Axial Seamount Update

Researchers monitor Axial Seamount, the Northeast Pacific's most active submarine volcano, as signs point to another eruption.

Axial Seamount Set to Erupt Again in 2025

Axial Seamount, the Northeast Pacific's most active submarine volcano, shows signs of preparing for another eruption. Scientists reported in Nature Communications that seismic activity and ground swelling indicate magma moving toward the sea floor, with uplift after 2024 exceeding levels seen before the last eruption.

Located about 480 kilometers west of Oregon, Axial sits on the Juan de Fuca Ridge and has erupted in 1998, 2011, and 2015. Because it lies underwater, its activity is less dramatic for people, but it remains a key source of data for understanding how magma chambers inflate and fissures form. Real-time sensors on the seafloor track uplift, microearthquakes, and changes in hydrothermal activity.

The latest signals reinforce Axial's role as a natural laboratory. Submarine eruptions unfold under high pressure, rapid cooling, and strong seawater interactions, offering data that can illuminate volcanic behavior beyond land. The research also shows how sensor networks enable long-term monitoring of remote vents, a model for watching other large volcano systems worldwide. Yet there is much scientists still don't know about magma movement and eruptive patterns.

Highlights

The sea keeps its secrets, and science keeps listening.