Blue Lagoon (geothermal spa)

The Blue Lagoon pools in front of the geothermal plant.
The main visitors' building of the Lagoon

The Blue Lagoon (Icelandic: Bláa lónið) is a geothermal spa in southwestern Iceland. The spa is located in a lava field near Grindavík on the Reykjanes Peninsula, in a location favourable for geothermal power, and is supplied by water used in the nearby Svartsengi geothermal power station. The Blue Lagoon is approximately 20 km (12 mi) from Keflavík International Airport, and is one of the most visited attractions in Iceland.[1]

Description

The warm waters are rich in minerals like silica and sulfur and bathing in the Blue Lagoon is reputed to help some people suffering from skin diseases such as psoriasis.[2] The water temperature in the bathing and swimming area of the lagoon averages 37–39 °C (99–102 °F). The Blue Lagoon also operates a research and development facility to help find cures for other skin ailments using the mineral-rich water.

The lagoon is a man-made lagoon which is fed by the water output of the nearby geothermal power plant Svartsengi and is renewed every two days. It is the largest in the world. Superheated water is vented from the ground near a lava flow and used to run turbines that generate electricity. After going through the turbines, the steam and hot water passes through a heat exchanger to provide heat for a municipal water heating system. Then the water is fed into the lagoon for recreational and medicinal users to bathe in.

Iceland has a strict code of hygiene and guests are required to shower prior to enjoying the geothermal spa. The communal showers are split up by gender[3].

Children age 8 and under are only allowed entry with the use of arm floaters, provided free of charge. The lagoon is not suitable for children under the age of 2 years.

The Blue Lagoon is accessible for wheelchair users with a ramp that extends into the water and a shower chair. There is also a private changing room available for those with special needs, complete with a roll-in shower.

The rich mineral content is provided by the underground geological layers and pushed up to the surface by the hot water (at about 1.2 MPa (170 psi) pressure and 240 °C (464 °F) temperature) used by the plant. Because of its mineral concentration, water cannot be recycled and must be disposed of in the nearby landscape, a permeable lava field that varies in thickness from 50 cm (20 in) to 1 m (3.3 ft). The silicate minerals is the primary cause of that water's milky blue shade. After the minerals have formed a deposit, the water reinfiltrates the ground, but the deposit renders it impermeable over time, hence the necessity for the plant to continuously dig new ponds in the nearby lava field.

A small experimental facility is still visible near the plant, where the engineers made decantation tests to evaluate the speed of mineral deposition, which is clearly a limiting factor both to the plant's rentability and sustainability. Hence, geothermal energy exploitation at this location is not without environmental impact.

The Blue Lagoon was used as the pit stop for the first leg of The Amazing Race 6. The Blue Lagoon was used for the thermal spa scenes in the filming of Hostel: Part II. It was also shown in the Incubus documentary Look Alive, when the band visited Iceland, in the fifth cycle of Britain's Next Top Model which used as photoshoot location as well as Keeping up with the Kardashians.

The Blue Lagoon is situated close to the world's first renewable methanol plant, which uses Carbon Recycling International's carbon dioxide to methanol fuel process.[4]

History

In 1976, a pool formed at the site from the waste water of the geothermal power plant that had just been built there. In 1981, people started bathing in it after its supposed healing powers were popularized. In 1992, the Blue Lagoon company was established, and the bathing facility was opened for the public.

In recent years, several cosmetics companies have begun marketing skin care products using mud purportedly extracted from the Blue Lagoon, their effectiveness still subject to debate.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Blue Lagoon". Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  2. ↑ "Iceland's Energy Lessons". 5 April 2008.
  3. ↑ http://www.bluelagoon.com/plan-your-visit/changing-rooms/
  4. ↑ "First Commercial Plant". Carbon Recycling International. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2012.

Coordinates: 63°52′48″N 22°26′53″W / 63.88000°N 22.44806°W / 63.88000; -22.44806

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