Widespread submarine volcanic eruptions and tectonics revealed in the northwest Pacific Ocean

Notwithstanding submarine volcanic eruptions carrying crucial information on the tectonics of Earth and volcanic hazards in the ocean, they are inadequately studied and poorly characterized. Here, we report detection of three types of submarine volcano totaling 6208 eruptions from 2010-2022 in the northwest Pacific Ocean based on hydroacoustic data, with the subduction-related volcanoes in the Izu-Bonin and Mariana Arcs and West Mata, the rift-related volcanoes in the Mariana Back-Arc spreading center, Kyushu-Palau Ridge, and both subduction- and rift-related volcanoes at the junction of the Izu-Bonin and Mariana Arcs and the Mariana Back-Arc spreading center. The detected widespread submarine volcano eruptions reveal vastly under-cataloged undersea volcanic hazards and delineate a back-arc formation system in the western Mariana Trench evolving from initial arc forming and arc splitting to a mature back-arc system.