Accessing magma: a frontier in Earth sciences and renewable energies
The T̶i̶m̶e̶s̶ “Climate” They Are A-Changin’. Confronted with this contemporary paradox, Earth system science stands as the future operating framework to diagnose and address the challenges of global change; and magmatism (as is its nature) rises up as a solution. Magmatism and volcanism are the primary processes connecting the solid Earth to the atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere. As such, accessing magma comes to be the necessary next step in the exploration of our planet. Why so? It will allow us to improve volcano monitoring strategies and hazard resilience, to transform our understanding of mass transfer in the earth system, and importantly, because magma offers a tremendous amount of energy.
Recent exploratory geothermal drilling activities around the World have serendipitously encountered a few shallow magma bodies in Earth’s crust. From these encounters, we learnt that the consequences may not necessarily be as dramatic as one might expect; instead they may be promising and provide solutions to a sustainable living. Following these game-changing occurrences, the Krafla Magma Testbed (KMT) was established to develop new magma monitoring approaches and energy solutions. KMT aims to establish the first magma observatory – a world-class international in-situ magma laboratory with access to the magma-rock-hydrothermal boundary through wells, available for advanced studies and experiments. Here we review this new opportunity and how it may benefit us as we enter a new generation of energy demands and resilience strategy.
Biography
Born in Ville des Laurentides, Canada, Yan Lavallée received his B.Sc. (2001) in Earth and Planetary Sciences from McGill University, Canada; his M.Sc. (2003) in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, USA; and his Dr.Rer.Nat. (2008) in Mineralogy from the Ludwig Maximilian University, LMU-Munich, Germany. Between 2012 and 2022 he was Chair of Volcanology and Magmatic Processes at the University of Liverpool, UK, and in 2022 he returned to the LMU-Munich where he was appointed Chair of Magmatic Petrology and Volcanology. Lavallée’s principal research interests are in understanding the behaviour of magmas and rocks, and their impact on volcanic, hydrothermal and geothermal systems. He is a founding member of the Krafla Magma Testbed.
Website: https://www.en.mineralogie.geowissenschaften.uni-muenchen.de/personen/chair/lavallee-yan/index.html