Limnic Eruption - Lake Kivu's Potential Danger

Lake Kivu's Potential Danger

Lake Kivu is not only 2,000 times larger than Lake Nyos—it is also located in a far more densely populated area, with over two million people living along its shores. Fortunately, it has not reached a high level of CO₂ saturation yet. If the water were to become heavily saturated, it could become an even greater risk to human and animal life, as it is located very close to a potential trigger, Mount Nyiragongo, an active volcano that erupted in January 2002. It is also located in an active earthquake zone and close to other active volcanoes.

While the lake could be degassed in a manner similar to Lake Monoun and Lake Nyos, due to the size of the lake and the volume of gas involved such an operation would be expensive, running into millions of dollars. A scheme initiated in 2010 to utilize methane trapped in the lake as a fuel source to generate electricity in Rwanda has led to a degree of CO₂ degassing. During the procedure for extracting the flammable gas used to fire power stations on the shore, some CO₂ is removed in a process known as scrubbing. It is unclear whether enough of the gas will be removed to eliminate the danger of a limnic eruption at Lake Kivu.