Changes in Anak Krakatau landscape after December 2018 eruption

Abstract

The south-western slope of Anak Krakatau collapsed after the eruption on December 22nd, 2018 and reshaped the volcanic island landscape. This work focused on determining the geomorphological features of Mt. Anak Krakatau before and after the eruption. A total of 71 lapilli and 17 volcanic ash samples were collected from Anak Krakatau and Panjang islands on February 23, 2019, and March 14, 2019. Sentinel-2 and Planet Scope images were utilized to monitor thermal activities and the changes of the coastlines. Google Earth Pro was capitalized to determine the rills and gullies formation. After the December 2018 eruption, the height of Anak Krakatau was reduced from 258 to 126 m and, about 76 x 106 m3 of materials were eroded to the sea. The eruption caused Anak Krakatau to be covered by unconsolidated volcanic materials. About 214 of rills (dimension of 380 to 851 m and 30 to 100 cm) and 35 of the gully features (length from 150 to 841 m and width from 0.5 to 13 m) run from the highest peak to the coastline. This work can serve as a reference for predicting potentially disastrous events such as Anak Krakatau, which shows growth and destruction can be observed using remote sensing techniques.