---
title: "Study: Underwater Volcanoes Could Power the Entire US"
description: "Underwater volcanic eruptions release enormous amounts of energy, enough to power the entire US according to scientists."
date: "2021-04-23"
modified: "2021-04-23"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/energy-underwater-volcanoes-energy-power-us"
categories:
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "the digest"
  - "volcanic activity"
  - "volcanic eruption"
---

# Study: Underwater Volcanoes Could Power the Entire US

![Underwater volcanic eruptions release enormous amounts of energy, enough to power the entire US according to scientists.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/energy-underwater-volcanoes-energy-power-us.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:3D_view_of_volcano_with_added_icon_showing_location_of_towfish.jpg" target="\_blank"\>ATSB\</a\>\</em\>*

## Explosive Force

Underwater volcanic eruptions release enormous amounts of energy, forming undersea rivers of lava and dispersing massive clouds of ash.

Now, scientists have found a new way to calculate just how much energy is being released after each explosion by looking at how volcanic rock fragments known as "tephra" get launched across the sea for miles, [*Vice* reports](<https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvz8ba/underwater-volcanoes-generate-enough-energy-to-power-the-entire-us-study-finds?utm_source=reddit.com>) — enough energy, they say, to power the entire United States.

## Power Surge

As detailed in a [new paper](<https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-22439-y>) published in the journal *Nature Communications* this week, the scientists discovered that the underwater eruptions release a massive amount of energy.

"Our results constrain the rate of energy release (or power) and show that during the eruption the power output is sufficient to run the US for that period of time, probably on the order of hours/days (however long it lasts—we don’t know precisely)," co-author David Ferguson from the University of Leeds, UK, wrote *Vice* in an email.

Unfortunately, to actually make use of all that energy is an entirely different question. These plumes occur far away from the shore and deep beneath the surface, making them near impossible to reach, let alone harness.

"I would say there is effectively zero chance of capturing the energy for all sorts of reasons, such as we don’t know when or where the eruptions will happen, very tricky to access, etc," Ferguson told *Vice*. "The point of the comparison was really just to illustrate how powerful/energetic these things are."

**READ MORE:** [Underwater Volcanoes Generate Enough Energy to Power the Entire US, Study Finds](<https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvz8ba/underwater-volcanoes-generate-enough-energy-to-power-the-entire-us-study-finds?utm_source=reddit.com>) \[*Vice*\]

**More on underwater volcanoes:** *[Scientists Find Source of Bizarre Worldwide Humming Noise](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/source-bizarre-humming-noise-underwater-volcano>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)