To get to the top of this volcano, my guide tells me, you have to walk a long way. Te ground is uneven, and the path is heavily forested. Te higher we climb into this jungle, the harder it is to see. Tick clouds roll in around us. We’re in Nicaragua, moving through a cloud forest to reach the top of the Mombacho Volcano. You might be wondering why I’m hiking
to the top of an active volcano. As I stand here and catch my breath for a minute, I’ll tell you. I’m here to study energy. Energy is the ability to do work or to
cause change. In scientific terms, work means using force to make something move. So energy is a force that makes things happen. I’m sure you’ve heard of energy before
and know that energy can come in many forms. I’m not looking for the kind of energy I might get from eating a snack right now. Nor am I looking to study the energy I’ll need to climb this volcano. I’m looking for a special type of energy called geothermal energy.
How Energy Works Geothermal energy is a form of heat energy that comes from inside Earth. I’m looking for ways to change this energy into another form of energy—electrical energy. Tat’s one of the amazing and most
important things to know about energy. Energy cannot be created or destroyed. It simply changes form. It can also be transferred from one thing to the next. We can convert a volcano’s geothermal
energy into electrical energy that can be used in people’s homes and businesses. I’m here to map Earth’s heat from several volcanoes to better understand how volcanoes release energy. I also want to see if any of this energy can be harnessed.
4 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER
I record all my data, take notes, and make sketches of what I find.
Looking for Energy We keep climbing. It doesn’t take long before I find what I’m looking for. I see a field of fumaroles. A fumarole is a hot, chimney-like opening in the ground. You can find them near volcanoes. Tey release steam and gases, and they give off energy. During this expedition, I’ll measure how much energy volcanoes put out. Te more energy I find, the greater the chance that it can be changed into electricity. Tere’s a lot of data I can collect to help
me test a volcano’s energy levels. I can record temperatures with a special camera. I can take water samples from volcanic hot springs. I can also map geothermal features that might give me clues about how to access a volcano’s geothermal energy. Te camera shows me that the steam from
the fumaroles at this volcano is hot, but not that hot. Tough Mombacho is definitely giving off energy, I want to see how much energy other volcanoes give off. Te Masaya Volcano is one of Nicaragua’s
biggest and most active volcanos, so I head there next. As I hike, I can already see that things are different here. Te last volcano was draped in a thick, green forest. Here, the land is a barren. As I reach the volcano’s wide opening, huge clouds of white, toxic fumes spew out. Tere’s no doubt in my mind. Tis volcano is putting out a lot of energy.
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