Professor: Mr.

Wills Thomas Name: Aditi Agrawal

Mr. Jasim Alam Student ID: 18080016

Date: 17th February 2020

The Nature’s Beauty- Geothermal Energy.

In the scenario of increasing environmental pollution and dwindling conventional resources, it

is prudent to explore and establish alternate, sustainable and cleaner resources of energy, which

will satisfy human energy needs. The natural resource, a fossil-based resource which furnishes

the major parts is oil and gas. However, “less than 60 years is the estimated time remaining of

world fossil fuels extraction” (Halim, Pg. 5) and it further demands in an alternative resource

due to its properties of hazardous emissions and possible nature damaging (Halim, 2018) With

both of these reasons, renewable source of energy is being developed for mass utilization and

application. The availability of hot steam and water, which acts as a visual display of nature at

comfort, relaxation and health treatment, at the same time, is also a mode of power generation

and heating purposes. Natural springs where the water emerges from the underground, has

served as a greater model for understanding the processes of geothermal energy, which takes

place in the shallowest parts of the earth. These are majorly the surface manifestations of the

large subsurface geothermal energy processes taking place inside the earth, which lasts for

hundred to hundred thousand years. As an illustration, Geothermal energy is adapting the oil

and gas exploration due to its huge potential of energy that can be extracted and delivered and

its possibility to the fossil fuels towards fulfilling the society energy and water needs with clean

quality. The aim of this essay is to describe, illustrate and briefly explain geothermal energy.

This study integrates information derived from previous papers and provides information about

its relations with the hot springs and geysers. The paper also gives attention to the Yellowstone

Park, which gives tremendous opportunities to see geology in action naturally. Some emphasis
is given to the layers present in the Earth, with the percentages and various aspects to make the

study make more understandable.

Geothermal energy, in the broadest sense, “is the heat derived from the sub-surface of the Earth,

which is clean and sustainable” (Saibi, Pg. 2) Temperatures in the Earth increases as one move

deep into depths. At the base of the continental crust (20-50 km), temperature range from 200o

C to 1000o C, at the centre of the earth (3400 km), perhaps till about 7,200o C.(Raza, 2011) But

most of the earth’s heat is too far buried to be tapped by the man, even under the most

assumptions of technological development. Although drilling has reached till about 71/2 km and

will reach to 15- 20 km someday, the depths from which heat can be extracted are unlikely to

be 10 km. (Raza, 2011) White has calculated that amount of geothermal heat available in this
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outermost 10 km is approximately 3 x 10 calories, which is more than the 2000 times the

heat represented by the total resources in the world. (White, 1965)

Geothermal energy, however, does have economic potential significance, where the heated is

collected into certain volumes, like in the manner of metals into ore deposits or oil into

petroleum reserves. At present, economically significant concentrations of geothermal energy

occur at an elevated temperature of 40oC to 380o C, found in the permeable rocks at shallow

depths. (White, 1965) The thermal energy of the underground rocks, is stored both in the solid

rock and in water and in small pores. The water and steam serve to transfer the heat from the

rock to a well and thence to an underground surface. (Raza, 2011) However, at present rocks

with too few pores or with pores are not interconnected. (Raza, 2011)

Water in the geothermal system also serves as a medium by which heat is transferred from a

deep igneous source to a geothermal reservoir, present in the shallow depths through drilling.
Geothermal reservoirs are located in the up flowing streams of major water convection systems.

(Raza, 2011) Cool rainwater percolates underground from areas that may comprise tens to

thousands of square kilometres and then circulates downwards and reaches the impermeable

rock layers. There it will spread along the lines of least resistance until it becomes in contact

with fault and fractures in the surrounding structures. Down the crack system, it will flow to

the aquifer or the porous rocks that permits the water to flow through it. If the aquifer is deep

enough, it may rest on the impermeable rock layer which is in contact with the superhot magma.

At depths of 2 to 6 km water is heated by contact with the hot molten rock called as magma

which is a hot semi fluid material below the earth’s crust from which lava and other igneous

rocks is formed after cooling down. “Thinned or fractured crust allows magma to rise to the

surface as lava” (Raza, Pg. 8) If the heated water encounters some fracture while leading

upwards, the water expands upon heating, becomes less dense and more buoyant and then

moves upward in a column. If the rocks have many interconnected pores, the heated water rises

rapidly to the surface and is dissipated rather than stored. If, however the upward movement of

heated water is impeded by pores without interconnected pores, the geothermal energy may be

stored in the geothermal reservoir. (White, 1965) The driving force of this large circulation is

gravity because of the density difference between the cold, downward moving recharge water

and hot, moving upwards geothermal water. In major zones of up flow, coexisting steam and

hot water extending to the surface are expressed as boiling hot springs and locally as geysers.
 Figure: Schematic Representation of a typical geothermal system.

Source: Dickson, M., & Fanelli, M. (1995). Geothermal energy (UNESCO Energy Engineering Series). Chichester, UK: Wiley.

Figure: Formation of a hot spring in tectonically inactive region.

Source: MaliBooBoo, 2009

A park that lives naturally:

Yellowstone National Park sits on the top of a vast, ancient and still active volcano. Most of it

lies within a volcanic caldera that was formed about 600,000 years ago. (Ness, 1988) Hot

molten lava flowed in this area until the glaciers moved down from north, about 600,000 years

ago, due to tectonic activity. When they melted, glaciers left the gravel and debris that they had

pushed along. (Britannica) The gravel insulated the lava and kept it from cooling down too

rapidly and created a number of pores, cracks and fissures. These formed pores and cracks

collect water and snowfall. This percolated water then moves downwards and gets heated by

the hot magma. As the water gets heated, its buoyancy drives it to the surface to heat the hot

pools and geysers reservoirs or to escape from the earth as steam. In case of the geysers when

the water reaches the surface through narrow passages in the rock known as “Complex

plumbing system” (Ness, 1988), it erupts in a towering spray of water and steam. If the

underground cracks that funnel the water as they near the surface, the pressure eases and small

pools of hot springs are formed. (Britannica) Depending on the path taken by the groundwater

to reach to the surface, some of these pools can be extremely hot or boiling water, whereas

some of them can be normal bathing water.

Of Yellowstone’s 10,000 or so geothermal features, between 200 to 300 are active geysers.

(Britannica) Old faithful which spouts water more than 100 feet into the air is famous. “Old

faithful is believed to be the “standpipe” geyser, which means that its reservoir is basically a

long tube which descends vertically down in the earth.” (Ness, Pg. 148) The park is known for

its natural existing, greatest concentrations of geysers, hot springs and mud spots.

Figure: Old Faithful Geyser, Yellowstone National Park

Conclusion:

In this paper I have tried to give a short and explanatory brief about the geothermal energy, its

production, its further use and its greatest fascination to all the people around the world. My

main finding is that, we are the most fortunate to have this abundant non- conventional energy

resource. Geothermal heat is an energy resource that if properly managed, has the potential to

be cost effective, environmentally acceptable and sustainable. It is sustainable because of the

large amounts of heat stored in the subsurface. Extracting this heat, however, is challenging

and requires advances in drilling and exploration technologies. However, small technologies

are being made to extract this enormous amount of subsurface heat. Like in the sedimentary

basin, heat from the produced fluid is converted into an electricity for profit. It is also possible

to use geothermal resources as a heating source for homes and businesses in any location.

Moreover, the natural existence of these hot springs and geysers holds a great fascination to

many people in and around the world. Further research was framed within the geographical
approach, focused on most famous Yellowstone National Park. Here, I majorly emphasise on

explaining the formation of geysers through this case study, a well-known one which has myths

associated with it. Further investigations are necessary not only of the distribution and

characteristics of geothermal reservoirs, but also of the various ways in which geothermal

energy can be used in the most beneficial and least wasteful manner.
 References:

 Halim, Rain Anuegerah.

“Https://Essay.utwente.nl/77497/1/Rian_Anugerah_Halim_17-18.Pdf.” Aug. 2018,

https://essay.utwente.nl/77497/1/Rian_Anugerah_Halim_17-18.pdf.

 White, Donald E. “Geothermal Energy.” United States Department of the Interior,

1965, https://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1965/0519/report.pdf.

 Saibi, Hakim. “Geothermal Energy.” May 2013,

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236737240_Geothermal_Energy.

 Raza, Hilal A. “Study on Geothermal Resources of South Asia.” Dec. 2011,

https://www.saarcenergy.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/2010-Study-on-

Geothermal-Resources-of-South-Asia.pdf.

 Decker, Barbara B., and Robert W. Decker. “Hot Springs and

Geysers.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 3 Feb. 2020,

www.britannica.com/science/volcano/Hot-springs-and-geysers.

 Ness, David. “Protection of the Geothermal Resource of Yellowstone National Park-

A Case Study.” 1988,

https://scholarship.law.umt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/

&httpsredir=1&article=1120&context=plrlr.