Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Iceland:

In a Melting Iceland, Drilling Deep to Stem Climate Change (Phys.org)

Tiny Iceland is a prime exemplar of the complexities wrought by warming climate. It is 11 percent covered by ice, but it is basically also one very large, very active volcanic system. The island has seen fast-increasing temperatures since the 1970s, and glaciers–a big source of tourism and runoff for hydropower–are visibly receding.

This cuts various ways. Iceland gets almost all its electricity and heat from hydropower and geothermal wells. Increased glacial runoff means increased generation potential; on the other hand, in 50 or 100 years, Iceland may be mostly land and very little ice, and the runoff could dry up. (And, as ice melts, pressure exerted on many of the 200 volcanoes declines, and some scientists believe that this could uncork more destructive eruptions.) For the time being, the country's 325,000 residents have more renewable energy than they can use, and there is a controversial proposal to extend a $2.1 billion undersea extension cord some 1,100 miles to Europe to sell the excess.

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