Mount Semeru, Indonesia's highest volcano sitting on its most densely populated island of Java, has started spewing hot clouds on Saturday, January 16.
Official reports place the time of eruption at 5:24 PM local time (10:24 GMT). The volcano spewed material such as ash and smoke up to 3.5 miles into the sky
While there were no evacuations in the surrounding area, the Southeast Asian archipelago's National Disaster Mitigation Agency warned villagers living on the slopes of the volcano to be vigilant for signs of danger.
"The Great Mountain" of Indonesia
Footage from the disaster mitigation agency shows volcanic ash and smoke coming from the 12,060 foot (3,676 meter) volcano.
"The villages of Sumber Mujur and Curah Koboan [in Lumajang municipality] are located in the trajectory of the hot clouds," according to local official Thoriqul Haq, as reported by BBC. Additionally, villagers near the Curah Kobokan river basin have been warned about possible "cold lava" mudflow, where volcanic material is carried downstream by intense rainfall.
Technically speaking, Mount Semeru is classified as a stratovolcano or a composite volcano. Located in the subduction zone where the Indo-Australian plates subduct - or as the heavier tectonic plate dives underneath another - under the Eurasian plate.
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Also known as Mahameru, or "The Great Mountain" in Sanskrit, the stratovolcano is named after Sumeru - or the central mountain in Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist cosmologists. Since 1818, there have been at least 55 recorded eruptions at Semeru, composed of both pyroclastic flows and lava flows.
The volcano is also located within Indonesia's Bromo Tengger Semeru-Arjuno, which is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve property. As a designated "learning place for sustainable development," the area receives attention and support from the UN in its preservation and improvement towards sustainability. However, the area is not without challenges, as its water source and tourist destination Ranu Pane Lake has been estimated to be drained out within the next ten years, starting in 2014. Mud erosion from vegetable plantations has been cited as the cause of the draining of the lake. According to Ayu Dewi Utari, head of Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, the short-term solution is to dredge the lake. Still, the need for a long-term solution such as changing the plantation structure is important to prevent the lake from drying up.
Indonesia and the Pacific Ring of Fire
Indonesia, like other nations near the Pacific Ocean, also sits in the Pacific Ring of Fire. Formally designated as the Circum-Pacific Belt, the path that runs around the Pacific is characterized by a string of active volcanoes and increased earthquake frequency in the area.
Additionally, Indonesia has more volcanoes than any other country in the world - with 147 volcanoes in all, 76 of them being classified as active ones. It contains some of the largest and most destructive volcanic eruptions recorded in history. For example, the 1883 explosion of Krakatoa destroyed the volcanic island, resulting in a caldera and the emergence of the Anak Krakatoa island, whose name literally means the "Child of Krakatoa." Its pyroclastic material traveled far into the stratosphere, making the moon appear blue in various parts of the world.
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Check out more news and information on Mount Krakatoa on Science Times.
