[Scenario Seed] The Lake Nyos Disaster

[Catsmate]

Lake Nyos is a deep lake in a volcanic crater on the side of an inactive volcano in the Oku region of the northwest of Cameroon, about 320km from the capital  city of Yaoundé. Nyos is one of a handful of "exploding lakes", where carbon dioxide generated by volcanic activity underground leaks into the waters, forming carbonic acid, and periodically erupts (a 'limnic eruption') in a large cloud of gas and steam. Up to 100,000,000 tonnes of CO₂ may be absorbed.

• The lake is small, about 155 hectares, and averages 100m deep, but up to 200m in places.

On the 21st of August 1986 nearly 1,800 people (and almost 4,000 cattle) were found dead, killed suddenly and seemingly inexplicably, overnight. There were no outward signs of trauma, disease, or poison. Examination of the area showed high levels of carbon dioxide and elevated levels of other gases such as hydrogen sulphide. Lake Nyos itself had turned a colour described as "blood red" by investigators.

• The colour was due to rust; the event caused iron-rich deep waters to be displaced to the surface and oxidised
  

Something had triggered a huge release of carbon dioxide, estimated as being between 200,000 and 1,500,000 tonnes of the gas, from solution in the lake. The gas formed a cloud (about 1.25km³), and being heavier than air, had flowed downhill at around 50km/hr, killing hundreds of humans and animals in it's path by suffocation. The cloud remained dangerous to about 25m distance fro the lake. Entire villages were killed in their sleep and perhaps five thousand survivors suffered lasting injuries, mainly respiratory problems, lesions, and partial paralysis.

• Exactly what triggered the 'burp' isn't known; a landslide is the most popular (but unproven) explanation. Build up of cold rainwater and a minor earth tremor are also postulated.
  

Gaming possibilities.
The disaster in 1986 was a horrible but freakish incident, but one that got some interesting possibilities.

1. A scientifically minded group might wish to study the incident in detail (while allowing it to happen). This seems an unlikely motivation for most AITAS parties, but they might encounter such a group and interact with them,for good or ill.

• I've speculated before about the possibility for PCs to encounter academically minded time travellers.
  
• A a plot twist maybe the investigating group can find no trace of the cause of the eruption; in fact it's a blunder by them, the PCs or both together that triggers it.
  

2. A humanitarian time meddler might try and forestall the disaster (after the eruption a de-gassing system was put in place) and need to be stopped


3. I've also speculated about "disaster tourism" previously (specifically the films Thrill Seekers/The Time Shifters and Timescape/Grand Tour: Disaster in Time). The PCs could land (for whatever reason, if indeed it's deliberate) and discover a group of well-equipped tourists camping near the lake (with a good view of the gas cloud's path). It may take them a while to realise the other group are also travellers in time and discover why they're there.

• How do the players react? Do they try and stop the eruption? Frustrate the voyeurism?
  
• As a time-twist, the players could have interacted with the tourists before, but in their relative future (maybe in Bombay in 1944 or Sidney Street in 1911) and thus be somewhat constrained in the actions ("I will have met her again in '44 so we have to save her!!").
  
• An almost hackneyed complication is one of the tourists trying to stop the eruption and the PCs (possibly aided by the tourists' minders) stopping them.
• So is a twonky, a lost piece of future technology endangering the fabric of time. Or locals witnessing such technology. Did they tour company bring memory erasing drugs?
  
• For another complication: why is there a UNIT group camped nearby? Pick your reason; investigating reports of mysterious strangers, meteorite impact, training mission...
  

4. As I mentioned the proximate cause for the gas eruption isn't known. The lake is in a pretty remote area, high on the side of a volcano, and offers many possibilities for Whoniverse oddness. In addition to the usual (time travellers, alien base, crashed space ship...) there's also the possibility of a Silurian Earth Reptile hibernation shelter. Perhaps they're responsible for the eruption? Part of a plan to eliminate the apes from the area.

• A bad idea. The incident attracts international attention and lots of scientific interest. Though perhaps the Silurians planned a second eruption to kill off the investigators and deter re-occupation of the area, as too dangerous?
• Or maybe the PCs trigger the eruption, deliberately to frustrate the Silurian plan (not knowing it'll kill 1,800 people) or accidentally in the struggle.
  

Alternatively an alien presence could have triggered the eruption, either to make the area more suitable to them or to remove the nosy humans and provide a secluded base for their no doubt sinister plans.


If you're up for it you could include many of these elements. The Silurians awake and plot, the tourists establish their camp but are detected by UNIT satellites and a team is dispatched to investigate. Meanwhile a small team of academics from early in the "history" of time travel arrive to study the limnic eruption.
Blend in the PCs, and season to taste with paranoia, romance, misunderstandings and hostility. Serve hot.
Carbonated beverages optional...


Comments? Suggestions?

[Catsmate]

Update:
There are concerns of a similar limnic eruption at Lake Kivu in the Congo. Though this could be a disaster on a far larger scale given that Kivu has approximately three thousand times the volume and higher local population density. The city of Goma has been mostly evacuated.