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The Yellowstone Caldera is a volcanic super-crater surrounded by mountains. Sooner or later, it will blow up again.
image from the USGS
Yellowstone: The #1 National Security Threat
Unless we turn Wyoming into a new energy Mecca
by Martin Nix
Yellowstone National Park has literally thousand of square miles of hot magma underneath, which will someday erupt. This isn't just a small volcano! Geologists say it's possible that a major eruption there would be thousands of times greater than that of Mt. St. Helens. It would put the US under several feet of volcanic ash, and likely put the planet into an ice age. (See www.earthmountainview.com/yellowstone/yellowstone_press_release.htm.)
Yellowstone is a far worse threat than any Taliban. But with planning we can prevent this scenario with geothermal development.
The geothermal potential of Yellowstone is huge. It is like a giant nuclear reactor, fired by the natural decay of underground radioactive elements. Developing Yellowstone's geothermal potential would not only displace the need for coal and nuclear power plants, it would also cool the magma down, relieving the pressure than could lead to an eruption.
Right now, natural rainfall cools Yellowstone down. Rain seeps into the ground, cooling the magma, creating the beautiful geysers we see today.
Presently the most common method of geothermal exploitation is a dual-well system, with one well injecting water and the other extracting steam. However, the flow of water through the cracked rocks also extracts sulfur, a pollutant. Dual-well systems are also cumbersome because they require a special exchanger to cool the water.
However, a more elegant method might be to create artificial geysers. Single wells could be drilled into hot areas, then filled with water to create geysers. Steam pushes the water skyward through electrical generators. The steam then becomes clouds, which then propagate more rain. Since single geothermal wells never flow water through cracked rocks, sulfur pollution is not a problem. Artificial geysers may be the way to go, though they do require more water than dual-well systems.
The extent of this huge underground hotspot is shown here in kilometers.
image from the USGS
It would be a sight to see 10,000 wells sending water skyward. Although it would be a huge project, it could eliminate the need for many coal and nuclear power plants. Geothermal development could power the entire Midwest.
It could also electrify our train system. A side-advantage of this is that the train system could be used for building an electrical distribution system, by stringing cable above the railroads or burying it next to them. Similarly, cable could be strung along any water pipes that are used to service the geysers.
Instead of Congress funding new nuclear power plants, these funds should be used to fund geothermal development, a form of natural nuclear energy.
The major hang-up for such a project is the large volume of water necessary. It would require roughly the same water flow as the Mississippi River. A huge project, but probably no huger than the Tennessee Valley Authority projects in the 1930s.
One smart way to create artificial rain would be to pump up underground saltwater to make evaporation ponds to grow algae for biodiesel (algae for biodiesel is already proving much more efficient than other crops; see www.popularmechanics.com/science/energy/biofuel/4213775). The sun evaporates water from algae farms, thereby creating artificial rain clouds. Of course, these algae ponds would have to be strategically located to encourage rainfall in the area of the geothermal development.
Water could be piped down the Continental Divide. Since eruption from Yellowstone would adversely impact Canada, our northern neighbor might be willing to help.
Another source of water could be the Great Lakes. Combined with solar and wind energy, geothermal energy could drive the water pumps, pumping water all the way to Wyoming.
The fact is geothermal development of Yellowstone could power the country. If you think this is expensive or harmful to the environment, then try cleaning up after an eruption. A major Yellowstone eruption would be a national—and probably a planetary—disaster, much more harmful to flora and fauna than anything humans could do. Action now could prevent another Ice Age. Do you have a 1,000 year supply of food stored up?
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