Geochemical and petrological data pertaining to the eruptive deposits of 1883 caldera-forming eruption of Krakatau

Geochemical data has been collected on samples from new exposures of the 1883 deposits, revealed by the 2018 tsunamigenic flank collapse of Anak Krakatau, which provides improved stratigraphic context. Whole-rock data taken by X-ray Florescence shows no systematic stratigraphic correlation. Chemical data for transects across, and spot points on, plagioclase phenocrysts, including some trace element data, all obtained using Electron Probe Microanalysis (EPMA), with Backscatter electron (BSE) images of crystals, obtained using Scanning Electron Microscope, reveal complex zoning profiles. However, chemical data for transects across pyroxene phenocrysts, obtained using EPMA, show this phenocryst phase is largely unzoned. The dataset also includes chemical data for spots on Fe/Ti oxides, included on the rims of pyroxene, and obtained using EPMA. Matrix glass chemistry, obtained via EPMA, shows that the early eruptive ash is more evolved than the pyroclastic material that follows, and that there is a slight overall trend to a more homogenous, less evolved melt composition.

The 1883 eruption of Krakatau was a large, cardera-forming eruption that caused approximately 36,000 fatalities. It is also the only eruption of its size to have accompanying written accounts.