National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration
United States Department of Commerce

Scientists Find Eruption at Undersea Volcano

August 17, 2011

NOAA Vents Program with PMEL, Oregon State University, and University of Washington helped discover a new lava flow at Axial Seamount, supporting a forecast made by the scientists that an eruption would occur before 2014. Measurements show that the eruption occurred on April 6, 2011. 

This is the first successful eruption forecast for a submarine volcano, and confirms that Axial Seamount is an excellent location for state-of-the-art studies of active submarine volcanic processes and how they impact ocean physical, chemical, and biological environments.  For more information on this event please read the OSU press release.

PMEL Project: