Why Scientists Plan to Drill into an Active Volcano

Video Description

A team of scientists have set their sights on a crazy goal: drilling straight into the magma chamber underneath an active volcano in Iceland to tap into virtually unlimited geothermal power. The effort is part of a grand plan called the Iceland Deep Drilling Project. Its participating scientists aren't just looking for thrills; they're on a mission to understand the physics deep within the Earth that could revolutionise our energy future. But this is no ordinary project; here in Iceland, discovery and danger go hand in hand. The potential rewards are huge, but so are the challenges they'll face. Thank you to Gylfi from @JustIcelandic for the great aerial shots over Grindavik, subscribe to his channel for the latest updates on the eruptions in Iceland and buy him a coffee if you like it! Subscribe for more: https://bit.ly/newnaturechannel Become a member: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp35lOnXpoMtBXMb4jFglJQ/join Follow me on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/newnature.bsky.social Dive deeper: Krafla Magma Testbed: https://kmt.is Iceland Deep Drilling Project: https://iddp.is The Secret Lagoon: https://secretlagoon.is British Airways Flight 009: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Airways_Flight_009 References: J. Colp. "Final report - Magma Energy Research Project." (1982). https://doi.org/10.2172/6588943. Pearce, Fred. “Iceland Drills Hottest Hole to Tap into Energy of Molten Magma.” New Scientist, October 21, 2016. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2109872-iceland-drills-hottest-hole-to-tap-into-energy-of-molten-magma/. Nakada, S. (2013). Scientific Results of Volcano Drilling and Future Prospects. Journal of Geography, 122, 258-272 https://consensus.app/papers/results-volcano-drilling-future-prospects-nakada/4bf558fe605550bbbc674486be529088/ Friðleifsson, G. Ó., Elders, W., Zierenberg, R., Stefánsson, A., Fowler, A., Weisenberger, T., Harðarson, B. S., & Mesfin, K. (2017). The Iceland Deep Drilling Project 4.5 km deep well, IDDP-2, in the seawater-recharged Reykjanes geothermal field in SW Iceland has successfully reached its supercritical target. Scientific Drilling, 23, 1-12. Stefánsson, V. (2013). The Iceland Deep Drilling Project: Challenges in High-Temperature Geothermal Drilling. Geothermics. 00:00 Intro: Drilling into Magma? 00:30 The Iceland Deep Drilling Project 01:01 Why Drill into a Volcano? 01:27 Welcome to Iceland 02:19 Why Iceland is So Geothermal 03:30 How Iceland Was Formed 05:04 Why Choose Krafla Volcano 06:11 Accidentally Hitting Magma 07:04 How to Drill into Magma 07:33 Volcanoes and the Risk of Eruption 08:19 The Dangers of Ash Clouds 10:09 Back to Krafla: Is it Safe? 10:50 Geothermal Power in Iceland 11:59 What is Supercritical Geothermal Energy? 13:37 The Blue Lagoon and Energy Potential 15:03 The Future of Clean Power 16:00 Engineering Challenges Ahead 17:00 Why It Still Matters 18:26 Looking Ahead: China and the Next Big Drill #sciencefacts