Anak Krakatau shifts from a day-long ash plume to short eruptions
Landsat 8 and Suomi NPP captured Anak Krakatau’s ash cloud during an eruption lasting more than 24 hours. Reported ash heights reached 6 and 15 kilometres in opposite directions; airports were closed and thousands of flights were disrupted during the event. New measurements on September 9 recorded a 28-second eruption and a lower ash layer moving across part of Lampung Bay after the continuous phase ended.
Science··Evening
Two satellites resolved the ash cloud
NASA Earth Observatory shows a September 5 Landsat 8 OLI image in which a white plume from Anak Krakatau stretches above a broader brown ash layer. VIIRS on Suomi NPP observed the cloud at wider scale the same day. Indonesia’s meteorological agency reported that by September 6 the ash had reached 6,000 metres east of the volcano and 15,000 metres to its west. The two satellites’ different fields of view connect the plume’s local source with its regional spread during the same event.[1], [2]
Short eruptions followed the continuous phase
NASA reports that explosive activity lasted more than 24 hours and that the continuous phase subsided on September 6. BERNAMA’s September 9 account, citing Indonesia’s volcanology and geological-hazard centre, recorded a new eruption at 12.47 at night lasting 28 seconds, with a maximum seismic amplitude of 51 millimetres. Himawari-9 analysis that morning placed ash as high as about 2,134 metres and moving northwest over part of Lampung Bay. These measurements date the transition from the long continuous episode to intermittent activity.[1], [2]
Ash effects extended far beyond the crater
During the event, eight airports across Java and Sumatra were closed; roughly 3,000 flights were disrupted and about 340,000 people remained stranded before operations resumed on September 8. NASA says ashfall reached populated areas including Jakarta and West Java, where it irritates airways, eyes and skin. The volcano has remained at the second-highest level on Indonesia’s alert scale since early July. Continuing short eruptions and satellite measurements supply distinct evidence layers for aviation and public-health monitoring.[1], [2]
