Lake Nyos disaster
1986 limnic eruption in Cameroon
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Key Takeaways
- On 21 August 1986, a limnic eruption at Lake Nyos in northwestern Cameroon killed 1,746 people and 3,500 livestock.
- The gas cloud initially rose at nearly 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph; 28 m/s) and then, being heavier than air, descended onto nearby villages, suffocating people and livestock within 25 kilometres (16 mi) of the lake.
- Along with the Lake Monoun disaster two years earlier, it is one of only two recorded limnic eruptions in history.
- Most geologists suspect a landslide, but some believe that a small volcanic eruption may have occurred on the bed of the lake.
- Other scientists offer that no external action is needed to start this event.
On 21 August 1986, a limnic eruption at Lake Nyos in northwestern Cameroon killed 1,746 people and 3,500 livestock.
The eruption triggered the sudden release of about 100,000–300,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). The gas cloud initially rose at nearly 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph; 28 m/s) and then, being heavier than air, descended onto nearby villages, suffocating people and livestock within 25 kilometres (16 mi) of the lake.
A degassing system has since been installed at the lake, with the aim of reducing the concentration of CO2 in the waters and therefore the risk of further eruptions. Along with the Lake Monoun disaster two years earlier, it is one of only two recorded limnic eruptions in history.
Eruption and gas release
What triggered the catastrophic outgassing is not known. Most geologists suspect a landslide, but some believe that a small volcanic eruption may have occurred on the bed of the lake. A third possibility is that cool rainwater falling on one side of the lake triggered the overturn. Other scientists offer that no external action is needed to start this event. “The horizontal layering of the water column is due to the differential diffusion of CO2 and heat but, contrary to salt (which stabilises the thermohaline stratification of the oceans), carbon dioxide has a solubility that is limited by temperature, making the stratification intrinsically unstable. Thus, there is even no need of an external trigger (landslide, earthquake or heavy rain) to upset the stratification of the lake. Once CO2 bubbles nucleate within a saturated layer of the lake water, they rise and grow, attracting in their wake deeper water available for ex-solution, feeding the chain reaction process : the entire lake overturns through an ascending column of rising and expanding bubbles.”
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