Posted on 03/20/2008 7:46:24 AM PDT by cogitator
The more things stay the same... the more they change, of course. The famous Halemaumau crater (formerly the site of an active lava lake) has had a couple of changes, and yesterday a new steam vent exploded violently, casting rocks about. Below is an image of the crater, half-size (click for full), with the new steam vent. The link below is to the images page, where you can see other pictures of what happened.
In the first comment, the picture and link is from Stromboli Online, which recently visited Erta Ale in inhospitable Ethiopia, which hosts an active lava lake right now.
** ping **
Where would they get the water?
A virgin sacrifice is needed to satiate the Volcanic God!
Since Algorged mental hymen is still intact he is my choice!
I do believe there's a little water available nearby. It's called the
PACIFIC OCEAN
Kind of hard on steam turbines’ innards.
When my brother built his home he used his water treatment knowledge to use the rainwater from his cistern for drinking as well.
I offered to finance a business where he could deliver potable water at a cost cheaper than the $50/jug price but he didn't see the profitability so he demurred. Of course he has a nice large lot and planted coffee trees which means he doesn't have to go to Starbucks!!!
The same place they currently get water to produce electricity. Or is everything their produced by gas turbines?
In any event, they could use the nearly inexhaustible heat to desalinate water.
Based on a quick read, supplies about 20% of the Big Island's electricity requirements. They can't operate too close to the national park. The site indicates that they generate 30 MW and are going to expand another 8 MW.
Just to help (or maybe what you wrote was deliberate, if so, sorry)
Mauna Kea -- big extinct volcano with astronomical observatories on top; world's highest mountain from base to peak.
Mauna Loa -- big still-active volcano (and we're waiting for the next proof of its activity; its overdue)
Lest they cut down on overall polution. I'm thinking that a Geothermal plant should have little to no negative impact.
Reading through the posts, it’s amazing what all we learn on FR.
I remember reading that they have to be a distance from the park so as not to sap the strength of the volcanic activity in the park. While this seems silly for Hawaii (maybe), it was a bigger concern for potential Yellowstone hydrothermal; both effects on the features and the effect of having an industrial site near the park.
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