Rock Soup

Does New Zealand need a geothermal strategy?

I don't hate the idea, but I also wonder what it's trying to do and whether it's set up to achieve its goals.

Aug 14 • 

David Dempsey

5

July 2025

How I use ChatGPT in my research

At least two ways - help to get through the math faster, and as a second set of eyes.

Jul 29 • 

David Dempsey

2

1

Natural and unnatural venting of carbon dioxide from geothermal systems

Counting emissions in the geothermal sector is tricky. This explainer tries to cover why that is and what it means for geothermal carbon capture and…

Jul 16 • 

David Dempsey

1

2

April 2025

People turning earthquakes on and off again

Humans can and regularly do cause earthquakes. Sometimes on purpose, other times not.

Apr 11 • 

David Dempsey

1

2

March 2025

Supercritical geothermal might need a lot of fracking and earthquake management

Rock ductility at high temperatures may require hydraulic fracturing to generate economic permeability. Long-term circulation for heat mining, will…

Mar 25 • 

David Dempsey

4

Accidental lakes and the blame game

"[They] delved to greedily and too deep. You know what they awoke in the darkness..." - Saruman, Lord of the Rings.

Mar 11 • 

David Dempsey

3

4

February 2025

Teaching Computers to be Volcanologists

Machine learning seems to be both trendy and trashed. But while it appears quite good at some volcano problems, it won't be replacing volcanologists…

Feb 25 • 

David Dempsey

2

Could you drill into magma and trigger an eruption? A How-to Guide, Part 2

Eruptions have come up through wells before, but making this happen on purpose would be tricky.

Feb 9 • 

David Dempsey

2

January 2025

Could you drill into magma and trigger an eruption? A How-to Guide, Part 1

Past experiences drilling into magma reveal a lot about whether you could start an eruption on purpose.

Jan 26 • 

David Dempsey

4

1

Geothermal systems are giant radiators

A good way to understand a geothermal system is to follow the rainwater as it cycles through many kilometers of rock.

Jan 14 • 

David Dempsey

3

3