Tag: Geology

Geothermal energy turns red hot

Drill deep and drill differently. That’s what’s needed to exploit the nearly bottomless promise of geothermal energy in the United States and around the globe, according to participants at the 2026 Spring Symposium, titled “Next-generation geothermal energy for firm power.”  Sponsored by the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI), the March 4 event drew 120 people, including […]

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Investigating Antarctic ice shelf melting with global navigation satellite systems

Global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), which include GPS, are traditionally used for positioning, timing, and mapping information. In an open-access study published Feb. 27 in Geophysical Research Letters, MIT Haystack Observatory scientists report using existing GNSS satellites, in conjunction with 13 stations installed on the Ross Ice Shelf (RIS) in Antarctica, to measure atmospheric turbulence above the […]

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Next-generation geothermal energy: Promise, progress, and challenges

Geothermal energy, a clean, continuous energy source accessible in many locations, has been slow to catch on. Nearly 2,000 years ago, the Romans made extensive use of geothermal energy — heat from the Earth — including at the spa complex at present-day Bath, England. Electricity was first produced from geothermal sources in the early 1900s […]

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X-raying rocks reveals their carbon-storing capacity

To avoid the worst effects of climate change, many billions of metric tons of industrially generated carbon dioxide will have to be captured and stored away by the end of this century. One place to store such an enormous amount of greenhouse gas is in the Earth itself. If carbon dioxide were pumped into the […]

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New study unveils the mechanism behind “boomerang” earthquakes

An earthquake typically sets off ruptures that ripple out from its underground origins. But on rare occasions, seismologists have observed quakes that reverse course, further shaking up areas that they passed through only seconds before. These “boomerang” earthquakes often occur in regions with complex fault systems. But a new study by MIT researchers predicts that […]

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