What I am about to describe is a largely volcano caused cataclysm which occurred 4,000 years
ago if it were to hypothetically occur again in the same location today.
In the busy metropolitan area of Goma, a loud boom is heard as it echoes across the adjacent
Nyiragongo volcano.
As residents turn towards Lake Kivu, they see a 100 meter tall cloud of water and water
vapor rise from the lake.
Then, they see a 25 meter high wave heading towards them.
As people began scrambling for high ground, they suddenly become unable to move.
In only a few minutes, the deadliest volcanic disaster in recorded history occurred.
What was just described was a preventable natural disaster related to volcanic activity
which is known as a "limnic eruption".
Limnic eruptions are a very rare disaster where almost the entire volume of carbon dioxide
within a lake suddenly bursts towards the surface and advances across the surrounding
landscape.
This cloud may be up to 50 meters in height, and travels at 50 kilometers or 31 miles per
hour.
It kills all humans, animals, and plant life caught in its path.
This disaster was unknown to science until 1984, when 37 people mysteriously died around
Lake Monoun in Cameroon.
Then, two years later, an even worse disaster occurred at Lake Nyos.
On August 21st, 1986, the crater lake of Lake Nyos produced a phreatic eruption, as underlying
magma had caused existing water to flash to steam and explode.
This caused 1.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide within the lake to escape, and race
across the landscape in all directions.
As carbon dioxide is heavier than air, it traveled downhill and suffocated everything
within a 25 kilometer radius.
At the present, only three lakes on the planet are capable of and have produced this disaster.
One of these lakes just happens to be the densely populated Lake Kivu, which encompasses
a large section of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Every 1,000 to 4,000 years, sediment records indicate a lake wide extinction event, as
everything in the lake periodically suffocates due to a limnic eruption.
The last such event occurred in 2,000 BC, although there is potential evidence of 7
smaller limnic eruptions since then.
The carbon dioxide located in the deep section of Lake Kivu originates from seeps, fumaroles,
and batches of magma underlying its edifice.
As molten rock naturally releases a large amount of carbon dioxide, it permeates through
the crust and then dissolves in the lake in huge amounts.
Adjacent to Lake Kivu are two highly active volcanoes, Nyamuragira and Nyiragongo which
are almost always erupting in some shape or form.
At times, fissure eruptions from these two volcanoes have occurred within the lake, adding
more carbon dioxide and acting as a potential trigger for a limnic eruption.
After a certain threshold of carbon dioxide concentration is reached, much like a shaken
coca cola can, the carbon dioxide is quickly and energetically released.
Since this disaster occurs every few thousand years, a future repeat would be catastrophic.
Current indications suggest that the northwestern section of Lake Kivu known as Kabuno Bay is
at highest risk for the next limnic eruption.
Although this may sound dire, unlike a volcanic eruption, a limnic eruption can actually be
averted before it ever occurs!
To prevent a limnic eruption, all that is needed is to install a series of pipes in
the lake and vent the deep carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
This feat has already been accomplished in Cameroon and at Lake Kivu although it is uncertain
if enough is being vented to prevent another eruption.
Within Lake Kivu, bacteria converts some of this carbon dioxide to methane.
This methane is now being extracted to use for electricity generation as part of a 100
megawatt "KivuWatt" power plant!
In the unlikely event a limnic eruption was suspected, everyone in a 50 kilometer radius
of the lake would need to be evacuated.
As a reminder, the purpose of this video was not to scare people, but rather educate the
public about a disaster which could easily be prevented.
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