Eleven years after the last accident, Icelandic volcanologists are finally ready to open the door to “hell”. “Science” website recently reported that the Iceland Geothermal Research Center is planning to drill a deep well from the edge of the Víti (“Hell” in Icelandic) volcanic crater. Ottó Elíasson, scientific director of the Icelandic Geothermal Research Center, believes that this place may become the center of global volcanology in ten years.
Iceland can be described as a contradictory combination of “ice and fire”. Its geographical location is special. From the perspective of the continental plate, the North American plate is located in the west and the European plate is located in the east. And Víti is located at the dividing point between these two plates. This makes Iceland active in volcanic activity and rich in geothermal resources.
In 2009, Icelanders tried to dig a geothermal well in Víti to obtain geothermal energy, but the drilling crew accidentally pierced a hidden magma layer. The magma layer expelled steam and glass shards and then quickly cooled. This borehole created the hottest geothermal well in history, and then the drilling casing was scrapped. 
Dug through the magma layer in 2009
Now, researchers are planning to fight the magma layer that was penetrated last time, but will use stronger equipment to create the world’s only long-term magma observatory. “We have been to Mars. We have been to Venus,” said Paolo Papale, director of research at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanoes in Italy, “but we have never observed magma below the earth’s surface.”
After this drilling is completed, it can help scientists explain how magma penetrates the earth’s crust. Research data can also improve predictions of volcanic eruptions and clarify how continents formed and grew. Drilling will enter the preparatory phase in September, and drilling will begin in 2023. The first wellhead is expected to cost US$25 million.
Because of the inability to directly study magma, volcanologists rely on surface measurements from seismometers, GPS sensors, and radar satellites to guess the movement of magma. Scientists can study magmatic rocks, but these remnants are incomplete. These magmatic rocks have lost most of their gas, which drives the eruption and affects the original temperature, pressure, and composition of the magma. The crystals, inclusions and bubbles in the hardened lava are clues to its original state.
The glass-like drill bits in the drilling activities in 2009 show that magma is not only a liquidIt is cyclical and interacts with the melt below, which is completely different from the previous perceptions.
Drilling is extremely difficult. The temperature of magma exceeds 1000°C. Scientists plan to embed sensors in and near the magma to measure heat, pressure and even chemical composition. Scientists are developing new electronic products to withstand heat and stress, and these technologies can one day be used on Venus.
This drilling can also benefit many geothermal energy companies in Iceland, who had to avoid the hottest rocks during their development. Proximity to magma can significantly increase the power generation potential of a single well. If the accidental drilling in 2009 can keep running, it can power a small city by itself.