The Magnetization of an Underwater Caldera: A Time‐Lapse Magnetic Anomaly Study of Axial Seamount

Abstract

Abstract Axial Seamount in the northeast Pacific erupted in 2015, 2011, and 1998. Although monitored by the Regional Cabled Array of the Ocean Observatory Initiative, few magnetic surveys have been conducted over the region. This study uses high‐resolution magnetic data over the seamount collected by autonomous underwater vehicle Sentry during three years (2015, 2017, and 2020). The goal is to investigate whether there are temporal changes in the near‐surface magnetic field observable over the time scale of one volcanic cycle. We compare magnetic maps from repeated tracklines from each year. We find maps of the yearly difference in magnetization show coherent patterns that are not random. The central region of the caldera has become more magnetic during recent years, suggesting cooling of the surficial lava flows since 2015. Sentry data are more sensitive to shallow crustal structure compared to sea surface data which show longer wavelength anomalies extending deeper into the crust.

Keywords

• magnetism
• seamounts
• volcanic hazards
• volcanology
• monitoring