[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Axial Seamount, a massive underwater volcano located nearly 300 miles off the Oregon coast, is showing signs of an imminent eruption.
This 3,600-foot-tall volcano, which spans 1.25 miles across and sits 4,626 feet beneath the Pacific Ocean's surface, is currently experiencing significant swelling and rumbling, indicating a buildup of magma.
Volcanologists predict an eruption before the end of 2025, but despite its activity, scientists remain unconcerned.
Mike Poland, a scientist at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, expressed excitement about this event, 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.
Its resemblance to Mauna Loa, Earth's largest active volcano, and the typical non-explosive nature of shield volcano eruptions, lessens the concern among volcanologists about the imminent eruption.
'When Axial Seamount erupts, it'll look a lot like a Hawaiian lava flow eruption,' he said. 'It's not an explosive eruption, but calm effusions of lava flowing out of the caldera and across the seafloor.' |