ABSTRACT
Volcanoes are the greatest natural source of atmospheric carbon dioxide known on Earth. A close connection exists between volcanoes and earthquakes owing to their association with tectonic plate motions. In understanding all the cumulative effects of volcanoes, the idea is to recognize that the composition of the gases from modern volcanoes is a reasonable proxy for content of primitive volcanoes. There have been vast volcanic eruptions that have continued for millions of years with a concomitant spike in the accumulation of carbon dioxide production. There are three lakes in the world where carbon dioxide has accumulated in huge amounts at the bottom. These are all in Africa: Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun both in Cameroon, and Lake Kivu on the border between Congo and Rwanda. A close connection exists between volcanoes and earthquakes owing to their association with tectonic plate motions.
