The comparative limnology of Lakes Nyos and Monoun, Cameroon

Abstract

Lakes Nyos and Monoun are known for the dangerous accumulation of CO 2 dissolved in stagnant bottom water, but the shallow waters that conceal this hazard are dilute and undergo seasonal changes similar to other deep crater lakes in the tropics. Here we discuss these changes with reference to climatic and water-column data collected at both lakes during the years following the gas release disasters in the mid-1980s. The small annual range in mean daily air temperatures leads to an equally small annual range of surface water temperatures (ΔT ~6–7 °C), reducing deep convective mixing of the water column. Weak mixing aids the establishment of meromixis, a requisite condition for the gradual buildup of CO 2 in bottom waters and perhaps the unusual condition that most explains the rarity of such lakes. Within the mixolimnion, a seasonal thermocline forms each spring and shallow diel thermoclines may be sufficiently strong to isolate surface water and allow primary production to reduce P CO2 below 300 μatm, inducing a net influx of CO 2 from the atmosphere. Surface water O 2 and pH typically reach maxima at this time, with occasional O 2 oversaturation. Mixing to the chemocline occurs in both lakes during the winter dry season, primarily due to low humidity and cool night time air temperature. An additional period of variable mixing, occasionally reaching the chemocline in Lake Monoun, occurs during the summer monsoon season in response to increased frequency of major storms. The mixolimnion encompassed the upper ~40–50 m of Lake Nyos and upper ~15–20 m of Lake Monoun prior to the installation of degassing pipes in 2001 and 2003, respectively. Degassing caused chemoclines to deepen rapidly. Piping of anoxic, high-TDS bottom water to the lake surface has had a complex effect on the mixolimnion. Algal growth stimulated by increased nutrients (N and P) initially stimulated photosynthesis and raised surface water O 2 in Lake Nyos, but O 2 removal through oxidation of iron was also enhanced and appeared to dominate at Lake Monoun. Depth-integrated O 2 contents decreased in both lakes as did water transparency. No dangerous instabilities in water-column structure were detected over the course of degassing. While Nyos-type lakes are extremely rare, other crater lakes can pose dangers from gas releases and monitoring is warranted.