Japanese geochemist warns of possible disaster at Lake Nyos

Minoru Kusakabe a geochemist who visited the country recently has warned against possible disasters in "Lake Nyos". "Lake Nyos has emptied a lot of gas and only the magma is still dormant," he noted.

During a press briefing held last Friday at the headquarters of the Japanese Agency for international cooperation (Jica), in the presence of Umemoto Shinji, the resident representative, the scientist made known the results of his research on the origin of the disaster in 1986 and outlined tips to prevent a possible resurgence.

As a reminder, on August 21, 1986, Lake Nyos, Cameroon Northwest exploded and released approximately one kilometer cube of carbon dioxide (Co2 causing the death and displacement of thousands).

The degassing process had started in 2001 with a single column of small-diameter: 15 cm against 26 cm columns installed subsequently. The operation experienced an acceleration in 2011 with the installation of two other columns of second generation, which increased the evacuated quantities.

Gregory Tanyi Leke, a researcher at the Institut de recherches géologiques et minières (IRGM), noted in 2013 in the Cameroon Tribune columns that: "there is sitll gas in Lake Nyos.".

However, 70% of the emanations of the Lake has been evacuated to this day. As for the remaining quantities, Sigha-Nkamdjou, hydrologist/geochemist at the IRGM, explained that in three years, the de-gazing of the Lake could be envisaged. Even though, according to him, the degassing system does not recharge in Co2 from magma chambers.

A fact that caused Pr Minoru Kusakabe to draw attention to the issue, because according to him, Lake Nyos is a crater located above a magma Pocket Lake. There are lines of faults that depart from this magma pocket and come into contact with the bottom of the Lake. It is therefore, an area of active volcanic activity thus gaseous fumes accumulate constantly at the bottom of the Lake.

"The instances in charge of degassing Lake Nyos, particularly the Ministry of scientific research and Innovation (Minresi), the Ministry of Territorial Administration and decentralization (Minatd) and Irgm, must ensure the monitoring, the continuous operation of the device installed in the Lake", he said.