NASA will cool the Yellowstone supervolcano and use it for energy: how safe is it

NASA has a $ 3,46 billion plan to cool Yellowstone Volcano and use it for energy. Interesting Engineering.

Photo: Shutterstock

Beneath the picturesque hot springs and geysers of Yellowstone National Park lies a giant magma chamber that could one day erupt as a supervolcano.

According to NASA, a supervolcano is one of the greatest natural threats to human civilization, and is significantly more dangerous than the threat of asteroids.

This is why the US space agency has developed an ambitious plan to ensure that the volcano remains dormant, according to a 2017 BBC report.

As a bonus, NASA's method will also provide electricity to the surrounding region, although the project will cost a staggering $ 3,46 billion.

Drilling holes in the rock of the volcano

Both an asteroid collision that ended civilization and an eruption in a chamber called the Yellowstone Caldera are very unlikely in our lifetime.

The likelihood of a 5-10 km wide asteroid hitting Earth, such as the one that destroyed the dinosaurs, is almost negligible at 0,000001%, while the Yellowstone eruption is not predicted in the next 10 years.

However, in 2017, Brian Wilcox, who was a member of the NASA Planetary Defense Advisory Board that conducted research on the threat of asteroids and comets, said that he concluded in this study that the threat of a supervolcano is substantially greater than that of an asteroid or comets.

There are about 20 supervolcanoes on Earth, and large eruptions occur on average once every 100 years. The prolonged volcanic winter resulting from a supervolcano eruption could prevent humanity from having enough food for the world's population, leading to widespread famine.

On the subject: Where are the most dangerous supervolcanoes located and what will happen if they wake up

In an interview with the BBC, Wilcox explained NASA's plans to prevent this.

The US space agency itself admits the plan carries risks, although the rewards will outweigh the risks if they prevent a catastrophic event that could wipe out humanity by drilling holes into the undersides of a volcano outside Yellowstone National Park.

Then the organizers of the project want to pump cold water under high pressure into the supervolcano, and then pump the water out of it. The incoming water will cool the volcano, while the outgoing water will reach a temperature of about 350 ° C and can be used to generate electricity.

Supervolcanoes can provide energy to adjacent areas for "tens of thousands of years"

Photo: Shutterstock

At the moment, the plan is only theoretical, and there is no data on the risks of drilling the volcano, Wilcox said.

Nonetheless, he believes the $ 3,46 billion experiment could be funded by geothermal companies that will recoup their investment and "get electricity that could power the surrounding area for potentially tens of thousands of years."

On top of that, "the long-term benefit is that you will prevent a future supervolcano eruption that will destroy humanity," Wilcox told the BBC in 2017.

“Yellowstone currently produces about 6 gigawatts of heat,” Wilcox said. “By drilling in this way, it could be possible to create a geothermal power plant that generates electricity at extremely competitive prices of around $0,10 per kWh.”

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In addition to seeking to find a way to reduce the threat of supervolcanoes like Yellowstone, NASA also hopes that its outlined approach will encourage others in the scientific community to tackle the problem.

Ironically, these massive, potentially destructive magma chambers have the potential to provide energy and mitigate the effects of climate change, a greater threat to human existence.

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