Scientists monitoring a massive underwater volcano located 300 miles off the coast of Oregon, and nearly a mile beneath the Pacific Ocean’s surface, warn that an eruption is likely to occur within the coming months. Axial Seamount, the most active volcano in the Pacific Northwest, has shown seismic activity this summer, likely signaling an impending eruption.
The volcano last erupted in 2015, but recent monitoring has detected a significant surge in seismic anomalies. In June, scientists recorded a peak of over 2,000 earthquakes in a single day around Axial Seamount. While this rate has since settled to an average of about 100 quakes daily, hundreds of tremors continue to shake the region constantly.
At the same time, the seafloor above the magma chamber has inflated to levels observed just before the 2015 eruption, indicating that magma is pushing upward and stressing the surrounding rock.
The underwater Volcano off the coast of Oregon is expected to erupt later this year
William Chadwick, a geophysicist at Oregon State University, stated that “at the rate of inflation it’s going, I expect it to erupt by the end of the year.” He and Scott Nooner from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington have been able to predict Axial’s eruptions with some success, forecasting the 2015 event months in advance. However, they caution that volcanoes can still surprise observers.
Unlike land-based volcanoes such as Mount St. Helens or Mount Rainier, Axial Seamount is a shield volcano, similar to those found in Hawaii and Iceland. Its eruptions are typically effusive, meaning lava flows out fluidly rather than exploding.
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When it last erupted a decade ago, lava poured forth, creating flows up to 450 feet thick and forming massive “pillow lavas,” which are bulbous tubes of molten rock that rapidly solidify in seawater. Scientists also acknowledge the possibility of a “dike eruption,” where magma travels laterally through cracks in the Earth’s crust, emerging from an unexpected location.
The volcano’s eruption does not present any immediate threat to human life
Despite the heightened activity, experts say there is no threat to human life or seismic activity along the West Coast. Axial Seamount is too deep and too far offshore for its eruptions to be felt or to generate tsunamis that would impact coastal communities.
Axial Seamount is the most extensively monitored undersea volcano in the world, equipped with an array of ultra-sensitive sensors, including underwater seismometers and GPS stations, as part of the Ocean Observatories Initiative’s Cabled Array.
This advanced system provides real-time data on seismic activity, seafloor deformation, and even changes in hydrothermal systems. According to experts, the long-term study of Axial Seamount provides invaluable insights into underwater volcanism, helping scientists polish their eruption forecasting knowledge for other active volcanoes globally, including those that pose a direct risk to human populations. Chadwick emphasized that Axial Seamount is “pretty active all the time,” noting, “If it’s not erupting, it’s getting ready for the next one.”
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