This lake can explode without warning, kill thousands of people and animals

One of the great lakes of Africa, Lake Kivu, is saturated with carbon dioxide and methane, especially deep inside. This could cause an explosion without any warnings, according to a report.

In the past, two lakes, namely Nyos and Monoun, had exploded. The incidents took the lives of around 1,800 people and thousands of animals.

Lake Kivu’s size and geological risks

In terms of area, Lake Kivu is much bigger than Nyos or Monoun. It is around 55 miles long, 30 miles wide, and around 1,560 feet deep. It also has a layered structure which means that only the top 200 feet of water will mix regularly, with the waters at the lower layers remaining stagnant.

One of the probable possibilities for Lake Kivu to cause explosions is because it is situated across the East African Rift, the tectonic plate boundary. The rift causes the Somalian tectonic plate to move eastwards and away from the rest of the continent. This movement causes volcanic and seismic activities in the region, filling the lake with poisonous gases.

Experts said that approximately 72 cubic miles of carbon dioxide and 14 cubic miles of methane are present at Lake Kivu’s bottom. It also consists of traces of hydrogen sulfide gas. The combination of these three could cause severe explosions and can greatly affect the densely populated areas.

Any kind of explosion could mean a release of huge gases that could be around the lake for many days, and even weeks, the researchers shared with National Geographic.

Methane extraction from Lake Kivu: Opportunities and risks

Some companies like Hydragas Energy in Canada are planning to extract methane from Lake Kivu. It believes that the extraction can help produce electricity. Philip Morkel, founder of Hydragas Energy, told the National Geographic. “When the lake reaches 100% saturation [in the bottom layer] — and it is currently somewhere over 60% — it will erupt spontaneously,” Morkel said.

He believed that the lake could release around 5% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions in one day. This could mean severe casualties. Apart from that methane extraction could also cause explosion and carries with it several risks. “It’s a compromise of safety versus commercial exploitation in the long term,” Katsev believed. The water generates a plume as it sinks downward,” he said.

History however states that such kind of explosions are rare, but them happening means a catastrophe. That is primarily due to the presence of carbon dioxide that can suddenly erupt from the deep lake waters, resulting in a gas cloud.

This gas cloud can cause severe suffocation affecting humans, wildlife, livestock and aquatic plants and animals. One of the most notable example of such kind of a disaster was at Lake Nyos (as mentioned in the lede), claiming the lives of many.

People must be wary of such incidents , with the likes of asphyxiation, environmental damage, and lots more. Efforts must be made to mitigate or prevent the happening of any such incidents. One of the ways could be through scientific efforts and implementing safety measures like degassing which could stop tragedies from happening in the future and conserve ecosystems.