It's leading the boom, of course: it's Axial Seamount, an underwater volcano off the coast of Oregon. which scientists predict will erupt this year
at Axial undersea mountain It is the most active underwater volcano in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. According to the report undersea block– It sits on Juan de Fuca RidgeIt's about 300 miles (483 kilometers) west of the Oregon coast, and according to recent observations, the deep-sea volcano is fit to erupt for the first time since 2015. A group of geoscientists led by Will Liam Chadwick, volcanologist at Oregon State University Reported Their predictions were made at the American Geophysical Union's annual meeting last month.
scientist First study The volcano in the late 1970s is known to have erupted three times in 1998, 2011, and 2015. A key to predicting volcanic eruptions is knowing the degree to which seamounts swell. which is a sign that magma has created beneath the surface This causes above-ground structures to swell.
Axial inflation and earthquakes were monitored by an NSF-funded sensor network called the Ocean Observatories Initiative Regional Cabled Array (don't worry, we won't test you on this) last year. After the swelling slowed for a long time Axial inflation also rose on the back of a slow recovery. (from around October 2023) was about double the January 2024 inflation rate by last June. In addition to increasing inflation (about 9.84 inches, or 25 centimeters, per year), the underwater volcano's earthquakes are increasing to hundreds of times per day. By July Scientists who studied data from Axial determined that “the next eruption looks likely any time between now and the end of 2025,” according to the blog.
No eruptions have occurred since then. And in October 2024, the team posted another update. “Inflation rates at Axial have been steady over the past six months. and the rate of earthquakes has decreased,” the team wrote. “An eruption does not appear to be imminent. But it cannot happen forever.” There was no change in their forecast. And because it's now 2025, the team's prediction is that the eruption will occur this year.
In the AGU presentation, the team noted that Axial has expanded again to exceed 95% of its pre-eruption threshold in 2015, a key indicator that an eruption is just around the corner.
if Eruption in 2015 As any indicator, the predicted eruption could be accompanied by thousands of earthquakes and the sea floor lowering nearly 8 feet (2.4 meters). The sea floor recedes as magma is pushed from the swollen volcano into the ocean. When finished Magma will slowly begin to fill the vehicle. and start the whole process again.
Underwater volcanoes can be dangerous. Look no further. Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai Eruption at Sailing in the South Pacific Ocean In 2022, forced mass migration of people. Covering Tonga with ash It caused multiple deaths and tens of millions of dollars in damage, said lead researcher Chadwick. science news Predicting the potential impact of the eruption on humanity is difficult. But terrestrial volcanoes are generally more dangerous than seamounts. For reference 2015 Axial Eruption It does not cause any impact on the land.