On August 19th, in response to a swarm of earthquakes which had a magmatic signature, the alert level was raised at two adjacent volcanoes in American Samoa. These volcanoes are Ta'u and Ofu-Olosega, and are inhabited by about 500 residents each. While the quakes do have a magmatic signature, it is current unknown if it is moving horizontally, or vertically shallower into the crust. A potentially wide area is at risk if an eruption does occur. This video will discuss the unfolding unrest and where a possible eruption would be most likely.

Note: The thumbnail shows what a volcanic eruption at a shallow submarine vent might look like.

Thumbnail Photo Credit: NOAA & NSF, Public Domain

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Graphics of eruption dates are courtesy of the Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Institute. https://volcano.si.edu/

Google Earth imagery used in this video: ©Google

Creative Commons Licenses Used in this video:
CC BY 3.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Photo Credit at 2m2s: Ion Tichy, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0