I am in one of many world’s volcanic hotspots, northeast Iceland, close to the Krafla volcano.
Within the distance I can see the rim of the volcano’s crater lake, whereas steam flows and dirt swimming pools drift away to the south.
Crafla has erupted about 30 instances prior to now 1,000 years, and most just lately within the mid-Nineteen Eighties.
Bjorn Por Guðmundsson leads me to the grassy hill. He’s main a staff of worldwide scientists who plan to drill into Crafla’s magma.
“We’re standing the place we will drill,” he says.
The Crafla Magma Testbed (KMT) is meant to additional the understanding of how magma, or molten rock, behaves underground.
This data might assist scientists predict the chance of eruptions and push geothermal vitality to new frontiers by tapping into an especially sizzling and probably limitless supply of volcanic energy.
Beginning in 2026 the KMT staff will start drilling the primary of two boreholes to create a singular underground magma observatory about 2.1km (1.3 miles) underground.
“It is like our moon. It’ll change a number of issues,” says Yan Lavelle, professor of volcanology at Ludwig-Maximilians College in Munich, and head of the KMT’s science committee.
Volcanic exercise is often monitored by devices reminiscent of seismometers. However not like the lava on the floor, we do not know a lot concerning the magma underground, explains Professor Lavelle.
“We wish to instrument the magma so we are able to actually hear the heartbeat of the Earth,” he provides.
Strain and temperature sensors will likely be positioned within the molten rock. “These are the 2 major parameters we have to test, to have the ability to inform forward of time what is going on on with the magma,” he says.
An estimated 800 million individuals worldwide dwell inside 100 km of dangerously energetic volcanoes. The researchers hope their work may help save lives and cash.
Iceland has 33 energetic volcanic techniques, and sits on the rift the place the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates separate.
Lately, a wave of eight Eruption in the Reykjanes Peninsula has broken infrastructure and destroyed life locally of Grindavik.
Mr. Gudmundsson additionally pointed to Ejafjallajökull, Which caused havoc in 2010 When the ash cloud canceled greater than 100,000 flights, costing £3bn ($3.95bn).
“If we had been in a position to predict that eruption, it might have saved some huge cash,” he says.
KMT’s second borehole will develop a test-bed for a brand new era of geothermal energy stations, which exploit the intense temperatures of magma.
“Magmas are very energetic. They’re the warmth sources that energy hydrothermal techniques that result in geothermal vitality. Why not go to the supply?” asks Prof Lovell.
About 65% of Iceland’s electrical energy and 85% of home heating comes from geothermal, which faucets sizzling fluids deep underground, as a supply of warmth to drive generators and generate electrical energy.
Down within the valley, Karfla Energy Plant provides sizzling water and electrical energy to about 30,000 properties.
“The plan is to drill a bit bit out of the magma, perhaps stretch it a bit bit,” Bjarni Pelson says with a wry smile.
“The geothermal supply is positioned proper above the magma physique, and we imagine it’s round 500-600C,” says Mr Paulson, govt director of geothermal improvement at Landswirkjun, the nationwide energy supplier.
Magma could be very laborious to search out underground, however in 2009 engineers in Iceland made an opportunity discovery.
That they had deliberate to drill a 4.5 km deep borehole and extract the super-hot fluid, however the drill stopped abruptly as a result of it blocked the surprisingly shallow magma.
“We weren’t precisely anticipating to hit magma at a depth of simply 2.1 kilometres,” says Mr Paulson.
Encountering magma is uncommon and has solely occurred right here in Kenya and Hawaii.
The superheated steam measured 452 °C breaking the document, whereas the chamber temperature was 900 °C.
Dramatic video exhibits billowing smoke and steam. Intense warmth and corrosion finally destroyed the nicely.
“This nicely produced about 10 instances extra (vitality) than the common nicely at this location,” Mr. Paulson says.
He notes that simply two of those can provide as a lot vitality as the ability plant’s 22 wells. “There’s an apparent sport changer.”
Greater than 600 geothermal energy crops are discovered worldwide, and a whole lot extra are deliberate, amid rising demand for round the clock low-carbon vitality. These wells are often about 2.5km deep, and deal with temperatures under 350°C.
Personal corporations and analysis groups in a number of nations are additionally engaged on extra superior and ultra-deep geothermal, known as super-hot rock, the place temperatures exceed 400 levels Celsius at a depth of 5 to fifteen km. .
Rosalind Archer, dean of Griffith College and former director of the Geothermal Institute in New Zealand, says reaching deep, and very sizzling, warmth reservoirs is the “holy grail”.
It is the excessive vitality density that is so nice, she says, as a result of every borehole can produce 5 to 10 instances extra energy than normal geothermal wells.
“You’ve New Zealand, Japan and Mexico all wanting, however KMT is the closest to getting a drill bit within the floor,” she says. “It isn’t straightforward and it isn’t essentially low-cost to get began.”
Drilling on this excessive atmosphere will likely be technically difficult, and would require particular supplies.
Prof. Lavelle is satisfied that it’s potential. Excessive temperatures are additionally present in jet engines, metallurgy and the nuclear business, he says.
“We have now to search for new supplies and extra corrosion-resistant compounds,” says Sigrun Nanna Karlsdottir, professor of business and mechanical engineering on the College of Iceland.
Inside a laboratory, his staff of researchers is testing supplies to face up to excessive warmth, strain and corrosive gases. Geothermal wells are usually made from carbon metal, however it loses energy shortly when temperatures exceed 200 levels Celsius, she explains.
“We’re specializing in high-grade nickel alloys and titanium alloys,” she says.
Drilling into volcanic magma appears probably dangerous, however Mr. Gudmundsson thinks in any other case.
“We do not imagine that sticking a needle into a large magma chamber goes to trigger an explosive impact,” he asserts.
“It occurred in 2009, and so they came upon that they may have completed it with out figuring out it earlier than. We imagine it’s protected.”
Prof Archer says different dangers should even be thought-about when drilling into the bottom and inflicting earthquakes, reminiscent of poisonous gases. “However the geological atmosphere in Iceland makes that not possible.”
The work will take years, however it might carry superior forecasts and supercharged volcanic energy.
“I believe the entire geothermal world is wanting on the KMT challenge,” says Prof Archer. “It is probably fairly transformative.”
