Terraforming Volcanoes

Terraforming volcanoes are a key technology for transforming beta-class worlds into life-sustaining worlds with complex biospheres capable of supporting human and other life-forms. The technology was developed on Rainier III, although similar technology existed in the era of the Old Commonwealth. 
Terraforming volcanoes are best suited to worlds that have the following conditions: 
*A relatively thin atmosphere
*Tectonically active subduction zones
*Located in the habitable zone of their primary star with a stable orbit.
Volcanic Terraforming requires drilling into subduction zones at the tectonical margins between continent plates to release gases trapped in the planet's interior. These gases are expelled upward, passing through processors before reaching the surface so that the atmosphere released has the necessary composition to alter the planet's climate in the direction necessary to enhance life-supporting conditions. 
On Rainier III, some 420 volcanic terraforming stations were constructed over a period of 240 years; the majority of which leveraged the planet's existing active and dormant volcanoes. The success of the effort increased the concentration of Oxygen in the atmosphere from 7% to 14%. Meanwhile, concentrations of sulfur dioxide and methan were reduced by 90%. The planet's cloud cover decreased by a third, increasing the amount of sunlight reaching the surface. 
On Loki, 120 volcanic terraforming stations were constructed in the 73rd Century. A third of these were undersea stations, many built under the planet's ice cap to help raise global ocean temperature. These have been directly responsible for the melting of 20% of the planet's surface water and the creation of a permanent temperate zone straddling the equator. Atmospheric density has increased 170% globally since the initiation of the project while oxygen concentrations have increased from 4% to 11%
Volcanic Terraforming is being explored as a means of terraforming and climate remediation on the planets Republic, Organan, St. Fionan, Dominia, Maidenhead, Epoch, and Omega Brittania.  Organon and Maidenhead have initiated exploratory projects on the surface. Republic's Ministry of Works; Ministry of Environmental Protection; Ministry of Engineering; and sub-Ministry of Impact Analysis have not yet determined that the technology is safe. 
Within the New Galactic Commonwealth, Volcanic Terraforming is contracted through Rainier III's Environment Development Department. A Semi-Private entity, the Titan Consortium, with headquarters on Rainier III and branch offices on Loki and Organon. The Titan Consortium employs teams of geological engineers and climate technologists that support megaprojects that alter landscapes, ecosystem, and planetary climates. The Consortium licenses the technology from Rainier's Environmental Development Department.  
Category:Technology