Abstract
Explosive volcanism in the Lesser Antilles arc has been tackled by combined tephrochronologic studies of land deposits and 100 deep-sea piston cores from the adjacent Atlantic and Grenada Basins. Volcanic production in the arc during the late Quaternary has been estimated from deep-sea core data for a 105 year period as 527 km3 (285 km3 D.R.E.), with the majority of this material (445 km3) deposited in the marine environment. Marine tephra deposits are principally of two types: ash-fall layers and a variety of subaqueous pyroclastic gravity flow deposits. Ash-fall layers and associated air-borne dispersed ash represent about 1/3 of total production. They have been deposited almost exclusively in the Atlantic east of the arc and their dispersal is entirely controlled by westerly high-altitude winds. A variety of pyroclastic sediment gravity flow deposits account for approximately 2/3 of the volcanic production. Most important are deposits which form as a result of the entry of ignimbrites directly into the sea during major eruptions. They have travelled up to 250 km from source along the back-arc basin and form massive, poorly graded deposits up to 5 m thick. Pyroclastic gravity flow deposits occur predominantly in the Grenada Basin, west of the arc and their distribution is aided by the steep (9°) slopes of the western arc flank. Microprobe analyses of glass shards in tephra deposits from the deep-sea and land show that rhyodacites are the dominant products of volcanism in this arc.
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Sigurdsson, H., Carey, S.N. (1981). Marine Tephrochronology and Quaternary Explosive Volcanism in the Lesser Antilles Arc. In: Self, S., Sparks, R.S.J. (eds) Tephra Studies. NATO Advanced Study Institutes Series, vol 75. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-8537-7_16
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-8537-7_16
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