With a crater filled with turquoise water, plumes of steam, sulfur and muddy water that smells like rotten eggs, the Krafla volcano is one of Iceland’s natural wonders.
In this crater in the northeast of the island, an international alliance wants to drill two kilometers deep directly into the volcano’s interior to create the world’s first underground magma observatory, a project worthy of Jules Verne and one that also has energy intentions.
Launched in 2014 and with the first drilling scheduled for 2024, the $100 million project is led by scientists and engineers from 38 research institutes and companies in eleven countries.
Named the “Krafla Magma Testbed” (KMT), the project aims to reach a well filled with lava. Unlike surface lava, molten rock miles deep remains uncharted terrain.
“There is no such observatory and we have never observed underground magma beyond three fortuitous encounters in boreholes” in Hawaii, Kenya and Iceland, explains Paolo Papale, from the Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology linked to the project.
The initiative also aims to advance the exploration of geothermal energy, as well as the prediction of volcanic eruptions and their risks.
“Knowing where the magma is is vital for good preparation,” says Papale. “Without that, we’re almost blind.”
The first phase of drilling, which is expected to cost $25 million, involves several stretches of exploration around and below the magma. Its start is scheduled for 2024.
The hole will remain open and allow you to reach the magma and obtain samples.
Energy potential
The idea was born out of an accident. In 2009, to develop the capabilities of the geothermal plant installed in Krafla since 1977, a magma well was drilled at 900ºC at a depth of 2.1 kilometers.
Smoke rose to the surface, lava rose several meters into the pipeline, drilling material was damaged. Fortunately, no one was hurt, and volcanologists now have a magma chamber estimated at 500 million cubic meters within reach.
“This discovery has the potential to be a huge step forward in our ability to understand many different things” like the origin of continents, the dynamics of volcanoes or geothermal systems, says Papale.
The accident also looks promising for Landsvirkjun, the national electricity company that operates the site.
Kilometers below the ground, the rock reaches such extreme temperatures that the fluids found are called “supercritical”, that is, with an intermediary behavior between the liquid and the gaseous state.
The energy produced is five to ten times more important than in conventional wells. In the 2009 accident, the steam rising to the surface was at 450ºC, something never seen before.
Two of these wells would be enough to reach the power of 60 megawatts that the plant currently generates with 18 conventional wells.
“Thanks to this project, we want to develop a new technology to be able to drill deeper and exploit this energy,” says VordÃs EirÃksdóttir, executive director of geothermal exploration at Landsvirkjun.
Drilling in such an extreme environment is a technical challenge: materials must be adapted to resist corrosion generated by very hot steam.
The possibility that the operation will cause a volcanic eruption is a “natural concern” for John Eichelberger, professor emeritus of geology and geophysics at the University of Alaska, but is, he says, like “sticking a needle into an elephant.”
“A dozen holes hit magma in three different places (in the world) and nothing serious happened,” he says.
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