Axial Seamount underwater magma concept image. The Axial Seamount, is a monstrous mound of magma more than 1.6 kilometres wide. It sits ominously quiet 1.4 kilometres beneath the waves.
Credit: Ahsanjayacorp, Shutterstock
Things are getting steamy in the Pacific, and it’s not from a hot tub. A massive underwater volcano off the coast of Oregon is inflating like a balloon – and scientists say it could blow its top any day now. Even more bizarre? The Moon might be giving it a nudge – yes, the Moon could be the trigger for this undersea magma bomb. Read on to find out what’s cooking beneath the ocean.
The Axial Seamount, a monstrous mound of magma more than 1.6 kilometres wide, is sitting ominously quiet 1.4 kilometres beneath the waves. But don’t let its stillness fool you. Below the surface, pressure is building fast – and the signs point to one thing: an imminent eruption. According to experts, it’s puffing up with magma and rumbling.
A ticking geological timebomb
Axial Seamount isn’t just any underwater hill – it’s the Pacific’s pressure point. Perched on the Juan de Fuca Ridge, it sits where the Earth quite literally pulls itself apart. When magma rises through the cracks, it doesn’t ask politely – it erupts. In 2015, the last time this sleeping giant stirred, over 10,000 earthquakes rattled the seabed in just 24 hours. Lava spewed for a month, snaking across 40 kilometres of ocean floor. Not bad for a volcano nobody sees. But don’t expect fiery explosions or ash clouds blotting out the sun – this beast is buried under over a mile of seawater.
The dark side of the moon
In a strange twist, scientists believe the moon might be calling the shots.
Axial’s last three eruptions all happened between January and April – right when Earth drifts furthest from the Sun. Coincidence? Possibly not.
Wilcock thinks lunar tides could be the final straw. As the moon tugs on the oceans, it creates subtle pressure shifts at the bottom of the sea. And when the magma chamber is already under strain, those little tugs might be enough to blow the lid off.
Undersea lava cam coming soon
The good news? When Axial does blow again, we might actually watch it live. Thanks to the Regional Cabled Array – a network of cameras and sensors operated by the US National Science Foundation – this could be the world’s first live-streamed volcanic eruption… from under the sea.
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