The Dominica boiling lake has stopped boiling and the water level has dropped 30 to 40 feet according to a report from the Forestry and Wildlife Division on December 28, 2004.
The Seismic Research Unit (SRU) said that the event was unrelated to changes in volcanic activity but given the recurring behaviour of the boiling lake it would be investigated.
Arlington James of the Division said there were similar occurences in April-May 1988, April 1971, January 1901, and December 1900 and there is every reason to believe that the lake is again going through a cold/dry cycle but the question is: When will it start boiling again?
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| Photo taken on Dec 28, 2004 by the Forestry & Wildlife Division shows that the lake level has dropped 30 - 40 feet and has stopped boiling |
Dominica is home to ten active volcanoes which are clustered in an area known as Desolation Valley. The boiling lake is located in the area and believed to be a flooded fumarole, a crack through which gases escape from the molten lava below, rather than a volcanic crater. The natural basin of the Boiling Lake collects the rainfall from the surrounding hills and from two small streams which empty into the lake. The water seeps through the porous bottom to the hot lava below where it is trapped and heated to boiling point.
The Seismic Research Unit said that the historical and present day records indicate that these incidents reflected local changes in the geothermal system, and were not related to any changes in the level of volcanic activity.
According to the unit, the changes in activity may have resulted from changes in permeability of the rock materials beneath the Boiling Lake along with blockage of fumarolic vents in the crater.
"An increase in permeability of the subsurface layers would enable the crater waters to drain away faster than they are being replenished by the two surface streams. Blockage of the fumarolic vents would lead to a reduction in steam emission and hence in the temperature of the crater water. Given the recurrent nature of the recent changes at the Boiling Lake, scientists at the Seismic Research Unit will undertake an investigation so as to better understand the causes," stated a release from the SRU.
The SRU has warned that the recent changes at the Boiling Lake increases the potential hazards to visitors to the area citing a 1901 event in which a small steam and gas explosion from the Boiling Lake (which was almost empty at the time) released harmful gases (probably mainly carbon dioxide) into the atmosphere and killed two people who were at the water’s edge at the time.
It recommended that people exercise extreme caution when visiting the Lake in its current state such as:
- No one climbs down to the water’s edge at this time, and
- Visitors to the Valley of Desolation either avoid approaching the Lake and/or spend as little time as possible at the viewing point on the crater rim.
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