Krakatoa: The Last Days, Clip 6 - Pyroclastic Surge (HD)

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   • Krakatoa: The Last Days, Clip 6 - Pyroclas...  

From the BBC docu-drama, "Krakatoa: The Last Days." The movie is also known as "Krakatoa: Volcano of Destruction" and aired on Discovery Channel. The movie brings to life the journals and recollections of four witnesses who survived the cataclysmic eruption of Krakatoa in August of 1883.

The Beijerinck (Beyerinck) family, along with 3,000 Ketimbang survivors, had settled further inland. They survived a tsunami and the destructive ear-shattering force of Krakatoa's explosions. They thought the worst had past, but one more is about to strike.

A pyroclastic surge is a fluid mass of turbulent gas and rock fragments which is ejected during volcanic eruptions and are similar to pyroclastic flows except that it has a higher proportion of gas to rock particles. Pyroclastic flows can generate pyroclastic surges. Because a pyroclastic surge is "lighter" than a pyroclastic flow, it can travel much faster at speeds of 350 mph carrying massive destructive kinetic energy and can actually climb higher ground.

Pyroclastic surges can be "hot" containing gas and steam at temperatures above 100 degrees Celsius (212 degrees Fahrenheit) to as much as 800 degrees Celsius(1472 degrees Fahrenheit). They can also be "cold" with temperatures below 100 degrees Celsius. Aside the temperature factor, both hot and cold pyroclastic surges can still be lethal, depending on the type of gases they carry.

Hot pyroclastic surges can cross significant bodies of water on a cushion of superheated steam just as it occurred in the Ketimbang area of Sumatra.

If you would like to read Johanna Beijerinck's in-depth account of her family's survival through this volcanic catastrophe, please visit:

Survivor Diary -- Johanna Beyerinck
http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/...

If you want to see the full docudrama, you can catch it on Discovery Channel, rent it, or buy the DVD at Amazon.co.uk:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Krakatoa-Last...

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