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Science 28 August 1987:
Vol. 237. no. 4818, pp. 1022 - 1024
DOI: 10.1126/science.237.4818.1022
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Articles

Seasonal Mixing and Catastrophic Degassing in Tropical Lakes, Cameroon, West Africa

GEORGE W. KLING 1

1 Department of Zoology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27706.

Lethal gas releases from Lakes Nyos and Monoun in Cameroon seem to be more lacustrine than volcanic in origin. Both of these events occurred in August and were only 2 years apart. Data show that the period of deepest mixing and lake turnover also occurs during late summer in this region of tropical Africa. In addition, recent trends of decreases in both air temperatures and effective insolation relative to long-term means suggest that weakening of stratification, coupled with a predictable seasonal interval of reduced stability in August, may be responsible for the timing of these events

Submitted on March 10, 1987
Accepted on June 24, 1987


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Exploding lakes in myth and reality: an African case study.
E. Shanklin (2007)
Geological Society, London, Special Publications 273, 165-176
   Abstract »    PDF »
From The Cover: Degassing Lakes Nyos and Monoun: Defusing certain disaster.
G. W. Kling, W. C. Evans, G. Tanyileke, M. Kusakabe, T. Ohba, Y. Yoshida, and J. V. Hell (2005)
PNAS 102, 14185-14190
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


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