How does a Geothermal system work? Heat is a form of energy and, strictly speaking, geothermal energy is heat from inside the Earth. The large amount of thermal energy enclosed below the earth’s surface derives in part from its primordial formation process and in part originates from the decay of radioactive isotopes present mainly in the earth’s crust and, secondarily, in the mantle. ...[Read More]
Do you know when you stumble upon a very interesting paper, with a captivating title and you wish you could talk to the author(s)? Well, I did just that. It happens that I know the first author quite well, so I had no shame in contacting him and ask about it. One of his latest papers was published in Geology with the title “Plumbing the depths of magma crystallization using 176Lu/177Hf in zi ...[Read More]
If you’ve not been living under a rock you’ve probably heard of ChatGPT, the AI text generator wowing the internet and striking fear into the heart of exam co-ordinators worldwide. I’ve been meaning to write a blog about lava lakes for a while now, ever since rewatching Werner Herzog and Clive Oppenheimer’s excellent documentary Into the Inferno. But with deadlines looming and lab work and admin c ...[Read More]
The Icelandic eruptions of 2021 and 2022 originated in the Reykjanes peninsula, characterized by the Krýsuvík-Trölladyngja system, one of the five volcanic systems present along the peninsula. This peninsula is a leaky transform fault, characterized by episodic rifts and associated volcanism. The last two years have brought about some of the most momentous volcanic eruptions in recent history. The ...[Read More]
