Following an earthquake of amplitude of 8.8 off the coast of Russia in 2025, Tsunami warnings were issued in Hawaii and other parts of the American West Coast. Fortunately, tsunami’s warnings have been demoted and there was no catastrophic impact.
Submarine earthquakes have led to serious tsunamis in the past, such as the 2004 event which affected Indonesia and a tsunami in 1957 which had an impact on certain parts of Alaska and Hawaii. Understanding and searching for these past events could lead to better risk assessment and safety characteristics with regard to tsunami warnings.
A crossed expedition explores the impact that these past events have had around the epicenter of the earthquake, including underwater landslides, and how these landslides can have led to a larger tsunami. Research is carried out by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Smithsonian and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Seabed
In June 2025, this expedition had explored more than 2,200 miles from the Aleutian trench, a convergent border between the Aleutian islands and Alaska. The team used Alvin, a vehicle occupied by humans (HOV), to study how underwater volcanoes and tectonic activity, such as earthquakes, shape the habitats of the seabed and geological risks.
Alvin, a deep diving submarine, can transport up to two scientists and a pilot at depths of more than 20,000 feet. Researchers can then explore the seabed, collect data and samples. Researchers have used Alvin since 1964, and he even played a role in exploring the wreckage of the Titanic RMS.
During this mission, the research team sailed on the research ship (R / V) Atlantis and collected 884 samples, including 29 geological samples. The team also used the Sonar Multi-Faisceau of the ship to map more than 2,500 square miles of a UNCHARTED. What they found was quite surprising.
Learn more: The new map reveals that the gigantic submarine canyons of Antarctica – some deeper than 13,000 feet
An underwater landslide
The team found what seemed to be a massive submarine landslide along the Aleutian plateau. The landslide was only 10 miles from the 1957 earthquake epicenter near the Andreanof Islands which led to tsunamis in Alaska and Hawaii.
According to the results, the landslide extends over about 10 miles and has signs of failure of the slope, including an area of chaotic debris, a scolding paradise and runout lobes that descend to a deeper basin.
The earthquake of the Andreanof Islands in 1957 recorded an extent of 8.6 and led to waves of 53 feet at Hāʻena and Kauaʻi, Hawaii, and led to other devastation in Alaska. There was a mystery as to whether an underwater landslide may have contributed to the tsunami, after all, it was not the first time in history, a landslide like this had done.
Improvements for the future
In 1946, an earthquake in the Aleutian trench caused an impact on another tsunami and devastated from the parts of Hawaii and Alaska. The researchers later discovered that an underwater landslide off the coast of the island of Unimak – one of the Aleutian islands – contributed to the tsunami.
While the research team will have to determine more details on the underwater landslide in the hazard plateau, like their age and volume, what they can already say on the basis of the scale and the proximity of the 1957 earthquake epicenter, it probably contributed to the tsunami which strikes Alaska and Hawaii.
The research team will carry out monitoring and cartography studies of other submarine volcanoes and landslides in the process. The study of these past events can help researchers better understand how earthquakes may not be the only factor contributing to the generation of a tsunami. Knowing this, they can adjust and improve Tsunami’s warning systems.
Learn more: A submarine volcano off the coast of Oregon can break out at the end of 2025
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