Indonesian authorities have raised the alert level on Mount Slamet, an active volcano in Central Java, to three (out of a possible four), after a series of eruptions this week. The volcano began a new eruptive cycle in March, but has become notably more active over the past few days, with lava bombs being thrown 500-700 m into the air and landing up to 1500 m from the crater. On Tuesday 29 April 2014 the volcano produced an ash column that rose 700 m above the crater, and a series of lound booms were heard issuing from the summit. Almost a hundred Earthquakes were recorded beneath the volcano between midnight and 6.00 am on the same day.
Incandescent material over Mount Slamet on Saturday 26 April 2014. Berita Daerah.
The Indo-Australian Plate, which underlies the Indian Ocean to the south of Java, is being subducted beneath the Sunda Plate, a breakaway part of the Eurasian Plate which underlies Java and neighbouring Sumatra, along the Sunda Trench, passing under Java, where friction between the two plates can cause Earthquakes. As the Indo-Australian Plate sinks further into the Earth it is partially melted and some of the melted material rises through the overlying Sunda Plate as magma, fuelling the volcanoes of Java and Sumatra.
The approximate location of Mount Slamet. Google Maps.
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