DSV Alvin
The first bathymetry of the seamount was compiled by the in 1981, as part of SeaBeam trials in the North Pacific. The survey was specifically meant to find and link seafloor hydrothermal activity to geomorphic features. Four areas of increased temperature concentration, indicative of hydrothermal activity were found, and the then-unnamed Axial Seamount was among them. Submersible dives with "Pisces IV" and "DSV Alvin" in 1983 and 1984 discovered the first active black smoker vents in the north Pacific. Soon after Axial Seamount was named for its central position on the intersection of the Cobb–Eickelberg Seamount chain and Juan de Fuca Ridge. That same year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) founded its VENTS program, providing impetus for studying the volcano more closely.