MEDIEVAL POOL PARTY:

Snorralaug, located in Reykholt, Iceland, is the naturally heated pool where poet and chieftain Snorri Sturluson (1179 to 1241) entertained guests on cold winter nights....[More]

MEDIEVAL POOL PARTY:

Snorralaug, located in Reykholt, Iceland, is the naturally heated pool where poet and chieftain Snorri Sturluson (1179 to 1241) entertained guests on cold winter nights. Restored for the first time in 1858, the bath is warmed by a hot spring. Sturluson authored Iceland's most famous Sagas, one of which includes mention of Snorralaug.  [Less] [Link to this slide]

© Scientific American / Rachel Dvoskin

STEAM HEAT:

Deildartunguhver has the highest flow of any hot spring in Europe: 47.5 gallons (180 liters) per second of boiling water, which is used for district heating and power generation....[More]

STEAM HEAT:

Deildartunguhver has the highest flow of any hot spring in Europe: 47.5 gallons (180 liters) per second of boiling water, which is used for district heating and power generation. This water is transported destinations up to 45 miles (72 kilometers) away via pipes insulated so well that snow piled on top of them does not melt.  [Less] [Link to this slide]

© Scientific American / Rachel Dvoskin

PREHEATED POWER:

The geothermal power plant at Svartsengi, which has been in operation since 1976, was the first combined heat and power facility in Iceland, and currently produces 76 megawatts of electricity and 150 megawatts of heat....[More]

PREHEATED POWER:

The geothermal power plant at Svartsengi, which has been in operation since 1976, was the first combined heat and power facility in Iceland, and currently produces 76 megawatts of electricity and 150 megawatts of heat.

In addition to warming water for the district heating system of Reykjanes Peninsula, which includes the nation's capital, Reykjavik, the discharge from Svartsengi forms the world-famous spa known as the Blue Lagoon.  [Less] [Link to this slide]

© Scientific American / Christopher Mims

ACCIDENTAL SPA:

Iceland's world-famous Blue Lagoon geothermal spa was formed unintentionally, when discharge from the nearby Svartsengi geothermal power plant reacted with saline groundwater in the area to calcify the porous ground beneath the area where it now sits....[More]

ACCIDENTAL SPA:

Iceland's world-famous Blue Lagoon geothermal spa was formed unintentionally, when discharge from the nearby Svartsengi geothermal power plant reacted with saline groundwater in the area to calcify the porous ground beneath the area where it now sits. The water in the lagoon averages 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) year-round.

Modern-day geothermal plants in Iceland reinject their discharge deep below the surface rather than releasing it at ground level, precisely to avoid creating a second lagoon.  [Less] [Link to this slide]

© Scientific American / Christopher Mims

WORK BEFORE PLEASURE:

Before being discharged into the Blue Lagoon, water from the boreholes beneath the Svartsengi power plant is first used to turn steam turbines for electricity generation, and then runs through heat exchangers in order to warm water used in the regional district heating system....[More]

WORK BEFORE PLEASURE:

Before being discharged into the Blue Lagoon, water from the boreholes beneath the Svartsengi power plant is first used to turn steam turbines for electricity generation, and then runs through heat exchangers in order to warm water used in the regional district heating system.  [Less] [Link to this slide]

© Scientific American / Christopher Mims