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Mount Semeru's Eruption A Mound of Hardened Lava

Mount Semeru erupted in Indonesia differently than usual eruptions in the area. Heavy rains had eroded the hardened lava dome atop the volcano, causing a partial collapse that scientists believe triggered the eruption. These types of dome-collapse eruptions tend to be more powerful and destructive than other types of eruptions. Climate change raising sea surface temperatures and increasing heavy rainfall could potentially cause more frequent dome-collapse eruptions in the future.

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46 views1 page

Mount Semeru's Eruption A Mound of Hardened Lava

Mount Semeru erupted in Indonesia differently than usual eruptions in the area. Heavy rains had eroded the hardened lava dome atop the volcano, causing a partial collapse that scientists believe triggered the eruption. These types of dome-collapse eruptions tend to be more powerful and destructive than other types of eruptions. Climate change raising sea surface temperatures and increasing heavy rainfall could potentially cause more frequent dome-collapse eruptions in the future.

Uploaded by

ela kikay
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Indonesians are used to dealing with natural disasters.

Their country sits on the Ring of Fire, a band


around the Pacific Ocean that sets off frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity. But Mount Semeru's
eruption on the island of Java Saturday was different.

Days of heavy rain had gradually eroded Semeru's lava dome, a mound of hardened lava that acts like a
volcano's plug, which partially collapsed.

It was this "dome avalanche" that Indonesian volcanologists believe triggered the eruption, according to
the country's geological chief, Eko Budi Lelono, from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

"Based on photos and data, we can compare the size of the dome before and after the December 4
eruption. We can see a big mass of the dome's volume was lost after a heavy spell of rain that day," he
said.

A lava dome can be unstable and collapse for several reasons, but there is growing understanding that
heavy rain can be one of them.

The role of rain in this case has raised questions around whether climate change could bring more
frequent eruptions of this kind. That's a concern, because eruptions caused by lava-dome collapse tend
to be stronger and more destructive than other types, scientists told CNN.

Saturday's blowout created what's known as pyroclastic flow, which are fast-moving clouds of lava, gas
and ash. The temperature of these clouds are typically between 800 to 1,000 degrees Celsius, Eko said.

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