Each of us has probably heard the saying that there are devils in still waters. This expression perfectly describes Kivu, a lake located in Africa. An unusually beautiful-looking body of water is fraught with incredible danger to the entire Earth. The water in the lake is crystal blue, the banks are overgrown with tropical forests, and every day, against the backdrop of sunset, flocks of birds return to their nests. And all this is so beautiful, a breathtaking sight causes delight, which lasts until you start thinking about what Kivu keeps under its waters…
Lake location
Kivu is a lake belonging to the group of African Great Lakes, formed in the Albertine Rift. The appearance of the reservoir was provoked by volcanic eruptions, which blocked the flow of the ancient river network. Kivu is located in a tectonic basin at an altitude of approximately one and a half kilometers.
The lake is compared to a time bomb or a time bomb. It has accumulated a huge amount of gases that can escape during the first strong earthquake or volcanic explosion. And then all living things on our planet cancome to an end.
In the northern region of the reservoir, underwater eruptions take place: expanding, the rift valley causes volcanic activity in the nearby region and deepens the lake itself. The extremely indented, steep shores of the lake remind most travelers of the Norwegian fjords.
This is where the border between the Republic of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo lies today. In the deepest places, the bottom of the Kivu drops to almost 0.5 kilometers.
Pond Danger
Kivu is a lake that has one characteristic feature: approximately 150 large islands and small islets are scattered on its surface. The shores of the reservoir are incredibly densely populated. But the most populated island is Ijwi, which is home to almost 250,000 people. A quarter of them are refugees from Rwanda, where inter-ethnic clashes take place regularly. The population of the island and the banks of the Kivu is largely dependent on humanitarian aid supplies, as the area experiences regular crop failures, fires and plant diseases.
Lake Kivu by its variety belongs to meromictic reservoirs, in which there is almost no movement of liquid between balls with different levels of mineralization. As a result, the lower balls of water stagnate, and life in them almost completely disappears. At the bottom of the reservoir, below 270 meters, almost 65 km3 of methane and 256 km3 of carbon dioxide have collected in a dissolved state.
Scientists suggest that it is the composition of water inKivu has become the main cause of ailments of the islanders, the main of which are brain disorders and goiter. But the danger threatens all, without exception, the inhabitants of the coastal territory of the reservoir. At any second, a limnological accident is possible - a gas eruption through the water surface. The release can provoke the mass death of all life on the territory of many thousands of square kilometers.
According to experts, one of the causes of this catastrophe will be a volcanic eruption. At the bottom of the Kivu, exactly where there is an increased concentration of gases, it will heat up the water, after which methane will be released from it. All this will be accompanied by an explosion and the release of an incredible amount of deadly carbon dioxide at the same time.
What happens to gas
Kivu - the lake, the photo of which you see in the article, differs in many ways from other reservoirs of both temperate and tropical climates. Its main quality can be called the absence of vaporization at the border of air and water. Due to the humidity of the atmosphere above the reservoir and the elevated temperature, a dense “cushion” of hot vapor appears between the air and the liquid, stopping the whirlpool of water molecules. As a result, the liquid in the Kivu does not circulate, and the gas that accumulates at the bottom of the reservoir does not dissolve.
The lake is fed by warm underwater springs breaking through a ball of sedimentary ash and hardened volcanic lava to the surface. Under the influence of climatic changes and volcanic activity, the temperature of the springs changes from time to time. But it's nobodyway does not affect the overall picture. Due to this stability, the gas that accumulates under water is deposited in the form of a dense layer.
The pressure that holds it is also kept at the same level, but any violation of this balance will provoke an explosion of a chemical mixture of carbon dioxide and methane.
Will there be an explosion?
Kivu, a lake in Africa, is regularly explored by scientists. Specifically, they are studying a complex chemical mixture that lies at the bottom of a reservoir. They cannot give an unambiguous answer whether the accumulated gases will soon erupt on the surface, or the lake will remain unchanged for several millennia, they cannot.
The current situation is further complicated by the fact that the area in which the Kivu is located is considered seismically dangerous, and seismic activity continues here. In the late 40s of the last century, there was already a volcanic eruption here.
An international team of scientists cannot say exactly when the explosion will occur and what will trigger it. In 2002, at a distance of 18 kilometers from the reservoir, a strong earthquake destroyed half of the city of Goma in the Congo. But at the bottom of the lake, the gas remained stable.
Interesting facts about the lake
Biologists are sure that Kivu is a lake on the African continent, which is the only body of water not inhabited by large predatory animals, including crocodiles. The local population tells travelers the story of what happened in 1948the eruption of the Kituru volcano, which is located next to the lake. Lava got into the reservoir, which brought the water to a boil, and the fish that lived in it boiled alive. For some time, the inhabitants of this area had to eat this boiled fish floating on the surface of the Kivu.
There is a theory according to which the release of toxic gas can provoke a rare phenomenon - a lake tsunami. Its wave will wash away all the settlements from the banks of the reservoir.
Three resorts
Kivu, a lake in Africa, which we described above, contains not only danger. There are also beautiful resort towns, the beauty of which can be admired endlessly. There are three such settlements here:
- Gisenyi - the resort is located in the northern region of the lake. Once this city was a colonial bohemian resort, where representatives of the French administration liked to spend their holidays.
- Kibuye is a city located south of the previous resort. This is the most charming of all Kivu resorts.
- Shangugu is the most southerly of all resorts on the lake. This is a frontier town whose former grandeur is evidenced by the worn facades of pompous buildings in the past.
Other assumptions of scientists
Kivu is a lake in Africa (photo above), which has erupted more than once. Scientists have found evidence that in the past gas emissions occurred approximately every thousand years.
If, nevertheless, a limnological catastrophe on the Kivu will take place today, thenits consequences will be simply terrifying: two million people live on its banks in total. Today, the level of carbon dioxide has not yet reached a critical point, but its content in the reservoir is constantly increasing.
Can disaster be avoided
In some lakes with the same problem as the Kivu, scientists have installed vertical pipes. They mix water and bring small doses of poisonous gases to the surface. But here everything is completely different. Kivu is a volcanic lake and incredibly large. Huge amounts of money are needed to install exhaust pipes here. To date, no plan to reduce the risk of an accident has been initiated, leaving a population of two million still in mortal danger.
