Iceland has been using geothermal energy to generate electricity for decades. In 2008, however, engineers discovered a reservoir of extremely hot water that has the potential to greatly expand geothermal electricity output.
Now geoscientists have for the first time produced a realistic simulation of how such reservoirs are created. They predict these natural phenomena are widespread in volcanic areas, such as Japan and New Zealand.
Icelandic researchers working on the Iceland Deep Drilling Project (IDDP) made the discovery while drilling a 5-kilometer (about 3-mile) borehole on the Krafla lava field. The drill got stuck just 2 kilometers (a bit more than a mile) down. They ran into the same problem with a second borehole. Both times, their drilling head came up against what geologists call a magmatic intrusion: a rising mass of viscous magma that remains stuck in the bedrock rather than breaking out at the surface.
