dark, though there is a hint of clouds. Whether these are meteorological or volcanic is impossible to tell (though you would think some incandescence would show if it was ash).

Per Darwin VAAC at 1115 UTC, “VA NOT IDENTIFIABLE ON LATEST SAT IMAGERY DUE TO MET CLOUD. HOWEVER, ERUPTION IS EXPECTED TO BE ONGOING.”

It is not a massive eruption, though. Authorities and Anak Krakatau, Twitter are more focused on potential for cone collapse and tsunami.

Here’s the ash advisory tweet from AK Twitter:

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Original post:

And it is firing up. Volcanologists have raised the alert level (Indonesian) and reportedly also are warning people to watch out for tsunamis, especially at night.

Anak Krakatau is a very active volcano, and I’ve been watching it but was spurred to do this post after seeing just how much deformation the volcano showed on this April 14th image, tweeted today:

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

The second factor leading to a post was how the eruption looks in video currently showing with this article — the original Indonesian for the Google-Translated one linked up above the tweet.

I am strictly a layperson, so take it FWIW, but that eruptive column looks like there’s some power behind it. And this is Krakatoa.

So let’s watch this and see what happens.

Webcam. There is no live stream at the moment, but scroll down for cam images.

Global Volcanism Program.

Local monitoring updates (Indonesian).

Darwin VAAC.

Oystein Lund-Andersen, Twitter.

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