The Earth’s core is hot in East Africa
by Peter-Vivian Neal
ESI Africa Journal Issue 3 Article 2016
The term geothermal system refers to all parts of a hydrological system including the recharge zone, all subsurface parts and the outflow of the system. The geothermal reservoir is the hot and permeable part of a geothermal system whose thermal energy may be exploited to create mechanical energy for power production or used for direct thermal applications, such as within the agro-industry.
Geothermal systems are predominantly associated either with 1) active magmatic plate tectonic margins or intracontinental regions of active tectonism and associated volcanism such as Iceland and the eastern arm of the East African Rift System (EARS) respectively, which are normally high enthalpy; or 2) sedimentary basins formed within extensional intracontinental rifts with no evidence of magmatism (volcanism), which are often medium-low enthalpy. The third type, comprised of enhanced (engineered) geothermal systems (EGS) or ‘hot dry rocks’, which refers to artificially created systems within competent high temperature rock
(normally granite) formations…
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