The Axial Seamount is predicted to erupt in 2025, presenting a rare opportunity for scientists to test their models—tools that hold the potential to save lives.

Axial Seamount is also the most active submarine volcano in the Pacific Northwest, having erupted multiple times since it was first discovered. Its most recent eruption was in April of 2015, causing thousands of underwater earthquakes to be detected and for the surrounding ocean floor to sink about 2 metres.

Underwater eruptions may seem distant to folks on land, but they have global significance. The 2022 Hunga Tonga event, for example, triggered a tsunami that caused an estimated $90 billion in losses.

It, of course, is the Axial Seamount, an underwater volcano off Oregon which scientists predict will erupt this year. The Axial Seamount is the most active submarine volcano in its northeasterly swath of the Pacific Ocean,

Geophysicist William Chadwick stated in early December at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in Washington DC that measurements of seafloor pressure point to an eruption of the submarine volcano Axial Seamount in 2025.