Abstract
ON 21 August 1986, a massive release of carbon dioxide from Lake Nyos in Cameroon killed about 1,700 people. A similar event occurred on 15 August 1984 at Lake Monoun, also in Cameroon. It was suggested1–5 that the CO2 released was initially dissolved in the hypolimnion (dense lower layer) of the lake, and was released by eruptive outgassing. Because of its violence, the Nyos outburst was at first thought6 to have been volcanic, but undisturbed sediments and other evidence indicate that no large volcanic eruption occurred7–9. Recent experiments10,11 have shown that decompression of CO2-saturated water is able to power explosive eruptions. Here I analyse the dynamics of CO2-driven lake-water eruptions by deriving an equation of state for gas-liquid mixtures and using it to integrate the Bernoulli equation, which describes the dynamics of the bubbly flow. I find that under certain conditions these eruptions can be violent: the lake-surface exit velocity of an initially gas-saturated water parcel may reach 89m s−1 for Lake Nyos and 51m s−1 for Lake Monoun. The dynamics are similar to those of water-driven volcanic eruptions, which are also powered by gas exsolution from a liquid.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Freeth, S. J. & Kay, R. L. F. Nature 325, 104–105 (1987).
Sigurdsson, H. et al. J. Volcan. geotherm. Res. 31, 1–16 (1987).
Kling, G. W. et al. Science 236, 169–175 (1987).
Sabroux, J. C. et al. J. Volcan. geotherm. Res. 42, 381–384 (1990).
Sigvaldason, G. E. J. Volcan. geotherm. Res. 39, 97–107 (1989).
Tazieff, H. J. Volcan. geotherm. Res. 39, 109–116 (1989).
Giggenbach, W. F. J. Volcan. geotherm. Res. 42, 337–362 (1990).
Kling, G. W., Tuttle, M. L. & Evans, W. C. J. Volcan. geotherm. Res. 39, 151–165 (1989).
Freeth, S. J. in Natural Hazards in West and Central Africa (eds Freeth, S. J., Ofoegbu, C. O. & Onouha, K. M.) 63–82 (Vieweg, Braunschweig, 1992).
Mader, H. M. et al. Nature 372, 85–88 (1994).
Zhahg, Y., Sturtevant, B. & Stolper, E. M. in IUGG XXI General Assembly B413 (abstr.) (1466, Boulder, CO, 1995).
Kanari, S.-I. J. Volcan. geotherm. Res. 39, 135–149 (1989).
Tietze, K. in Natural Hazards in West and Central Africa (eds Freeth. S. J., Ofoegbu, C. O. & Onuoha, K. M.) 97–108 (Vieweg, Braunschweig, 1992).
Evans, W. C. et al. Geochem. J. 28, 139–162 (1994).
Wilson, L. J. Volcan. geotherm. Res. 8, 297–314 (1980).
Cussler, E. L. Diffusion: Mass Transfer in Fluid Systems (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1984).
Zhang, Y., Stolper, E. M. & Wasserburg, G. J. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 55, 441–456 (1991).
Kling, G. W., Evans, W. C., Tuttle, M. L. & Tanyileke, G. Nature 368, 405–406 (1994).
Crawford, G. D. & Stevenson, D. J. Icarus 73, 66–79 (1988).
Wiebe, R. & Gaddy, V. L. J. Am. chem. Soc. 62, 815–817 (1940).
Weiss, R. F. Mar. Chem. 2, 203–215 (1974).
Dean, J. A. Lange's Handbook of Chemistry (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1985).
Weast, R. C. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (CRC, Boca Raton, FL, 1983).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhang, Y. Dynamics of CO2-driven lake eruptions. Nature 379, 57–59 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1038/379057a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/379057a0
This article is cited by
-
Kick-starting ancient warming
Nature Geoscience (2009)
-
Knowledge of the fount and the cause of disaster
Nature (1996)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
