Scientists are predicting that a colossal underwater volcano, the Axial Seamount, could be on the verge of eruption. Located around 300 miles off the Oregon coast in the US, this mammoth natural structure is over a mile long, stands 1,000 meters tall and lies less than a mile beneath the Pacific Ocean’s surface.
Indications of activity such as swelling and rumbling have been observed, leading experts to believe an eruption may be imminent. “This particular volcano is probably the best-monitored submarine volcano in the world,” said Mike Poland from the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, as reported by the Cowboy State Daily.
Despite the potential for eruption, experts aren’t overly worried. Poland described the volcano as “fascinating ” but reassured it “doesn’t really pose a hazard”.
The Axial Seamount is a shield volcano, akin to Mauna Loa in Hawaii, the world’s most active volcano. Shield volcanoes typically produce runny lava flows resulting in gentle slopes, earning their name due to their resemblance to a shield lying on the ground. “When Axial Seamount erupts, it’ll look a lot like a Hawaiian lava flow eruption. It’s not an explosive eruption, but calm effusions of lava flowing out of the caldera and across the seafloor,” Poland explained.
Bill Chadwick, Research Associate at Oregon State University, suggests we may have to wait until the end of 2025 for the eruption, reports The Express US.
In an interview with BS affiliate KOIN 6 News, he said: “Because it’s had these three eruptions in the last 30 years, that’s why we call it the most active volcano in the Pacific Northwest, because most of the ones on land aren’t active that frequently, and they spend a lot of their time slumbering, whereas Axial has a pretty active magma supply.”
The Axial Seamount, notorious for its eruptions in 1998, 2011, and 2015, is under close watch. Chadwick added: “So, if it’s not erupting, it’s inflating and getting ready for the next one. And so that’s why we’re kind of monitoring what’s happening to it all the time.”
He explained the eruption process by comparing it to an overinflated balloon: “The balloon keeps getting bigger and bigger. And at some point, the pressure becomes too great and the magma forces open a crack, flowing to the surface. When that happens, the seafloor subsides as the ‘balloon’ deflates.”
With increased seismic activity detected near the volcano, there’s heightened vigilance. However, due to the nature of shield volcanoes and the deep ocean’s pressure, Chadwick assured that there is no threat to human life from this underwater behemoth’s potential eruption.
Chadwick revealed to KOIN 6 News: “If you were out there on a ship right over the seamount, you would never know anything was happening unless you dangled a hydrophone, an underwater microphone, into the water, then you might be hearing some commotion from down deep. But there’s no effect at the surface.”