Boom! Giant Undersea Mile-Wide Hidden Volcano Off US Coast Ready To ERUPT ‘Imminently’, Say Experts
Magma build-up activity in the region of a huge underwater volcano named the Axial Seamount just 300 miles off the US coast is gathering momentum and could erupt any day, experts say.
A rather huge underwater hidden volcano is set to erupt near the US mainland as scientists reveal it has shown signs it will blow imminently.
The 3,600-foot-tall volcano 'The Axial Seamount' is more than a mile wide and sits just off the US coast near Washington and Oregon. The volcano has erupted earlier and most notably recorded in recent times like year 1998, 2011, and 2015.
Since the magma activity and lava buildup has made it to swell to the size it did before the 2015 eruption, scientists believe that extreme swelling and rumbling are a sign that the lava bomb may go off any day.
Researchers who have monitored this underwater volcano since 1997 have recently observed the number of earthquakes in the vicinity soar into the hundreds per day. The findings were published in Nature journal.
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According to Popular Mechanics, although less well-known that other volcanic giants of the Cascades (particularly Mount St. Helens), the Axial Seamount - an underwater volcano is actually the most active one in the Pacific Northwest.
"Axial is the most active volcano in the Northeast Pacific which maybe some people don't know, because it's hidden under the ocean" Science Alert reports volcanologist Bill Chadwick telling Jenn Chávezin in the Oregon Public Broadcasting podcast.
The Pacific Ocean’s ‘Ring of Fire’ is the most volcanically active area of our planet. The honour of being the chief of that brigade goes to Axial Seamount and scientists think it will erupt before the year is out.
The report in Science Alert says that while this inevitable, underwater eruption is unlikely to pose a threat to humans, monitoring the volcano could help researchers better predict more dangerous volcanic events.
It adds that the threat of a possible tsunami is extremely low as the Axial Seamount is different from the Northwest’s other volcanoes, both in frequency and severity.
According to Science Alert, the shield structure of the peak formed from thin lava, meaning that any eruption will likely ooze out magma and form new seafloor.
The writer is a senior independent journalist.
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