- #1
- 2,599
- 10,676
The African continent has several deep lakes with a deeper layer that is mostly not mixing with the overlaying layer. This could be due to a higher salinity, making the deeper layer more dense, and therefore stable.
If enough CO2 or methane is pumped into the lower layer of water, it may get close to its saturation point. Nevertheless this can be stable for long times.
However, if something disturbs the deep layer. Part of it may slosh around and moving some of it to a shallower area with less pressure. If gas starts bubbling out of solution, the water becomes less dense volume of water and rises toward. This will draw water from lower regions up under neath to where it will release gas and continue the cycle.
The initial disturbance could be any of a number of things: volcanic heating of deep layers, underwater land slide (maybe from an earthquake) disturbing enough of the deep layer to start the cycle. ?
Water can hold huge amounts of CO2, so really massive amounts can be released, enough to flood a valley with heavier than air CO2 and suffocating them.
This is known to have at least once, and is a potential threat to at least hundreds of thousands.
Using very simple technology, any aquarium hobbyist would be familiar with, an airlift tube, a self powered (once started) pump (the air lift tube), is used to pump saturated water from the bottom of one of these lakes.
The rate is easily controlled with a valve. Amount of dissolved CO2 levels were reduced safely.
Different lakes work differently because they have different chemistries going on. Different solutions.
Much of this and a lot more is in this nice Nature podcast written up as a little article.
Maybe the writer went to a meeting.
If enough CO2 or methane is pumped into the lower layer of water, it may get close to its saturation point. Nevertheless this can be stable for long times.
However, if something disturbs the deep layer. Part of it may slosh around and moving some of it to a shallower area with less pressure. If gas starts bubbling out of solution, the water becomes less dense volume of water and rises toward. This will draw water from lower regions up under neath to where it will release gas and continue the cycle.
The initial disturbance could be any of a number of things: volcanic heating of deep layers, underwater land slide (maybe from an earthquake) disturbing enough of the deep layer to start the cycle. ?
Water can hold huge amounts of CO2, so really massive amounts can be released, enough to flood a valley with heavier than air CO2 and suffocating them.
This is known to have at least once, and is a potential threat to at least hundreds of thousands.
Using very simple technology, any aquarium hobbyist would be familiar with, an airlift tube, a self powered (once started) pump (the air lift tube), is used to pump saturated water from the bottom of one of these lakes.
The rate is easily controlled with a valve. Amount of dissolved CO2 levels were reduced safely.
Different lakes work differently because they have different chemistries going on. Different solutions.
Much of this and a lot more is in this nice Nature podcast written up as a little article.
Maybe the writer went to a meeting.
