Give reason why volcanic regions are suitable for developing geothermal energy
Answers
Answer:
Geothermal energy is plentiful, but geothermal power is not. Temperatures increase below the Earth’s surface at a rate of about 30 °C per km in the first 10 km (roughly 90 °F per mile in the first 6 miles) below the surface. This internal heat of the Earth is an immense store of energy. In the upper 10 km of rock beneath the conterminous United States, it amounts to 3.3 × 1025 joules, or about 6,000 times the energy contained in the world’s oil reserves. The problem in utilizing geothermal energy is extracting it.
Explanation:
The natural escape of the Earth’s heat through its surface averages only 0.06 watt per square metre (0.006 watt per square foot). To make geothermal power practical, some special situation must exist to concentrate the Earth’s heat energy in a small area. Underground reservoirs of steam or hot water that can be funneled into a drill hole provide this special situation. Some geothermal steam wells can produce 25 megawatts of thermal power, an amount equal to the normal heat flux of more than 400 square km (150 square miles) of land surface. The key to this concentration is the transfer of heat from deeper levels to the near surface by the ascending magma associated with volcanism. Magma at temperatures close to 1,200 °C (2,200 °F) moves upward to depths of only a few kilometres, where it transfers heat by conduction to groundwater. The groundwater then circulates by convection and forms large underground reservoirs of hot water and steam. Some of this thermal water may escape to the surface as hot springs or geysers.