The cloud, with a density higher than the surrounding air, traveled as far as 15 miles from the lake into the surrounding valleys. The next morning, some 1,700 people and 3,000 domestic animals were discovered lying dead on the ground.
It is agreed that somehow some of that carbon dioxide-rich water was displaced upward into shallower depths to the point where the overlying water pressure was lower and carbon dioxide bubbles could start to form (like when you lower the pressure on a soda by opening the bottle and suddenly bubbles start to form). Leaving their homes to check on the source of the noise, they saw a tall fountain of water spouting out of Lake Nyos. The livestock such as cattle also lost consciousness.
About 110 million years ago a giant rift broke apart what became Africa and South America and the South Atlantic Ocean began to form. Geologists are still not sure why the cap of warm water, holding the gases on the bottom of the lake, failed that night. This older rift, called the Benue Trough, is north of and parallel to the Cameroon line. I became unconscious. Lake Nyos is a water-filled throat of an old volcano and it is deep and funnel-shaped. (Images from USGS)What triggered this sudden release of the trapped carbon dioxide? A fissure Volcanism along the Cameroon line is related to rifting – where a continent breaks into two pieces. On 21 August 1986, a limnic eruption at Lake Nyos in northwestern Cameroon killed 1,746 people and 3,500 livestock.
I saw some ... starchy mess on my body. A rumbling noise reportedly was heard from the vicinity of Lake Nyos just before the catastrophe. volume of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas was released from Lake Nyos, a volcanic crater lake in Cameroon. I went into my daughter's bed, thinking that she was still sleeping. At Lake Nyos, once \these bubbles started to form they wanted to rise to the top, this brought up more carbon dioxide-rich water which then also started to develop bubbles, and pretty soon there was a big rush of carbon dioxide bubbles to the surface.
The eruption triggered the sudden release of about 100,000–300,000 A degassing system has since been installed at the lake, with the aim of reducing the concentration of It is believed that about 1.2 cubic kilometres (0.29 cu mi) of gas was released.Scientists concluded from evidence that a 100 m (330 ft) column of water and foam formed at the surface of the lake, spawning a wave of at least 25 metres (82 ft) that swept the shore on one side.Since carbon dioxide is 1.5 times the density of air, the cloud hugged the ground and moved down the valleys, where there were various villages.
Most people, I think, feel that there was some sort of landslide into the lake that stirred up the water. The mass was about 50 metres (160 ft) thick, and travelled downward at 20–50 kilometres per hour (12–31 mph). On 21 August 1986, one of the strangest and most mysterious natural disasters in history took place at Lake Nyos - a lake formed atop a volcanic crater in northwest Cameroon. Carbon dioxide from that magma slowly percolates through Earth’s crust with the groundwater and accumulates in the bottom of the lake. "Killer lakes" like Nyos are very rare. Studying therefore old maps, photographs and reports, I became interested in the history of geology and how early geologists figured out how earth works, blogging about it in my spare time. A pocket of magma lies 80 kilometers (50 miles) below the surface. A smaller rift formed within the African continent. The gas flowed down towards nearby settlements and killed approximately 1,800 people, 3000 cattle, and countless wild animals, birds and insects – in short almost every living creature for miles
Although no longer erupting, there is still gas being released by the old plumbing system under the lake. August 21, 1986, was a busy market day in the village of Lower Nyos and that evening most people went to bed early. Perhaps an earthquake or volcanic eruption on the bottom of the lake disrupted the water stratification. The origin of the CVL is still not completely understood. Although no longer erupting, there is still gas being released by the old plumbing system under the lake. In the tropical climate of Cameroon, the warm superficial water layer will form a sort of cap covering the entire lake.Volcanic gases, like sulfur- and carbon-dioxide, coming from the ground, become more and more concentrated at the bottom of the lake.
Geologists discovered that the supposed haunted springs are hot springs with a very high level of volcanic gases. Nine volcanoes along the line are active. Accompanying this fountain was the release of a white cloud of gas, that, as it grew bigger and taller, up to 100 m in height, settled on the surface of the lake and started to flow down the valley, forming a river of white gas 50 m tall. Today, the only active volcano of the CVL is Mount Cameroon.
There are a few volcanologists who think there was some type of eruption in the deeper part of the lake, but they are in the minority.Once all this carbon dioxide reached the surface, it splashed some lake water out of the lake, like a big bubble bursting. I collapsed and fell.
Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun are both crater lakes about a mile square located in remote mountain areas of northwest Cameroon, dominated by rock cliffs and lush vegetation. Lake Nyos, located in Cameroon, West Africa, had no signs of volcanic activity or that natural disaster could take place.
It is agreed that somehow some of that carbon dioxide-rich water was displaced upward into shallower depths to the point where the overlying water pressure was lower and carbon dioxide bubbles could start to form (like when you lower the pressure on a soda by opening the bottle and suddenly bubbles start to form). Leaving their homes to check on the source of the noise, they saw a tall fountain of water spouting out of Lake Nyos. The livestock such as cattle also lost consciousness.
About 110 million years ago a giant rift broke apart what became Africa and South America and the South Atlantic Ocean began to form. Geologists are still not sure why the cap of warm water, holding the gases on the bottom of the lake, failed that night. This older rift, called the Benue Trough, is north of and parallel to the Cameroon line. I became unconscious. Lake Nyos is a water-filled throat of an old volcano and it is deep and funnel-shaped. (Images from USGS)What triggered this sudden release of the trapped carbon dioxide? A fissure Volcanism along the Cameroon line is related to rifting – where a continent breaks into two pieces. On 21 August 1986, a limnic eruption at Lake Nyos in northwestern Cameroon killed 1,746 people and 3,500 livestock.
I saw some ... starchy mess on my body. A rumbling noise reportedly was heard from the vicinity of Lake Nyos just before the catastrophe. volume of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas was released from Lake Nyos, a volcanic crater lake in Cameroon. I went into my daughter's bed, thinking that she was still sleeping. At Lake Nyos, once \these bubbles started to form they wanted to rise to the top, this brought up more carbon dioxide-rich water which then also started to develop bubbles, and pretty soon there was a big rush of carbon dioxide bubbles to the surface.
The eruption triggered the sudden release of about 100,000–300,000 A degassing system has since been installed at the lake, with the aim of reducing the concentration of It is believed that about 1.2 cubic kilometres (0.29 cu mi) of gas was released.Scientists concluded from evidence that a 100 m (330 ft) column of water and foam formed at the surface of the lake, spawning a wave of at least 25 metres (82 ft) that swept the shore on one side.Since carbon dioxide is 1.5 times the density of air, the cloud hugged the ground and moved down the valleys, where there were various villages.
Most people, I think, feel that there was some sort of landslide into the lake that stirred up the water. The mass was about 50 metres (160 ft) thick, and travelled downward at 20–50 kilometres per hour (12–31 mph). On 21 August 1986, one of the strangest and most mysterious natural disasters in history took place at Lake Nyos - a lake formed atop a volcanic crater in northwest Cameroon. Carbon dioxide from that magma slowly percolates through Earth’s crust with the groundwater and accumulates in the bottom of the lake. "Killer lakes" like Nyos are very rare. Studying therefore old maps, photographs and reports, I became interested in the history of geology and how early geologists figured out how earth works, blogging about it in my spare time. A pocket of magma lies 80 kilometers (50 miles) below the surface. A smaller rift formed within the African continent. The gas flowed down towards nearby settlements and killed approximately 1,800 people, 3000 cattle, and countless wild animals, birds and insects – in short almost every living creature for miles
Although no longer erupting, there is still gas being released by the old plumbing system under the lake. August 21, 1986, was a busy market day in the village of Lower Nyos and that evening most people went to bed early. Perhaps an earthquake or volcanic eruption on the bottom of the lake disrupted the water stratification. The origin of the CVL is still not completely understood. Although no longer erupting, there is still gas being released by the old plumbing system under the lake. In the tropical climate of Cameroon, the warm superficial water layer will form a sort of cap covering the entire lake.Volcanic gases, like sulfur- and carbon-dioxide, coming from the ground, become more and more concentrated at the bottom of the lake.
Geologists discovered that the supposed haunted springs are hot springs with a very high level of volcanic gases. Nine volcanoes along the line are active. Accompanying this fountain was the release of a white cloud of gas, that, as it grew bigger and taller, up to 100 m in height, settled on the surface of the lake and started to flow down the valley, forming a river of white gas 50 m tall. Today, the only active volcano of the CVL is Mount Cameroon.
There are a few volcanologists who think there was some type of eruption in the deeper part of the lake, but they are in the minority.Once all this carbon dioxide reached the surface, it splashed some lake water out of the lake, like a big bubble bursting. I collapsed and fell.
Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun are both crater lakes about a mile square located in remote mountain areas of northwest Cameroon, dominated by rock cliffs and lush vegetation. Lake Nyos, located in Cameroon, West Africa, had no signs of volcanic activity or that natural disaster could take place.