It\u2019s the most active submarine volcano in the northeast Pacific. In the last 30 years that it\u2019s been monitored, three eruptions have occurred: in 1998, 2011 and 2015, according to researchers<\/a> Bill Chadwick at Oregon State University and Scott Nooner at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.<\/p>\n \u201cOur forecast of an eruption at Axial Seamount by the end of the year still stands, but I have to say nothing looks imminent,\u201d Chadwick told KOIN<\/a> on Wednesday. Yahoo contacted Chadwick for an updated confirmation of this assessment and is awaiting a response.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what else to know about the underwater volcano.<\/p>\n Does the underwater volcanic eruption pose a serious threat?<\/p>\n No. Due to the Axial Seamount\u2019s great depth underwater, combined with its relatively gentle lava flow style, it doesn\u2019t pose a threat to human life, ocean travel or property, the U.S. Geological Survey says<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the size of eruptions we\u2019ve seen in the last 20 years \u2026 if you were on top of it on a boat, you would never know it,\u201d Chadwick previously told local media<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, the next eruption will help researchers better understand and forecast how volcanoes erupt on land.<\/p>\n Why is it forecast to erupt this year?<\/p>\n Inflation in an underwater volcano happens when magma accumulates below the sea floor and pushes the surface of the volcano upward, Chadwick explained at a 2024 seminar<\/a>. One of the signs that an eruption of Axial Seamount might happen this year is that the volcano reached the same inflation levels<\/a> from when it erupted in 2015, back in January.<\/p>\n But as of July, \u201cthe rate of inflation has been slowly decreasing all year,\u201d Chadwick wrote in a blog<\/a> on the OSU website that details the eruption forecast.<\/p>\n Researchers also monitor seismic activity near the volcano through instruments and cables that extend from the U.S. coast. In June, there were more than 2,000 earthquakes recorded near Axial Seamount in a single day, which is a sign that an eruption could be imminent.<\/p>\n A new benchmark deployed at the base of the western caldera wall of the Axial Seamount volcano. (NOAA)<\/p>\n Additionally, in July, the tsunami wave from the 8.8 magnitude earthquake near Russia\u2019s Kamchatka Peninsula “triggered the automated alerts we have in place to notify us when an eruption might be starting,\u201d even though it wasn\u2019t actually an eruption, according to Chadwick\u2019s blog post<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"New](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/2715da10-7ed6-11f0-a5a7-2fcd9a0c2867.jpeg\"\/)
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