Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Igan S. Sutawidjaja
ABSTRACT
The eruption of Tambora Volcano on the island of Sumbawa in 1815 is generally considered as the
largest and most violent volcanic event in recorded history. The cataclysmic eruption occurring on
11 April 1815 was initiated by a plinian eruption on 5 April and killed more than 92,000 people in
Sumbawa and nearby Lombok. It is well-known as the largest eruption in historical time. This event
has an unprecedented impact on the Earth’s atmosphere as huge quantities of erupted ash and volcanic
aerosols inferred with incoming solar radiation to the earth, causing global climate changes for one to
two years. These changes were particularly well documented in temperate latitudes of the Northern
Hemisphere. This catastrophic eruption was documented by a handful of British resident agents, a
sea captain, and an army officer who were scattered in the Indonesian Archipelago. The aerosol cloud
spread rapidly around the Earth in about three weeks and attained global coverage by about one year
after the eruption. This caused dramatic decreases of the amount of net radiation reaching the Earth’s
surface. Effects on the climate were an observed surface cooling in the Northern Hemisphere of up to
0.4 to 0.7o C, equivalent to a hemispheric-wide reduction in net radiation of 6 watts per square meter
and a cooling of perhaps as large as -0.6oC over large parts of the Earth in 1816 and caused the year
without a summer.
Keywords: Tambora volcano, volcanic ash, volcanic aerosol, climatic effect
SARI
Erupsi Gunung api Tambora di Pulau Sumbawa pada 1815 dianggap sebagai kejadian terbesar dan
terdahsyat dalam catatan sejarah. Erupsi kataklismik yang terjadi pada 11 April 1815 diawali dengan
erupsi plinian pada 5 April dan membunuh lebih dari 92.000 jiwa di sekitar Sumbawa dan Lombok.
Erupsi ini terkenal sebagai letusan terbesar dalam kurun sejarah. Kejadian ini mempunyai dampak
yang tidak diketahui sebelumnya terhadap atmosfir bumi yaitu menghasilkan sejumlah besar abu
dan aerosol vulkanik, yang menutup radiasi sinar matahari terhadap bumi, sehingga menyebabkan
perubahan iklim dunia dalam satu sampai dua tahun. Perubahan ini terdokumentasi baik di belahan
bumi bagian utara. Erupsi katastrofik ini juga tercatat oleh beberapa aparat residen, kapten laut, dan
perwira angkatan darat Inggris yang saat itu berada di sekitar Kepulauan Indonesia. Awan aerosol
menyebar secara cepat ke sekeliling bumi dalam waktu tiga minggu, dan menutupi sekeliling dunia
dalam 1 tahun setelah erupsi. Hal ini menyebabkan penurunan dramatis sejumlah jaringan radiasi yang
mencapai permukaan bumi. Dampak perubahan iklim tersebut teramati dengan adanya penurunan
suhu permukaan di belahan utara mencapai 0,4o sampai 0,7o C, yang ekuivalen dengan reduksi luas
belahan dalam jaringan radiasi sebesar 6 watt per meter persegi, dan pendinginan sebesar -0,6o C
pada area yang luas di permukaan bumi pada tahun 1816, sehingga menimbulkan kehilangan musim
panas pada tahun itu.
Kata kunci: Gunung Tambora, abu vulkanik, aerosol vulkanik, dampak iklim
0 20 40 60
kilometers
FLORES SEA
o
8 S
MT. TAMBORA
Sutodo Island Kawinda
Madang Island Sangiang Island
MT. SANGIANG
BIMA BAY
Rakit Island
Taliwang
Jompong
Jereweh
o
9 S
INDIAN OCEAN
o o o
117 E 118 E 119 E
Figure 1. Locality map of Tambora Volcano in Sumbawa Island occupying most of the Sanggar peninsula
northern part of Sumbawa Island.
66
Effects of the 1815 Tambora Eruption to the Atmosphere and Climate (I. S. Sutawidjaja)
Meter
4
Surface
Basement rock
0
Figure 2. Pyroclastic stratigraphy of the 1815 Tambora eruptive products at Tambora village. Dates to the right of
the stratigraphic column indicate the inferred timing of the different eruptive phases based on historical reports.
67
Majalah Geologi Indonesia, Vol. 26 No. 2 Agustus 2011: 65-71
it is believed that here the pumice fall has independently for the Taupo deposit by
been eroded during passage of the surge crystal-glass fractionation calculations
(Sutawidjaja et al, 2006). (Wilson, 1980). The volume of the Tambora
fall deposits were calculated with a lower
Volumes of the four early tephra deposits
integration thickness limit of one micron
of the 1815 eruptive sequence have been
and an upper thickness limit based on
determined from a combination of isopach
proximal thickness measurements. Because
maps and an extrapolation technique
it was not possible to subdivide the first and
proposed by Sigurdsson (1989). Plots of
isopach area versus isopach thickness were third layers at all localities, especially in the
constructed for each of the fall layers. On distal sections, only the bulk volume of the
plots of this type, tephra fall data can usually complete sequences has been calculated.
be subdivided into two linear segments With the exception of the first layer, about
(Sigurdsson, 1989) and the volume of a 70% of the volume of the fall deposits lies
deposit can be found by integrating the area outside of the mapped area (Figure 3). The
under the lines between two preselected total volume of tephra deposited during
thickness limits. For the Tambora deposits, the first through the fourth events was 4.6
the upper line segment has been adjusted so km3 (DRE).
that the slope is the same as a line used by The large fragments of pumice thus are
Wilson (1980) to calculate the volume of confined to the surrounding areas, while
Taupo ultra-Plinian layer. This line when the finer ash particles were transported
extrapolated to a thickness of 1 micron over a large area of the eastern Indonesia
yielded the same volume as that determined by the wind, which was primarily from the
Figure 3. Ash deposits of the 1815 Tambora eruptive products preserved at Nangamiro village. The thickness
of the outcrop is about 3 m.
68
Effects of the 1815 Tambora Eruption to the Atmosphere and Climate (I. S. Sutawidjaja)
E and NE during the days of the eruption. definitely is high, then Simkin still obtains
Sigurdsson (1989) calculated that the 150 km3.
distribution of pyroclastic flows on the
slopes of Tambora was estimated in total
deposition area on land of 820 km2 and EJECTA OF 1815: ITS ATMOSPHERIC
874 km2 for pyroclastic flows and surges, EFFECTS
respectively, and all of the exposures show
that pyroclastic flow deposits overlain surge Radiative forcing the climate system by
deposits. The flows exceed a total thickness stratospheric aerosols depends on the
of 20 m, but the average is about 7 m, geographic dist aerosol distribution, altitude,
indicating a minimum subaerial volume of size distribution, and optical depth of the
5.7 km3. aerosols, but tropospheric temperatures are
most strongly dependent on the total optical
Junghuhn (in Stothers, 1984) calculated
depth (Lacis et al., 1992). This cloud injected
the amount of material ejected by 1815
about 25 Mt of SO2 into the stratosphere, and
Tambora eruption, at 318 km3 of tephra fall
this SO2 immediately began to convert into
and pyroclastic flow deposits. The ash was
H2SO4 aerosols to the stratospheric aerosol
several meters thick close to the volcano; in
layer. Using a forcing in the model equivalent
Lombok Island at 90 minutes distances from to a global mean of about 0.15 based on
Tambora, 70 cm thick; in Banyuwangi, East conditions appropriate for the Pinatubo
Java, 210 minutes away from the volcano, cloud yielded a model radiative forcing at
20 cm thick. Junghuhn draws a circle with a the tropopause of -4 W/m2 (Hansen et al.,
radius of 210 minutes around Tambora and 1992). This study shows that the temperature
assumes that the average thickness of the ash anomaly after Tambora is about -0.4 to -0.7
within this circle was 60 cm. But because degrees cooler than the average over a large
the wind was mainly from the E, and the part of the Earth (Stothers et al., 1984).
finer material was there for largely carried Certainly, in terms of widespread impact, due
to the W (Lombok, Bali and Banyuwangi), to its equatorial location, the early summer
the assumption that sixty centimeters of ash date of eruption, and the resulting global
fell everywhere is too high for the areas for spread of the aerosol cloud, the peak optical
the areas situated E, N, and S of Tambora. depth attained by the widespread aerosol
Javasche Courant reported that the ash layer cloud, estimated to be >1.0 in northern
was only 0,1 m thick in Bima, 60 km E of latitudes is six month after the eruption. The
the volcano; and only 0.03 m in Makassar, Tambora aerosol cloud that enveloped the
270 km N of Tambora. According to Simkin Earth from the end of April 1815 to late 1816
and Fiske (1983) Junghuhn’s calculation (Figure 4) is the largest that followed by the
therefore give apparently much too high. approximately 10 km3 Krakatau eruption
It is more likely that the ash deposit with in late August 1883 (Rampino and Selt,
an average thickness of 60 cm, only fell in 1982) consisting an estimated global aerosol
a rectangle of approximately 150 minutes midvisible optical depth for Krakatau, which
wide and 300 minutes long, with Tambora was 0.14 in the late 1884 to early 1885.
located close to the eastern end of this This value is for the Krakatau aerosol layer
rectangle. Simkin and Fiske (1983) then after more than 1 year’s dispersal (Tabel
obtain: J = 2/3 x 150 x 300 x (1855 x 1855) 1), and presumably much sedimentation of
km3/109 = 103 km3. If it takes another 50% particles, and peak optical depths may have
for the material falling outside of it, which been considerably larger.
69
Majalah Geologi Indonesia, Vol. 26 No. 2 Agustus 2011: 65-71
Figure 4. Schematic diagram how the aerosol cloud and ash materials spread rapidly around the globe in about
three weeks and attained global coverage 1 year after the eruption caused the year without a summer(Courtesy
Discovery Channel).
70
Effects of the 1815 Tambora Eruption to the Atmosphere and Climate (I. S. Sutawidjaja)
Hemisphere that starved to death because (1963), their stratospheric aerosols and climatic
they lost their summer during the year, and impact. Quaternary Research, 18, p.127-143.
the volcanic aerosols changed the climate. Rampino, M.R. and Self, S., 1984. The atmospheric
For the next large volcanic eruptions, these effects of El Chichon. Scientific American, 250,
aerosols will produce acid rain, endangering p.48-57.
skin and irritation of eyes.
Self, S., Rampino, M., Newton, M., and Wolff, J.,
1984. Volcanological study of the great Tambora
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS eruption of 1815. Geology, 12, p.659-663.
This paper is compiled from the fieldwork data and Sigurdsson, H. and Carey, S., 1989. Plinian and
secondary data. The author thanks colleagues who co-ignimbrite tephra fall from the 1815 eruption
supported to write this paper. of Tambora volcano. Bulletin of Vulcanology, 51,
p.243-270.
Lacis, A., Hansen, J., and Sato, M., 1992, Climate Sutawidjaja, I.S., Sigurdsson, H., and Abrams, L.,
forcing by stratospheric aerosols. Geophysical 2006. Characterization of Volcanic Deposits and
Research Letter, 19, p.1607-1610. Geoarchaeological Studies from the 1815 Eruption
of Tambora Volcano. Journal Geologi Indonesia,
Newhall, C.G. and Punongbayan, R.S., 1996. Fire 1(1), p.49-57.
and mud, eruptions and lahars of Mt. Pinatubo,
Philippines. University of Washington Press, Seattle Wilson, L., 1980. Relationship between pressure,
and London, 1126pp. volatile content, and ejecta velocity in three types
of volcanic explosions. Journal of Volcanology
Rampino, M.R. and Self, S., 1982. Historic eruptions Geothermal Research, 8, p.297-313.
of Tambora (1815), Krakatau (1883), and Agung
71
Majalah Geologi Indonesia, Vol. 26 No. 2 Agustus 2011: 65-71
72