There are lakes that explode: Here’s all about 3 of them
Have you ever heard of an overturning lake? No? Well, it is one of the rarest natural disasters popularly known as limnic eruption that solely happens in the African subcontinent. As you all know, deep waters contain huge amounts of dissolved carbon dioxide. Now, in very uncommon instances, this dissolved gas suddenly erupts from the deep lake waters, and forms a gas cloud that has the power to suffocate humans and wildlife both under and near the water surface. This, in turn, often causes tsunami, as the rising carbon dioxide displaces the water. These are called limnically active lakes or exploding lakes. Today, let us take a look at 3 such lakes.
Lake Nyos
On the night of 21st August 1986, a volcanic lake called Lake Nyos in northern Cameroon, Africa, discharged a deadly cloud of CO2 and killed 1700 people in the adjacent villages. Scientists believe an underwater volcano triggered this limnic eruption as there was a change in pressure underneath the lake surface.
What’s interesting is that there is a legend surrounding the explosion at Lake Nyos. It says that when the native Kom tribe lost their land to a natural disaster, they sought shelter in the land of the Bamessi tribe. However, they not ready to accommodate strangers and started killing young men and women of the Kom tribe secretly. This is when the leader of the Kom tribe vowed revenge. It is believed that he hanged himself and his body formed the Lake Nyos. When the Bamessi people went near it, it exploded, and drowned everyone, making the vengeance complete.
Lake Monoun
Two years before the explosion of Lake Nyos, another lake called Monoun also experienced a similar degassing event on 15th August 1984. It had claimed 37 lives. This too is a crater lake in West Cameroon lying on the Oku Active Volcanic Field. However, back then, the incident remained unexplained. Those who survived reported that a white, smoke-like cloud surrounding the lake region and the air smelled pungent, kind of acidic. Moreover, unlike Lake Nyos’ explosion that was triggered by a volcano, this was the result of underwater earthquake.
Lake Kivu
Lake Kivu is located on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, and stands on the tectonically active Albertine Rift on the eastern side of Africa. Unlike the other two lakes, this one last erupted due to CO2 degassing more than a 1000 years ago. At present, it is high in dissolved carbon dioxide and has no living creatures underneath. Scientists believe that the lakebed sits upon the Albertine Rift that is gradually being pulled apart, and as soon as it completely breaks up, another explosion is imminent. What makes it even more dangerous is that it also contains enormous amounts of methane, that may have been the result of the previous explosion.