Daily Journal

Day 16 | August 2, 2005

Water, water, everywhere…

Today, Toby-san, David-san and Euan-san (our toweled sumo team) conquered 5 geothermal well sites - not bad for one day's work! Through dedication and perseverance, the team skillfully collected water samples from various wells around the island. Masaaki is happily sampling the well using his Japanese water collection system. The water rom these wells contains dissolved gases that can be extracted in the lab. The depth of the wells ranges from 70 to 1000 meters, tapping waters that circulate quite deep in the Earth's crust.

The hot water from these wells is used for a variety of purposes including public baths, electricity and agriculture. One of the wells that we sampled today provides hot water for greenhouse plants. Tomorrow, we will visit the Hachijojima geothermal plant to sample steam wells and learn more about geothermal energy production on the island.