Dr. Don Thomas says he may be able to start magnetotelluric surveys as soon as June. It is very important to do these surveys, as they will result in the best information about our geothermal resources here on the Big Island and eventually in the whole state.

From Wikipedia:

Resistivity and Magnetotellurics

Magnetotellurics (MT) measurements allow detection of resistivity anomalies associated with productive geothermal structures, including faults and the presence of a cap rock, and allow for estimation of geothermal reservoir temperatures at various depths. MT has successfully contributed to the successful mapping and development of geothermal resources around the world since the early 1980s, including in the U.S.A. and countries located on the Pacific Ring of Fire such as Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines, Ecuador, and Peru…

In the Philippines, we visited a geothermal plant obtaining steam from a volcano that last erupted 100,000 years ago. Could this mean that we might find hot rocks in unexpected places, like Mauna Kea, which last erupted 4,500 years ago?

Dr. Thomas estimates that he may be able to survey the whole state in a little over two years.