Mazuku 5238080 217579522 2008-06-06T17:46:31Z FJM 1875907 A '''mazuku''' is the geological name given to pockets of [[oxygen]]-poor air which can be lethal to any human or animal life inside. The term comes from [[Swahili]] and means "evil wind." <ref name="evil wind">[http://www.platetectonics.com/article.asp?a=86&c=2 www.platetectonics.com]</ref> Mazukus are created when an odorless and invisible gas such as [[carbon dioxide]] accumulates in pockets low to the ground.<ref name="PBS"> [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/3215_volcanoc.html] Volcano Under the City, Nova [[PBS]]</ref> CO<sub>2</sub> is heavier than air ([[oxygen]] and [[nitrogen]]) which causes it to stay close to the ground, and is also undetectable by human olfactory or most visual conditions. (Other volcanic gases such as [[sulfur dioxide]] have pungent odors and sometimes a yellowish/off white haze associated with them). Gases that form mazukus themselves simply displace the local oxygen supply, essentially creating the outdoor hazard one would expect in a [[confined space]] depleted of breathable air. == References == {{reflist}} ==See also== *[[Limnic eruption]] *[[Meromictic Lakes]] *[[Henry's Law]] *[[Raoult's Law]] *[[Lake Nyos]] *[[Lake Monoun]] *[[Lake Kivu]] *[[Disasters]] [[Category:Geophysics]] [[Category:Plate tectonics|*]] [[Category:Geology]] [[Category:Geological hazards]] {{tectonics-stub}}