Scientists have set up a camera near the peak of Axial Seamount, an underwater volcano off the Oregon coast, to monitor its activity and provide live updates. The volcano is predicted to erupt at any moment, releasing millions of tons of lava into the Pacific Ocean.
Located 300 miles off the coast of Oregon, Axial Seamount is the most active volcano in the Pacific Northwest. It has a history of eruptions recorded since 1998, with its last eruption in 2015 causing widespread seismic activity and lava flows hundreds of feet thick.
The recent increase in earthquakes under the seafloor suggests that magma is pushing to the surface, leading scientists to believe that Axial Seamount is “ready” to erupt. According to volcanologist Bill Chadwick, the volcano acts like those in Hawaii, inflating between eruptions and showing signs of pressure increasing beneath the seafloor.
The eruption is expected to produce a massive lava flow, potentially as tall as Seattle’s Space Needle, with an estimated 1 billion cubic feet of “very fluid lava” weighing millions of tons. While experts say the eruption poses no threat to human communities, it offers scientists a rare chance to study underwater volcanic eruptions and better understand these events.
The livestream is available daily at 2:00, 5:00, 8:00, and 11:00 ET and PT on the Interactive Oceans website, providing the public with a unique opportunity to witness this natural phenomenon up close.
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-14785333/Scientists-warn-massive-underwater-volcano-ready-ERUPT-release-millions-tons-lava.html