The bodies of water only seem to be safe. Usually, lakes are called the quietest reservoirs in nature. On all sides they are surrounded by land, there is no strong current. However, this serenity and predictability is deceiving.
On the border of two states, Rwanda and Congo, there is literally a time bomb. This is how scientists call Lake Kivu.
Hazardous composition
The reservoir is dangerous for several settlements located nearby. Millions of people live in them. The surroundings of the unpredictable lake are very densely populated. Local residents live mainly by fishing and tourism. Therefore, Kivu for them is one of the main sources of income.
While the phrase “explosive lake” is puzzling, it’s not fun at all. The likelihood of an explosion is not a threat of heat transfer, it is the release of an incredible amount of carbon dioxide. This phenomenon is called a limnological catastrophe, in other words, the eversion of the lake.
The main danger is the unpredictability of the gas release time. It can begin every moment, and the results are disastrous. Since CO2 is heavier than air, it will remain in the vicinity of Kivu for several days after being released. There will be nothing to breathe nearby. This can be fatal for those nearby.
Prospects and reality
Dissolved in waters over six tens of millions of cubic meters of methane and over two hundred million cubic meters of CO2. The reservoir is located in an area of constant volcanic activity. Through cracks in the bottom rocks, the above-mentioned substances end up in the lake.
They do not rise to the surface, dissolving in the lake moisture due to high pressure. The tank has turned into a huge vessel, at the bottom of which is essentially soda. The upper part of the water volume represents a kind of cork for the drink.
As soon as it opens up, methane and carbon dioxide rise upward, expanding. It will become impossible to stop the reaction. The amount released will increase until the lake is completely inverted. This process often causes a tsunami.
Life on the edge
Even the very likelihood of the Kivu exploding is frightening. But the threat does not disappear from this. Similar cataclysms in this area are familiar.
In the last century, in the mid-eighties, Lakes Nyos and Manun went through an eversion procedure. The result was the spread of the CO2 cloud over several tens of kilometers. True, none of the reservoirs could compare with the size of the Kivu.
This is what scares most of all: the area is much larger, and the depth and volume of the gas-saturated layer is enormous. Based on the results of geological studies, the possibility of eversion is once in a millennium.
But the release will make the surroundings lifeless. The same consequences apply to nearby areas. So far, scientists cannot either prevent the event or predict its development.
