Pyroclastic stratigraphy of the Soufriere Hills volcano, Montserrat - Implications for the present eruption

The stratigraphy of the Soufriere Hills volcano is dominated by dense-andesite block and ash flow deposits. Forty-one radiocarbon ages permit a reconstruction of the eruptive history over the past 31,000 years. A single stratigraphic member yielding radiocarbon ages of 22,000 to 20,000 years B.P. is composed of block and ash flow deposits with semi-vesiculated clasts concentrated in the upper third of each deposit. The present eruption is also producing block and ash flow deposits with both dense and semi-vesiculated clasts. It marks a return to a more explosive driven type of activity as occurred 22,000 to 20,000 years ago. Deposits of this member have a broad sheet-like form and volumes in excess of any produced so far by the present eruption.