km
at STP each 
years.
The sudden release of carbon dioxide gas, which accumulate
gradually within the stratified water bodies of a crater
lake, is believed to be the cause of two fatal disasters in
Cammeroon during the past decade. We model various physical
processes involved in the release by considering (1) the
gas injection, (2) an internal triggering mechanism, (3)
propagation of a disturbance, and (4) the forces that end
the outburst. We suggest that the 1986 Lake Nyos outburst
was triggered from the lake bottom. The final explosive
stage of release terminated quickly because of a
percolation transition. If both the gas injection rate and
the diffusion rate of carbon dioxide through water are
constant, then rapid gas release will occur at fairly
regular intervals. In which case, the amount of gas released
from Lake Nyos is km at STP each years.
AGU Index Terms: 1845 Limnology; 4568 Turbulence, diffusion, and mixing processes; 4239 Limnology; 9305 Africa
Keywords/Free Terms: Africa, limnology, turbulence, diffusion, and mixing processes
JGR-Solid Earth 96JB01904
Vol. 101
, No. B12
, p. 28,253