Summary for Field Activity Number 2008-008-FA

Alternate Leg ID: J-1-08-PR

Area of Operations: Mona Canyon, Puerto Rico Trench, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Virgin Islands Basin, Whiting Basin, United States, northeast Caribbean, North Atlantic

Dates: Mar 16, 2008 to Mar 24, 2008

Objectives: The objective of this coring cruise is to determine the age of several significant slope failures and seismite layers around Puerto Rico in an effort to constrain the temporal distribution of large slope failures and earthquakes. Large landslide and earthquake events in close proximity to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are believed to have triggered numerous tsunami, which have caused significant damage to coastal communities in the region. By better constraining the temporal occurrence of such large tsunami source mechanisms, we hope to gain a better understanding of the recurrence interval and size of future landslides, thereby providing valuable input into tsunami hazard models for the region. In order to do this, we aim to collect 30-40 cores from offshore Puerto Rico (Mona Canyon, north slope and Puerto Rico trench, and the Virgin Island and Whiting Basins) that intersect landslide or seismite deposits so as to be able to date the penultimate and potentially older landslide and/or earthquake events. This project is a collaborative effort between WHOI and the USGS Woods Hole Science Center.

Type of Activity: Sampling

Information to be derived: Samples and Chemical Analysis sediment stratigraphy radiocarbon ages

Summary: During the 9 days at sea, 40 gravity cores were attempted in basins to the northwest of Puerto Rico, south of the U.S. Virgin Islands, within the Puerto Rico trench, and the south and north slopes offshore Puerto Rico. Over 24 m of core were recovered from 21 successful deployments, in addition to numerous smaller samples recovered from the corer when only partial sediment penetration occurred.

USGS Project Number: 2921-C4X10 - Project Description

Contact: Jason Chaytor (jchaytor@usgs.gov)

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