VEI 7 super eruption (USGS) | |
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Mt Tambora during a more quiet phase of the eruption | |
Volcano | Mt Tambora |
Date | July 12, 2841 |
Time | 0943 UTC |
Eruption type | Ultra-Plininan, Super-volcanic |
Location | Java, Indonesia |
Fatalities | 600 |
Damages | $340 billion (2841 USD) |
Tsunami' | Yes, several as the volcano collapsed into a caldera |
Other impacts | a series of tsunamis swept across the Indian Ocean following the eruption |
The 2841 eruption of Mt Tambora was rated as VEI 7, and was a violent Ultra-Plinian/Super-volcanic eruption, which was held responsible for 231,477 deaths, and caused $340 billion in damages in the progress.
The eruption began on July 12th, which rapidly increased in violence, before peaking again and ceasing by August 8th, when 4 tsunamis were generated as the volcano blew itself apart, creating a caldera 2 square km in size. A new series of eruptive phases began again on August 15th, and a new cone began to build itself up, until September 2nd, when the activity finally began to dwindle on the volcanic island, which were reduced to irregular ash eruptions, until the eruption ended on September 7th, allowing the volcano to slip back into a new dormant phase.
In the aftermath of the eruption, the global temperature was lowered by 2.1*C, leading to a cold period between 2242-46, which became known as "The Years Without Warmth", and causing a widespread food shortage. This, however, didn't materialise, thanks to a newly breeded species of plants, which were able to adapt to their environment being changed within 72 hours of an event happening. This managed to hold back a potentially very severe global famine, and the new plants even survived the 4 giant tsunamis caused when the volcano blew itself apart.