In 1984, 37 people mysteriously died on a road next to Lake Monoun in Cameroon. Two years later 1,746 people and thousands of animals died around their village in the same fashion at nearby Lake Nyos. Scientists later discovered the deaths were caused by what they named a limnic eruption.
Both of these lakes are deep crater lakes, water filled remains of ancient volcanic activity. Both of these lakes still have the old magma tubes, which slowly leak CO2. Because the lakes are so deep the water pressure keeps the CO2 from coming to the surface. After hundreds of years the pressure gets so great that any disturbance will set off the ‘limnic eruption’ and cause a cloud of deadly CO2 gas to blanket the low lying areas, as the gas is denser than air. Without oxygen to breathe animals and humans will fall unconscious and die.
The cause of the eruptions at these lakes was thought to be a landslide that sent rocks down to the bottom and disturbed the pressurized gas down below.
These eruptions are the only two to have been known to happen in the recorded history of humanity, so they are extremely rare. Although there was a local legend that said evil spirits would occasionally leave the lake to kill people, so maybe an historical limnic eruption started that tale.
Don’t worry about it happening near you unless you live near a lake that meets three criteria:
- 1. THE LAKE MUST BE DEEP – Every 10 meters of depth adds 1 atmosphere of pressure to keep the gas ‘corked’.
- 2. THE CLIMATE MUST BE STABLE – If the temperature of the water changes the colder water will sink to the bottom and the gas filled water will rise to safely release. In a tropical environment like Cameroon the water stays the same temperature year round and doesn’t mix - causing a dangerous buildup.
- 3. A TRIGGER – Landslide, earthquake, cold rain, or just too much gas built up to overcome the water pressure holding it down.
Scientists advised that a pipe be installed in the lakes to pump up the saturated water and mix it to prevent accumulation, creating a visually pleasing fountain. These pipes were eventually installed, and a third lake was discovered to have a potential for a methane based limnic eruption. Nearly two million people live near that lake, named Kivu, so a limnic eruption there would be catastrophic. Pipes have been placed to harvest the methane for power production, thereby turning the deadly gas into useful energy.
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