Volcanoes are commonly known for their majestic, yet frightening and dangerous, features. However, recent research has shown that there may be another use for volcanoes, one that could change the world. The ability to directly harness energy from magma inside volcanoes is currently the subject of much study in various locations worldwide and shows great potential. With the use of geothermal systems, it can become a major renewable energy source capable of outpowering most other energy sources, while minimizing our ecological footprint (Wong and Tan,2015).
With advancing technology and promising results, geothermal energy is becoming a widespread and more commonly used renewable energy source. Geothermal power plants are commonly located in areas of high geothermal gradient which occur near young and active volcanoes (Davis and Frohlich, 1993). It was not until June 2009, when an unexpected result stemmed from the Iceland Deep Drilling Project, that the possibility to harness energy from magma itself became plausible. Initially, this project aimed to increase the power output of shallower high-temperature geothermal fields while still maintaining the same ecological footprint (Elders, Friðleifsson and Albertsson, 2014). However, things took a sudden turn when they encountered an unexpected shallow chamber of magma just 2100m below the surface. This sparked the idea to focus on harnessing energy directly from shallow subsurface magma chambers. While their technology was destroyed from the intense heat of magma, this project was considered a success with very promising and unexpected results.
An American geological survey estimates that there are anywhere between 50,000 to 500,000 quads of thermal energy accessible through molten magma, less than 10km below the Earth’s surface (Eichelberger and Dunn, 1990). A quad (otherwise known as quadrillion) is a unit of energy that is equal to 1.055 x 1018 J. Molten magma can be accessed through subsurface pockets, otherwise known as magma chambers. It is predicted that an underground chamber filled with 2km3 of magma can generate enough thermal energy to supply a 1000 MWe (megawatts electric) geothermal power plant for 30 years. Based on mathematical modelling it is predicted that there are multiple chambers capable of containing 1000km3 of magma, which can supply approximately 1 quad of energy. With the total worldwide energy consumption estimated to reach 736 quads by 2040, the ability to directly harness energy from volcanoes becomes extremely beneficial (OGJ Editors, 2017). With the expertise of geologists and technologies, we can speculate the locations of these magma chambers, however as proven in the Iceland Deep Drilling Project we periodically come across unexpected results. Therefore, more research is needed to confidently pinpoint the locations of magma chambers around the world, to begin exploring and developing new technologies to harness the very large amounts of energy they produce.
Figure 1: This figure illustrates the subsurface composition of magma chambers and how we can access them through the deep drilling of geothermal wells (Ármannsson, 2010) . The scale on the right-hand side of the figure shows the relative size of the magma chamber and approximately the amount of magma it holds (in km3).
A better understanding of the resource potential in areas with prevalent volcanic activity is central to sustaining the energy usage of the world. Based on research, previous experimentation, and mathematical modelling it may be feasible to generate electricity directly from magma, providing a significantly large power output. While we are currently looking for new ways to sustain the world’s energy supply, harnessing energy from volcanoes may be the solution we need.
Works Cited
OGJ Editors, 2017. EIA: World energy consumption to increase 28% by 2040. [online] Oil & Gas Journal. Available at: <https://www.ogj.com/general-interest/article/17288978/eia-world-energy-consumption-to-increase-28-by-2040> [Accessed 26 Jan. 2021].
Ármannsson, H., 2010. IDDP. The Chemistry of the Krafla Geothermal System in Relation to the IDDP Well. [online] undefined. Available at: </paper/IDDP.-The-Chemistry-of-the-Krafla-Geothermal-System-%C3%81rmannsson/d7bfd28a0c1446e7474b7c83cde97aacc547328c> [Accessed 26 Jan. 2021].
Davis, S.D. and Frohlich, C., 1993. Did (Or Will) Fluid Injection Cause Earthquakes? – Criteria for a Rational Assessment. Seismological Research Letters, 64(3–4), pp.207–224.
Eichelberger, J.C. and Dunn, J.C., 1990. Magma Energy: What is the Potential? Geothermal Resources Council BULLETIN, pp.53–56.
Elders, W.A., Friðleifsson, G.Ó. and Albertsson, A., 2014. Drilling into magma and the implications of the Iceland Deep Drilling Project (IDDP) for high-temperature geothermal systems worldwide. Geothermics, 49, pp.111–118.
Wong, K.V. and Tan, N., 2015. Feasibility of Using More Geothermal Energy to Generate Electricity. Journal of Energy Resources Technology, [online] 137(041201). Available at: <https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4028138> [accessed 2021 Jan 23].
Comments
7 Responses to “Can Volcanoes Power the World?”
Hi everyone,
With research project 3 underway, focusing on renewable energy sources, I decided to write my blog post on a fascinating application of geothermal energy. I found the research in this field very interesting with several projects and studies currently being carried out. Just last week, we learned about the composition and processes of volcanoes in Earth Sciences, which ties in very nicely with this topic. In addition, this topic shows how mathematical modelling, which we have been practicing in several different applications, play an essential role in Earth Science specific concepts. I hope you enjoy reading this blog post!
Emma
Hi Emma,
I loved your blog post! The topic was directly related to what we are learning in EarthSci and I happen to be very fascinated by volcanoes and was excited to read your post. Here are a few suggestions I have that could improve your post:
1. You forgot to add a comment on why you chose your topic and I would love to see your reasoning as to why!
2. I feel like your introduction could use some citations, not all of the information is considered to be general, specifically with the current experiments and geological footprint, it would be nice to have sources to back up what you are saying.
3. The sentence “It was not until an unexpected result stemmed from the Iceland Deep Drilling Project, during June 2009…” could be reworded for clarity and fluidity sake. For example, something along the lines of “It was not until June 2009 that the possibility to harness energy from the magma became plausible…” This could eliminate any unnecessary wording and get your sentence straight to the point.
4. You are missing a bracket on the end of your citation in your figure. I also believe the diagram itself should be cited. It appears you cited the information within the figure caption but not the diagram itself.
5. The sentence “Based on mathematical modelling it is predicted that there are multiple chambers capable of containing 1000km3 of magma, which can supply approximately 1 Quad of energy” could use a comma after the modelling to help with the flow of the sentence.
Overall, your blog post was extremely informative and I could easily identify the connections you were making between RP3,EarthSci and world energy usage. I am excited to read the final draft!
Happy editing,
Sylvanna
Hi Sylvanna,
I am glad to hear that you enjoyed reading my post and are as interested in this topic as I am! Thank you for your suggestions, they were very beneficial. Great catch with the missing bracket on one of my citations! I will take all of your suggestions into consideration when editing my final draft. With respect to your fourth comment, the citation I have included in the figure caption, is the citation for both the figure and the surrounding information. In regards to your first suggestion, I posted a comment about 10 minutes after I posted my blog explaining why I chose this topic, however looking at the timing, it appears as if my explanations only came in a couple minutes before your suggestions, which explains why you may have missed it.
Thanks again,
Emma
Hi Emma,
This is a really interesting blog topic – I didn’t realize how useful volcanoes may be in powering our world! As I read through the post however, I noted some suggestions you may want to consider:
1) Your introduction sentence may need commas for better flow. Consider “Volcanoes are commonly known for their majestic, yet frightening and dangerous, features.”
2) In your first paragraph, you write “currently being experimented with in various locations around the world”. This reads awkwardly due to the position of the preposition “with”, so I would suggest something along the lines of “currently the subject of much study in various locations worldwide”.
3) In your second paragraph, the sentence starting with “It was not until an unexpected result….” needs the word “that” before “the possibility to harness…”. Right now, the second part of the sentence doesn’t directly connect to the first.
4) When referring to America, I would write U.S. with the periods indicating that it is a set of initials/an abbreviation for its full name, not “US” as it is currently written.
5) When referring to the unit “quad”, you do not need to capitalize it as you have in paragraph three.
6) Your first source has an Anon author according to your reference list, but when I clicked on the URL, I found that it was written by the editors of the magazine. I would look into how to best represent this; maybe you need to source it as an Editorial, finding their names (if you know who it is for sure), or even write “OGJ editors”.
7) Your reference list has a lot of spaces after the last source. Please delete this for your final copy.
Overall, this was a well done blog post. I look forward to reading your final copy. Happy editing!
Best,
Tushar
Hi Tushar,
Thank you for all your suggestions, they were very helpful. I have incorporated all of your suggestions into my final draft. I especially liked the additional commas and slight rewording of the one sentence in my first paragraph. As well, thank you pointing out the spaces beneath my works cited, I had not noticed this.
Thanks again,
Emma
Hi Emma!
This is an excellent blog post and a very interesting read. I have a few suggestions that you can add to your final version as you see fit 🙂
1) Ensure that for your Works Cited you list the authors! The Anon source does have authors listed if you double-check the source!
2) In your last paragraph I would consider saying “better” rather than “greater”… however that is more of a personal preference, but worth considering.
3) Your sentence “With the expertise of several geologists…” is a little lengthy. I would consider breaking it up as you when you start to talk about the Iceland project!
4) I feel as though overall your blog post is lacking a few in-text citations. Just have a run through and ensure you use a citation whenever you are stating information that is not your own!
Overall an excellent post and I am looking forward to your final version!
Sarah Watson
Hi Sarah,
Thank you for your comments. I have integrated all of your suggestions into my final draft. In particular, thank you for pointing out the missing author section in one of my citations.
Thanks again,
Emma