Mesozoic and Cenozoic volcanic arcs and related ophiolite suites are well developed in the circum-Caribbean realm in on-land regions such as the Lesser and Greater Antilles, Central America, northern South America. Related rocks also occur in submarine locations in the Caribbean Sea floor. In the case of the volcanic arcs, the period of magmatic activity extended from Early Cretaceous to the Present, but may have occurred in several distinct spatio-temporal pulses. The ophiolites associated with these arcs could represent various tectonic provenances such as fragments of basement of fore-arcs or the magmatic arc, fragments of back arc basins, fragments of major ocean basins (either Pacific or proto-Caribbean/Atlantic) or pieces of the present interior of the Caribbean oceanic plateau.
Studies of the ophiolites and have been somewhat parochial and this has resulted in a situation where various investigators know a great deal about their particular area, but very little about adjacent areas. This has prevented serious assessment of hypotheses concerning the tectonic evolution of arc systems in the Caribbean orogen. Did the arc rocks develop as a single "Great Arc", as suggested by several authors, that was situated on the leading edge of the Caribbean Plateau as it entered the gap between the Americas? Or was the circum-Caribbean formed by amalgamation of several arc systems and continental slivers in a situation more comparable with present day Indonesia? The situation is further complicated by large transcurrent displacements on both the northern and southern boundaries of the Caribbean that have since dispersed earlier amalgamated terranes. The project will therefore also have importance in elucidating the concepts of terrane kinematics.
The main objectives of the project are to encourage exchange between various investigators of the Caribbean Region by holding conferences in the form of field workshops at selected, well exposed and documented arc and ophiolite localities. From the resulting discussions we hope to be able to follow up with stratigraphic, geochronologic, geochemical and structural data bases relating to the arcs and ophiolites. It is also vital that we encourage investigators to publish the results in the form of articles, maps and charts.
Most of the future work of the project is done through the working groups. If you wish to participate further in the project then you should directly contact the working group leader and explain your interest and potential contributions to the working group. In addition to an annual general and business meeting, working group leaders may organize field workshops or discussions of their own. Project leaders may also organize their own newsletters.
Working group 1:
Stratigraphic Correlation of Volcanic Sequences in the Greater Antilles
Leader: Manuel Iturralde-Vinent, Museo Nacional de la Historia Natural,
Capitolio Nacional, CH 10200, La Habana, Cuba; (fax 53-7-333144 or Fax/phone
53-7-38752)
Working group 2:
Petrology and Geochemistry of the Mesozoic-Paleogene Caribbean Arc rocks
Leader: Hans Schellekens, Department of Geology, University of Puerto Rico,
Mayagüez, Puerto Rico 00681-5000 (fax/phone 809-265-3845; e-mail: j_schellekens@rumac.upr.clu.edu)
Working group 3:
Correlation of structural and metamorphic events affecting Caribbean Arcs
and Ophiolites
Leaders: James Joyce, Department of Geology, University of Puerto Rico,
Mayagüez, Puerto Rico 00681-5000(fax/phone 809-265-3845) and Grenville
Draper, Department of Geology, Florida International University Miami, FL
33199 (phone: 305-348-3087; fax: 305-348-3877; e-mail: draper@servax.fiu.edu)
Working group 4:
Correlation of ophiolite and volcanic arc related mineralization events
in the Caribbean
Leader: Salvador Brouwer, Falconbridge Dominicana, EPS A-212, P.O. Box 025256,
Miami FL 33102-5256
Working Group 5:
(The Lesser Antilles Group has been disbanded due to the continuing crisis
in Montserrat)
Working group 6:
Petrology and geochemistry of ophiolite associations in the Caribbean
Leader: John F. Lewis, Department of Geology, The George Washington University,
Washington D.C., 20052. (Phone: 202-994-6897; fax 202-994-0540)