Volcano Off Oregon Coast is ‘Due’ for Eruption This Year – newstalk870.am
Oregon State University researchers say a volcano under the Pacific Ocean off the Oregon coast is likely to erupt sometime this year. According to OSU researchers, the volcano, named the Axial Seamount, is about 300 miles west of Astoria, and has erupted before, in cycles.The volcano is about a mile beneath the ocean, is closer to the lava flow type of volcanoes found in Hawaii, as opposed to the Cascade volcanoes like Mt. St. Helens, which build up pressure and then explode.The volcano has spewed out magma three times in the last three decades, in 1998, 2011 and 2015, and now researchers say that timeline means it’s likely to do again in 2025.According to Axios Oregon:”Axial is not prone to large explosive eruptions like Mount St. Helens, but instead slowly seeps magma after cracks form in its surface. The seamount poses no risk to people or property and is far enough from the Cascadia Subduction Zone that it isn’t likely to increase the likelihood of a major earthquake.” The Cascadia Subduction Zone is a huge fault that runs from CA, past Oregon, and WA in the ocean floor, about 80-100 miles off the coast. It makes the San Andreas Fault in CA look like a paper cut.The last time the Cascadia shifted was, according to scientists, over 200 years ago, but triggered a massive tsunami that left residual sediment that can still be dug up inland on Oregon’s coast.Because of its relatively ‘tame’ behavior, researchers have set up observation cameras and equipment in the Axial area to monitor its behavior, they say they can learn a lot about volcanic activity when it does leak magma. See this video from Geology Hub about the volcano.Gallery Credit: Andrew Lisa
Source: https://newstalk870.am/volcano-off-oregon-coast-is-due-for-eruption-this-year/
