Our earth is full of secrets. We still know so little about the warm heart of the planet. Researchers now want to fill knowledge gaps in an ambitious project and develop a green energy source. (Symbol image, source: Lukas Gojda/Adobe Stock)
The goal of an Icelandic research project is to drive a drill into the interior of a volcano. But this is not about the secret machinations of the supervillain Blofeld and his volcano base full of crooks.
In contrast to the villain James Bond 007 – You only live twice
The researchers are digging for a good cause. They want to study the Earth’s interior for the benefit of humanity instead of stealing and hiding Russian and American satellites.
But their goals are at least as ambitious as the film basis of the Bond antagonist:
▶ Drill into the active magma chamber of a volcano and take lava samples
▶ Harnessing a theoretically endless source of energy
Video – This short drone video gives you a first taste of the power and energy that lies dormant inside our earth:
Link to YouTube content
Icelanders have been drilling holes in their volcanoes for years
Stand behind this project Researchers from Iceland’s Krafla Magma Testbed (KMT). According to them, this is the world’s first magma research facility for advanced projects and studies.
The idea has existed for a long time: Back in 2009, researchers drilled a hole in the hot ground of the Krafla volcano. At that time they wanted to get close to the Krafla magma chamber. The researchers wanted to find out to what extent such a borehole is suitable for generating energy.
However According to Sciencealert, the researchers accidentally drilled into an offshore magma chamber, which did not correspond to the original plan. The breakthrough into the chamber, which was heated to over 450 degrees Celsius, destroyed the borehole and the equipment.
Curious fact: The heat of the chamber destroyed the borehole and the researchers’ original plans, but it did not cause the volcano to erupt. At least this is what the researchers gained from their project.
Another one Video: If you want to know what a volcano drilling in Iceland looks like, take a look. In the clip you can see pictures of the volcano and researchers explaining the project. Otherwise you will find information about the current situation of the volcano in the next paragraph:
Link to YouTube content
The next try
According to Sciencealert, the idea is now going into the next round and will ultimately consist of two boreholes. There is currently no technology to locate magma chambers with pinpoint accuracy. Accordingly, it is usually difficult to find one of these chambers.
However, due to the accident during the research drilling, the researchers know where the Krafla magma chamber is located – a stroke of luck.
If we could penetrate the crust and take samples of magma, it would give us enormous insights. We hope to at least be able to measure the temperature directly, which has never been done before.
KMT’s Hjalti Páll Ingólfsson told New Scientist’s Graham Lawton. However, this project still faces a number of tasks before the first drilling takes place. Part 1 of the plan:
▶ Drills and sensors must be designed to withstand the heat of the chamber
▶ In addition to the heat, the bore must also withstand extreme pressure and acidity
▶ The planned start of the drilling is therefore in 2026
What knowledge can you gain from the magma chamber of a volcano?
According to Ingólfsson from KMT, there is great potential in such a well:
There are endless possibilities. We just need to learn how to tame this monster.
What he means specifically is that his team could thereby gain knowledge about continental crusts. Better predictions of volcanic eruptions could also be made if the magma chamber could be explored more closely.
Plus, it delivers Volcano hole
clean energy*. At a certain depth inside the earth there is hot water under high pressure, which can be used to generate energy.
This is exactly what is supposed to happen in part two of the project in 2028 – with the help of a second borehole. It remains to be seen to what extent the volcano and its magma chambers can ultimately be tamed.
Worth knowing: In order to tap the geothermal energy of a volcano, the researchers want to put it simply, send ultra-hot water – which is under extreme pressure at this depth – through turbines and thus generate green and theoretically infinite energy.
More science topics: It’s not just on Earth that our scientists always have extreme ideas. NASA also wants to implement a pretty crazy idea on the moon: a pipeline that will supply astronauts with oxygen in the future.
Do you know the old Bond film and his adversary’s volcano base? What do you think about this idea of drilling into an active volcano? If this energy source is absolutely clean, it could Tame
of magma will revolutionize our energy production? Are you as fascinated by volcanoes as author Kevin? Feel free to write us your ideas and thoughts in the comments.
