Krakatau Journal: An island paradise that can kill you

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The eruption of Novarupta in Alaska (1912) was also larger than Krakatau's.

In terms of volume (in square meters) of tephra erupted:

Tamburo: 1.6 x 10 to the eleventh power
Krakatau: 2.0 x 10 to the tenth
Novarupta: 2.8 x 10 to the tenth

Source:

http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=0602-00=&volpage=erupt&format=expanded#E1883520

10-31-2008 @ 2:41AM

Eric Pritchard said...

Actually according to David Pyle's entry in Haraldur Sigurdsson's Encyclopedia of Volcanoes (Academic Press, 2000) the mass ejected was the same at 3 x 10 to the 13th kg - and anyway all these are estimates. Novarupta killed 2 people, Krakatau 36,714. Novarupta was too far north for the ash plume to affect more than the extreme northern hemisphere - Krakatau being tropical produced a plume covering the whole planet, coloured the sunsets for three years, and reduced the GMST by 0.5degC. Also Krakatau is documented as the greatest sound in recorded history, was heard over 3000 miles away, the shock wave went around the world seven times and affected tide gauges even as far away as the UK (separation 150 degrees of longitude and 56 degrees of latitude). I don't think Novarupta was in the same class.

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