IODP Expedition 340: Lesser Antilles Volcanism and Landslides Site U1395 Summary Background and Objectives Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Site U1395 (CARI-04D, 16°29.60’N;

The objective of Site U1395 is to characterize the sedimentation processes related to volcanic activity in the Boullante–Montserrat half graben. It is planned to drill through hemi-pelagic sediments, turbidites, and tephra retrieving a complete record of sediment down to a depth of ~244 m. Work around the Canary Islands has shown that distal volcaniclastic turbidites generated by collapse events can be used to study the gross character of the initial landslide emplacement (Wynn and Masson, 2003). Results from the ODP Hole 1223A around Hawaii identified the association of several turbiditic deposits associated with landslides, showing that the Koolau Volcano collapsed repeatedly as well as that landslides constituted a greater risk than previously assessed (Garcia et al., 2006). Analysis of cores taken during JCR123 suggested that distal turbidites provide a record of all the main pyroclastic flow events from the on-going eruption that entered the ocean, recording also the waxing and waning phases of individual dome collapses (Trofimovs et al., 2006). Turbidites in these distal cores should therefore provide a record of dome and flank-collapses. With the retrieved material it will be also possible to better constrain the long-term sedimentation rate in the north part of the arc.