Tag: Did You Know?

Did You Know … the story of the snake, the fish, and the toad?

Did you know… the story of the 'hot' snake, the fish, and the toad?

Tucked away in different corners of the planet, there are animals with unique adaptations that allow them to thrive in some rather surprising environments. Despite the extreme conditions and challenges, certain species are even able to make hot waters their permanent home.

The Tibetan Hot-Spring Snake (photo Science)

Take for example the Tibetan Hot-Spring snake. This snake is exactly what it sounds like: a snake that lives in the hot springs of Tibet, high in the mountains, where the weather is very cold. Like other reptiles, snakes are ectothermic, or cold blooded, meaning they do not regulate their own body temperature and rely on the external environment to do so. Most reptiles will sunbathe or hide underground to stay warm, but the Tibetan Hot-Spring snake achieves the same outcome in a rather unusual way. By living in the warm waters of the natural hot springs occurring in the area, these amazing reptiles can stay heated year-round.

The Hot-Spring snake has a special adaptation found in their genome; a gene called EPAS1. This gene makes them much more sensitive to heat sources as compared to their close relatives, allowing them to seek out the hot water much more easily. They have been observed leaving hot springs to travel to rivers and colder lakes to feed on the fish and other small creatures living there, and then navigating back to the hot springs afterwards using their heat-seeking senses.

The Julimes pupfish (Wikipedia)

These snakes aren’t the only animals that are able to survive and thrive in hot waters - a small species of fish in Mexico can live in super-hot water up to 114 degrees Fahrenheit. The Julimes pupfish lives full-time in the area’s hot springs, earning it the title of “the world’s hottest fish.” These pupfish could be considered “extremophiles”, animals who are able to tolerate very harsh conditions. Imagine living your whole life hotter than the hottest hot tub!

 

Dixie Valley toad (photo Washington Post)

Finally, there is the Dixie Valley toad. This toad has specifically adapted to survive in the warm waters around the Dixie Valley in a remote area near Reno, Nevada. When it was discovered and described in 2017, it became the only new species of toad discovered in the US in nearly 50 years.

Most toads spend the colder months underground in burrows so that they don’t freeze along with the water around them. The Dixie Valley toad doesn’t burrow, instead it remains in the warm springs all winter long. The toads prefer the warm water over any other options for heat that may be available to them. It must work for them, since they have been thriving in the springs for thousands of years.

These animals are great examples of how even though conditions may be harsh and seemingly inhospitable, it’s good to remember the timeless words of Dr. Ian Malcolm from Jurassic Park: “Life finds a way.”

 

https://www.fws.gov/story/toads-soak-life-nevadas-dixie-valley

https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/amphibians/Dixie-Valley-toad/index.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/10/31/nevada-toad-geothermal-paiute/

https://www.mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.4290.1.7

https://phys.org/news/2017-07-rare-discovery-toad-species-nevada.html

https://lasvegassun.com/news/2019/dec/02/imperilled-nevada-toads-habitat-threatened-environ/

https://www.science.org/content/article/secrets-tibet-s-hot-spring-snakes-revealed

https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.aay9077

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-10-13/Revealing-genetic-secrets-of-world-s-highest-living-snakes-14k8kxhd6qk/index.html

https://snakesarelong.blogspot.com/2013/05/hot-spring-snakes.html

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/animals-heat-deserts-hottest-foxes

https://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/cyprinodon-julimes/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyprinodon_julimes

Did You Know … you could have a swig of geothermal rum in the near future?

Did you know ... that you could have a swig of geothermal rum in the near future?

In Cornwall, United Kingdom, Matthew Clifford has big dreams to start up a rum distillery powered solely by the natural geothermal resources. Alcohol distillation takes up a lot of energy, so Clifford decided that he would attempt to power his idea with the heat from under the ground.

In the rum production process, energy is expended 24/7 and the need to keep everything temperature controlled can be extremely intensive over the long period of time that’s required to produce alcohol. Therefore, the Celsius Project had the idea to power the process with geothermal energy. Geothermal is available around the clock regardless of outdoor conditions or energy shortages, perfectly fitting the needs for distilling alcohol.

In Cornwall, the rocks under ground are hotter than anywhere else in the United Kingdom, which is why Clifford targeted that area for his project. The Celsius Project plans to use the heat from the “hot rocks” to heat the buildings needed for production and storage. They also have plans to use the “waste heat”, which is the by-product of turning the energy generated from the geothermal power into electricity. Their goal is to produce zero-carbon renewable power once the site is up and running.

Unfortunately, the project ran into a bit of a snag which has forced the owner to look for a different location. The original project site at the United Downs in Cornwall has been in disrepair for many years and has partially been used as a landfill. Although the plan was originally approved, the proposal received resistance when fans of stock car racing stepped in. A portion of United Downs is a raceway beloved by many racing fans in the area. The Cornwall Council stepped in and told Clifford he could not build the distillery there, despite already having received approval a few months prior.

Now, the Celsius Project is without a home. There has not been a new site chosen yet, and the project has moved into a smaller version of itself inside a handful of shipping containers, which are currently housed near Penryn. While a geothermal rum toast for New Year’s 2023 was unavailable, if Clifford is able to find a new location to permanently house the project and get it off the ground, there may be a chance ‘hot’ rum could be available for New Year’s Day, 2024.

We’ll drink to that!

 

https://www.geothermaldistillery.com/

https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2021/05/geothermal-powered-rum-distillery-gets-green-light/

https://www.business-live.co.uk/economic-development/geothermal-rum-distillery-vows-clean-19697511

https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/geothermal-rum-distillery-shipping-containers-7063771

https://inews.co.uk/news/business/cornwall-rum-tin-mine-cornish-geothermal-distillery-company-united-downs-850224

 

 

Did you know… that the direct use of geothermal energy can be used to raise alligators? 

Did you know that the direct use of geothermal energy can be used to raise alligators?

The direct use of geothermal energy can apply to almost any activity that requires heating (and cooling) for industrial, residential and agricultural purposes. The heat is transferred by hot ground water in the temperature range of 20-120°C (70-250°F) which is produced from shallow wells and then distributed through surface pipework. One very popular direct use application of geothermal energy is for bathing in natural hot springs. Spas all over the world use naturally produced hot water for recreational and therapeutic purposes. In Utah, the Crystal Hot Springs offers warm and mineral-rich baths which attracts numerous visitors throughout the year.

Another direct use application is space heating that may serve a single, stand-alone structure, or more commonly multiple buildings, which are linked by a pipeline that supplies hot water. For regions that are subject to cold winters, this is a cost effective means of heating without contributing to atmospheric pollution. District heating has been in use since the late 1890s when the city of Boise, Idaho started using geothermal energy to heat buildings. District heating is also popular in China, Iceland, France, Germany, Hungary and New Zealand. In the state of Utah, the prison at the Point of the Mountain uses district heating for 330,000 sq. ft. of prison space, saving thousands of dollars over conventional heating systems.

This type of geothermal energy is even used to heat greenhouses to grow plants. The Milgro complex in Newcastle, Utah is one of the largest producers of poinsettias and chrysanthemums in the USA; it uses geothermally heated greenhouses to grow its flowers. This type of energy is also used to heat ponds for aquaculture and fish farming. The warm springs near Grantsville, Utah are filled with warm, mineral-rich water that supports a variety of fish and are also an attraction for scuba-diving activities. Fish breeders in Idaho farm a range of species, including ones requiring geothermally heated ponds, which famously once included alligators!

Read more:

https://hagermanvalleychamber.com/membership_directory/fish-breeders-of-idaho/

https://oregontechsfstatic.azureedge.net/sitefinity-production/docs/default-source/geoheat-center-documents/quarterly-bulletin/vol-25/art7.pdf?sfvrsn=98268d60_4

https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy04osti/36316.pdf

Did you know… how geothermal energy is utilized?

Did you know how geothermal energy is utilized?

The three most common applications are heat pumps, direct use, and electricity generation. Geothermal heat pumps extract heat from the shallow subsurface for heating in the winter and reject the heat back into the ground in the summer for cooling. Heat pump systems are the fastest growing use of geothermal energy in the world. They can be installed in individual homes or large buildings. Gardner Hall at the University of Utah is one of several large buildings in Utah using heat pumps for heating and cooling. Heat pumps do not require a source of hot water, instead they use the natural thermal energy in the ground at less than 5 feet depth.

Where hot water occurs in the shallow subsurface at temperatures between 35° and 150°C (95-300°F), it can be used directly for bathing and spas, heating buildings, and for industrial purposes such as vegetable drying and raising fish. The poinsettias and chrysanthemums sold in grocery and garden stores are grown in a 24 acre geothermally heated greenhouse complex in Newcastle, Utah.

Geothermal power plants produce electricity from hot water with temperatures ranging from about 150° to 320°C (300 to 600°F). The lower temperatures can be found throughout the western USA; the highest temperatures are common around volcanoes, including those making up the Pacific Ring of Fire.

The hottest geothermal wells produce steam, which is used to spin turbines for electric generation. Where just hot water is produced, a heat exchanger is used to boil a secondary fluid to produce vapor that spins the turbine. Once the electricity is generated, the water is injected back into the hot subsurface reservoir where it is reheated. Recently, the University of Utah signed a contract with Cyrq Energy for 20 megawatts of geothermal electricity. This geothermal electricity will provide about one third of the University of Utah’s power requirements.

 

Read more:

EPA ranks U No. 8 for green power use among universities

 

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Did you know… that Utah is No. 3 in the US for it geothermal energy production?

Did you know that Utah is No.3* in the United States for its production of geothermal energy?

The State of Utah is responsible for 2.8 % of the national geothermal power production. The United States leads the world in the amount of electricity generated with geothermal energy, producing about 16.7 billion kilowatthours (kWh), equal to 0.4% of total national electricity generation. Utah is one of the eight states that are producing geothermal energy, and currently has three geothermal electric plants. The three generation facilities are at Roosevelt Hot Springs by Utah Power and CalEnergy Corp., Thermo Hot Springs by Raser, and Cove Fort Station of Utah Municipal Power Association. While the state of Utah is now capable of generating 72 megawatts**, the Utah Governor’s Office of Energy believes it can increase geothermal power generation by another 2,200 megawatts hoping to bring more clean and renewable energy into the state’s power source.

 

*California leads the nation’s geothermal energy generation with a national share of 71.9 %, and Nevada follows second with 21.7%

**A megawatt can power between 750 and 1,000 homes

 

Read more:

https://www.deseret.com/2018/8/4/20650472/hot-and-steamy-energy-utah-hopes-for-ageothermal-first#an-aerial-view-of-the-nations-first-site-for-an-underground-geothermaltesting-laboratory-outside-milford-in-beaver-county

https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/geothermal/use-of-geothermal-energy.php

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