Blue lava, also known as ''Api Biru'', and simply referred to as blue fire or sulfur fire, is a phenomenon that occurs when

sulfur Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...

burns. It is an electric-blue

flame A flame (from Latin '' flamma'') is the visible, gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic chemical reaction taking place in a thin zone. When flames are hot enough to have ionized gaseous components of sufficient density they ...

that has the illusory appearance of

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or und ...

. Despite the name, the phenomenon is actually a sulfuric fire that resembles the appearance of

, rather than actual lava from a

volcanic eruption Several types of volcanic eruptions—during which lava, tephra ( ash, lapilli, volcanic bombs and volcanic blocks), and assorted gases are expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure—have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are of ...

. The most well-documented of these fires occur on

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guinea. In ...

's Kawah Ijen volcano, where they regularly burn.

Characteristics

"Blue lava" is an electric-blue

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

that burns when sulfur combusts, producing a neon-blue flame. Sulfur burns when it comes into contact with hot air at temperatures above , which produces the energetic flames. Actual lava is red-orange in color, given its temperature. Truly-blue lava would require temperatures of at least , which is much higher than any lava can naturally achieve on the surface of the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surface ...

. The most famous of these fires occur regularly on Indonesia's Kawah Ijen volcano, on the island of

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's most ...

, which has some of the highest levels of sulfur in the world, and is also the site of sulfur mining. Due to the occurrence of the flames, Kawah Ijen has also been nicknamed "the Blue Volcano". The crater of Kawah Ijen is the world's largest blue flame area. Kawah Ijen has large amounts of sulfur deposits and

fumarole A fumarole (or fumerole) is a vent in the surface of the Earth or other rocky planet from which hot volcanic gases and vapors are emitted, without any accompanying liquids or solids. Fumaroles are characteristic of the late stages of volcani ...

s, and the high temperatures from the underground volcanic heat frequently combusts the sulfur on the surface of the volcano, producing the blue fires. When sulfur from within the volcano breaches the surface, it can reach temperatures up to , and the sulfur immediately encounters lower temperatures and pressures at the surface, which causes the sulfur to immediately ignite and erupt blue flames up to into the air. At such high temperatures, the sulfur melts, which sometimes flows down the face of the volcano while carrying the flames with it, making it appear as if blue lava is flowing down the volcano. Due to the blue color of the flames, the fires are essentially visible only at nighttime, as they are otherwise indistinguishable during the daytime. Another location in which "blue lava" is regularly seen is on Dallol mountain, in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the no ...

. The blue fires also occur in

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowsto ...

during

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...

s, when fires burn and melt the large amounts of sulfur present in the park, creating the appearance of burning blue rivers of lava during such events. Remnants of past episodes exist on the ground in the form of black lines, where fires have previously melted sulfur. Similar blue flames were observed on

Kīlauea Kīlauea ( , ) is an active shield volcano in the Hawaiian Islands. Located along the southeastern shore of the Big Island of Hawaii, the volcano is between 210,000 and 280,000 years old and emerged above sea level about 100,000 years ago. Hi ...

in May 2018, during the volcano's 2018 lower Puna eruption, when lava from the volcano burned

methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on ...

that had been trapped underground.

References

External links

*
Burning Blue: Indonesia’s Psychedelic Sulphur Volcano
–YouTube {{Fire Fire Sulfur Volcanism Eruption products Volcanic degassing

Characteristics

See also

References

External links