Kikai Caldera

Kikai Caldera Latest News

A vast reservoir of magma beneath Japan’s Kikai caldera appears to be filling again, offering scientists a rare glimpse into how some of Earth’s largest volcanoes recover after catastrophic eruptions.

About Kikai Caldera

• It is a massive submarine caldera with three small islands, parts of the caldera rim, that project above sea level. 
• It is located in the East China Sea just south of Kyushu, Japan. 
• The caldera is about 19 km in diameter. 
• About 7,300 years ago, it produced the largest known volcanic eruption of the Holocene, the current geological epoch, which began roughly 11,700 years ago. 
• About 150 cubic km of ash erupted. It sent pyroclastic flows 150 kilometers across the sea and buried much of Japan and the Korean Peninsula in ash. 
• The volcanic explosivity index (VEI) for the eruption was 7 (there have only been three other VEI=7 eruptions in the last 10,000 years). 
• It is still active, producing a scattered array of minor eruptions in recent decades. 
• Research has found evidence of new volcanic activity beneath the Kikai Caldera, pointing to the formation of a lava dome and raising concerns about its potential to erupt again.

News: SD

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