Killer Lakes

In response to the viewing of the program aired on the science channel there was a lot of interesting geological information revealed. Fact simply is that we had no clues of what really happened when around 18 people died that lived near lake Nyos in Cameron, Africa. I was really impressed to learn that the lake can actually hold that much carbon dioxide and an immense buildup has the ability to cause a disaster. The natural way of venting the gas is a threat to human life but with the ingenious way of installing pipes in lakes Monoun and Nyos to vent the carbon dioxide human ingenuity. I was also aware of the valuable use of Methane but did not know that Lake Kivu in Rwanda held such large amount of methane that it can actually serve as a source of energy. This lake is also a lake that has a tremendous amount of carbon dioxide and is like lake Nyos a time bomb waiting to explode. Core sample of lake Kivu have shown that approximately every thousand years the lake will turnover. Lake turn over is a relatively new theory that explains what happens when the CO2 is suddenly released. It likens the Co 2 storage in the lake to a soda pop bottle. Likely the thousand year turnover is sparked by the volcanic activity of a nearby volcano that would trigger a reaction of the methane exploding and then releasing the CO2. I also found it very interesting to learn that the circumstances at these lakes are perfect for the buildup of carbon monoxide and they are unique. Natural carbon monoxide springs continue to feed these lakes with CO2 and it appears that only the degassing will be able to prevent another disaster. To sum it up I really enjoy viewing of documentaries like this and similar ones like it so this was a real treat thank you.