UWISpace Repository

Welcome to UWISpace, The University of the West Indies Institutional Repository for Research and Scholarship

This archive was established by the UWI Libraries to support the dissemination of knowledge by providing open access to the digitally preserved intellectual output of the University. Here we aim to collect together in one place the research and scholarship of members of the UWI community. UWISpace provides a platform for the collection, organisation, access and preservation of scholarly information in digital formats.

Departments and individuals wishing to deposit their research material in the UWISpace archive can email the administrators, or phone (868) 662 2002, Exts. 84419, 82241, 82215 at The Alma Jordan Library, St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago.

Courtesy: The Caribbean Charts and Engravings Circa 1555-1818. The Alma Jordan Library. The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago.

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Recent Submissions

Significant technical advances in broadband seismic stations in the Lesser Antilles
(European Geosciences Union) Anglade, A; Lemarchand, A; Saurel, J.-M; Clouard, V; Bouin, M. P; De Chabalier, J.-B; Tait, S; Brunet, C; Nercessian, A; Beauducel, F; Robertson, R; Lynch, L; Higgins, M; Latchman, J
In the last few years, French West Indies observatories from the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP), in collaboration with The UWI Seismic Research Centre (SRC, University of West Indies), have modernized the Lesser Antilles Arc seismic and deformation monitoring network. 15 new, permanent stations have been installed that strengthen and expand its detection capabilities. The global network of the IPGP-SRC consortium is now composed of 20 modernized stations, all equipped with broadband seismometers, strong motion sensors, Global Positioning System (GPS) sensors and satellite communication for real-time data transfer.
Phreatic activity and hydrothermal alteration in the Valley of Desolation, Dominica, Lesser Antilles.
(Springer Science+Business Media) Klaus, M; Scheu, B; Yilmaz, T; Montanaro, C; Gilg, H.A; Rott, S; Joseph, E.P; Dingwell, D.B
Phreatic eruptions are possibly the most dramatic surface expressions of hydrothermal activity, and they remain poorly understood. The near absence of precursory signals makes phreatic eruptions unpredictable with respect to both time and magnitude. The Valley of Desolation (VoD), Dominica, located close to the Boiling Lake, the second largest high-temperature volcanic crater lake in the world, hosts vigorous hydrothermal activity with hot springs, mud pools, fumaroles, and steaming ground. A phreatic or phreatomagmatic eruption from this site is considered to be the most likely scenario for future volcanic activity on Dominica. Yet there is little information regarding the trigger mechanisms and eruption processes of explosive events at this active hydrothermal center, and only a very small number of studies have investigated hydrothermal activity in the VoD. We therefore conducted two field campaigns in the VoD to map hydrothermal activity and its surficial phenomena. We also investigated alteration processes and their effects on degassing and phreatic eruption processes. We collected in situ petrophysical properties of clay-rich unconsolidated samples, and together with consolidated rock samples, we investigated the range of supergene and hydrothermal alteration in the laboratory. In addition, we performed rapid decompression experiments on unconsolidated soil samples.
Periodic Sulphur Dioxide Degassing from the Soufriere Hills Volcano related to deep magma supply.
(Geological Society Publishing House) Christopher, T; Edmonds, M; Taisne, B; Odbert, H; Costa, A; Hards, V; Wadge, G
Soufrière Hills Volcano produced prodigious quantities of sulphur dioxide (SO2) gas throughout 1995–2013. An unprecedented, detailed record of SO2 flux shows that high SO2 fluxes were sustained through eruptive pauses and for two years after the end of lava extrusion and are decoupled from lava extrusion rates. Lava extrusion rates have exhibited strong 1- to 2-year cyclicity. Wavelet analysis demonstrates periodicities of c. 5 months and c. 2 years within the SO2 time series, as well as the shorter cycles identified previously. The latter period is similar to the wavelength of cycles in lava extrusion, albeit non-systematically offset. The periodicities are consistent with pressure changes accompanying deformation in a coupled magma reservoir system whereby double periodic behaviour may arise from limited connectivity between two reservoirs. During periods of lava extrusion SO2 is released together with the lava (yielding the c. 2 year period), albeit with some offset. In contrast, when magma cannot flow because of its yield strength, SO2 is released independently from lava (yielding the c. 5 month period). Our results have implications for eruption forecasting. It seems likely that, when deep supply of magma ceases, gas fluxes will cease to be periodic.
Mafic enclaves record syn-eruptive basalt intrusion and mixing.
(Elsevier) Plail, M; Edmonds, M; Woods, A. W; Barclay, Jenni; Humphreys, M.C.S; Herd, R. A; Christopher, T
Mafic enclaves hosted by andesite erupted at the Soufrière Hills Volcano between 1995 and 2010 yield insights into syn-eruptive mafic underplating of an andesite magma reservoir, magma mixing and its role in sustaining eruptions that may be widely applicable in volcanic arc settings. The mafic enclaves range in composition from basalt to andesite and are generated from a hybrid thermal boundary layer at the interface between the two magmas, where the basalt quenches against the cooler andesite, and the two magmas mix. We show, using an analytical model, that the enclaves are generated when the hybrid layer, just a few tens of centimetres thick, becomes buoyant and forms plumes which rise up into the andesite. Mafic enclave geochemistry suggests that vapour-saturated basalt was underplated quasi-continuously throughout the first three eruptive phases of the eruption (the end member basalt became more Mg and V-rich over time). The andesite erupted during the final phases of the eruption contained more abundant and larger enclaves, and the enclaves were more extensively hybridised with the andesite, suggesting that at some time during the final few years of the eruption, the intrusion of mafic magma at depth ceased, allowing the hybrid layer to reach a greater thickness, generating larger mafic enclaves. The temporal trends in mafic enclave composition and abundance suggests that basalt recharge and underplating sustained the eruption by the transfer of heat and volatiles across the interface and when the recharge ceased, the eruption waned. Our study has important implications for the petrological monitoring of long-lived arc eruptions
Chemical and isotopic characteristics of geothermal fluids from Sulphur Springs, Saint Lucia
(Elsevier) Joseph, Erouscilla P; Fournier, Nico; Lindsay, Jan Marie; Robertson, Richard E. A; Beckles, Denise
Sulphur Springs is a vigorous, geothermal field associated with the active Soufrière Volcanic Centre in southern Saint Lucia, Lesser Antilles island arc. The ‘Sulphur Springs Park’ is an important tourist attraction (touted as the ‘world's only drive-through volcano’) with some of the hot pools being developed into recreational pools. Some 200,000 people visit the park each year. Since 2001, the hydrothermal fluids of Sulphur Springs have been sampled as part of an integrated volcanic monitoring programme for the island. Gas and water samples were analysed to characterise the geochemistry of the hydrothermal system, and to assess the equilibrium state and subsurface temperatures of the reservoir. This has also enabled us, for the first time, to establish baseline data for future geochemical monitoring.