Within Indonesia is one of the world's weirdest volcanoes.
This volcano regularly erupts bright blue lava that flows downhill creating a series
of flames, marking it as a truly unique active volcano.
These photos being shown on screen are not color enhanced or photoshopped, as the lava
truly is that color.
The volcano which produces this strange phenomena is called Kawah Ijen.
This video covers the recent eruptions from this volcano, and states the general hazard
which it poses in the future.
The Ijen volcano can be found in central Indonesia, where it is located on the very eastern section
of the island of Java.
This volcano is in a very geologically active area, and is located 21 kilometers east-northeast
of the Raung stratovolcano.
If you have clicked on this video, you are probably wondering why the lava is blue, so
I will get straight to the point.
The reason why the lava which erupts from the volcano is blue is that the lava is incredibly
enriched in the element sulfur.
Although sulfur is typically a bright yellow color in its elemental form, when burned,
it burns as a bright blue.
The fumaroles located around the Ijen volcano regularly output large amounts of sulfur crystal.
However, sulfur has a low melting point of only 115 degrees Celsius or 239 degrees Fahrenheit.
The heat from these fumaroles is thus sufficient to melt the sulfur crystal, thus generating
beautiful blue flows of lava.
However, if you look at Ijen's geologic history, you will see that this volcano has some other
unique qualities to it.
The Ijen volcano began forming around 300,000 years ago, when magma related to plate subduction
off the southern coast of Indonesia reached the surface.
Over the subsequent 240,000 years, numerous explosive eruptions built a tall stratovolcano
out of layers of andesitic lava and ash.
By 60,000 years ago, this volcano was 22 kilometers wide, and towered over the surrounding landscape
as its peak was 3500 meters above sea level.
So, why isn't this volcano still around today?
The answer, is that much like Tambora, or Rinjani, the volcano experienced a catastrophic
eruption which destroyed much of the volcano.
This eruption was highly destructive, and created a 20 kilometer wide caldera.
In the aftermath of this eruption, a number of volcanic cones grew out of various sections
of the caldera.
The first of these to form was Blau, which erupted around 50,000 years ago.
5,000 years later, an 800 meter tall cone known as Pendu was built.
Over the subsequent tens of thousands of years, several other volcanic cones were constructed.
The volcanic cone which we now refer to as Ijen did not begin forming until 640 BC.
Over the subsequent 2,000 years, this cone built up 900 meters above the caldera floor,
as it was constructed over two preexisting volcanic cones.
Since 1796, Ijen has erupted ten times.
Very few of its recent eruptions created lava, as the primary eruption type resulted in a
series of explosions of water in the crater lake.
The most recent of these phreatic eruptions was documented in 2002.
So, was hazards does this volcano pose?
I need to first state that this volcano is very dangerous, and does not even need to
erupt to cause problems.
The crater lake at the summit of Ijen has a PH of 0.3, and gives off lots of toxic fumes
including hydrogen sulfide.
Since the crater is the site of a sulfur mining operation, hundreds of people are regularly
exposed to dangerous levels of these fumes.
If you were to ever visit this volcano, wearing a gas mask is a requirement.
If Ijen was to erupt again, it would most likely create another series of explosions
at its acidic crater lake.
However, as given by the history of this volcano, future eruptions could occur anywhere within
the preexisting caldera.
Future eruptions could create pyroclastic flows, bombs of lava, and potentially cause
landslides.
I hope that you enjoyed this video.
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