New Zealand:

Geothermal Heat Prompts Spa Boom Dreams on South Island (Radio New Zealand)

The Alpine Fault is marked out on satellite images by
the western edge of the Southern Alps snowline.

A group advocating for geothermal technology says any spa-style tourism on the West Coast of the south island of New Zealand would need a big marketing campaign to pull in punters.

Scientists drilling under the Southern Alps to investigate the Alpine Fault near Franz Josef Glacier found warm water a little way down - and temperatures as high as 110°C at the bottom of the hole.

GNS Science project co-leader Rupert Sutherland said earlier that the water could be used to generate electricity.

The project discovered that temperatures increase by more than 140°C for every kilometer below ground. Such a high rate of temperature increase has important implications for the way rocks behave and for understanding earthquake processes along the Alpine Fault and at other major faults worldwide.

New Zealand Geothermal Association executive officer Brian White said the underground heat in the central North Island - where the country's geothermal electricity generation is located - is much higher, at about 300°C.

However, Mr White said the finding could benefit tourism in Westland.

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