Lakes That Go Boom!

From Wikipedia:

A limnic eruption, also referred to as a lake overturn or exploding lake, is a rare type of natural disaster in which CO₂ suddenly erupts from deep lake water, posing the threat of suffocating wildlife, livestock and humans. Such an eruption may also cause tsunamis in the lake as the rising CO₂ displaces water. Scientists believe landslides, volcanic activity, or explosions can trigger such an eruption. Some features of limnically active lakes include:

• CO₂-saturated incoming water
• A cool lake bottom indicating an absence of direct volcanic interaction with lake waters
• An upper and lower thermal layer with differing CO₂ saturations
• Proximity to areas with volcanic activity

Scientists have recently determined, from investigations into the mass casualties in the 1980s at Lake Monoun and Lake Nyos, that limnic eruptions and volcanic eruptions, although indirectly related, are actually separate types of disaster events.

Once an eruption occurs, a large CO₂ cloud forms above the lake and expands to the neighbouring region. Because CO₂ is denser than air, it has a tendency to sink to the ground while pushing breathable air up. As a result, life forms that need to breathe oxygen suffocate once the CO₂ cloud reaches them, as there is no breathable air. The CO₂ can make human bodily fluids very acidic, potentially causing CO₂ poisoning. As victims gasp for air they actually hurt themselves more by sucking in the CO₂ gas.

At Lake Nyos, the gas cloud descended from the lake into a nearby village where it settled, killing nearly everyone. In this eruption, some people as far as 25 km from the lake died. A change in skin color on some bodies led scientists to think that the gas cloud may have contained a dissolved acid such as hydrogen chloride as well, but that hypothesis is disputed. Many victims were found with blisters on their skin. This is believed to have been caused by the release of carbon monoxide, which can cause pressure ulcers due to poor oxygen circulation. Thousands of cattle and wild animals were also asphyxiated, but no official counts were made. On the other hand, vegetation nearby was mostly unaffected except for that which grew immediately adjacent to the lake. There the vegetation was damaged or destroyed by a 5-meter tsunami from the violent eruption.