SouthernWorldwide.com – Scientists are predicting that an underwater volcano located approximately 300 miles off the coast of Oregon could erupt later this year.
This underwater volcano, known as Axial Seamount, resides over 4,900 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. It is showing indicators that suggest an eruption is imminent, marking the first such event since 2015.
The formation of Axial Seamount is attributed to a hotspot, which is an area within the Earth’s mantle where plumes of molten material ascend towards the crust. The University of Washington’s College of the Environment detailed this in an April blog post.
This process occurs as the Earth’s crust shifts over the stationary hotspot, leading to the gradual creation of extensive volcanic chains over geological time.
“More than two-thirds of the Earth’s surface was formed by volcanic eruptions at these mid-ocean ridges,” explained Maya Tolstoy, a marine geophysicist and dean of the university’s College of the Environment.
“Axial Seamount is a direct result of these fundamental processes that continue to shape our planet today,” she added.
Fortunately, scientists have indicated that the impending eruption does not pose a direct threat to people on land.
The blog post from the university clarifies, “Axial Seamount is much too deep and far from shore for people on land to even notice when it erupts.”
Furthermore, it assures that “An eruption at Axial Seamount also has nothing to do with seismic activity on land, so Pacific Northwesterners don’t need to worry about this event triggering a major earthquake or tsunami.”
The initial warning sign of an eruption at Axial Seamount will be a significant increase in the number of earthquakes occurring in its vicinity.
“The volcano has already surpassed the inflation we observed in 2015, but the earthquake activity is still quite low,” stated Deborah Kelley, a professor at the UW School of Oceanography and director of the Regional Cabled Array.
She elaborated on the observed seismic activity: “We’re seeing 200 to 300 earthquakes per day, with some spikes around 1,000 per day due to the tides.”
“If what we learned in 2015 is correct, I would expect to see more than 2,000 per day for a few months before the eruption,” Kelley continued.
These anticipated seismic events are a direct consequence of magma moving upwards towards the ocean floor, according to the blog post.
“That period lasts about an hour, and then the magma reaches the surface,” said William Wilcock, another professor at the UW School of Oceanography.
“Lava flows spread across the caldera, and lava-filled fissures open up to the north or the south, reaching as far as 40 kilometers (about 25 miles),” he further described.
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“The seismic activity dies down pretty quickly over the next few days, but the eruption will continue slowly for about a month,” Wilcock concluded.
