Unrest at Ahyi Seamount continued during 15-21 March. A total of three short (~30 seconds) hydroacoustic detections from the direction of Ahyi were detected by pressure sensors on Wake Island, 2,270 km E, during 17-19 March. Weather clouds often prevented satellite views. Data was not available during 20-21 March due to an outage, though a plume of discolored water was visible in satellite images. The Aviation Color Code remained at Yellow (the second lowest level on a four-color scale) and the Volcano Alert Level remained at Advisory (the second lowest level on a four-level scale).

Geological Summary. Ahyi seamount is a large conical submarine volcano that rises to within 75 m of the ocean surface ~18 km SE of the island of Farallon de Pajaros in the northern Marianas. Water discoloration has been observed there, and in 1979 the crew of a fishing boat felt shocks over the summit area, followed by upwelling of sulfur-bearing water. On 24-25 April 2001 an explosive eruption was detected seismically by a station on Rangiroa Atoll, Tuamotu Archipelago. The event was well constrained (+/- 15 km) at a location near the southern base of Ahyi. An eruption in April-May 2014 was detected by NOAA divers, hydroacoustic sensors, and seismic stations.

Source: US Geological Survey