KF7TBA+K7LWA's Friday Insomniac-Net BLOG: 2015[34]A -- Ins-Net As for Aug 21, 2015: "It's TorF Trivia (Killer Lake Nyos)" [A-B-B]

Insomniac-Net ANSWERS -- Friday[34], Aug 21, 2015 [ A - B - B ]
Tonight's Topic: "It's TorF Trivia (Killer Lake Nyos)"
ANSWERS = [ A - B - B ]
    Good morning/evening, everybody! Thank you for joining us last night.
    We hope you discovered something interesting during the time we spent together on the Insomniac Net last night.
    Thanks to you all for playing along -- it was a lot of FUN for us. Hopefully, you had fun too!
        -- The ever-delightful Shelley [KF7TBA] and just plain old LW [K7LWA] (email K7LWA.INS@gmail.com).
    (Please Note: The Net Controller's Answers are always CORRECT (even if they aren't every time!)
   Please check out Winsystem's Insomniac Trivia Net page.
    You can get these Questions & Answers at the Yahoo-groups' Messages Link.
=================
    It's that time again: Some TRUE or FALSE ("TorF") Trivia -- about a tragic event that occurred 29 years ago today in Cameroon, West Africa.
    Around 9:30 PM on August 21, 1986, a cloudy mixture of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and water droplets rose violently from Lake Nyos -- the 800-ft (200m) deep volcanic crater on Mount Cameroon -- and spilled out of the crater and swept down adjacent valleys.
   Since this 100-foot (50m) thick deadly cloud descended downslope at a rate of 12-30 MPH (20-50 KPH) and covered a distance over 15 miles (23 km), it killed over 1700 people, thousands of cattle, and many more birds and animals in the villages and valleys at the base of the volcano.
    Many of the victims suffocated in their sleep.
    Just two years earlier, at another Cameroon volcano, Mount Monoun, 37 people were killed by a similar deadly carbon dioxide (CO2) expulsion from that volcano's crater lake.
    The tragedy of Lake Nyos might have been avoided; however, unfortunately, the research into the 1984 Monoun disaster was never made public until after 1986.
    So, accordingly, for tonight's topic, how much do you know about volcanic killer lakes?
    Please give us your best answer for each of the following 3 TRUE or FALSE questions, by using the (reuseable) answers of "A"=TRUE or "B"=FALSE.
   Good Luck and remember, YOU are always a WINNER with us, regardless of your actual answers!
    OK, grab those oxygen tanks and run -- don't walk -- for higher ground!

++ "It's TorF Trivia "(Killer Lake Nyos)" ++
Question #1: The reason the carbon dioxide (CO₂) clouds are deadly to humans (and other animals) is that CO₂ is 1.5 times denser than air -- which sinks and pushes breathable air out of the way -- and, in most cases, can cause suffocation within a few minutes -- True or False?
A. True, or
B. False.

THE AUGUST 21 EXPULSION OF DEADLY CO2
The CO2-rich cloud was expelled rapidly from the southern floor of Lake Nyos. It rose as a jet with a speed of about 100 km per hour. The cloud quickly enveloped houses within the crater that were 120 meters above the shoreline of the lake. Because CO2 is about 1.5 times the density of air, the gaseous mass hugged the ground surface and descended down valleys along the north side of the crater. The deadly cloud was about 50 meters thick and it advanced downslope at a rate of 20 to 50 km per hour. This deadly mist persisted in a concentrated form over a distance of 23 km, bringing sudden death to the villages of Nyos, Kam, Cha, and Subum.
[SOURCE: HOW VOLCANOES WORK: LAKE NYOS (1986)]

Question #2: Since 1986, many scientists investigating volcanic killer lakes have concluded that the carbon dioxide (CO₂), trapped at the bottom of these lake, had suddenly risen to the surface, over-topped the crater rim, and flowed down the volcanic slopes. They called their theory: "Lake Harmonic Inversion" -- True or False?
A. True, or
B. False.

Death by suffocation

    The phenomenon of lake overturn first struck in 1984 at Lake Monoun, in Cameroon. 37 people mysteriously died, suddenly and silently. A bizarre array of theories sprang up - secret testing of chemical weapons, a massacre by unknown terrorists; none really made sense. The scientists who looked into the disaster believed it had to be something to do with the lake itself, but they could not be absolutely sure.
    In 1986, before research into the Monoun disaster was made public, it all happened again.
    The tragedy of Lake Nyos, also in Cameroon, made headlines around the world when almost 1,800 people sleeping in houses around the lake suffocated in their sleep. The team of scientists that went to investigate concluded that carbon dioxide, trapped at the bottom of the lake, had suddenly risen to the surface, killing everything within 25km. They called their theory lake overturn.
[SOURCE: Killer Lakes -- BBC Horizon Two 9.00pm Thursday 4 April 2002]

Question #3: The Nyos disaster promoted a survey of deep lakes in Africa and Indonesia. Fortunately, as of 2002, no other large, deeply-cratered volcanoes with similar killer lakes have been found -- True or False?
A. True, or
B. False.

Releasing the pressure
Eventually the scientists came to realise that carbon dioxide springs underground were pumping carbon dioxide into the lake and that the whole tragedy would be repeated if nothing was done. They installed an extraordinary fountain in the middle of the lake to help the gas disperse. Even so, the level of carbon dioxide in the waters remains a concern.

The Nyos disaster promoted a survey of deep lakes in Africa and Indonesia to see where else lake overturn could happen. All seem to be safe, except one - Lake Kivu, in Rwanda. Lake Kivu is one of the largest and deepest lakes in Africa and two million people live around its shore. It is also filling up with carbon dioxide, although it's not yet saturated with the deadly gas. The only thing that could trigger a gas release would be a massive geological event. Worryingly, Lake Kivu is sitting in an earthquake zone and surrounded by active volcanoes, including Mount Nyiragongo. If an eruption or an earthquake was to happen under the lake, then the effect could release millions of tons of asphyxiating gas into the surrounding areas. Until a solution is found, millions of lives could be at risk.
[SOURCE: Killer Lakes -- BBC Horizon Two 9.00pm Thursday 4 April 2002]

--------

[General References]:
    HISTORY.COM -- Disaster -- August 21, 1986 -- Gas cloud kills Cameroon villagers (http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/gas-cloud-kills-cameroon-villagers)
    Theresa Kayzar -- Lake Nyos Disaster
    Killer Lakes -- BBC Horizon Two 9.00pm Thursday 4 April 2002 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2001/killerlakes.shtml)
    HOW VOLCANOES WORK: LAKE NYOS (1986) (http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoes_work/Nyos.html)
=================

++ QUOTES OF THE DAY ++ -- from Bill Evans (US Geological Survey):

"This lake really is a timebomb. The gas that comes into this lake every day increases the danger of an eruption, so unless steps are taken to remove that gas it's almost a certainty that the lake would erupt again."

[SOURCE: Killer Lakes -- BBC Horizon Two 9.00pm Thursday 4 April 2002]
=================

BLOG LINKS:
Questions = 2015[34]Q -- Ins-Net Qs for Aug 21, 2015: "It's TorF Trivia (Killer Lake Nyos)"
Answers = 2015[34]A -- Ins-Net As for Aug 21, 2015: "It's TorF Trivia (Killer Lake Nyos)"

=================
Please include you name, Callsign, and those correct answers.
Good luck everyone!
Shelley [KF7TBA] & LW [K7LWA]
K7LWA.INS@gmail.com

NOTE: Be sure to check out additional info & photos on
KF7TBA+K7LWA's Friday Insomniac-Net BLOG
(http://k7lwa-ins.blogspot.com/)
NOTE: Blog may have Questions posted earlier than Yahoo!