Discussion
In August 1986, a cloud of CO2 gas suddenly erupted from a lake in Cameroon killing several people. Which of the following could have caused this accident ?
(I) Over the years CO2 (g) would have got saturated in the upper layers of the lake water.
(II) Heavy winds could have overturned the water in the lake.
(III) Over the years CO2 (g) would have got saturated in the bottom layers of the lake water.
(IV) This incident could be related to Raoult's law.
Answer: B
The causes are (II) and (III).
The event was the Lake Nyos disaster of 21 August 1986, which killed about 1,700 people. Volcanic CO2 seeping in from below had built up over years in the cold, dense bottom layers of the stratified lake, which held it dissolved under the pressure of the water above (III). A disturbance, possibly a landslide or wind-driven overturn (II), brought deep water up, the pressure fell, and the gas came out of solution in a sudden cloud.
The upper layers were not the saturated ones (I), and gas solubility under pressure is described by Henry's law, not Raoult's law (IV).
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