Volcanic crater lake

A lake occupying a volcanic crater or caldera, formed when water accumulates within the volcanic depression. Its chemistry and hazards depend on volcanic heat, gases, and water circulation.

Crater lake formation: The accumulation of water in a volcanic crater or caldera through rainfall, groundwater inflow, or other sources. Explains how a volcanic depression becomes a lake.
Lake Nyos: A deep crater lake in Cameroon whose carbon-dioxide release killed more than 1,700 people in 1986. Its disaster demonstrated the danger of gas stored in a volcanic lake.
Limnology: The scientific study of inland waters, including lakes, rivers, and wetlands. Its measurements characterize the physical and chemical structure of crater lakes.
Volcanic hazard: A process associated with volcanoes that can threaten people, property, or the environment. Crater lakes can store or convey hazards even during quiet periods.
Hydrothermal system: A circulation of heated water and gases through permeable rock, driven by a heat source. Volcanic heat can warm lake water and supply dissolved minerals and gases.
Lake Monoun: A crater lake in Cameroon where a carbon-dioxide release killed 37 people in 1984. It was an earlier fatal example of a limnic eruption in a crater lake.
Volcanic gas monitoring: The measurement of gases released by volcanic systems to track activity and hazards. Gas measurements help distinguish volcanic inputs from changes in lake-water chemistry.
Carbon dioxide poisoning: Illness or death caused by inhaling carbon dioxide at concentrations that displace oxygen or disrupt breathing. A lake's released carbon dioxide can flow into nearby low-lying communities.
Lake stratification: The layering of lake water by differences in temperature or density that limit vertical mixing. Stable layers can trap volcanic gases in deep lake water.
Lake Toba: A large Indonesian lake filling the caldera of the Toba supervolcano. Its vast scale illustrates how caldera lakes can occupy enormous volcanic depressions.

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