A Catalogue of Useless Facts

Exploding Lakes

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Exploding Lakes
- natural phenomena -

​​A lake that is "meromictic" is comprised of multiple layers of water that do not intermix, creating defined strata within the lake. With volcanic meromictic lakes, the deepest layers can become saturated with gases -- often carbon dioxide. If a landslide, a storm, or even a temperature change disturbs this saturated layer, a chain reaction called a "limnic eruption" rapidly releases the dissolved gas from the lake into the surrounding environment.

A famous limnic eruption occurred in Cameroon in 1986, when massive amounts of carbon dioxide flooded from Lake Nyos and suffocated more than seventeen-hundred people living nearby.

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Sources ▼

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/lake-nyos-the-deadliest-lake-in-the-world