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Degassing Lakes Nyos and Monoun: Defusing certain disaster

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Where this source supports the record

Each entry separates the article’s editorial relevance note from its exact, section-level claims. A bibliography link without a direct claim is labeled plainly.

  1. Natural disasters · 21 August 1986

    Lake Nyos Gas Disaster

    Lake Nyos · Cameroon

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    Why editors use it here

    Peer-reviewed assessment of gas recharge, controlled removal, pipe capacity, and residual risk.

    1. Quick read

      On the evening of 21 August 1986, a vast quantity of carbon dioxide escaped suddenly from deep water in Lake Nyos, a volcanic crater lake in northwestern Cameroon.

      Reviewed 4 August 2026
    2. Trigger and conditions

      Deep, gas-rich water rose and depressurized, allowing dissolved carbon dioxide to form bubbles and accelerate more water upward.

      Reviewed 4 August 2026
    3. Uncertainty

      The broad carbon dioxide mechanism is strongly supported, but the exact trigger for overturn remains unresolved.

      Reviewed 4 August 2026
    4. Why it matters

      Nyos expanded the known geography of disaster.

      Reviewed 4 August 2026