THERMAL STEAM

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 5, 21 January 1937, Page 8

THERMAL STEAM

-Press Association.)

Natural Source of Energy and Chemical Products PLEA FOR INVESTIGATION

(By Telegraph-

A u UJXiiiirMJ, nan. tv, A plea for a mucli fuller scientific investigation of the Neiv Zealand thermal regions was made by Mr. S. H. Wilson and Mr. L. R. Dunn, of the Dominion Laboratory, in presenting to th© chemistry section of the congress of the New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science yesterday the result of a compreliensive physieal and chemicai study made by them last year of the Ketetahi hot springs area situated at a heigkt of 4800 feet on the1 northern slopes of Mount Tongariro. The area contains a well-known blowhoie, the steam from which, under certain conditTons. is visible for nearlv 50 miles. The writers state thaf the Ioss of steam from the blow-hole wa& about 180,0001bs. an hour, equivalent to 6000 horse-power, or about the output of a smali steam well in Tuscany and Oalifornia. The total heat loss, however, was much greater, as there was a large area of hot ground in the vicinity. The utilisation of natural steam as a source of energy aiid chemical products was an important industry in Italy, and experiments . in hot spring areas in other parts of the world had shown that large amounts of steam might be obtained by horing. As New Zealand had one of the world' s three regions of outstanding thermal activities, it possibly possessed thero resources of future economic value. "New Zealand is unique in tlie Einpire in the possession of a wonderful variety of thermally active regions, a remarkably feature of which is their easy accessibility," the writei's continued. They are of the opinion that more intense study should be made in New Zealand on the scientific aspeets of thermal activity generally in the light of recent knowledge on vulcanology and geo-chemistry.