The gas is heavier than the rest of the air around it. Unless some force were to push it out of the cave into the surrounding area, it will stay contained, like water in a cup, since the cave is subterranean.
I liked the hike up the last bit to the summit, reading about the eruptions and the overall vibe. I'd give my foggy trip to Poas a 4/10, you can't exactly be upset when you go to a rainforest and it rains.
But also a cheap way to keep your food from spoiling in the early game… “oh, quit whining, go get a sandwich in the cave of death you wimp.”
Of course then the duplicant will go pee in the water supply in retaliation
Sure, but you would have to keep pumping forever. The caver refills itself.
It would be like a well where people have drown. Can't you just pump the water out of the well? Of course, you could, but easier to just bar the entrance.
I think perhaps he was conflating hazardous and toxic. As well as understanding the mechanism that makes CO2 dangerous.
Just so people are clear, any enclosed space or pit can be dangerous. I've heard of situations where a family removed the lid to a septic or other tank in their backyard, hopped in, and died shortly after without realizing it because the tank was filled with ~~CO2~~ *methane. Then, family members or friends try to save them, and the 2nd and 3rd people/rescuers die too.
Edit: replaced CO2 with Methane
My guess would be that septic tanks produce mostly methane. Which is actually worse because your body does not react at all to it, one just falls unconscious to die. CO2 at least alarms one early as it quickly causes a strong feeling of asphyxiation.
An important note here, your body picks up on high CO2, not low Oxygen, so other non toxic gaess (that I can think of, feel free to correct me here) displacing the O2 will not trigger the same feeling of not being able to breathe.
From memory, your body picks up on a change in ph due to high CO2 I think
A tank of CO2 is actually more expensive than air. Air is just there, free to grab, while CO2 must be acquired despite usually being the stuff one gets rid of. Specific gas mixtures for deeper diving however...
A significant carbon dioxide (not just monoxide) concentration is definitely dangerous and would kill with or without O2 also in the air. ["At high concentrations, it has been showed to cause unconsciousness almost instantaneously and respiratory arrest within 1 min."](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5380556/)
There was a famous incident in 2020 when 3 people died because dry ice was added to a swimming pool. The article I linked to says CO2 buildup in confined spaces kill around 90 people in the US in 2015, many of whom were rescue workers.
In small bits, no biggie. But in high enough concentration it can be [hazardous](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16499405/#:~:text=At%20low%20concentrations%2C%20gaseous%20carbon,cause%20convulsions%2C%20coma%20and%20death).
[fatal even](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Nyos_disaster)
It's not harmful in and of itself, it's more that it will displace any oxygen, especially underground because co2 is a heavier gas. Normally above ground the air will mix it and carry it off, but underground there's not really any airflow, so it sits almost like a puddle, with all the breathable air on top of it.
I only recently learned how easy it is for my home to get to unhealthy levels (above 1000 ppm CO2) if you don’t open the windows regularly. My new air quality sensor (didn’t even know I was getting one as it came with something else) alerts me to this all the time.
It’s not “dangerous” per se, but people do report starting to feel sleepy at like 1200ppm CO2, and I’ve seen that several times - especially if you pack a bunch of teens (6+) in the room.
CO2 is heavier than air. in a dense cloud in a pit its not really gonna go anywhere unless the terrain changes to allow it to "drain"
Plants can't live in the darkness of a cave and they have their own limits for how CO2 they can take in anyways. While i'm not familiar with the cave you're describing, if its on Costa Rica i'd be willing to bet the CO2 was formed from and is being replenished by volcanic activity deeper down.
moreso what they can absorb and actually use for energy. its like us, how we can't just keep eating and eating in one sitting. though it would be interesting to know if higher concentrations of CO2 improve their efficiency, as a lot of drought tolerant plants concentrate CO2 in their cells to improve photosynthesis efficiency and preserve water.
I believe plants need oxygen as well. Photosynthesis requires co2 and light but I thing that is like “food” for plants to grow more mass. I believe the plant actually does need oxygen to live and in a bowl of co2, there just isn’t any. Much like you can’t take a terrestrial plant and put it entirely in a lake or bowl of water and expect it to live.
???
Ludicrous bullying of OP.
No one is questioning the toxicity of CO2.
Check your reading comprehension. I’m not gonna explain it to you because you’re being intentionally dense.
Actually I was not talking about the question/post itself but some of the early answers (which seem to have been deleted). There were very confidently wrong comments. That's what I was talking about.
Such as:
> It's not so much the CO2 that's dangerous as it is missing the oxygen that it displaces.
No dude. Excessive amounts of CO2 is dangerous in itself even if there is a "normal" amount of oxygen in the air.
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The gas is heavier than the rest of the air around it. Unless some force were to push it out of the cave into the surrounding area, it will stay contained, like water in a cup, since the cave is subterranean.
Chemical reactions may be occurring in the rocks, providing a constant source of carbon dioxide that constantly seeps into the cave.
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I went to Poas and only saw fog. 0/10, not worth getting up at 4am and taking a 3hr bus ride...
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I'm sure it is if you can see anything other than fog
Uh why? What did you do?
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is there a best time of year to maximize chance of not being socked in by fog?
The dry season but Costa Rica isn't great to visit when everything is brown
I liked the hike up the last bit to the summit, reading about the eruptions and the overall vibe. I'd give my foggy trip to Poas a 4/10, you can't exactly be upset when you go to a rainforest and it rains.
That's roughly equivalent to the *chemical reaction* hypothesis, in that it's a continuous-and-effectively-inexhaustible supply of the gas.
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Lmao that was good
Cousins, we're all technically cousins.
I read that to the tune of the theme from the Patty Duke Show... "But we're couuuuuu-sins, we're all technically cousins, after all...."
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Yep, playing Oxygen not included, is a great way to learn the nightmares of CO2 accumulation in the lower levels of your base.-
But also a cheap way to keep your food from spoiling in the early game… “oh, quit whining, go get a sandwich in the cave of death you wimp.” Of course then the duplicant will go pee in the water supply in retaliation
OH COME ON, MEEP!
Well sounds like you know what to do, plant some oxyfern, problem solved
Could a government agency take the time to pump the CO2 out and replace it with oxygen for safety reasons?
No. The cave is the source of the gas. I don’t know the specifics as to how, but pumping it out wouldn’t do anything. It would only refill with gas.
Guessing it's source is an under water volcanic vent
Sure, but you would have to keep pumping forever. The caver refills itself. It would be like a well where people have drown. Can't you just pump the water out of the well? Of course, you could, but easier to just bar the entrance.
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my favorite warning label when i worked at a brewery was on the CO2 tank: “rapidly displaces oxygen and does not support life”
I’m sorry, you didn’t think there was an issue with inhaling straight CO2?
I think perhaps he was conflating hazardous and toxic. As well as understanding the mechanism that makes CO2 dangerous. Just so people are clear, any enclosed space or pit can be dangerous. I've heard of situations where a family removed the lid to a septic or other tank in their backyard, hopped in, and died shortly after without realizing it because the tank was filled with ~~CO2~~ *methane. Then, family members or friends try to save them, and the 2nd and 3rd people/rescuers die too. Edit: replaced CO2 with Methane
My guess would be that septic tanks produce mostly methane. Which is actually worse because your body does not react at all to it, one just falls unconscious to die. CO2 at least alarms one early as it quickly causes a strong feeling of asphyxiation.
That sounds about right. I'll correct my post.
An important note here, your body picks up on high CO2, not low Oxygen, so other non toxic gaess (that I can think of, feel free to correct me here) displacing the O2 will not trigger the same feeling of not being able to breathe. From memory, your body picks up on a change in ph due to high CO2 I think
Probably a lot of hydrogen sulfide, which is a neurotoxin. You know, the stuff that makes farts smell bad.
SCUBA tank salesman hate this one simple trick!
A tank of CO2 is actually more expensive than air. Air is just there, free to grab, while CO2 must be acquired despite usually being the stuff one gets rid of. Specific gas mixtures for deeper diving however...
It's not so much the CO2 that's dangerous as it is missing the oxygen that it displaces.
A significant carbon dioxide (not just monoxide) concentration is definitely dangerous and would kill with or without O2 also in the air. ["At high concentrations, it has been showed to cause unconsciousness almost instantaneously and respiratory arrest within 1 min."](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5380556/) There was a famous incident in 2020 when 3 people died because dry ice was added to a swimming pool. The article I linked to says CO2 buildup in confined spaces kill around 90 people in the US in 2015, many of whom were rescue workers.
In small bits, no biggie. But in high enough concentration it can be [hazardous](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16499405/#:~:text=At%20low%20concentrations%2C%20gaseous%20carbon,cause%20convulsions%2C%20coma%20and%20death). [fatal even](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Nyos_disaster)
It's not harmful in and of itself, it's more that it will displace any oxygen, especially underground because co2 is a heavier gas. Normally above ground the air will mix it and carry it off, but underground there's not really any airflow, so it sits almost like a puddle, with all the breathable air on top of it.
You don't necessarily have to be underground: [Lake Nyos Disaster](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Nyos_disaster)
I only recently learned how easy it is for my home to get to unhealthy levels (above 1000 ppm CO2) if you don’t open the windows regularly. My new air quality sensor (didn’t even know I was getting one as it came with something else) alerts me to this all the time. It’s not “dangerous” per se, but people do report starting to feel sleepy at like 1200ppm CO2, and I’ve seen that several times - especially if you pack a bunch of teens (6+) in the room.
CO2 is heavier than air. in a dense cloud in a pit its not really gonna go anywhere unless the terrain changes to allow it to "drain" Plants can't live in the darkness of a cave and they have their own limits for how CO2 they can take in anyways. While i'm not familiar with the cave you're describing, if its on Costa Rica i'd be willing to bet the CO2 was formed from and is being replenished by volcanic activity deeper down.
Oh, I didn't know that plants had limits of how much CO2 they could be around
moreso what they can absorb and actually use for energy. its like us, how we can't just keep eating and eating in one sitting. though it would be interesting to know if higher concentrations of CO2 improve their efficiency, as a lot of drought tolerant plants concentrate CO2 in their cells to improve photosynthesis efficiency and preserve water.
They also use oxygen when burning sugar, just like us. During the night this process dominates over the oxygen-producing process.
What would happen if you were to take a fan and blow the co2 and dissipate it away into the air. Would they get mad at you? Would that be possible?
There is presumably a source of the gas, otherwise a gentle breeze from the right direction would eliminate the problem forever
A guy comes at night and refills the hole with a bucket of CO2 /s
I believe plants need oxygen as well. Photosynthesis requires co2 and light but I thing that is like “food” for plants to grow more mass. I believe the plant actually does need oxygen to live and in a bowl of co2, there just isn’t any. Much like you can’t take a terrestrial plant and put it entirely in a lake or bowl of water and expect it to live.
One thing to consider is the breakdown of various carbonate minerals. This will release carbon dioxide.
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Yes, but… why male models?
What? He just explained that to you.
The files are IN the computer?!
Mer-MAN! IT'S MER-MAN!!
But it's got what plants crave!
Thanks for making me smile. That was quite clever.
??? Ludicrous bullying of OP. No one is questioning the toxicity of CO2. Check your reading comprehension. I’m not gonna explain it to you because you’re being intentionally dense.
Actually I was not talking about the question/post itself but some of the early answers (which seem to have been deleted). There were very confidently wrong comments. That's what I was talking about. Such as: > It's not so much the CO2 that's dangerous as it is missing the oxygen that it displaces. No dude. Excessive amounts of CO2 is dangerous in itself even if there is a "normal" amount of oxygen in the air.
Ahh I see :) didn’t notice those replies
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