The Pacific Ring of Fire
The Pacific Ring of Fire created by ongoing plate tectonics and the movement and collisions of lithospheric plates spreads around Pacific Ocean on length of 40.000 km and is place where 90% of world’s earthquakes occur.
With 150 active volcanoes only in Indonesia, the string stretches over 5000 km from Weh Island in the west, along biggest Indonesian Islands of Sumatra and Java, into far east up to New Guinea and creates direct danger for over 5 million of people. Merapi, the most active Indoensian’s volcano, has erupted 80 times since 1000, pushing millions of inhabitants to evacuate, bringing death and damage to their homes.
Large explosive volcanic eruptions inject enormous amounts of gases, smokes and ashes with water vapours, carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide spewing directly into atmosphere causing pollution and changing climate. Toba supervolcanic eruption around 74.000 years ago is believed to be responsible for 6 years of volcanic winter followed by 1,000-year-long cooling episode.
Anak Krakatau, volcanic island situated in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, is one of the youngest geological sights on the planet. It originates from the loudest ever recorded explosion of the previous Krakatau volcano in 1883. Since then the new volcano has been raising and has emerged over the sea surface in 1927 creating a new, still growing island.
