Did you know ... that you could have a swig of geothermal rum in the near future? In Cornwall,...
Helium Isotopes
Helium gas is a trace constituent of groundwater and thermal fluids, and the ratio of 3He to 4He can be measured with a high-precision mass spectrometer to determine whether it is derived from air, from the radioactive decay of uranium and thorium in the crust, or from the mantle. The latter is a characteristic feature of volcanic and geothermal gases.
Geothermal Glossary
Word of the Week – Granitoid
Granitoid A generic term referring to hard, coarsely crystalline plutonic rock that is produced by intrusion of magma followed by a long period of slow cooling and solidification below the surface (>10 km depth). The mineralogy and composition are variable, ranging...
Word of the Week – Heat Exchanger
Heat exchanger A device or engineered system that is used to transfer thermal energy in soil, rock or produced fluid to heat a closed loop through which another fluid is circulated. Heat exchangers are used in ground sourced heat pumps, binary plants, and a range of...
Word of the Week – Heat Mining
Heat Mining The process of extracting geothermal heat by the heating of initially cold water that flows through fractures in hot rock below the surface. Heat transfer is achieved by conduction through the solid rock and convection by the flowing water.