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Scientists at Oregon State University (OSU) said an underwater volcano off the Pacific Northwest coast is showing signs that it may erupt soon.
The volcano, known as the Axial Seamount, is located about 300 miles off the coast of Oregon and lies nearly 4,900 feet below the ocean’s surface.
Signs Of Volcano Eruption
Researchers said that the volcano has been behaving in ways that suggest an eruption is coming. They recorded more than 2,000 earthquakes near the Axial Seamount in just one day in June, as per ABC News. In the days that followed, the number of earthquakes decreased to about 100 per day, but the activity was still considered unusual.
William Chadwick, a research associate at OSU, said the seamount has also been “inflating like a balloon” as molten rock fills the inside. This, combined with the earthquake activity, indicates that the volcano could erupt before the end of 2025.
No Risk To Humans
Experts said the eruption is very unlikely to affect humans, property, or cause a tsunami. The eruptions from this volcano are relatively small and mostly unnoticed at the ocean’s surface.
“For the size of eruptions we’ve seen in the last 20 years … if you were on top of it on a boat, you would never know it,” Chadwick said in an earlier interview.
Scientific Importance
The Axial Seamount is considered the most active submarine volcano in the region. It last erupted in 2015, with earlier eruptions in 2011 and 1998.
As it erupts fairly often, scientists use it to study how volcanoes behave and to better understand volcanic activity on land.
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