| | | Huge underwater volcano off US coast set to erupt in 2025 after displaying tell-tale 'swelling'
Story by Joshua Whorms
• 16h •
An undersea volcano, situated 470 km off the Oregon coast, is predicted to erupt in 2025. This advanced warning of an eruption, more than just hours ahead, is considered "pretty unique" and a significant achievement by scientists.
The volcano, named Axial Seamount, exhibits all signs of impending activity. Standing at 1,100 meters tall with a diameter of 2km, this submarine volcano is located 1,400m beneath sea level.
Over the past ten years, various devices have been tracking every rumble, shake, swell, and tilt from the volcano in real time via a seafloor cable. Geologist Mark Zumberge, from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, has labeled the volcano as "the most well-instrumented submarine volcano on the planet".
- In November, Axial's surface swelled to the same height as before its last eruption in 2015, indicating that magma had accumulated underground and pressure within the volcano was building. Similar swelling in 2015 allowed researchers at Oregon State University to predict that year's eruption, which they hailed as "our best forecasting success".
Similar activity, coupled with increased seismic activity, has led researchers to predict the next eruption, reports the Daily Star.
The Axial volcano, deemed a "very promising volcano" by Roma Tre University's volcanologist Valerio Acocella, is under close scrutiny as researchers utilize artificial intelligence to analyze pre-2015 eruption earthquake recordings in search of predictive patterns. "There's no crystal ball," admits Acocella, acknowledging the inherent unpredictability of volcanic behavior.
Nevertheless, he insists that every eruption presents a chance to refine theories, noting, "We need ideal cases to understand how volcanos work," He also cautions that a volcano might act in unforeseen ways: "There's always a risk that a Volcano will follow a pattern that we haven't seen before and do something unexpected."
The upcoming 2025 event, while not expected to revolutionize eruption forecasting, promises to yield greater insight, with Acocella asserting, "We'll understand it better and that will help us understand other volcanoes, too."
Volcano © Reach Publishing Services Limited
Huge underwater volcano off US coast set to erupt in 2025 after displaying tell-tale 'swelling' © Oregon State University/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution |
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