Geothermal energy development

JAN 01, 1977

Research needed to hasten the use of the little‐tapped but extensive heat energy of the Earth includes devising sensors to operate in the hot, corrosive underground environment and improving surface geophysical measurements.

DOI: 10.1063/1.3037366

John C. Rowley

The interior of the Earth represents an enormous reservoir of energy. Most of it, with the exception of the relatively thin surface‐crust material, is at a temperature either close to, or above, the melting‐point range for the rock and metallic alloys that make up the mantle and core. Yet this great energy reservoir is not at present a generally useful resource, being currently tapped only in a few small areas where surface conditions permit an economic yield. What are the problems limiting the development of geothermal energy to its full potential?

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More about the Authors

John C. Rowley. Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory of the University of California, Los Alamos, N.M..