Why are scientists drilling tunnels to reach magma?

Icelandic scientists are planning to drill tunnels down to volcanic magma chambers to allow the country to harness this super-hot geothermal energy.

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Why are scientists drilling tunnels to reach magma?

Scientists plan to use this method to obtain a massive source of clean energy.

In this project, which would be a first in scientific history if successful, a hole is expected to be drilled through the Earth's crust to a depth of 2 kilometers at a volcano named Krafla, located in northeastern Iceland. With over 200 volcanoes, Iceland is a leader in geothermal energy, where heat and hot water vapor are extracted and separated into liquid water or steam.

According to Popular Science Turkey, the steam is then passed through turbines and used in electricity and heat production, food manufacturing, and heating, providing energy for numerous greenhouses.

According to the green energy site Energy Transition, approximately 90 percent of homes in Iceland are heated by geothermal energy. However, geothermal energy at around 250°C is cooler than the steam produced in fossil-fuel power plants, which is around 450°C. Therefore, utilizing the magma chamber could provide a much more powerful energy supply and increase the country's overall energy stock.

Volcanologist John Eichelberger, who works at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, tells New Scientist magazine, "It's quite inefficient at these lower temperatures. That's why there is an interest in developing super-hot geothermal energy."

Speaking to the Daily Mail, project manager Björn Þór Guðmundsson says,

"The goal of producing energy from super-hot geothermal near magma is that these wells can be up to twice as powerful as traditional wells in terms of energy production."

"WE COULD DRILL 1 WELL INSTEAD OF 10 WITH THE SAME ENERGY OUTPUT."

The project, undertaken by the Krafla Magma Testbed (KMT), an Icelandic magma research organization, is a continuation of a study conducted in 2009. In that study, a research team working at a nearby power plant attempted to drill a well near a magma chamber that had been extracting geothermal energy from the Krafla volcano since the 1970s.

Although the goal of the project was only to reach the vicinity of the chamber and explore geothermal energy options, they accidentally entered the magma chamber because it was not as deep as expected. As the drill bit hit the magma, the steel in the well casings eroded, and the 450°C heat destroyed the well.

Scientists working at KMT are now working on materials that can withstand these scorching temperatures for the new project.

According to New Scientist magazine, another significant development in the project is the confirmation that drilling into the magma chamber will not cause the volcano to erupt.

"One of the main goals of KMT is to develop wells with the right materials that can withstand these conditions," Guðmundsson tells the Daily Mail. Krafla, which has erupted approximately 29 times since the country was first settled, is one of Iceland's most explosive volcanoes. The last eruption occurred in 1984.

The volcano that erupted in December was near the fishing town of Grindavik, located in the southwestern part of Iceland.

In a 2018 paper, scientists working at KMT wrote: "Harnessing super-hot or supercritical steam from an adjacent heat source could double the energy transport to the surface and increase electricity conversion efficiency by 3.5 times."

"Combined with the advantages of continuous operation, no need for fuel or waste transport, limited carbon emissions, and advances in long-distance HVDC (High Voltage Direct Current) power transmission, geothermal energy could completely change the electricity game."

The project will also help scientists at KMT observe the magma chamber with sensors that will obtain pressure readings. Furthermore, this will allow for improved eruption predictions.

According to the Daily Mail, other experiments to be conducted before 2030 include injecting liquid into the chamber to change the pressure and temperature and measuring the results.

"The need to understand magmatic systems, improve volcano observation strategies, and develop next-generation, high-heat-retaining geothermal energy drives the project," say the scientists working at KMT in their 2018 paper.

The researchers continue: "Observing the temperature profile at the roof of a magma chamber will reveal the actual heat flow from the magma to the hydrothermal system. With this unprecedented observation, the potential and sustainability of Super-Hot Geothermal Systems (SHGS) will be tested."

"SHGS are systems hotter than 350°C."

News Source: 12punto