“Iceland could become the Kuwait of the North.”
Geologists in Iceland are drilling directly into the heart of a hot volcano.
Their $20m project hopes to reveal more about the nature of mid-ocean ridges where new ocean floor is created. Such boreholes could ultimately yield 10 times as much geothermal power as any previous project.
Twenty years ago, geologist Gudmundur Omar Friedleifsson had a surprise when he lowered a thermometer down a borehole.
“We melted the thermometer,” he recalls. “It was set for 380C; but it just melted. The temperature could have been 400 or even 500.”
This is related to our previous story about how Iceland has pledged to abandon the use of gasoline within the next couple of decades.
This sounds more dangerous than it looks.
They might be able to corner the market for gas grill lava rocks too!
While I’m not a fan of aimlessly spending our money, I would like to see the US pitch in some cash to help out Iceland in this.
Why? To use use Iceland as a case study, to figure out what we can and can’t do as a country to reduce our use of gasoline.
What’s a barrel of volcano heat going for these days?
These seems like the back story for a dozen cheesy SciFi movies I’ve seen. We need the scientist who though of it so he can die horribly at the end of movie, a B actress very sweaty in torn clothing, and an ex-military type to save the world and the perspiring actress to fall in love with.
RTaylor: If japan was doing this I would say another godzilla movie.
Iv always wondered WHY the USA hasnt tap’ed the Volcanic rescource here.
There are at LEASt 20 dormant volcanoes int he US..And this isnt counting Yellowstone, as a Mega volcano..