Volcanoes: The Fiery Future Of Green Energy

By Felicity Bradstock - Jul 09, 2023, 

• Scientists believe that magma from volcanoes, rich in metals like copper, nickel, and zinc, could be harnessed as an alternative to environmentally damaging mining operations.
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• Volcanoes, both active and dormant, could also be a significant source of geothermal energy, transforming energy-intensive mining operations into carbon-neutral processes.
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• The concept requires substantial investment in research and technology to understand geology and develop methods to extract these resources from volcanoes.

Governments and private companies worldwide are looking at innovative new ways to generate renewable energy and support a green transition. Thanks to stronger climate policies in several countries, and a significant boost in public and private funding in recent years, several breakthroughs have been seen in the world of renewables. This includes both the variety of clean energy sources we have access to, new green technologies, and greater knowledge about the potential to tap into previously unthought-of energy sources. One such option is volcanoes, which scientists are suggesting could be a major source of both geothermal energy and the provision of metals needed for a global green transition. 

As we make a collective shift away from fossil fuels to green alternatives in a bid to reduce the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and slow the effects of climate change, one big concern is the growing need for metals to support this move. The demand for metals, such as copper, nickel, and zinc, is increasing as greater amounts are required for new renewable energy operations, with cobalt production expected to grow sixfold and silver by half as much again by 2050. But to meet this demand, mining activities worldwide will need to increase exponentially, potentially posing a new threat to the environment, just as we move away from fossil fuels. In response to this threat, energy experts and scientists have been hurriedly researching other ways to access these metals. 

One way in which researchers now believe they may be able to get these metals without new mining operations is in the magma from volcanoes. In May, Olivia Hogg and Jon Blundy wrote in Geoscientist about the potential of harnessing the power of volcanoes, rather than looking at potentially damaging alternatives such as deep-sea mining. The magma found in volcanoes is extremely rich in metals. In fact, active volcanoes such as Mount Etna in Italy release around 20 tonnes of copper and 10 kg of gold a day in the form of volcanic gases. While metals cannot be extracted from volcanic gas, it may be possible to mine them from hot magmatic brines in the volcano. 

The metals found in these brines are highly concentrated. And with around 2,000 volcanoes worldwide, this could provide a huge source of important metals. Both active and dormant volcanoes may be suitable for metal extraction. The mining of metals is already linked to magma, but typically that which is found in the Earth’s crust and mantle. It may be possible to directly mine brings from hot magmatic rocks, such as those under dormant volcanoes, which would allow metals to be extracted from a concentrated solution rather than solid rock. In addition, Hogg and Blundy believe the hot fluids found in volcanoes could be used to produce geothermal power to make the metal extraction process carbon neutral, meaning there would potentially no longer be a need for the energy-intensive processes associated with typical mining operations.

While there is abundant geothermal energy hidden inside the earth, accessing it has not always been so easy. The tools needed to access and extract this energy effectively did not exist in the past, meaning that there has been significant underinvestment in geothermal technologies in previous decades as it was thought of as a lost cause. However, as governments push a green transition and support research and innovation into a diverse range of green energy sources, we are gradually gaining a better understanding of geothermal energy and how we might harness its power. 

Geothermal energy typically comes from underground, produced by converting heat energy from underneath the Earth’s crust. Energy is accessed by digging one-mile-deep wells to reach underground reservoirs to access steam and hot water, which can turn turbines connected to electricity generators. New technologies have enabled several countries to tap into their geothermal resources in recent years, including Iceland, El Salvador, New Zealand, Kenya, and the Philippines. In fact, geothermal energy meets more than 90 percent of Iceland’s heating demand. 

But now, scientists are suggesting that volcanoes may be an abundant source of geothermal energy. Researchers from the Geological Survey of Canada have been investigating whether it is possible to access geothermal energy from Mount Meager and Mount Cayley. So far, their research suggests that there is a “high potential” for extracting geothermal energy from volcanoes in Canada, especially Mount Meager. As it continues to release volcanic gasses, it shows that the volcano remains fairly active. Both volcanoes at on top of extremely hot underground reservoirs that could be used to generate electricity. But to access this geothermal energy, hot liquid would need to be pumped into facilities nearby, requiring drilling to release steam from the reservoir. This steam could power a turbine, in the same way as conventional geothermal energy production. However, just as with accessing geothermal energy from underground, significant investment in research and exploration may be required to harness this power. 

As more funding is pumped into research and innovation in a broad green energy mix and related technologies, scientists and energy experts are increasingly seeing the potential of previously overlooked energy sources. It is probable that countries could access both the metals needed to support renewable energy projects and geothermal energy from their dormant volcanoes. But putting this into practice will require much more research and understanding of the geology, as well as investment in the equipment needed to launch these operations. 

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

Volcanic sulfur flows observed and recorded in northern Chile

(A) Location map of the Central Volcanic Zone (CVZ) of the Andes, including the Northern,

 Southern, and Austral Volcanic Zones (NVZ, SVZ, and AVZ, respectively), showing the 

Lastarria volcano as a red triangle. (B) General view of the northern side of Lastarria 

volcano, including the four fumarolic fields (F1–F4). (C) Drone photographs of the 

fumarolic field 1 (F1), showing the location of the 2019 sulfur flows (samples F1A and F2;

 coordinate 25.1552°S, 68.5213°W), a pool of molten sulfur in the upper part of the

 fumarolic field 1 (sample F1B; coordinate 25.1556°S, 68.5194°W), and undocumented 

sulfur flows accounted between 2016 and 2020. Further drone photographs in Fig. S2.1. 

Coordinates in UTM-WGS-84. For scale, consider bulldozer roads that are 3–4 m wide. 

Credit: Frontiers in Earth Science (2023). DOI: 10.3389/feart.2023.1197363

A small international team of vulcanologists has observed a rarely seen event—a sulfur flow from a volcano—in northern Chile. In their paper published in the journal Frontiers in Earth Science, the group describes how they happened to observe the flow and what they learned about it as they studied its properties.

The image of molten rock flowing down the side of a volcano is a common sight, it is usually what happens when a volcano erupts. Less common are sulfur flows. Such flows, as their name implies, are a form of molten sulfur, which can, like molten rock, be pushed from the innards of an erupting volcano. Sulfur flows are far less dramatic, and the amount of flow material, the distance they flow and their temperature are all far less than what is seen with rock. Also, they happen far less often.

In this new work, the research team just happened to be studying satellite images of the Lastarria volcano, high up in the Andes near Chile's border with Argentina. After spotting evidence of what appeared to be a sulfur flow they ventured to the area and studied what they found.

At the site, the team found three independent sulfur flows, running nearly in parallel. They set up video recorders capturing the action as they went about measuring the flow. They also collected samples, which they brought back to their lab for study.

The researchers found that the longest of the flows was approximately 55 meters. All three were also much cooler than molten rock flows, averaging just 120°C to 150°C. They point out that sulfur melts at 119°C, which they note, could be a hint helping to explain why such flows occur.

The group found a lot of other material mixed in with the sulfur, mostly in very small amounts, such as uranium, lithium, arsenic, and niobium. The team also noticed that the flows were coming from cracks on the side of the volcano, perhaps another clue to their release.

They suggest that other hotter gases passing through the cracks melted the sulfur, allowing it to flow. They also note that Lastarria has not erupted since 2019–2020 but there have been signs of inflation, perhaps portending an eruption. If so, they consider the possibility of the appearance of a sulfur flow as a secondary sign of an impending eruption.

More information: Manuel Inostroza et al, Physical and chemical characteristics of active sulfur flows observed at Lastarria volcano (northern Chile) in January 2019, Frontiers in Earth Science (2023). DOI: 10.3389/feart.2023.1197363

Journal information: Frontiers in Earth Science 

© 2023 Science X Network

Erupting Spanish volcano turns 'more aggressive': officials

Century-old mystery of 'Blood Falls' may be solved

Cheryl Santa Maria

Digital Journalist
Published on Jul. 6, 2023

WEATHER NETWORK

The waters under the glacier are home to ancient strains of bacteria that have remained untouched for centuries, potentially providing insight into life on other planets.

In 1911, British geologist Thomas Griffith Taylor discovered a phenomenon in Antarctica that would dazzle and confound scientists for years: a strange waterfall that appeared to be dripping blood.

The water in the waterfall, at the base of a glacier now called, aptly, "Blood Falls" starts clear but quickly turns red.

Researchers have been trying to solve the mystery for more than a century, with a new analysis from John Hopkins providing further insight. The findings appear in the journal Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences.

With the help of sensitive transmission electron microscopes, a research team examined water samples from the falls, detecting "an abundance" of small, iron-laden nanospheres that oxidize, turning the water red.

"As soon as I looked at the microscope images, I noticed that there were these little nanospheres, and they were iron-rich, and they have lots of different elements in them besides iron—silicon, calcium, aluminum, sodium—and they all varied," research scientist Ken Livi said in a statement.

The nanospheres have likely evaded scientists due to their miniscule size and also because it was widely believed minerals were causing the discolouration, not nanospheres.

"In order to be a mineral, atoms must be arranged in a very specific, crystalline, structure. These nanospheres aren't crystalline, so the methods previously used to examine the solids did not detect them," Livi said.

Fueling space exploration

The waters under the glacier are home to ancient strains of bacteria that have remained untouched for centuries, potentially providing insight into life on other planets.

In fact - the renewed interest in Mars exploration is what inspired the recent analysis of the waters at Blood Falls. Researchers wanted to study the water as if it were a Martian landing site.

"What would happen if a Mars Rover landed in Antarctica? Would it be able to determine what was causing the Blood Falls to be red? It's a fascinating question and one that several researchers were considering," Livi said.

While the team solved the Blood Falls mystery, the research revealed the analysis is incomplete - and this is notable had the work been been conducted on a cold planet like Mars, where environmental materials may be nanosized. It suggests that if Martian rovers aren't fitted with all the right equipment, they may miss things when analyzing samples.

In the Blood Falls study, the spectroscopic equipment that found the nanospheres could not travel to Antarctica and was sent to an overseas lab.
Content continues below

"To truly understand the nature of rocky planets' surfaces, a transmission electron microscope would be necessary, but it is currently not feasible to place one on Mars," Livi said.

The Mystery Of Why Antarctica's Blood Falls Oozes Red Has Been Revealed

It's now clear why the glacier waterfall in East Antarctica runs a bloody red.

TOM HALE
Senior Journalist
Published July 7, 2023

Bloody hell! Check out the size of the tent on the left for scale.
Image credit: Peter Rejcek/NSF/Public Domain

When British geographer Thomas Griffith Taylor made his daring venture through East Antarctica in 1911, his expedition stumbled across a terrifying sight: the edge of a glacier appearing to ooze a stream of blood. After a century of speculation, the cause of the Blood Falls has been pinpointed. 

Scientists in the US used powerful transmission electron microscopes to analyze samples of Blood Falls' water and found an abundance of iron-rich nanospheres that turn red when oxidized.

"As soon as I looked at the microscope images, I noticed that there were these little nanospheres and they were iron-rich, and they have lots of different elements in them besides iron – silicon, calcium, aluminum, sodium – and they all varied," Ken Livi, a research scientist in the Whiting School's Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, said in a statement.

Known for its rich red color, iron oxide had previously been a prime suspect in the mystery of Blood Falls. However, this fancy imaging technique has helped researchers get a clearer picture of why its leaking waters are such a vibrant red hue – and why some previous studies have fallen flat.

"In order to be a mineral, atoms must be arranged in a very specific, crystalline, structure. These nanospheres aren't crystalline, so the methods previously used to examine the solids did not detect them," explained Livi.

You might assume its blood-red waters are the most unusual feature of the Antarctic’s Blood Falls, but this geological feature is full of oddities. 

Scientists have found that the red water seeping out of the Blood Falls originates in a saltwater lake that’s lain trapped in the ice for 1.5 to 4 million years. In fact, this lake is just one part of a much larger underground system of hyper-salty lakes and aquifers.

Analysis of the water indicated that the buried bodies of super salty water are home to a rare subglacial ecosystem of bacteria – despite an almost total absence of oxygen. This means the bacteria are persisting for millions of years without photosynthesis and likely sustain themselves through cycling iron from the brine. 

Given these otherworldly properties, scientists believe that Blood Falls could be studied to gain a deeper understanding of other planets elsewhere in the solar system. 

"With the advent of the Mars Rover missions, there was an interest in trying to analyze the solids that came out of the waters of Blood Falls as if it was a Martian landing site," Livi said. "What would happen if a Mars Rover landed in Antarctica? Would it be able to determine what was causing the Blood Falls to be red? It's a fascinating question and one that several researchers were considering.”

The new study was published in the journal Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences.

 

Arctic permafrost runoff driven by climate change

by Los Alamos National Laboratory

Streamflow gages (observed, n = 74) by permafrost coverage percentages with infilled 

gages (n = 55, open circles), and GloFAS v3.1 watersheds (gray circles, n = 958) shown

 over (Obu et al., 2019) permafrost zones for North America. 

Credit: Frontiers in Water (2023). DOI: 10.3389/frwa.2023.1099660

Rising temperatures and changes in precipitation are driving increases to streamflow in areas of high-latitude North America where permafrost dominates the landscape.

"We saw long-term trends of increasing streamflows in the Arctic that reflect how deeper layers of the permafrost are thawing and releasing water," said Katrina Bennett, a hydrologist at Los Alamos National Laboratory and lead author of a recent paper on permafrost streamflows in the journal Frontiers in Water. "In general, we found that all areas with at least some permafrost coverage were experiencing higher streamflows overall and higher minimum flows as the Arctic climate warms up."

Bennett and a team from Los Alamos and the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks analyzed diverse, challenging data sets for hydrology in the permafrost region.

The analysis makes it clear that changes in precipitation and higher temperatures under climate change are driving these trends of increasing streamflow from permafrost melt over the 46-year study period.

Other variables, including the extent of permafrost coverage, became more important in the past 32 years, according to the study.

Areas with more than 50% permafrost coverage had significant increases in mean streamflow, while all areas, including those with much less coverage, saw increased minimum flows.

In areas dominated by permafrost, maximum streamflow and its timing are shifting variably, Bennett said, with significant increases during fall and winter.

"These findings appear to indicate that permafrost is playing an increasingly focal role in changing trends across all components of the streamflow seasonally," Bennett said. "We seem to be seeing enhanced thawing of frozen grounds in more recent years of the study, as the high latitudes experience more precipitation and warmer temperatures."

The work is published in the journal Frontiers in Water.

More information: Katrina E. Bennett et al, Recent streamflow trends across permafrost basins of North America, Frontiers in Water (2023). DOI: 10.3389/frwa.2023.1099660

Provided by Los Alamos National Laboratory 

Thawing permafrost cools Arctic currents: This might affect fish stocks

Cannabis irradiation poses quandary for growers, scares consumers

By David Hodes
July 5, 2023 - 

Cannabis cultivators are caught in a dilemma about providing clean, safe product that passes inspection for acceptable levels of microbial contaminants.

The standard solution is irradiation: gamma rays zapping cannabis flower with the highly charged, radioactive element cobalt 60.

Is irradiation good? Is it bad? Should cultivators even admit to doing it?

Some of the confusion comes from state regulators, who are still figuring out what microbes to guard against from a list of the plant’s typical microbial contaminants.

If they don’t pass testing – generally because of bad microbial growth due to poor sanitation in the grow and processing stages – growers will have to nuke it.

But who wants nuked cannabis?

The fact is that state-regulated cannabis often has been blasted by gamma radiation for hours – or by electron beam radiation, or, the preferred method by U.S. cultivators, x-ray radiation – to kill bad microbes.

One microbe in particular, aspergillus, which is present everywhere, can cause serious respiratory illness and even death – not only among consumers but also cultivation workers.

Gamma irradiation is an old-school tool.

It’s the same sort of radiation used for many food products sold in the United States. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration lists nine food varieties that can be radiated, including beef and pork as well as fresh fruit and vegetables including lettuce and spinach.

At least 59 other countries irradiate their foods because it is considered an effective form of food preservation that extends shelf life by reducing spoilage – albeit with a slight reduction in vitamins.

But most cannabis cultivators don’t want you to know their product has been zapped.

U.S. cannabis growers who use radiation have made efforts to dodge the stigma by calling irradiated cannabis “electronically pasteurized” or “cold pasteurized.”

But irradiation has become a part of standard operating procedures (SOPs) because it penetrates the plant well without causing undue damage – unlike other plant decontamination methods using heat, chemical reagents or even toxic substances such as ethylene oxide gas.

When their cannabis fails testing, cultivators zap it, sell it to the public and hope for the best.

There’s some evidence that even zapping can end up leaving bits of disconnected DNA intact, which can help the microbe “revive itself,” according to Jini Glaros, chief scientific officer at Modern Canna Laboratories in Lakeland, Florida, who called for more investigation into that possibility.

The problem with eliminating bad microbes

Getting rid of microbial contaminants in cannabis has always been a dodgy exercise for a federally illegal product.

“All of the infrastructure – the good manufacturing practices, the good agricultural practices and the product safety that is required in manufacturing these other consumer food goods – is not required for cannabis manufacturing,” Tess Eidem, a microbiologist with Denver cannabis consultancy Rogue Micro, told MJBizDaily.

“Your dog food is regulated by the FDA, unlike cannabis,” she noted.

“With cannabis, you really don’t have to put in any preventive controls. You don’t have to have a sanitation program. You don’t have to have a quality team.

“All of the food safety that manufacturers in the food industry are expected to do and proactively address to identify their risks and their food-safety plans are not required in cannabis,” Eidem said.

“All cannabis manufacturers really have to do is pass compliance testing.”

Passing testing can mean up to 24 hours of product sitting in an irradiation machine, Eidem said.

“In the short term, a cultivator can recover failed products (by remediation). But in the long term, it’s a crutch – and it’s not really solving the underlying issues.”

Suehiko Ono, founder and CEO of EOS Farms, a family-owned organic cannabis farm in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, irradiates cannabis as a way to be compliant with the strict and broad analysis requirements for cannabis sold in Massachusetts.

“The microbe testing threshold comes from extreme fear and caution on the side of regulators,” Ono told MJBizDaily.

“The basic approach and attitude from regulators is: Do something even if it does nothing, because you can’t do nothing – even if what you’re doing doesn’t really do anything but confuse the matter. But you have to protect the consumer.”

Microbe testing thresholds in the state are “both over-determinative and under-determinative,” he said.

“(They’re) over-determinative in that they test for any of the millions of species of total viable aerobic bacteria and total yeast mold. They don’t differentiate,” Ono said.

“They test for the presence. And they don’t test for aspergillus, which is the only one that’s been shown to cause harm. They don’t even tell you if it’s there or not.

“So, if we’re going to force these nonsensical microbe-testing thresholds, then you’ve got to remediate. There’s no way around it.”

A different approach abroad

It’s a different scenario outside of the United States.

Canadian cannabis producers routinely irradiate an estimated 80%-90% of their product.

All medical cannabis imported into Germany must be irradiated in a laboratory that is compliant with that country’s strict requirements.

In the Netherlands, where medical marijuana is available to patients through a prescription by a qualified doctor, the Dutch government controls the irradiation process.

Irradiation is the preferred method of decontamination in the Netherlands, according to a 2016 study by Arno Hazekamp, the former head of research and education for Dutch cannabis producer Bedrocan International.

Medical cannabis can’t be sold within the Netherlands until the country’s Ministry of Health certifies the product as irradiated.

Concerns among adult-use consumers

Most of the fears about irradiation in the cannabis industry come from recreational consumers who are not well informed, according to Tjalling Erkelens, the founder and board chair of Bedrocan.

The producer of medicinal cannabis follows European guidelines for good manufacturing practices.

Irradiation does not destroy the cannabinoids in the plant, Erkelens told MJBizDaily, dispelling one common myth about irradiation.

“It very slightly affects terpenes,” Erkelens said.

“There’s no degradation of THC or CBD. If the product is properly packaged, there’s no loss of water. Basically, nothing changes.”

Erkelens said he has heard the unfounded fears that gamma radiation is not good for patients using medical cannabis.

“What’s that about? What’s the scientific basis for that? Please prove to me that this is bad for patients,” he said.

“There’s no remainder of the irradiation process itself (in the cannabis). The only thing it does is it cuts actually the string of life in living creatures, of living spores and living bacteria.

“It’s why I don’t like those machines that process cannabis flowers, because there are no eyes on the end products. So, the risk of getting mold in the product is there.”

Erkelens’ general recommendation to avoid bacteria in the product is to treat the indoor grow facility like a hospital.

“You should wash your walls and your floor,” Erkelens said. “It should be embedded in protocols and done on a very regular basis.

“And when you go in to where the plants are flowering, be sure that everything you bring in there is clean. Even be sure to bring in clean air.”

That same clean-room recommendation is echoed by Kyle Baker, co-founder and chief strategist of EcoBuds, a biosecurity company based in Carbondale, Illinois.

“If I tell the client that they need to clean every day, sometimes twice a day, and that was the answer to their problem of failing tests, they look at me cross-eyed,” he told MJBizDaily.

“But if they do it, they don’t have to use radiation. They don’t have to use remediation methods. Because the consistency of not having disease issues that affect yield are significantly decreased.”

Next steps

The real problem is that a young industry is still getting a handle on regulations, Modern Canna’s Glaros told MJBizDaily.

“It’s a little weird that we’re not letting consumers know when a product has been irradiated,” she said.

“I know that regulations aren’t requiring producers to label that they’ve irradiated their product, and so that’s not happening on that side of it.

“I think the regulations are being created before we have all of the information.”

“That’s not necessarily anyone’s fault,” Glaros said. “It’s just that this is such a new industry in a way.

“We’re still in its infancy compared to the food industry and the pharmaceutical industry.

“Hopefully regulators are listening to the people doing the research and seeing the data and making changes to those regulations based on that information.”