Following an 8.8 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Russia in 2025, tsunami warnings were issued in Hawaii and other parts of the U.S. West Coast. Luckily, the tsunami warnings were downgraded, and there was no catastrophic impact.
Underwater earthquakes have led to severe tsunamis in the past, such as the 2004 event that affected Indonesia and a tsunami in 1957 that impacted parts of Alaska and Hawaii. Understanding and researching these past events could lead to improved risk assessments and safety features when it comes to tsunami warnings.
A cross-agency expedition is exploring the impact these past events have had around the earthquake’s epicenter, including underwater landslides, and how these landslides may have lead to a greater tsunami. The research is spearheaded 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
Charting the Seafloor
In June of 2025, this expedition had explored over 2,200 miles of the Aleutian Trench, a convergent boundary between the Aleutian Islands and Alaska. The team used Alvin, a human-occupied vehicle (HOV), to study how submarine volcanoes and tectonic activity, such as earthquakes, shape seafloor habitats and geological hazards.
Alvin, a deep-diving submarine, can carry up to two scientists and one pilot to depths of over 20,000 feet. Researchers can then explore the seafloor, gathering data and samples. Researchers have used Alvin since 1964, and it even played a role in exploring the RMS Titanic wreckage.
During this mission, the research team sailed on the Research Vessel (R/V) Atlantis and collected 884 samples, including 29 geological samples. The team also used the ship’s multi-beam sonar to map more than 2,500 square miles of uncharted seafloor. What they found was quite surprising.
Read More: New Map Reveals Antarctica’s Gigantic Submarine Canyons — Some Deeper Than 13,000 Feet
A Submarine Landslide
The team found what appeared to be a massive submarine landslide along the Aleutian Shelf. The landslide was only 10 miles away from the epicenter of the 1957 earthquake near the Andreanof Islands that led to tsunamis in Alaska and Hawaii.
According to the findings, the landslide extends for approximately 10 miles and exhibits signs of slope failure, including a chaotic debris zone, a scalloped headwall, and runout lobes that descend towards a deeper basin.
The Andreanof Islands earthquake in 1957 registered an 8.6 magnitude, and led to 53-foot waves in Hāʻena and Kauaʻi, Hawaii, and led to other devastation in Alaska. It’s remained a mystery as to whether or not a submarine landslide may have contributed to the tsunami, after all, it wasn’t the first time in history a landslide like this had done so.
Improvements for the Future
In 1946, an earthquake in the Aleutian trench caused another tsunami to impact and devastated parts of Hawaii and Alaska. Researchers later discovered that a submarine landslide off the coast of Unimak Island — one of the Aleutian Islands — contributed to the tsunami.
While the research team will need to determine more details about the submarine landslide in the Aleutian shelf, like its age and volume, from what they can tell already based on scale and proximity to the 1957 earthquake’s epicenter, it likely contributed to the tsunami hitting Alaska and Hawaii.
The research team will be conducting follow-up studies and mapping other underwater volcanoes and landslides in the process. Studying these past events can help researchers gain a better understanding of how earthquakes may not be the only contributing factor in the generation of a tsunami. Knowing this, they can adjust and improve tsunami warning systems.
Read More: An Underwater Volcano Off of Oregon Coast May Erupt by End of 2025
Article Sources
Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:
