10,000 Years of explosive eruptions of Merapi Volcano, Central Java: archaeological and

modern implications

Stratigraphy and radiocarbon dating of pyroclastic deposits at Merapi Volcano, Central Java,
reveals ,10,000 years of explosive eruptions. Highlights include:
(1) Construction of an Old Merapi stratovolcano to the height of the present cone or slightly
higher. Our oldest age for an explosive eruption is 9630 ^ 60 14C y B.P.; construction of Old
Merapi certainly began earlier.
(2) Collapse(s) of Old Merapi that left a somma rim high on its eastern slope and sent one or
more debris avalanche(s) down its southern and western flanks. Impoundment of Kali Progo to
form an early Lake Borobudur at ,3400 14C y B.P. hints at a possible early collapse of Merapi.
The latest somma-forming collapse occurred ,1900 14C y B.P. The current cone, New Merapi,
began to grow soon thereafter.
(3) Several large and many small Buddhist and Hindu temples were constructed in Central Java
between 732 and ,900 A.D. (roughly, 14001000 14C y B.P.). Explosive Merapi eruptions
occurred before, during and after temple construction. Some temples were destroyed and (or)
buried soon after their construction, and we suspect that this destruction contributed to an
abrupt shift of power and organized society to East Java in 928 A.D. Other temples sites, though,
were occupied by caretakers for several centuries longer.
(4) A partial collapse of New Merapi occurred ,1130 ^ 50 14C y B.P. Eruptions ,700800 14C y
B.P. (1214th century A.D.) deposited ash on the floors of (still-occupied?) Candi Sambisari and
Candi Kedulan. We speculate but cannot prove that these eruptions were triggered by (the
same?) partial collapse of New Merapi, and that the eruptions, in turn, ended caretaker
occupation at Candi Sambisari and Candi Kedulan. A new or raised Lake Borobudur also existed
during part or all of the 12 14th centuries, probably impounded by deposits from Merapi.
(5) Relatively benign lava-dome extrusion and dome-collapse pyroclastic flows have dominated
activity of the 20th century,

Historical eruptions of Merapi Volcano, Central Java, Indonesia, 17681998

Information on Merapi eruptive activity is scattered and much is remotely located. A concise and
well-documented summary of this activity has been long needed to assist researchers and hazard-
mitigation efforts, and the aim of this paper is to synthesize information from the mid-1700s to
the present. A descriptive chronology is given, with an abbreviated chronology in a table that
summarizes events by year, assigns preliminary Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) ratings and
Hartmann classifications, and provides key references. The history of volcano monitoring is also
outlined. The study reveals that a major difference in eruption style exists between the twentieth
and nineteenth centuries, although the periodicity between larger events seems about the same.
During the twentieth century, activity has comprised mainly the effusive growth of viscous lava
domes and lava tongues, with occasional gravitational collapses of parts of oversteepened domes
to produce the nuees ardentescommonly defined as Merapi-type. In the 1800s, however,
explosive eruptions of relatively large size occurred (to VEI 4), and some associated fountain-
collapse nuees ardentes were larger and farther reaching than any produced in the twentieth
century. These events may also be regarded as typical eruptions for Merapi. The nineteenth
century activity is consistent with the long-term pattern of one relatively large event every one or
two centuries, based on the long-term eruptive record deduced by others from volcanic
stratigraphy. It is uncertain whether or not a recurrence-time model continues to apply to
Merapi, but if so, Merapi could soon be due for another large event and its occurrence with only
modest (or inadequately appreciated) precursors could lead to a disaster unprecedented in
Merapis history because the area around the volcano is now much more densely populated.

Eocene paleo-physiography and drainage directions, southern Interior Plateau, British

Columbia
A map of reconstructed Eocene physiography and drainage directions is presented for the
southern Interior Plateau region, British Columbia south of 53N. Eocene landforms are inferred
from the distribution and depositional paleo-environment of Eocene rocks and from crosscutting
relationships between regional-scale geomorphology and bedrock geology of known age. Eocene
drainage directions are inferred from physiography, relief, and base level elevations of the sub-
Eocene unconformity and the documented distribution, provenance, and paleocurrents of early
Cenozoic fluvial sediments. The Eocene landscape of the southern Interior Plateau resembled its
modern counterpart, with highlands, plains, and deeply incised drainages, except regional
drainage was to the north. An anabranching valley system trending west and northwest from
Quesnel and Shuswap Highlands, across the Cariboo Plateau to the Fraser River valley,
contained north-flowing streams from Eocene to early Quaternary time. Other valleys dating
back at least to Middle Eocene time include the North Thompson valley south of Clearwater,
Thompson valley from Kamloops to Spences Bridge, the valley containing Nicola Lake, Bridge
River valley, and Okanagan Lake valley. During the early Cenozoic, highlands existed where the
Coast Mountains are today. Southward drainage along the modern Fraser, Chilcotin, and
Thompson River valleys was established after the Late Miocene.

GIS-based method for the environmental vulnerability assessment to volcanic

ashfall at Etna Volcano

The response of environment to ashfall was evaluated aiming at defining the vulnerability in the
areas surrounding Mt. Etna volcano, Sicily. The two utilized scenarios assume different
thickness of ashfall, over distances comparable with those covered by deposits from realistic
eruptions that occurred recently on the volcano. The fall episodes are considered instantaneous or
with a duration of 90 days. These models are in agreement with the actual and recent activity of
the volcano. The evaluation of vulnerability was performed by a GIS-based method, accordingly
with the different themes that constitute the Corine Land Cover inventory of the study area and
discovering the potentially damaged elements following the two hypothesized scenarios.

Towards an empirical vulnerability function for use in debris flow risk assessment

In quantitative risk assessment, risk is expressed as a function of the hazard, the elements at risk
and the vulnerability. From a natural sciences perspective, vulnerability is defined as the
expected degree of loss for an element at risk as a consequence of a certain event. The resulting
value is dependent on the impacting process intensity and the susceptibility of the elements at
risk, and ranges from 0 (no damage) to 1 (complete destruction). With respect to debris flows,
the concept of vulnerability though widely acknowledged did not result in any sound
quantitative relationship between process intensities and vulnerability values so far, even if
considerable loss occurred during recent years. To close this gap and establish this relationship,
data from a well-documented debris flow event in the Austrian Alps was used to derive a
quantitative vulnerability function applicable to buildings located on the fan of the torrent. The
results suggest a second order polynomial function to fit best to the observed damage pattern.
Vulnerability is highly dependent on the construction material used for exposed elements at risk.
The buildings studied within the test site were constructed by using brick masonry and concrete,
a typical design in post-1950s building craft in alpine countries. Consequently, the presented
intensity-vulnerability relationship is applicable to this construction type within European
mountains. However, a wider application of the presented method to additional test sites would
allow for further improvement of the results and would support an enhanced standardization of
the vulnerability function.