Mount Anak Krakatau Is Enlarging In Size

Mount Anak Krakatau (Commons Wikimedia)

JAKARTA - Mount Krakatau is known to the world since its biggest eruption in 1883. Meanwhile, the one that is currently active is Mount Anak Krakatau, which is different in characteristics from the previous Mount Krakatau. Mount Anak Krakatau which erupted Friday, April 10, night and produced a column of ash about 500 meters high.

As a young volcano, Mount Anak Krakatau should have erupted frequently. The potential danger from this mountain activity is the avalanche of the body of the mountain which can trigger a tsunami. However, the most dangerous potential occurred in December 2018.

Volcanologist Surono said, to raise his body to be tall and big like a child, Mount Anak Krakatau must be dynamic. He explained that the activities that occur on Mount Anak Krakatau (GAK) are a form that this young volcano follows the laws or nature of nature.

"It often erupted like before, never stopped for a year, in order to build its body so that it was tall and big. Big eruption and triggered a tsunami? No, she is not her mother, she is just GAK, which in 2012 was written in a scientific journal where the landslide could trigger a tsunami. It has happened, "he said, through a written statement received by VOI in Jakarta, Saturday, April 11.

No need to worry

Surono actually questioned why the GAK, which erupted on Friday night, made a fuss of the community. He was surprised, why not make a fuss when this young volcano erupted for one year did not stop a few years ago. Even so, he can understand this because of the remaining fears of a tsunami in Banten in 2018 which was caused by the GAK body slide.

According to Surono, unlike his mother, the GAK eruption could be a special attraction for tourists with special interests, provided they know how to watch it. In contrast to the characteristics of the mother who is going to be with her tsunamis, her child is actually dynamic and wants to get bigger quickly by erupting, throwing incandescent material, flashes of lightning, and a sound like an airplane when it is about to take off.

"That is the natural differentiation that can be sold as a spectacle, not to be feared. The night is lonely, everyone isolates themselves, the sound from the vehicle disappears due to Corona, so it is not wrong, the boom is NOT blaring, driving away loneliness. That is nature," he said.

Actually, said Surono, not only at night, during the day there were also explosions. However, the sound is not heard due to vehicle noise and others. Because of that, he reminded, that people do not need to be afraid.

Likewise, LIPI Associate Researcher in Applied Geophysics, Nugroho D. Hananto said, GAK is a young volcano that used to be around Mount Krakatau. Therefore, the characters are different. This is because Mount Krakatau is a single mountain on one island.

"If the mother's time was an island, right now. Now the sources are marginalized. Now the characters are small, 2018 is there, 2019 is there and now 2020 is there. He's the type not exploding, the eruption is small, so it's different ( with Mount Krakatau), "he said.

Build up his body

Nugroho said, currently NOT building his body. At any time, he will produce materials such as sandstone and so on. This material will make him grow and get bigger. Even so, the potential danger of GAK is not as big as Mount Krakatau.

"But but once he was big there was an eruption that destroyed his body again. So it can't be big like in the past, so it's different. The possibility of a tsunami like 2018 is possible if there is a landslide under the sea or landslides that reach under the sea," he said.

According to Nugroho, the eruption was not the only sign that GAK was growing. However, to see this young volcano grow you have to look at its overall dynamics.

"That every time there is no eruption, he has added material on top of it," he said.