Harnessing Erebus volcano's thermal energy to power year-round monitoring

Peters, Nial; Oppenheimer, Clive; Jones, Bernard J. T.; Rose, M. C.; Kyle, Philip R.

doi:10.1017/s0954102020000553

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…A similar system, intended to power the year-round monitoring system of the Erebus volcano, Ross Island, was presented in the article [39]. The construction of the harvester was analogous to the one previously described; a thermoelectric transducer and heat exchangers with thermal conductors were used.…”

Section: Volcanic Energymentioning

confidence: 99%

On Search for Unconventional Energy Sources for Harvesting

Ligęza

2024

Energies

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Energy transformation requires replacing power plants based on fossil raw materials with renewable energy. Energy harvesting plays an important, although not fully appreciated, role here. Distributed, local power supply systems for small receivers, based on various sources which previously dissipated energy, may contribute to changing the current energy paradigm. This article presents an overview of energy harvesting technologies and various energy sources used in this process. Particular attention was paid to sources of a less conventional nature. The aim of this article is to encourage and direct scientists with the potential to explore this topic to look for new, previously unexploited energy sources and innovative and effective methods of obtaining useful energy in the harvesting process.

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Section: Volcanic Energymentioning

confidence: 99%

On Search for Unconventional Energy Sources for Harvesting

Ligęza

2024

Energies

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“…The most complicated task is powering a remote instrument year-round because of many factors [5]: (i) solar radiation changes during the year from whole days of sun during the Antarctic summers to complete darkness during winters; (ii) strong winds, often unpredictable in duration and strength, which can cause severe issues when wind turbines are used as power sources; (iii) the cold temperatures, which decrease the capacity of most batteries. An interesting solution to maintain continuous power for scientific instruments was recently proposed by [7], who suggested to use the harvesting of thermal energy collected near the summit crater of the Erebus volcano.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiparametric Monitoring System of Mt. Melbourne Volcano (Victoria Land, Antarctica)

Larocca,

Contrafatto,

Cannata

et al. 2023

Sensors

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Volcano monitoring is the key approach in mitigating the risks associated with volcanic phenomena. Although Antarctic volcanoes are characterized by remoteness, the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption and the 2022 Hunga eruption have reminded us that even the farthest and/or least-known volcanoes can pose significant hazards to large and distant communities. Hence, it is important to also develop monitoring systems in the Antarctic volcanoes, which involves installing and maintaining multiparametric instrument networks. These tasks are particularly challenging in polar regions as the instruments have to face the most extreme climate on the Earth, characterized by very low temperatures and strong winds. In this work, we describe the multiparametric monitoring system recently deployed on the Melbourne volcano (Victoria Land, Antarctica), consisting of seismic, geochemical and thermal sensors together with powering, transmission and acquisition systems. Particular strategies have been applied to make the monitoring stations efficient despite the extreme weather conditions. Fumarolic ice caves, located on the summit area of the Melbourne volcano, were chosen as installation sites as they are protected places where no storm can damage the instruments and temperatures are close to 0 °C all year round. In addition, the choice of instruments and their operating mode has also been driven by the necessity to reduce energy consumption. Indeed, one of the most complicated tasks in Antarctica is powering a remote instrument year-round. The technological solutions found to implement the monitoring system of the Melbourne volcano and described in this work can help create volcano monitoring infrastructures in other polar environments.

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“…For this purpose, since a low power supply is required compact, autonomous and robustly, binary cycles are not a viable option. As an alternative, thermoelectric generators have been proposed in the literature [9,10] due to their robustness and durability even without maintenance, as demonstrated in spatial applications [11]. Catalan et al demonstrated their viability in reality, with a prototype that produced between 0.32 and 0.33 W in an 82 • C fumarole [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Corrosion Behavior in Volcanic Soils: In Search of Candidate Materials for Thermoelectric Devices

2021

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Thermoelectric generators have emerged as an excellent solution for the energy supply of volcanic monitoring stations due to their compactness and continuous power generation. Nevertheless, in order to become a completely viable solution, it is necessary to ensure that their materials are able to resist in the acidic environment characteristic of volcanoes. Hence, the main objective of this work is to study the resistance to corrosion of six different metallic materials that are candidates for use in the heat exchangers. For this purpose, the metal probes have been buried for one year in the soil of the Teide volcano (Spain) and their corrosion behavior has been evaluated by using different techniques (OM, SEM, and XRD). The results have shown excessive corrosion damage to the copper, brass, and galvanized steel tubes. After evaluating the corrosion behavior and thermoelectric performance, AISI 304 and AISI 316 stainless steels are proposed for use as heat exchangers in thermoelectric devices in volcanic environments.

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Harnessing Erebus volcano's thermal energy to power year-round monitoring

Cited by 4 publications

References 13 publications

On Search for Unconventional Energy Sources for Harvesting

On Search for Unconventional Energy Sources for Harvesting

Multiparametric Monitoring System of Mt. Melbourne Volcano (Victoria Land, Antarctica)

Corrosion Behavior in Volcanic Soils: In Search of Candidate Materials for Thermoelectric Devices

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