Lago Albano, the “anti-Nyos-type” lake: The past as a key for the future

Abstract

On 21 August 1986 almost 1800 people were asphyxiated by a CO2 cloud violently released by Lake Nyos, Cameroon. Post-1986 monitoring of Lake Nyos revealed that CO2 steadily accumulates in bottom waters through recharge from soda-rich aquifers. The 1986 lake roll-over event triggered scientific research on volcanic lakes, creating “Nyos biased” interpretations: the search for dissolved CO2 in other lakes might have led to over-interpretations regarding hazard assessment. In this study, a thorough review of the historical literature on Lago Albano over the past approx. 2800 years shows no clear evidence of Nyos-type bursts, contrary to previous ideas. In 1989 Lago Albano was affected by a large CO2 pulse, concomitant with a seismic swarm below Colli Albani volcano. Tracing back in historical literature, at least two similar anomalous degassing episodes occurred out of five seismic crises between 1829 and 1927. Partial temperature- and density-driven roll-over of the top-9 m of Lago Albano commonly releases accumulated CO2 each winter (Chiodini et al., 2012). This degassing dynamics avoids long-term CO2 accumulation in bottom waters, as is the case at permanently stratified lakes in the tropics, such as Lake Nyos.Here we show that Lago Albano is an “anti-Nyos-type" lake: sudden recharge and regularly periodic release of CO2 (Lago Albano) vs. steady recharge and sudden release of CO2 (Lake Nyos). Despite past evidence of hazardous events, (1) the intensive well pumping from the Albano aquifer might lower lake level, and hence decrease the CO2 saturation pressure threshold, and (2) the absence of cold winters, hence avoiding yearly lake roll-over favoring CO2 accumulation at bottom layers, are modern factors that rise the need to revise hazard assessment and future monitoring strategies. Despite the fact that CO2 concentration in bottom waters was far from saturation conditions during the last survey (May 2010; Chiodini et al., 2012), making a limnic eruption highly unlikely, it is necessary to know the saturation state of CO2 in bottom waters and physical lake stability at any time, in order to be prepared for a next anomalous co-seismic CO2 degassing event of unknown quantity near Lago Albano.