Deep beneath the United States lies a geologic powerhouse scientists say could generate clean energy for more than 170,000 years — and the world is only now starting to understand its potential. In this video, we’ll explore the hidden fault system capable of producing unimaginable amounts of geothermal power. You’ll see how this natural engine works, why experts say it could outlast every other energy source on Earth, and what stands between us and tapping into it. From futuristic technology to ancient heat trapped below our feet, the story is as wild as it sounds. And if this discovery holds up, it could completely rewrite the future of energy. Let’s take a look at the fault that might light up the entire planet. Credit: The Time Machine / Warner Bros. Titan science results: By NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio - eMITS/Jenny McElligott, eMITS/Jonathan North, eMITS/Kim Dongjae, eMITS/Walt Feimer, eMITS/Dan Gallagher, NASA/GSFC/Conor Nixon, ADNET Systems, Inc./Aaron E. Lepsch - https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20403, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Titan_science_results_from_James_Webb_Space_Tel[…]n_resource_page_(SVS20403_-_Webb_Titan_Shot3_h264_4k).webm CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0: Wie Neuseeland entstanden ist: By ZDF/Terra X/SPIEGEL TV/Christopher Gerisch, Kay Siering/ Oliver Gurr, Jürgen Heck, Jürgen Staiger/Hauke Ketelsen/Richard Sako, Sebastian Stuertz - https://www.zdf.de/dokumentation/terra-x/wie-neuseeland-entstanden-ist-creative-commons-clip-100.html, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wie_Neuseeland_entstanden_ist.webm Die Entstehung der Anden: By ZDF/Terra X/Hanna Kotarba/Albrecht M. Wendlandt - https://www.zdf.de/dokumentation/terra-x/die-entstehung-der-anden-creative-commons-clip-100.html, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Die_Entstehung_der_Anden.webm Animation is created by Bright Side. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/
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00:06This scar can tell us many cool things about the history of Earth.
00:10But the most interesting thing is that it could change the appearance of our continents and break our world.
00:17But for some reason, this scar hasn't done it yet.
00:20And that's not even the most interesting part.
00:22The coolest thing about this scar is that it might hold a giant source of clean, cheap energy.
00:30So, let's go to Kansas to find out what it is.
00:33So, 1.1 billion years ago, a giant rift formed in the crust of our planet on the territory of the modern U.S. Midwest.
00:43It's called Broken Heart.
00:45This giant crevice is filled with solidified magma.
00:49And from afar, it looks like a real scar.
00:52But how did it show up?
00:53Broken Heart was an ancient rift valley, a huge geological fault forming elongated hollows in the Earth's crust.
01:02It occurred because tectonic plates had moved apart.
01:06It's like the details of a jigsaw puzzle that suddenly started to separate.
01:11At that moment, thousands and even millions of tons of magma spilled out from the depths of our planet.
01:17That event looked like a real apocalypse, lasting about 100,000 years.
01:23But then it stopped.
01:25And scientists don't know why.
01:27If the rifting process had lasted longer, then, most likely, the continent of North America would look different today.
01:34Or it wouldn't even exist at all.
01:37Right now, this fault looks like a giant horseshoe that stretches from Kansas north to Lake Superior and south to Michigan.
01:44But some studies indicate that the fault may be larger and extend even further south.
01:51And the width of the fault might equal the width of the Red Sea.
01:56After the rifting stopped, the entire valley got covered with hills and trees.
02:01The fault itself is covered with a thick layer of sedimentary rocks, so it's quite difficult to track.
02:07The most noticeable parts of the rift are in the Lake Superior area.
02:11Now, everything looks calm and beautiful, but in the past, there were fountains and rivers of lava, earthquakes, a boiling pot on a planetary scale.
02:22All that remains of it are deposits of basalt, a dark, dense rock that forms from cooled lava.
02:30There was so much basalt that its weight pushed the valley deeper and deeper into the Earth's crust.
02:35Even when the eruptions and rifting stopped, the valley continued to sink because of the huge mass of the sediment.
02:43Then, massive sections of the Earth's crust on both sides of the valley began to contract, and the pieces of the puzzle slowly started to come together.
02:54This led to a large-scale ejection of volcanic material upward.
02:57And, along with basalt, deposits of copper rock appeared in the valley.
03:03People mined this copper for about 8,000 years until the end of the 20th century.
03:08The copper mines were eventually shut down.
03:10But now, it seems, the industry is making a comeback.
03:15However, Broken Heart is not interesting to people just because of its copper reserves.
03:20It holds something more valuable and useful for our civilization.
03:24Scientists believe that this valley hides massive reserves of hydrogen.
03:30And this substance can help us switch to a cleaner, cheaper, and more efficient energy source.
03:36If hydrogen fuel becomes widely available, everyone will switch to it,
03:41leaving behind the costly, noisy, and polluting process of oil production.
03:46I'll bet hydrogen is a remarkably familiar word to you.
03:50It doesn't sound like the discovery of the century, and people have been using it for a long time.
03:56On one hand, you're right, but not quite.
04:00Ninety percent of the hydrogen produced by humans is used as a raw material for the chemical industry.
04:06Hydrogen is used to produce ammonia for fertilizers, methanol for fuel and solvents, and to purify crude oil.
04:13Manufacturers of glass, cement, steel, and other metals are considering using hydrogen at their factories for more efficient production.
04:22Hydrogen can become an alternative to fossil fuels, that is, oil and gasoline produced from them.
04:29Cars, ships, trains, airplanes, and power plants – all of these may switch to hydrogen soon.
04:36In this case, production can become cheaper and better for nature.
04:41But this will work only if we find open sources of hydrogen.
04:46You see, about 95% of the hydrogen we use is produced from fossil fuels.
04:52We gasify coal, oxidize hydrocarbons, and extract hydrogen from methane.
04:58All of these production methods require energy.
05:00But the worst part is that they lead to large emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
05:07But what if we find sources of pure hydrogen that don't require processing?
05:12Then we'll save energy for its production and make the planet cleaner.
05:17But where can we find such sources?
05:20Scientists say that there are many of them all over the planet.
05:23And one of the largest is located in the Rift Valley in the U.S. Midwest.
05:28But what's the problem with going and mining it?
05:32Well, it's not that simple.
05:34To extract pure hydrogen, you need three conditions.
05:38The first is the source of hydrogen itself, which is quite logical.
05:42The second is reservoir rocks, that is, natural containers where this hydrogen is stored.
05:49And the third is natural seals, which prevent the gas from escaping.
05:53In other words, these seals work like a cap on a bottle.
05:56They don't allow the substance to escape.
05:59So in general, it's necessary to find where hydrogen is released, where it accumulates, and where it's stored.
06:06When these conditions are met, natural resource extraction companies can start working.
06:12But how does hydrogen appear altogether?
06:15Well, let's go over the basics of chemistry.
06:17Hydrogen and oxygen compounds form water.
06:21This means you need to split the water into hydrogen and oxygen.
06:24This process often occurs in nature.
06:28There are many places all over the planet where this happens.
06:31Scientists are confident that at least 30 U.S. states have hydrogen reservoirs.
06:36And if people detect them, we will accelerate the energy transition to safer and more efficient fuels.
06:43Thousands of cars drive around using gasoline.
06:46Many of you know the smell of exhaust fumes, that thick, polluted air that's hard to breathe.
06:51What about electric cars?
06:53They must be improving the situation, right?
06:56Well, here's another problem.
06:58Producing batteries for these vehicles harms nature.
07:01The materials used to make batteries are lithium, cobalt, and nickel.
07:06Their extraction involves a large release of toxic materials, not only into the air, but also into the water.
07:13Transporting these batteries also creates a large carbon footprint.
07:16Producing a single electric car emits about 4 tons of carbon dioxide.
07:22To make up for that, the owner needs to drive it for at least 8 years.
07:26That's how long it takes to offset the emissions a regular car would produce.
07:31What about reliability and convenience?
07:34What will you do if the battery runs out during the trip and there are no charging stations nearby?
07:39This problem will be solved in the future with the growing popularity of electric cars.
07:44Scientists believe that over the past billion years, the Earth's crust has split enough water into hydrogen and oxygen.
07:52Our planet keeps this gas in the ground, waiting for us to start using it.
07:57According to calculations, even considering all the technologies and production capacities of our civilization,
08:04the reserves of hydrogen in the bowels of the planet are enough to supply us with energy for 170,000 years.
08:12That's why the giant rift in Kansas attracts scientists from all over the world.
08:18Huge quantities of basalt and other rocks can react with water to release hydrogen.
08:24And now scientists are looking for places where this material accumulates and is stored.
08:29That's it for today.
08:30So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your friends.
08:35Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the bright side!
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