Publication Date:
2015-12-25
Description:
The amount of dissolved CO 2 (CO 2aq ) in Lake Nyos, Cameroon, has been measured annually since January 2011. First, HCO 3 – concentration was estimated by a chemical analysis with the assumption of equilibria between CO 2aq , HCO 3 – and CO 3 2– . The estimated [HCO 3 – ] was correlated with the observed electrical conductivity of lake water. The profile of [CO 2aq ] was generated from the electrical conductivity, pH and temperature profiles. The [CO 2aq ] profile was integrated over the water column to obtain the total amount of CO 2aq . The amounts were 8.4, 6.8, 5.5, 4.4 and 3.9 Gmol (=10 9 mol) in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively. The fast reduction between 2011 and 2013 was attributed to the installation of two additional degassing pipes in April 2011. However, the rate of reduction decreased between 2014 and 2015 due to the reduced [CO 2aq ] at the inlet of the degassing pipes.
Print ISSN:
0305-8719
Electronic ISSN:
2041-4927
Topics:
Geosciences
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