Ethiopia:

Geothermal Energy, Aluto Volcano, and Ethiopia's Rift Valley (The Geological Society of America)

Aluto is Ethiopia's main source of geothermal energy, a low-carbon resource that is expected to grow considerably in the near future. 

In their open access paper published in Geosphere this month, William Hutchison and colleagues present new data from Ethiopia's Rift Valley and Aluto volcano, a major volcano in the region. Aluto is Ethiopia's main source of geothermal energy, a low-carbon resource that is expected to grow considerably in the near future. Preexisting volcanic and tectonic structures have played a key role in the development of the Aluto volcanic complex and continue to facilitate the expulsion of gases and geothermal fluids.

Using high-resolution airborne imagery, field observations, and CO2 degassing data, the authors explore in great detail how these preexisting structures control fluid pathways and spatial patterns of volcanism, hydrothermal alteration, and degassing. Understanding these preexisting structures, they write, "Is a major task toward defining the evolution of rift zones and also has important implications for geothermal exploration, mineralization, and the assessment of volcanic hazard."

Structural controls on fluid pathways in an active rift system: A case study of the Aluto volcanic complex, William Hutchison et al., COMET, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.

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