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The study of rift basin's morphology can provide good insights into geological features influencing the development of rift valleys and the distribution of volcanism. The Kivu rift segment represents the central section of the western branch of the East African Rift and displays morphological characteristics contrasting with other rift segments. Differences and contradictions between several structural maps of the Kivu rift make it difficult to interpret the local geodynamic setting. In the present work, we use topographic and bathymetric data to map active fault networks and study the geomorphology of the Kivu basin. This relief-based fault lineament mapping appears as a good complement for field mapping or mapping using seismic reflection profiles. Results suggest that rifting reactivated NE-SW oriented structures probably related to the Precambrian basement, creating transfer zones and influencing the location and distribution of volcanism. Both volcanic provinces, north and south of the Kivu basin, extend into Lake Kivu and are connected to each other with a series of eruptive vents along the western rift escarpment. The complex morphology of this rift basin, characterized by a double synthetic half-graben structure, might result from the combined action of normal faulting, magmatic underplating, volcanism and erosion processes.

The history of Lake Kivu is strongly linked to the activity of the Virunga volcanoes. Subaerial and subaquatic volcanoes, in addition to lake-level changes, shape the subaquatic morphologic and structural features in Lake Kivu's Main Basin. Previous studies revealed that volcanic eruptions blocked the former outlet of the lake to the north in the late Pleistocene, leading to a substantial rise in the lake level and subsequently the present-day thermohaline stratification. Additional studies have speculated that volcanic and seismic activities threaten to trigger a catastrophic release of the large amount of gases dissolved in the lake. The current study presents a bathymetric mapping and seismic profiling survey that covers the volcanically active area of the Main Basin at a resolution that is unprecedented for Lake Kivu. New geomorphologic features identified on the lake floor can accurately describe related lake-floor processes for the first time. The late Pleistocene lowstand is observed at 425 m depth, and volcanic cones, tuff rings, and lava flows observed above this level indicate both subaerial and subaquatic volcanic activities during the Holocene. The geomorphologic analysis yields new implications on the geologic processes that have shaped Lake Kivu's basin, and the presence of young volcanic features can be linked to the possibility of a lake overturn.

Meromictic Lake Kivu is renowned for its enormous quantity of methane dissolved in the hypolimnion. The methane is primarily of biological origin, and its concentration has been increasing in the past half-century. Insight into the origin of methane production in Lake Kivu has become relevant with the recent commercial extraction of methane from the hypolimnion. This study provides the first culture-independent approach to identifying the archaeal communities present in Lake Kivu sediments at the sediment-water interface. Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis suggests considerable heterogeneity in the archaeal community composition at varying sample locations. This diversity reflects changes in the geochemical conditions in the sediment and the overlying water, which are an effect of local groundwater inflows. A more in-depth look at the archaeal community composition by clone library analysis revealed diverse phylogenies of Euryarchaeota and Crenarachaeota. Many of the sequences in the clone libraries belonged to globally distributed archaeal clades such as the rice cluster V and Lake Dagow sediment environmental clusters. Several of the determined clades were previously thought to be rare among freshwater sediment Archaea (e.g., sequences related to the SAGMEG-1 clade). Surprisingly, there was no observed relation of clones to known hydrogentrophic methanogens and less than 2 % of clones were related to acetoclastic methanogens. The local variability, diversity, and novelty of the archaeal community structure in Lake Kivu should be considered when making assumptions on the biogeochemical functioning of its sediments.

Subaquatic volcanic activity has been ongoing in Lake Kivu since the early Holocene and has a dynamic effect on the biological productivity in the surface water, and the preservation of carbonate in the deep anoxic water. Groundwater discharge into the lake’s deepwater propels the upward advection of the water column that ultimately supplies nutrients to the surface water for biological production. The amount of nutrients supplied from the deepwater can be increased suddenly by (1) a cold meteorological event that drives deep seasonal mixing resulting in increased nutrients from below and oxygen from above, or (2) subaquatic volcanic activity that induces a buoyant hydrothermal plume, which entrains nutrients from the deepwater and results in anoxia or suboxic conditions in the surface water. Previous sedimentological studies in Lake Kivu have hypothesized that regional climatic changes are responsible for sudden changes in the preservation of carbonates in the Main Basin. Here we reveal that sublacustrine volcanic events most likely induce the abrupt changes to the geochemistry in the sediment in Lake Kivu. An unprecedented look into the sediment stratigraphy and geochemistry from high-resolution seismic-reflection, and 15N-isotope analyses was conducted in the Main Basin. The results reveal that buoyant hydrothermal plumes caused by subaquatic volcanic activity are a possible trigger for increased biological productivity and organic matter preservation, and that ongoing hydrothermal activity increases the alkalinity in the deepwater, leading to carbonate preservation. The onset of carbonate preservation since the 1970s that is currently observed in the sediment could indicate that hydrothermal discharge has recently increased in the lake., Journal of Paleolimnology, 54 (1), ISSN:0921-2728, ISSN:1573-0417

In a paper published earlier this year, Finn Hirslund suggested to release degassed deepwater from methane harvesting to the surface layer of Lake Kiwi in order to counteract an observed slow rising of the chemoclines in the lake. In this comment, we present strong evidence for the presence of subaquatic springs in the lake that maintain the chemoclines at their present levels. Furthermore, the observed changes in the stratification do not call for urgent action. We therefore strongly advise against the proposed measures, which would most probably be harmful for the ecosystem, and instead propose to further monitor the development of the stratification in the lake.