Full Description

GSA Special Paper 549

Emergence and Evolution of Barbados is a three-part analysis of the Quaternary geologic and geomorphologic evolution of the island of Barbados in the southeastern Caribbean. “Geology of Southeastern Barbados” assembles and integrates detailed observations into a complex 700 k.y. history of marine sculpting and riverine flooding processes. “Marine Terrace Evolution of Windward Barbados” revises the Quaternary stratigraphy of the island, describes the tec-tonics of emergence, and demonstrates that uplift rates vary by location. “Active Emergence, Chronology, and Limestone Facies in Southeastern Windward Barbados” is the first com-prehensive study to integrate marine erosion and deposition with tectonic uplift rates. Major findings of this work are that Barbados’ Central Highlands are an erosional remnant, and that terraces originated principally by marine erosion rather than by reef construction.