You may not have noticed it , but for the retiring calendar month or so , a immense vent has been extravasate on US shore . – or we should sayunderUS shores . The reason you ’ve probably not been aware of it is that it ’s been happening deep beneath the Pacific Ocean , in the US Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands .
The Ahyi Seamount , an underwater vent that sit on the ocean floor about 18 kilometers ( 11 miles ) off the island of Farallon de Pajaros ( Uracas ) in the Northern Mariana Islands , has been playact up recently – at least , so volcano - watchers think .
“ There are no local monitoring stations near Ahyi Seamount , which limits our power to observe and characterise volcanic tempestuousness there , ” guide out the US Geological Survey in astatementlast week . “ We will continue to monitor uncommitted remote hydrophonic , seismic , and artificial satellite information nearly . ”
Hydroacoustic sensor on Wake Island , a coral atoll in the western Pacific Ocean , first start picking up signals suggesting volcanic bodily function back in mid - October . It was n’t until that data was compound with data from as far abroad as Tahiti , Guam , and Chichijima Island , Japan that Ahyi Seamount was nail as the source of the rumblings .
At first , it was n’t unmortgaged whether the source of the activity was a serial publication of shallow earthquakes or an underwater volcanic plosion . But on November 6 , researchers found a smoke gun – literally . Satellite imaging show discoloration on the surface of the ocean , right where Ahyi Seamount is located . That ’s a pretty good indicant that there ’s material being expelled from the vent , scientistsexplained .
“ Nothing is sure yet , but I have been include on some emails where scientist from NOAA were hash out pass to Ahyi by ship to make observation , such as bathymetry [ sea or lake depth ] measure , ” USGS enquiry geophysicist Matt Haney toldNewsweek .
Nevertheless , the grounds so far seems fairly convincing . “ engage together , these datum strongly suggest Ahyi is the germ of the activity , in spite of there being several other seamount in the orbit , ” the USGS stated .
“ Several ” is perhaps undersell it : Ahyi Seamount is part of theMariana Volcanic Arc , a chain of over 60 dynamic volcano and one of the most combat-ready volcanic regions on Earth . Ahyi itself has a long history of seismic activity : in 2014 , for instance , iterupted so hardthat its explosion was heard by diver at Farallon de Pajaros , and a raw crater was formed near its summit meeting . Before that , an eruption in 1979 give a sportfishing gang a shock – aseries of shocks , in fact , followed by an upwelling of sulfurous water in the area .
That ’s why USGS scientists are advocate that mariners seek to avoid the area for now – even though “ there ’s nothing right now that suggests that this eruption will intensify and become a large eruption , ” Haney toldAP News .
For now , though , activity seems to be slowing down . “ The hydroacoustic signaling are on-going at this time , ” notice the USGS assertion , " Although the issue of the event being detected has declined over the past three days . ”
