PBS ran a special documentary about Krakatoa

[CatWoman]

It completely blew me away!!!!

The island volcano erupted in 1883 (one of three), and one of the volcanoes completely blew up.

Some facts:

1. The explosions were heard on Rodriguez Island, 4653 km distant across the Indian Ocean, and over 1/13th of the earth's surface.

2. Ash fell on Singapore 840 km to the N, Cocos (Keeling) Island 1155 km to the SW, and ships as far as 6076 km WNW. Darkness covered the Sunda Straits from 11 a.m. onthe 27th until dawn the next day.

3. Giant waves reached heights of 40 m above sea level, devastating everything in their path and hurling ashore coral blocks weighing as much as 600 tons.

4. At least 36,417 people were killed, most by the giant sea waves, and 165 coastal villages were destroyed.

5. When the eruption ended only 1/3 of Krakatau, formerly 5x9 km, remained above sea level, and new islands of steaming pumice and ash lay to the north where the sea had been 36 m deep.

6. Every recording barograph in the world ducumented the passage of the airwave, some as many as 7 times as the wave bounced back and forth between the eruption site and its antipodes for 5 days after the explosion.

7. Tide gauges also recorded the sea wave's passage far from Krakatau. The wave "reached Aden in 12 hours, a distance of 3800 nautical miles, usually traversed by a good steamer in 12 days".

8. Blue and green suns were observed as fine ash and aerosol, erupted perhaps 50 km into the stratosphere, circled the equator in 13 days.

9. Theree months after the eruption these products had spread to higher latitudes causing such vivid red sunset afterglows that fire engines were called out in New York, Poughkeepsie, and New Haven to quench the apparent conflagration. Unusual sunsets continued for 3 years.

10. Rafts of floating pumice-locally thick enouth to support men, trees, and no doubt other biological passengers-crossed the indian Ocean in 10 months. Others reached Melanesia, and were still afloat two years after the eruption.

11. The volcanic dust veil that created such spectacular atmospheric effects also acted as a solar radiation filter, lowering global temperatures as much as 1.2 degree C in the year after the eruption. Temperatures did not return to normal until 1888.

[GumboYaYa]

1. I had to stop watching shows about giant volcanoes and such.

That stuff is too scary. If you really want to get freaked out, search "Yellowstone super volcano" on Google.

[BurtWorm]

6. You mean like this little fact nugget?

"Scientists have revealed that Yellowstone Park has been on a regular eruption cycle of 600,000 years. The last eruption was 640,000 years ago…so the next is overdue. The next eruption could be 2,500 times the size of the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption. Volcanologists have been tracking the movement of magma under the park and have calculated that in parts of Yellowstone the ground has risen over seventy centimeters this century."


:scared:

[northzax]

10. eh, red states

who cares? :evilgrin:

[redqueen]

2. My dad used to say "Krakatoa!"

after he'd do one of those really loud, embarassing sneezes that only dads seem to be able to do.

Wish I'd seen that...

[jswordy]

8. I say "Krakatoa East of Java" as an epithet, then "but it is really west."

Because it is really WEST of Java! That is a fun fact missed by the movie's title. Class dismissed.

[YankeyMCC]

9. My Dad would say "Krakatoa"

And proceed to try and crack my toes.

Ah memories. lol

[BurtWorm]

3. Simon Winchester's book on Krakatoa was disappointing in many respects

because the subject is utterly fascinating. He seems to have sleepwalked through the writing of it.

Krakatoa is over the same subduction zone that the December 26 quake is over, isn't it?

[northzax]

11. yes, bascially.

[CO Liberal]

4. "It completely blew me away!!!!"

WONDERFUL choice of words!

:-)

[CatWoman]

5. lol

no pun intended :D

[redqueen]

12. Seriously?

That was so good... I thought you did that on purpose. :)

[Lydia Leftcoast]

7. That was a fascinating show

with really striking reenactments and computer-generated special effects.

The scene of the tsunami destroying the lighthouse was stunning and incredible.

[CatWoman]

13. Did you see that tremendous block of rock

that shattered the lighthouse to pieces?

I believe it was molten rock.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

14. That, too, but

I was thinking more of the height of the wave, enough to swamp a lighthouse.

[CatWoman]

15. yeah -- the narrator was on top of the lighthouse that replaced it

on a ramp that illustrated the height of the wave.

scary, scary stuff!!!