Map shows location of huge underwater volcano near coast set to erupt this year

A huge volcano at the bottom of the sea near the US’ northwestern coast is predicted to erupt this year.

Named Axial Seamount, it’s more than a mile wide and stands 3,600 feet (1,100 metres) from the seafloor.

One of the most active undersea volcanoes in the world, it has erupted three times over the past 30 years.

In November, scientists found Axial’s surface had swollen to 95% of the height it reached just before it last erupted, in 2015.

This indicates a build-up of magma underground, while a rise in seismic activity has also been detected, according to the two experts making the prediction.

William Chadwick, a geologist at Oregon State University who studies the volcano and its nearby hydrothermal vents and Scott Nooner, a geophysicist at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, have published data supporting their forecast.

Chadwick wrote in a related blog post: ‘The rate of inflation at Axial has been steady for the last 6 months and the rate of seismicity has moderated.

‘An eruption does not seem imminent, but it can’t do this forever.’

The pair believe the volcano will erupt by the end of the year.

Unlike volcanoes found on land, Axial’s eruptions are not explosive, as the huge pressure of the ocean water prevents this.

Instead, it emits a steady flow of lava which flows across the seafloor.

Previous eruptions have not presented any threats to human life and, scientists are not concerned that the next eruption will either.

Chadwick described Axial’s eruptions as something like a ‘balloon’ steadily deflating.

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