Geothermal energy - Revision history

RichardWSmith: Added link showing Mars may have had eruptions 53,000 years ago.

2024-08-24T05:51:07Z

Added link showing Mars may have had eruptions 53,000 years ago.

RichardWSmith: Geothermal might also generate water.

2024-08-24T05:47:32Z

Geothermal might also generate water.

RichardWSmith: /* Availability */ If volcanoes were active 10M years ago, then there still are geothermal hot spots.

2024-08-24T05:44:21Z

Availability: If volcanoes were active 10M years ago, then there still are geothermal hot spots.

RichardWSmith: More info, location is at Cerberus Fossae, 60 km down.

2022-11-10T11:36:44Z

More info, location is at Cerberus Fossae, 60 km down.

RichardWSmith: Insight likely detected movement of magma.

2022-11-10T11:27:43Z

Insight likely detected movement of magma.

Michel Lamontagne: /* Availability */

2020-08-18T14:41:02Z

Availability

Michel Lamontagne: Updated and removed open issues

2020-08-18T14:37:21Z

Updated and removed open issues

Michel Lamontagne: Update

2020-08-18T14:09:45Z

Update

Jburk at 23:43, 17 December 2018

2018-12-17T23:43:20Z

Farred: copy edit

2013-09-29T04:48:30Z

copy edit

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 ==Availability==
-[[Mars Global Surveyor]] has found relatively fresh signs of flowing water in the [[Cerberus]] region near the equator of Mars. This probably happened 10 million years ago, which is geologically an extreme short time. Hopefully, the heat is still there in certain spots. <ref>[http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1997JBIS...50..187F Fogg, Martyn J.: The utility of geothermal energy on Mars]</ref> <ref name=":0">https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287032434_Geothermal_Energy_on_Mars</ref> Martian Volcanoes are obvious examples that Mars once had large amounts of geothermal energy available and Mars still has a molten core<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composition_of_Mars</ref>.
+[[Mars Global Surveyor]] has found relatively fresh signs of flowing water in the [[Cerberus]] region near the equator of Mars. This probably happened 10 million years ago, which is geologically an extreme short time. Hopefully, the heat is still there in certain spots. <ref>[http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1997JBIS...50..187F Fogg, Martyn J.: The utility of geothermal energy on Mars]</ref> <ref name=":0">https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287032434_Geothermal_Energy_on_Mars</ref> Martian Volcanoes are obvious examples that Mars once had large amounts of geothermal energy available and Mars still has a molten core<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composition_of_Mars</ref>.  There is evidence that Mars' last active volcanoes erupted as recently as 53,000 years ago. <ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcanism_on_Mars#:~:text=In%202020%2C%20astronomers%20reported%20evidence,needed%20to%20support%20life%20forms.</ref>
 It takes hundreds of millions of years for molten rocks buried deep to cool to the average temperature at that depth.  Therefore if volcanoes DID exist 10 million years ago, there is almost certainly geothermal energy available in those locations.  The cost of reaching that energy has to be compared to the cost of other energy sources to know if the use of geothermal energy on Mars is practical.  Since the atmospheric pressure and surface temperatures are very low on Mars, water from underground aquifers could be used by steam turbines to produce electrical energy.
@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 In 2021, the Insight lander detected Marsquakes which may have been caused by magma flows under the surface.  (These potential magma flows were 60 km under Cerberus Fossae, the geologically youngest area of Mars.)  If correct, this would confirm that Mars is still volcanically active and makes Geothermal energy (in some locations) far more likely.<ref>https://www.quantamagazine.org/rumbles-on-mars-raise-hopes-of-underground-magma-flows-20210201/</ref>
 ==Generating Water==

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 On [[Earth]] there are a few installations that use geothermal energy for heating and for the production of electricity. On [[Mars]] there might be usable geothermal energy as well. It is unknown how deep a Martian settlement would need to drill for practical Geothermal energy.
 ==Availability==
 [[Mars Global Surveyor]] has found relatively fresh signs of flowing water in the [[Cerberus]] region near the equator of Mars. This probably happened 10 million years ago, which is geologically an extreme short time. Hopefully, the heat is still there in certain spots. <ref>[http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1997JBIS...50..187F Fogg, Martyn J.: The utility of geothermal energy on Mars]</ref> <ref name=":0">https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287032434_Geothermal_Energy_on_Mars</ref> Martian Volcanoes are obvious examples that Mars once had large amounts of geothermal energy available and Mars still has a molten core<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composition_of_Mars</ref>.
@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 In 2021, the Insight lander detected Marsquakes which may have been caused by magma flows under the surface.  (These potential magma flows were 60 km under Cerberus Fossae, the geologically youngest area of Mars.)  If correct, this would confirm that Mars is still volcanically active and makes Geothermal energy (in some locations) far more likely.<ref>https://www.quantamagazine.org/rumbles-on-mars-raise-hopes-of-underground-magma-flows-20210201/</ref>
 ===References===

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 ==Availability==
-[[Mars Global Surveyor]] has found relatively fresh signs of flowing water in the [[Cerberus]] region near the equator of Mars. This probably happened 10 million years ago, which is geologically an extreme short time. Hopefully, the heat is still there in certain spots. <ref>[http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1997JBIS...50..187F Fogg, Martyn J.: The utility of geothermal energy on Mars]</ref> <ref name=":0">https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287032434_Geothermal_Energy_on_Mars</ref> Martian Volcanoes are obvious examples that Mars once had large amounts of geothermal energy available and Mars still has a molten core<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composition_of_Mars</ref>.  Therefore there might be some geothermal energy available.  The cost of reaching that energy has to be compared to the cost of other energy sources to know if the use of geothermal energy on Mars is practical.  Since the atmospheric pressure and surface temperatures are very low on Mars, water from underground aquifers could be used by steam turbines to produce electrical energy.
+[[Mars Global Surveyor]] has found relatively fresh signs of flowing water in the [[Cerberus]] region near the equator of Mars. This probably happened 10 million years ago, which is geologically an extreme short time. Hopefully, the heat is still there in certain spots. <ref>[http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1997JBIS...50..187F Fogg, Martyn J.: The utility of geothermal energy on Mars]</ref> <ref name=":0">https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287032434_Geothermal_Energy_on_Mars</ref> Martian Volcanoes are obvious examples that Mars once had large amounts of geothermal energy available and Mars still has a molten core<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composition_of_Mars</ref>.
 Heat generated in the martian mantle and core has been estimated<ref name=":0" /> at an average 20-30 milliwatts per m2.  The solar heat flux at the martian surface reaches 600 W/m<sup>2</sup>, roughly a twenty thousand time higher energy flow.  So at first glance solar power seems more practical.  Taking into account solar storms and nights as well as solar cell efficiencies actual average [[Photovoltaics|solar electricity]] availability might be about 40 W/m2 , still about 1000 times more.  A geothermal energy source on Mars would need to be a geological anomaly, such as some form of magmatic intrusion near the surface.  Are there spots with usable geothermal energy? [[Needed explorations#Geothermal energy|Additional exploration]] on Mars is required to identify possible sites.

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 Heat generated in the martian mantle and core has been estimated<ref name=":0" /> at an average 20-30 milliwatts per m2.  The solar heat flux at the martian surface reaches 600 W/m<sup>2</sup>, roughly a twenty thousand time higher energy flow.  So at first glance solar power seems more practical.  Taking into account solar storms and nights as well as solar cell efficiencies actual average [[Photovoltaics|solar electricity]] availability might be about 40 W/m2 , still about 1000 times more.  A geothermal energy source on Mars would need to be a geological anomaly, such as some form of magmatic intrusion near the surface.  Are there spots with usable geothermal energy? [[Needed explorations#Geothermal energy|Additional exploration]] on Mars is required to identify possible sites.
-In 2021, the Insight lander detected Marsquakes which were thought to be caused by magma flows under the surface.  If correct, this would confirm that Mars is still volcanically active and makes Geothermal energy (in some locations) far more likely.<ref>https://www.quantamagazine.org/rumbles-on-mars-raise-hopes-of-underground-magma-flows-20210201/</ref>
+In 2021, the Insight lander detected Marsquakes which may have been caused by magma flows under the surface.  (These potential magma flows were 60 km under Cerberus Fossae, the geologically youngest area of Mars.)  If correct, this would confirm that Mars is still volcanically active and makes Geothermal energy (in some locations) far more likely.<ref>https://www.quantamagazine.org/rumbles-on-mars-raise-hopes-of-underground-magma-flows-20210201/</ref>
 ===References===

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:27, 10 November 2022
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	Heat generated in the martian mantle and core has been estimated<ref name=":0" /> at an average 20-30 milliwatts per m2. The solar heat flux at the martian surface reaches 600 W/m<sup>2</sup>, roughly a twenty thousand time higher energy flow. So at first glance solar power seems more practical. Taking into account solar storms and nights as well as solar cell efficiencies actual average [[Photovoltaics\|solar electricity]] availability might be about 40 W/m2 , still about 1000 times more. A geothermal energy source on Mars would need to be a geological anomaly, such as some form of magmatic intrusion near the surface. Are there spots with usable geothermal energy? [[Needed explorations#Geothermal energy\|Additional exploration]] on Mars is required to identify possible sites.		Heat generated in the martian mantle and core has been estimated<ref name=":0" /> at an average 20-30 milliwatts per m2. The solar heat flux at the martian surface reaches 600 W/m<sup>2</sup>, roughly a twenty thousand time higher energy flow. So at first glance solar power seems more practical. Taking into account solar storms and nights as well as solar cell efficiencies actual average [[Photovoltaics\|solar electricity]] availability might be about 40 W/m2 , still about 1000 times more. A geothermal energy source on Mars would need to be a geological anomaly, such as some form of magmatic intrusion near the surface. Are there spots with usable geothermal energy? [[Needed explorations#Geothermal energy\|Additional exploration]] on Mars is required to identify possible sites.
		+
		+	In 2021, the Insight lander detected Marsquakes which were thought to be caused by magma flows under the surface. If correct, this would confirm that Mars is still volcanically active and makes Geothermal energy (in some locations) far more likely.<ref>https://www.quantamagazine.org/rumbles-on-mars-raise-hopes-of-underground-magma-flows-20210201/</ref>

	===References===		===References===

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 '''Geothermal energy''' is heat generated inside dense and rocky cosmic bodies. It can be generated by the immense pressure in the core of planets and created by nuclear processes and is constantly available with virtually no limit in time.
-On [[Earth]] there are a few installations to use geothermal energy for heating and for production of electricity. On [[Mars]] there might be usable geothermal energy, as well. It is unknown how deep a Mars colony would need to drill for practical Geothermal energy. There are signs of geothermal energy, however.
+On [[Earth]] there are a few installations that use geothermal energy for heating and for the production of electricity. On [[Mars]] there might be usable geothermal energy as well. It is unknown how deep a Martian settlement would need to drill for practical Geothermal energy.
-==Signs and theories==
+==Availability==
-[[Mars Global Surveyor]] has found relatively fresh signs of flowing water in the [[Cerberus]] region near the equator of Mars. This probably happened 10 million years ago, which is geologically an extreme short time. Hopefully, the heat is still there in certain spots. <ref>[http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1997JBIS...50..187F Fogg, Martyn J.: The utility of geothermal energy on Mars]</ref>
+[[Mars Global Surveyor]] has found relatively fresh signs of flowing water in the [[Cerberus]] region near the equator of Mars. This probably happened 10 million years ago, which is geologically an extreme short time. Hopefully, the heat is still there in certain spots. <ref>[http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1997JBIS...50..187F Fogg, Martyn J.: The utility of geothermal energy on Mars]</ref>  Martian Volcanoes are obvious examples that Mars once had large amounts of geothermal energy available and Mars still has a molten core<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composition_of_Mars</ref>.  Therefore there might be some geothermal energy available.  The cost of reaching that energy has to be compared to the cost of other energy sources to know if the use of geothermal energy on Mars is practical.
 ==Open issues==
-*Are there scientific theories about the inner temperature on Mars?
 *Are there spots with usable geothermal energy? [[Needed explorations#Geothermal energy|Additional explorations]] on Mars are needed to get exact figures.
 ===References===
-<references/>
+<references />
 [[Category: Sources]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:43, 17 December 2018
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−	[[Category: ~~Geology]]~~	+	[[Category: Sources]]
−	~~[[Category: Energy~~]]