Massive Underwater Volcano on Brink of Eruption After Experiencing 2,000 Earthquakes in a Single Day

• Massive Underwater Volcano on Brink of Eruption After Experiencing 2,000 Earthquakes in a Single Day
  by CHRIS MELORE, US ASSISTANT SCIENCE EDITOR, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/
  Scientists monitoring a massive volcano off the California coast have warned that an eruption is just months away. Axial Seamount, the most active volcano in the Pacific Northwest, sits just 300 miles off the US coastline and nearly a mile below the ocean’s surface. It last erupted in 2015, but scientists have recently detected a surge in seismic activity at the site, with over 2,000 earthquakes recorded in a single day this summer.
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  Since then, hundreds of earthquakes have continued to shake the region daily, and the seafloor has inflated to a level similar to the 2015 eruption. Oregon State University geophysicist William Chadwick said: ‘At the rate of inflation it’s going, I expect it to erupt by the end of the year.’ Seismic activity is a sign that magma is moving up through cracks in the volcano. As magma rises, it inflates the chamber like a balloon, stressing the surrounding rock and triggering swarms of tiny earthquakes. While Chadwick and other researchers were able to predict the last eruption months prior, the scientists warned that volcanoes can still surprise people and erupt without warning, making the latest earthquake swarms a clear warning sign.
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