The 1815 Tambora Eruption: Its Significance to the Understanding of Large-Explosion Caldera Formations

Abstract

Volcanic calderas, plentiful on the Earth and the moon, have been of much interest to volcanologists because of their large dimensions and extensive volumes of ejecta. Here, we consider the dynamics of caldera-forming by major explosive eruptions, examining how the breakdown of the earth's surface is caused by violent igneous activity. This leads to the definition of “typical explosion caldera”, which is a prototype of several newly-formed calderas in the historical timescale. There are three examples of such calderas: Tambora (Sumbawa), Krakatau (Sunda Straits), and Novarupta (Alaska). Tambora Caldera is the best example of a well-documented, recently formed typical explosion caldera, with no significant subsequent eruptions occurring after its formation. The subsurface structure of Tambora Caldera is discussed and compared to the 1883 eruption of Krakatau, the second largest eruption in historical times. Then, contrasting with the typically basaltic “collapse-type” calderas, a “Tambora-caldera type” is defined as a large “explosion-type” caldera, that may reach up to 10 km in diameter. The Tambora- type caldera concept is useful to qualify and understand the structure and components of other major calderas in the world. Fully developed larger explosion calderas such as Aso and Aira Calderas in Kyushu, Japan are discussed and explained as composite calderas based on geophysical data. Those calderas have repeatedly ejected massive pyroclastic products causing their original structures to grow wider than 10 km.