Editing Mount Tambora (section)

==== Chronology of the eruption ====
Before 1815, Mount Tambora had been [[dormant volcano|dormant]] for several centuries, as hydrous [[magma]] cooled gradually in a closed magma chamber.<ref name="Foden1986"/> Inside the chamber, at depths of {{convert|1.5|to|4.5|km|mi|1}}, cooling and partial [[crystallization]] of the magma [[Volcanic gas#Magmatic gases and high-temperature volcanic gases|exsolved]] high-pressure [[magmatic water|magmatic fluid]]. Overpressure of the chamber of about {{convert|4000|to|5000|bar|psi}} was generated as temperatures ranged from {{convert|700|to|850|C|F|sigfig=2}}.<ref name="Foden1986"/> In 1812, the crater began to rumble and generated a dark cloud.<ref name="Stothers1984">{{cite journal |date=1984 |last=Stothers |first=Richard B. |title=The Great Tambora Eruption in 1815 and Its Aftermath |journal=Science |volume=224 |issue=4654 |pages=1191–1198 |doi=10.1126/science.224.4654.1191 |pmid=17819476 |bibcode=1984Sci...224.1191S |s2cid=23649251}}</ref>

A moderate-sized eruption on 5 April 1815 was followed by thunderous detonation sounds that could be heard in [[Ternate]] on the [[Molucca|Molucca Islands]], {{convert|1400|km|mi}} from Mount Tambora. On the morning of 6 April 1815, [[volcanic ash]] began to fall in [[East Java]], with faint detonation sounds lasting until 10 April.<ref name="Stothers1984"/>
What was first thought to be the sound of firing guns was heard on 10 and 11 April on [[Sumatra]] island (more than {{convert|2600|km|mi}} away),<ref name="Raffles1830">{{cite book |date=1830 |last=Raffles |first=S. |title=Memoir of the life and public services of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, F.R.S. &c., particularly in the government of Java 1811–1816, and of Bencoolen and its dependencies 1817–1824: with details of the commerce and resources of the eastern archipelago, and selections from his correspondence |url=http://www.sabrizain.org/malaya/library/memraffles1.pdf |location=London |publisher=John Murray |access-date=2 August 2018 |archive-date=2 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802223556/http://www.sabrizain.org/malaya/library/memraffles1.pdf |url-status=live }} Cited by Oppenheimer (2003)</ref> and possibly over {{convert|3350|km|mi}} away in [[Thailand]] and [[Laos]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Goldrick |first=Richard |title=Tambora's Rumblings in The Annals of Lang Xang |journal=}}</ref>
 
The eruptions intensified at about 7:00&nbsp;p.m. on the 10th.<ref name="Stothers1984"/> Three plumes rose and merged.<ref name="Raffles1830"/> Pieces of [[pumice]] of up to {{convert|20|cm|in}} in diameter rained down at approximately 8&nbsp;p.m., followed by ash at around 9–10&nbsp;p.m. The [[eruption column]] collapsed, producing hot [[pyroclastic flow]]s that cascaded down the mountain and towards the sea on all sides of the [[peninsula]], wiping out the village of Tambora. Loud explosions were heard until the next evening, 11 April. The veil of ash spread as far as [[West Java]] and [[South Sulawesi]], while a "nitrous odor" was noticeable in [[Jakarta|Batavia]]. The heavy [[tephra]]-tinged rain did not recede until 17 April.<ref name="Stothers1984"/> Analysis of various sites on Mount Tambora using ground-penetrating radar has revealed alternations of pumice and ash deposits covered by the pyroclastic surge and flow sediments that vary in thickness regionally.<ref name="Abrams2007">{{cite journal |date=2007 |last1=Abrams |first1=Lewis J. |last2=Sigurdsson |first2=Haraldur |title=Characterization of pyroclastic fall and flow deposits from the 1815 eruption of Tambora volcano, Indonesia using ground-penetrating radar |url=http://people.uncw.edu/abramsl/Abrams-Sigurdsson-volgeo-07.pdf |journal=Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research |volume=161 |issue=4 |pages=352–361 |access-date=2 August 2018 |doi=10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2006.11.008 |bibcode=2007JVGR..161..352A |archive-date=4 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804061055/http://people.uncw.edu/abramsl/Abrams-Sigurdsson-volgeo-07.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

The eruption is estimated to have had a [[Volcanic Explosivity Index]] of 7.<ref name="Briffa1998">{{cite journal |year=1998 |last1=Briffa |first1=K.R. |last2=Jones |first2=P.D. |last3=Schweingruber |first3=F.H. |last4=Osborn |first4=T.J. |title=Influence of volcanic eruptions on Northern Hemisphere summer temperature over the past 600 years |journal=Nature |volume=393 |issue=6684 |pages=450–455 |doi=10.1038/30943 |bibcode=1998Natur.393..450B |s2cid=4392636}}</ref> It had 4–10 times the energy of the [[1883 eruption of Krakatoa|1883 Krakatoa eruption]].<ref>[https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/blast-from-the-past-65102374/''Blast from the Past''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220315104117/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/blast-from-the-past-65102374/ |date=15 March 2022 }}; article; [July, 2002]; By Robert Evans; Smithsonian Magazine, online; accessed September 10, 2020</ref> An estimated {{convert|100|km3}} of pyroclastic [[trachyandesite]] was ejected, weighing approximately [[Orders of magnitude (mass)|1.4×10<sup>14</sup>&nbsp;kg]].<ref name="Oppenheimer2003"/> This has left a caldera measuring {{convert|6|to|7|km|mi}} across and {{convert|600|to|700|m|ft}} deep.<ref name="Stothers1984"/> The density of fallen ash in [[Makassar]] was 636&nbsp;kg/m<sup>3</sup>.<ref name="Stothers2004">{{cite journal |date=2004 |last=Stothers |first=Richard B. |title=Density of fallen ash after the eruption of Tambora in 1815 |journal=Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research |volume=134 |issue=4 |pages=343–345 |doi=10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2004.03.010 |bibcode=2004JVGR..134..343S}}</ref> Before the explosion, Mount Tambora was approximately {{convert|4300|m|ft}} high,<ref name="Stothers1984"/> one of the tallest peaks in the Indonesian archipelago. After the eruption of 1815, the maximum elevation was reduced to {{convert|2851|m|ft}}.<ref name="Monk">{{cite book |date=1996 |last1=Monk |first1=K.A. |last2=Fretes |first2=Y. |last3=Reksodiharjo-Lilley |first3=G. |title=The Ecology of Nusa Tenggara and Maluku |publisher=Periplus Editions Ltd. |location=Hong Kong |page=60 |isbn=978-962-593-076-3}}</ref>

The 1815 Tambora eruption is the largest and most devastating observed eruption in recorded history; a comparison with other major eruptions is listed below.<ref name="Oppenheimer2003"/><ref name="Stothers1984"/><ref name="cao">{{cite journal |date=2012 |last1=Cao |first1=S. |last2=Li |first2=Y. |last3=Yang |first3=B. |title=Mt. Tambora, Climatic Changes, and China's Decline in the Nineteenth Century |journal=Journal of World History |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=587–607 |doi=10.1353/jwh.2012.0066 |s2cid=145137831}}</ref> The explosion was heard {{convert|2600|km|mi}} or  {{convert|3350|km|mi}}  away, and ash deposits were registered at a distance of at least {{convert|1300|km|mi}}. A pitch of darkness was observed as far away as {{convert|600|km|mi}} from the mountain summit for up to two days.<ref name="Stothers1984"/> Pyroclastic flows spread to distances of about {{convert|20|km|mi}} from the summit and an estimated 9.3–11.8 × 10<sup>13</sup> g of stratospheric sulfate aerosols were generated by the eruption.<ref>{{cite journal |date=1 October 2004 |last1=Self |first1=S. |last2=Gertisser |first2=R. |last3=Thordarson |first3=T. |last4=Rampino |first4=M.R. |last5=Wolff |first5=J.A. |title=Magma volume, volatile emissions, and stratospheric aerosols from the 1815 eruption of Tambora |journal=Geophysical Research Letters |volume=31 |issue=20 |pages=L20608 |doi=10.1029/2004GL020925 |url=https://www.pure.ed.ac.uk/ws/files/11410401/Magma.pdf |bibcode=2004GeoRL..3120608S |hdl=20.500.11820/6925218f-d09e-4f9d-9f2e-3ab8419b223f |s2cid=56290102 |hdl-access=free |access-date=30 June 2019 |archive-date=26 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190426135239/https://www.pure.ed.ac.uk/ws/files/11410401/Magma.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>