Page+3-+Impacts



"It appears as though with a very large eruption the effect can last for many decades and possibly as long as a century," - Peter Gleckler, a climatologist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.

The eruption of the krakatoa Volcano was known as one of the most disastrous volcanic eruptions ever recorded in history. The reason for this is because of the several harmful impacts that it caused to the Earth. The table below holds many of these impacts, arranged into environmental, social/political and economical groups.
 * = **ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS: ** ||= **SOCIAL/POLITICAL IMPACTS: ** ||= **ECONOMICAL IMPACTS: ** ||
 * = The Volcanic explosion caused large amounts of sulphur dioxide to be emitted into the atmosphere. This can enhance the increasing level of Global Warming. ||= Approximately 36,417 lives lost. ||= Before the eruption, it was a time of financial panic. The impacts of the volcano turned it into a short depression amount the affected communities. ||
 * = Two-thirds of the island of Krakatoa were destroyed and sunk into the ocean. (Refer to figure 4) ||= Loss of friends and family members causing grief and despair among communities ||= Countries and communities took years to recover from the major effects of the Volcano, such as tsunamis, ash, toxic gases and earthquakes. ||
 * = An additional volcano has been formed from this eruption. It is called Anak Krakatoa, meaning ‘son of Krakatoa.' (Refer to figure 5) ||= It provided numerous scientists to collect more understanding of the way nature recovered itself on the Krakatoa island after the massive damage it caused by the volcano. ||= Many small businesses, mainly near the coastal areas, lost large amounts of money as resources became scarce and expensive. ||
 * = Tsunamis reaching up to 40 metres high were a result of the island collapsing into the water and the eruption of the volcano. ||= Many scientists benefited from this as it provided additional information for meteorology. ||= Over 1.5 billion dollars was spent on repairing the damages and recovery costs from the affected communities. Many of the damages that needed to be repaired consisted of fishing ports, the clearing away of ash from nearby villages and scientific research of the volcanos. ||
 * = As a result of the great quantity of heat that escaped from the volcano, the level of greenhouse gases and the temperature of the atmosphere increased along with the sea levels. ||= As a result of the violent eruption of krakatoa, many people living in the surrounding communities may question where they live and want to move to a safer place. ||=  ||
 * = Once the explosion was over, the dust and ash formed a thick cloud around the Earth. For the first year after the explosion, this cloud, along with ash and gases, blocked the sun and its heat onto the Earth. ||= Many crops were destroyed and fishing ports causing many people to starve. ||=  ||
 * = The ash and dust cloud caused the sun’s colour to occasionally appear deep red and orange. This change was visible until 3 months after the explosion. (Refer to figure 6) ||= Loss of infrastructure, such as many important buildings, roads and food and water sources. ||=  ||
 * = This then caused the temperatures of the Earth’s atmosphere to decrease approximately a further 0.5°C - 1.2°C. This new weather temperature did not return to its usual state until 5 years after the explosion. ||= Many countries united to help the other countries and communities that were significantly affected by the eruption. ||=  ||
 * =  ||= As a result of the explosion, many wildlife refuges and tropical rainforest preserves were built to ensure that the animals and the environment were kept safe.  ||=   ||

**__Figure 4:__**



(This image is significant as it shows what Krakatoa Island's appearance after the eruption in 1883, when two-thirds of the island sunk into the ocean. It can be located at [])

**__Figure 5:__**



(This photo was taken of the Anak Krakatoa volcano, 'Son of Krakatoa'. It was found at [] )

**__Figure 6:__**

( This painting captures the affects the volcano had on the sunsets colour. After the eruption in 1883, magnificent sunsets, appeared deep red and orange in colour, all around the world. This image can be found at [])