Lake Nyos disaster

Lake Nyos disaster
	Lake Nyos as it appeared eight days after the eruption
	Lake Nyos disaster
Date	21 August 1986
Location	Cameroon
Coordinates	6°26′N 10°18′E / 6.44°N 10.30°E
Type	Limnic eruption
Deaths	1,746

On 21 August 1986, a limnic eruption at Lake Nyos in northwestern Cameroon killed 1,746 people and 3,500 livestock.^[1]

The eruption triggered the sudden release of about 100,000–300,000 tons (1.6 million tons, according to some sources^[who?]) of carbon dioxide (CO₂).^[2]^[3] The gas cloud initially rose at nearly 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph; 28 m/s) and then, being heavier than air, descended onto nearby villages, suffocating people and livestock within 25 kilometres (16 mi) of the lake.^[4]^[5]

A degassing system has since been installed at the lake, with the aim of reducing the concentration of CO₂ in the waters and therefore the risk of further eruptions. Along with the Lake Monoun disaster two years earlier, it is one of only two recorded limnic eruptions in history.^[6]

^ Hammond, Trevor (1 August 2018). "Lake Nyos Disaster: August 21, 1986". Fishwrap. Archived from the original on 10 October 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
^ Socolow, Robert H. (July 2005). "Can We Bury Global Warming?". Scientific American. Vol. 293, no. 1. pp. 49–55. Bibcode:2005SciAm.293a..49S. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0705-49. ISSN 0036-8733. JSTOR 26061071. PMID 16008301.
^ Mathew Fomine, Forka Leypey (2011). "The Strange Lake Nyos CO₂ Gas Disaster". Australasian Journal of Disaster and Trauma Studies. 2011–1. ISSN 1174-4707. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
^ Camp, Vic (31 March 2006). "Lake Nyos (1986)". San Diego State University. Archived from the original on 21 December 2008. Retrieved 19 December 2008.
^ Smolowe, Jill; Phillips, B. J. (8 September 1986). "Cameroon the Lake of Death". TIME. Vol. 128, no. 10. pp. 34–37. Archived from the original on 27 February 2009. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
^ Ohba, Takeshi, et al. "A Depression Containing CO2-Enriched Water at the Bottom of Lake Monoun, Cameroon, and Implications for the 1984 Limnic Eruption." Frontiers in Earth Science, vol. 10, May 2022, p. 766791. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2022.766791.

[1] Hammond, Trevor (1 August 2018). "Lake Nyos Disaster: August 21, 1986". Fishwrap. Archived from the original on 10 October 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2021.

[SCIAM-2] Socolow, Robert H. (July 2005). "Can We Bury Global Warming?". Scientific American. Vol. 293, no. 1. pp. 49–55. Bibcode:2005SciAm.293a..49S. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0705-49. ISSN 0036-8733. JSTOR 26061071. PMID 16008301.

[3] Mathew Fomine, Forka Leypey (2011). "The Strange Lake Nyos CO₂ Gas Disaster". Australasian Journal of Disaster and Trauma Studies. 2011–1. ISSN 1174-4707. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2016.

[SDSU-4] Camp, Vic (31 March 2006). "Lake Nyos (1986)". San Diego State University. Archived from the original on 21 December 2008. Retrieved 19 December 2008.

[time-5] Smolowe, Jill; Phillips, B. J. (8 September 1986). "Cameroon the Lake of Death". TIME. Vol. 128, no. 10. pp. 34–37. Archived from the original on 27 February 2009. Retrieved 9 December 2013.

[6] Ohba, Takeshi, et al. "A Depression Containing CO2-Enriched Water at the Bottom of Lake Monoun, Cameroon, and Implications for the 1984 Limnic Eruption." Frontiers in Earth Science, vol. 10, May 2022, p. 766791. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2022.766791.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]