East Africa: Lake Kivu – a Time Bomb Or Source of Energy?

Prof Boniface Kaningini, director-general of the university college Institut Superieur Pedagogique de Bukavu (ISO-Bukavu) and a biologist with at least 20 years of research on Lake Kivu, says studies show the amount of methane gas and carbon dioxide in the bottom of Lake Kivu has increased by 30 percent in the last 30 years.

Despite the existence of studies that link the increase of these gases to volcanic activity, Kaningini says another factor could be the introduction of the sardine Limnothrissa miodon – locally known as Ndakala – into the lake
According to lake water experts, the Salmon Enhancement and Habitat Advisory Board (SEHAB), a potentially catastrophic event called a ‘limnic eruption’ could occur if volcanic or landslide activity caused the lake waters to turn over and effectively lift this ‘lid’.

A cloud of released gases would smother all lakeside life.

“A rift in the area is pulling apart and causing a crack to move closer to the bottom of the lake. Large amounts of boiling lava entering the lake could be more than sufficient to trigger a large overturn releasing huge amounts of deadly carbon dioxide,” it said. “In addition, the lake contains a large quantity of methane that could also cause explosions above the lake.”

Whatever the source of the methane, scientists agree the solution is to tap the gas as an energy source rather than risk a possible disaster.

Salif Diop, a senior programme officer and head of the Ecosystems Section of UNEP’s Division of Early Warning and Assessment (DEWA) says degassing the lake – as is being done for Lake Nyos – is a viable and economically beneficial option.

Research has shown the lake’s deep waters contain an estimated 65 billion cubic metres of methane, the equivalent of 50 million tonnes of petrol.

People living around the lake need not worry; what we need to do is to conduct more research … to understand this phenomenon

UNEP estimates say Kivu contains enough methane to power the United States for a month, and five times as much carbon dioxide – about 200 km3.

In 2003, New Scientist reported that this reserve could supply Rwanda’s energy needs for 400 years, eliminating the need for wood burning, the main source of energy at the time.

AllAfrica