Scientists are closely monitoring the Axial Seamount, the most active undersea volcano in the Pacific Northwest, which they believe is showing signs of an impending eruption. Located approximately 300 miles off the coast of Oregon, the volcano’s increasing seismic activity and ground inflation suggest it could erupt by the end of 2025.
Researchers from Oregon State University, who have been monitoring the volcano since 1997, have observed a predictable cycle of inflation and eruption. As magma rises beneath the seamount, the seafloor swells, and seismic activity, including hundreds of small earthquakes per day, increases. The current monitoring data indicates that the volcano has reached a level of swelling similar to the one that preceded its last eruption in 2015.
The Axial Seamount sits on the Juan de Fuca Ridge, an underwater tectonic plate boundary, and has erupted in 1998, 2011, and 2015. While an eruption would not pose a direct threat to human life due to its depth and distance from the coast, it presents a unique opportunity for scientific study. The volcano is equipped with the world’s most advanced network of sensors and cameras, providing real-time data that could help improve long-term eruption forecasting for other volcanoes around the globe.
Scientists anticipate that the eruption will be an effusive, not explosive, event, with lava flows reshaping the seafloor rather than causing a dramatic spectacle on the surface. Despite the potential for some scientific instruments to be damaged by the lava, the event will provide invaluable data on how these deep-sea ecosystems and volcanic systems behave.