Recent earthquake activity in the area of Saba and St. Eustatius is thought to represent a mild volcano-seismic crisis, in which an increased heat flow may result from either deeper circulation of groundwater or possibly renewed magma movement. This book contains the results of a study of Saba and the Quill, St. Eustatius, which provides a firm basis for the conclusion that both volcanoes are indeed active. The results were classified as confidential for very many years but at last are published here in full. Both authors strongly recommend routine monitoring on both islands and education of local island populations in understanding their volcanic hazards. Included with the book are five large maps of the region, two of them in colour, which offer a wealth of detailed information and were prepared especially for this publication. This volume is the latest work of a collaborative e ort by the authors that has extended for over thirty years. Both authors originate in South Wales, UK and met coincidentally early in their careers, when they independently decided to carry out the same study on the same volcano, on Mt. Pelee, Martinique in 1971.
This became the first of many collaborative studies that led them to write about the geology of almost all of the Caribbean islands, especially those with volcanic rocks.