Madison G. -- Oceanographers in Oregon have been monitoring Axial Seamount, one of the largest active undersea volcanoes. They predicted that it would erupt before 2014 after its last eruption in 1998. On their last mission in July, the oceanographers found lava everywhere; a completely different scenery from that of just a year ago. They were right; volcanologists discovered that the volcano had erupted on April 6, 2011. Predicting volcanoes is extremely hard. What the scientists discovered however is that undersea volcanoes are a lot more predictable than land volcanoes. With this correct prediction, we may have a better chance of predicting other undersea volcanoes, and maybe even land volcanoes as well.
Being able to predict volcanoes would be amazing, not to mention how many lives we could possibly save. Many times, we’re not sure if a volcano will erupt, we just have a pretty educated guess. Other times we don’t even have a guess, and that’s where most of the damage comes in. If people were prepared for these volcanic eruptions then we could prevent the loss of so many lives. As we come closer to discovering when the volcanoes will erupt we’re also getting a better look at how our planet functions. If we can pinpoint when a volcano will erupt, we have the potential to make a breakthrough in science history. We may even be able to create a system in which we could prevent the volcanic eruptions from causing so much damage. For example, if we could create a fiber that can withstand the scorching lava and is flexible as well as inexpensive. Then we have the potential to make a force field around volcanoes that have a lot of people living around them. Just an idea. Even if scientists could create this imaginary force field, I’m not sure they would act on it; it may disrupt the natural order of things.
Link: First Undersea Volcano to Erupt As Predicted
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