Latest news with #OceanObservatoriesInitiative
Daily Mail
18-05-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
Massive volcano in Pacific Northwest is showing signs of re-awakening
A volcano in the Pacific Northwest is showing signs of activity with an eruption imminent. The Axial Seamount is a mile-wide underwater volcano that sits 300 miles off the coast of Oregon and more than 4,900 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. Researchers with the National Science Foundation's Ocean Observatories Initiative have been monitoring this inevitable underwater explosion and now say that the volcano is giving off signs of becoming active. Situated along the Juan de Fuca Ridge, a chain of undersea volcanoes extending between Oregon and Alaska, Axial Seamount is a young shield volcano - a broader volcano with a low profile. Based on the 2015 eruption, Chadwick added that this year's magma explosion could produce a lava flow that's nearly as tall as Seattle's Space Needle. However, if Axial Seamount does blow within the next few days, experts say it won't pose any threat to communities along the West Coast. It's too deep and far from shore for people to even notice when it erupts, and it has no impact on seismic activity on land. Although few people have felt the tremors, the region has seen a sharp rise in the number of earthquakes in just the last month, with a major spike in activity recorded on April 13. Since May 6, the number of daily earthquakes under the seamount has been steadily rising. The number of underwater quakes is expected to skyrocket during this event, rising from several hundred per day right now to 10,000 earthquakes within a 24-hour period as magma flows out of the seafloor volcano, according to Interesting Engineering. Mike Poland, a scientist at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, expressed excitement about the eruption, highlighting Axial Seamount as one of the world's best-monitored submarine volcanoes. 'This particular volcano is probably the best-monitored submarine volcano in the world,' he told Cowboy State Daily. 'It's fascinating and doesn't really pose a hazard.' Despite the growing anticipation among scientists, Axial Seamount's next eruption will likely come as a surprise to everyone tracking it. Wilcock's best guess is that the swelling lava finally erupts later in 2025 or even early 2026, but there's still chance it happens much sooner. Scott Nooner, a professor of geophysics at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, told NBC News: 'It's much harder than forecasting the weather, even though the weather is a very difficult thing to forecast already.' 'There's still so much that we don't understand about what triggers eruptions and how magma moves around underneath the Earth's surface,' he added. Eruptions from Axial Seamount were recorded in 1998, 2011, and 2015, and the volcano has undoubtedly erupted numerous times prior to those events, according to Poland. In November 2024, Chadwick started investigating the volcano when he noticed its surface had swelled to nearly the same height it reached before its last eruption 10 years ago. The swelling that occurred prior to the 2015 eruption allowed Chadwick and his colleagues to predict that event. This time, the researchers' observations told them that Axial Seamount would erupt before the end of 2025. They also found that seismic activity at Axial Seamount had increased, with hundreds of earthquakes generated around the volcano per day and earthquake swarms greater than 500 per day. Wilcock said the first sign that an eruption from this volcano is imminent would be a sharp increase in the number of earthquakes around it - which the area is now experiencing. The team shared their findings at the annual American Geophysical Union conference in December 2024. This impending eruption will be a major research opportunity for Wilcock and other scientists, who plan to use a suite of high-tech instruments to monitor the eruption from start to finish. The University of Washington's College of the Environment hosts one of the largest underwater observatories in the world, comprised of networks of sensors along the seafloor and throughout the ocean waters. When Axial Seamount finally erupts, Wilcock and his colleagues will use this array to gather data and images of the event as it unfolds. Even though Axial is not a dangerous undersea volcano, the forecasting capabilities scientists have gained from studying it could help them predict eruptions from those that are. Nooner pointed out that when forecasters are wrong with their eruption predictions on land, it can cost people bother time and money through unnecessary evacuations. Watching the seamount explode will allow scientists to test out their latest forecasting models without the repercussions of getting it wrong in a populated area.
Business Mayor
17-05-2025
- Science
- Business Mayor
Major US volcano predicted to erupt TOMORROW
Scientists have issued a stark warning about the most active volcano in the Pacific Northwest, cautioning that it could erupt as soon as tomorrow. The Axial Seamount is a mile-wide underwater volcano that sits 300 miles off the coast of Oregon and more than 4,900 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. Researchers with the National Science Foundation's Ocean Observatories Initiative say there has been massive uptick in the number of earthquakes under the seamount, caused by magma pushing to the surface. According to William Wilcock, a professor and marine geophysicist at the University of Washington the seafloor has inflated to the level that it reached before the 2015 eruption. The swelling means that dangerously hot magma is building up beneath the surface. 'At the moment, there are a couple hundred earthquakes a day, but that's still a lot less than we saw before the previous eruption,' Wilcock explained. 'I would say it was going to erupt sometime later (this year) or early 2026, but it could be tomorrow, because it's completely unpredictable,' the marine geophysicist added. The Axial Seamount last erupted in 2015, triggering roughly 8,000 earthquakes, producing 400-foot-thick lava flows and causing the bottom of the ocean to sink nearly eight feet. The Axial Seamount is a mile-wide underwater volcano that sits 300 miles off the coast of Oregon and more than 4,900 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. One of Axial Seamounts many hydrothermal vents, which are part of a complex, sprawling network Scientists monitoring this volcano have detected a key sign that it is about to erupt: inflation of the seafloor. Pictured is the opening of the volcano The region has seen a sharp rise in the number of earthquakes in just the last month, with a major spike in activity recorded on April 13. Since May 6, the number of daily earthquakes under the seamount has been steadily rising. If Axial Seamount does blow within the next few days, it won't pose any threat human communities along the West Coast, experts say. It's too deep and too far from shore for people to even notice when it erupts, and it has no impact on seismic activity on land. However, the number of underwater quakes is expected to skyrocket during this event, rising from several hundred per day right now to 10,000 earthquakes within a 24-hour period as magma flows out of the seafloor volcano, according to Interesting Engineering. Mike Poland, a scientist at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, expressed excitement about the eruption, highlighting Axial Seamount as one of the world's best-monitored submarine volcanoes. 'This particular volcano is probably the best-monitored submarine volcano in the world,' he told Cowboy State Daily. 'It's fascinating and doesn't really pose a hazard.' Seismic activity at the Axial Seamount has been growing exponentially, with hundreds of daily earthquakes now being reported – signaling a pending eruption Situated along the Juan de Fuca Ridge, a chain of undersea volcanoes extending between Oregon and Alaska, Axial Seamount is a young shield volcano – a broader volcano with a low profile. 'When Axial Seamount erupts, it'll look a lot like a Hawaiian lava flow eruption,' Poland said. 'It's not an explosive eruption, but calm effusions of lava flowing out of the caldera and across the seafloor.' Scientists warned last year that Axial Seamount was going to erupt by the end of 2025. '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,' Chadwick told local CBS affiliate KOIN 6 News. '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.' Eruptions from Axial Seamount were recorded in 1998, 2011, and 2015, and the volcano has undoubtedly erupted numerous times prior to those events, according to Poland. In November 2024, Oregon State University geophysicist William Chadwick started investigating the volcano when he noticed its surface had swelled to nearly the same height it reached before its last eruption 10 years ago. The swelling that occurred prior to the 2015 eruption allowed Chadwick and his colleagues to predict that event. This massive underwater volcano sits 300 miles off the coast of Oregon and more than 4,900 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean This time, their observations told them that Axial Seamount would erupt before the end of 2025. 'Based on the current trends, and the assumption that Axial will be primed to erupt when it reaches the 2015 inflation threshold, our current eruption forecast window is between now (July 2024) and the end of 2025,' the researchers reported. They also found that seismic activity at Axial Seamount had increased, with hundreds of earthquakes generated around the volcano per day and earthquake swarms greater than 500 per day. Frequent, small earthquakes like these can signal that magma locked beneath the ocean floor is creeping closer to the surface. The team shared their findings at the annual American Geophysical Union conference in December 2024. Wilcock noted that the first sign that an eruption from this volcano is imminent would be a sharp increase in the number of earthquakes around it – which the area is now experiencing. 'That period lasts about an hour, and then the magma reaches the surface,' Wilcock said in a statement last month. After that, 'the seismic activity dies down pretty quickly over the next few days, but the eruption will continue slowly for about a month,' he added. This impending eruption will be a major research opportunity for Wilcock and other scientists, who plan to use a suite of high-tech instruments to monitor the eruption from start to finish. The University of Washington's College of the Environment hosts one of the largest underwater observatories in the world, comprised of networks of sensors along the seafloor and throughout the ocean waters. In November 2024, Oregon State University geophysicist William Chadwick started investigating the volcano when he noticed its surface had swelled to nearly the same height it reached before its last eruption 10 years ago The volcano is located off the coast of Oregon. Pictured is a quaint town in the state When Axial Seamount finally erupts, Wilcock and his colleagues will use this array to gather data and images of the event as it unfolds. Even though Axial is not a dangerous undersea volcano, the forecasting capabilities scientists have gained from studying it could help them predict eruptions from those that are. For example, in January 2022, an extremely powerful eruption of the Hunga underwater volcano in the Tonga archipelago in the southern Pacific Ocean triggered a tsunami that caused an estimated $90 billion in damages. This massive wave impacted California, Hawaii, and parts of Canada, Chile, Fiji, Japan, New Zealand, Mexico and Peru. The West Coast won't have to worry about Axial causing an event like that. But its eruption will provide an opportunity for scientists to learn more about how these powerful geological structures work – and now it could come at any time.
Daily Mail
09-05-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
Major US volcano predicted to erupt TOMORROW
The most active volcano in the Pacific Northwest could erupt as soon as tomorrow, scientists warn. The Axial Seamount is a mile-wide underwater volcano that sits 300 miles off the coast of Oregon and more than 4,900 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. It last erupted in 2015, triggering roughly 8,000 earthquakes, producing 400-foot-thick lava flows and causing the bottom of the ocean to sink nearly eight feet. Now, researchers with the National Science Foundation's Ocean Observatories Initiative, say there's been another massive uptick in the number of earthquakes under the seamount - signaling a looming eruption. According to William Wilcock, a professor and marine geophysicist at the University of Washington, there have been hundreds of earthquakes in the last few days and the seafloor has already inflated to the level that it reached before the 2015 eruption. The swelling means that dangerously hot magma is building up beneath the surface. 'At the moment, there are a couple hundred earthquakes a day, but that's still a lot less than we saw before the previous eruption,' Wilcock explained. 'I would say it was going to erupt sometime later (this year) or early 2026, but it could be tomorrow, because it's completely unpredictable,' the marine geophysicist added. The region has seen a sharp rise in the number of earthquakes in just the last month, with a major spike in activity recorded on April 13. Since May 6, the number of daily earthquakes under the seamount has been steadily rising. If Axial Seamount does blow within the next few days, it won't pose any threat human communities along the West Coast, experts say. It's too deep and too far from shore for people to even notice when it erupts, and it has no impact on seismic activity on land. However, the number of underwater quakes is expected to skyrocket during this event, rising from several hundred per day right now to 10,000 earthquakes within a 24-hour period as magma flows out of the seafloor volcano, according to Interesting Engineering. Mike Poland, a scientist at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, expressed excitement about the eruption, highlighting Axial Seamount as one of the world's best-monitored submarine volcanoes. 'This particular volcano is probably the best-monitored submarine volcano in the world,' he told Cowboy State Daily. 'It's fascinating and doesn't really pose a hazard.' Situated along the Juan de Fuca Ridge, a chain of undersea volcanoes extending between Oregon and Alaska, Axial Seamount is a young shield volcano - a broader volcano with a low profile. 'When Axial Seamount erupts, it'll look a lot like a Hawaiian lava flow eruption,' Poland said. 'It's not an explosive eruption, but calm effusions of lava flowing out of the caldera and across the seafloor.' Scientists warned last year that Axial Seamount was going to erupt by the end of 2025. '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,' Chadwick told local CBS affiliate KOIN 6 News. '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.' Eruptions from Axial Seamount were recorded in 1998, 2011, and 2015, and the volcano has undoubtedly erupted numerous times prior to those events, according to Poland. In November 2024, Oregon State University geophysicist William Chadwick started investigating the volcano when he noticed its surface had swelled to nearly the same height it reached before its last eruption 10 years ago. The swelling that occurred prior to the 2015 eruption allowed Chadwick and his colleagues to predict that event. This time, their observations told them that Axial Seamount would erupt before the end of 2025. 'Based on the current trends, and the assumption that Axial will be primed to erupt when it reaches the 2015 inflation threshold, our current eruption forecast window is between now (July 2024) and the end of 2025,' the researchers reported. They also found that seismic activity at Axial Seamount had increased, with hundreds of earthquakes generated around the volcano per day and earthquake swarms greater than 500 per day. Frequent, small earthquakes like these can signal that magma locked beneath the ocean floor is creeping closer to the surface. The team shared their findings at the annual American Geophysical Union conference in December 2024. Wilcock noted that the first sign that an eruption from this volcano is imminent would be a sharp increase in the number of earthquakes around it - which the area is now experiencing. 'That period lasts about an hour, and then the magma reaches the surface,' Wilcock said in a statement last month. After that, 'the seismic activity dies down pretty quickly over the next few days, but the eruption will continue slowly for about a month,' he added. This impending eruption will be a major research opportunity for Wilcock and other scientists, who plan to use a suite of high-tech instruments to monitor the eruption from start to finish. The University of Washington's College of the Environment hosts one of the largest underwater observatories in the world, comprised of networks of sensors along the seafloor and throughout the ocean waters. When Axial Seamount finally erupts, Wilcock and his colleagues will use this array to gather data and images of the event as it unfolds. Even though Axial is not a dangerous undersea volcano, the forecasting capabilities scientists have gained from studying it could help them predict eruptions from those that are. For example, in January 2022, an extremely powerful eruption of the Hunga underwater volcano in the Tonga archipelago in the southern Pacific Ocean triggered a tsunami that caused an estimated $90 billion in damages. This massive wave impacted California, Hawaii, and parts of Canada, Chile, Fiji, Japan, New Zealand, Mexico and Peru. The West Coast won't have to worry about Axial causing an event like that. But its eruption will provide an opportunity for scientists to learn more about how these powerful geological structures work - and now it could come at any time.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Deep-sea volcano off Oregon is rumbling again, likely to erupt anytime soon
Deep below the Pacific, a restless seafloor volcano off Oregon is showing signs it may soon stir again. Axial Seamount, a submarine volcano located nearly a mile beneath the ocean surface, is flexing its geologic muscles. Perched on a hot spot along the Juan de Fuca Ridge, where the Pacific and Juan de Fuca tectonic plates are slowly pulling apart, the volcano is steadily inflating with magma, increasing the frequency of small earthquakes. Researchers with the National Science Foundation's Ocean Observatories Initiative, which operates the Regional Cabled Array at the University of Washington, say the uptick in seismic activity suggests an eruption may be near. 'At the moment, there are a couple hundred earthquakes a day, but that's still a lot less than we saw before the previous eruption,' said William Wilcock, a marine geophysicist at the University of Washington. While predicting the exact timing is tricky, Wilcock said an eruption could occur anytime between later this year and early 2026 — or even tomorrow. 'I would say it was going to erupt sometime later (this year) or early 2026, but it could be tomorrow, because it's completely unpredictable.' The researchers also said that the region could witness thousands of small-scale earthquakes as the volcano erupts underwater. In 2015, 10,000 earthquakes were recorded within 24 hours as magma flowed out of the seafloor volcano for a month, trailing about 25 miles (40 kilometers) underwater. Axial Seamount's magma chamber has collapsed several times over the years, leaving behind a deep, wide basin known as a caldera. Despite the extreme conditions, life flourishes here. Hydrothermal vents scattered across the caldera floor release mineral-rich fluids into the icy seawater, creating plumes teeming with microbes — a phenomenon scientists call 'snowblowers.' While past eruptions have wiped out the tiny creatures clustered around these vents, their return is surprisingly swift. Within just a few months, the ecosystem begins to regenerate. 'I think it's one of the biggest discoveries we've made,' said Kelley, a professor of marine geology and geophysics at the University of Washington, in a statement. 'Life thrives in these inhospitable environments, and volcanoes are probably one of the major sources of life in our oceans.' Marine life, she said, may feel the seismic shifting after the eruption, but the activity could go unnoticed by people on land. 'It's not a very explosive event. You won't see the ash clouds above water, anything like that,' Kelly said. 'It's like if you put a mile of seawater on top of Kilauea … you may see some fountaining, but that's it.' Researchers said that the eruptions are most likely to occur between January and April, as previous events in 1998, 2011, and 2015 took place during this period. Scientists suspect that seasonal gravitational shifts play a role as Earth moves farther from the sun during the early months of the year. The moon's pull on ocean tides causes regular changes in pressure along the seafloor, and when magma is already close to the surface, even minor stress variations can make a difference. High tides, in particular, seem to coincide with more frequent seismic activity near the caldera, possibly pushing the magma chamber past its breaking point. The observatory plans to publicly livestream the event the next time the volcano erupts.
