IGCP Project short title: Caribbean Plate Tectonics Duration and ...

6.2 SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS AND WORKSHOP REPORTS
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GENERAL SYMPOSIUM 17-6. CARIBBEAN PLATE TECTONICS, ORIGIN AND
EVOLUTION. 31 INTERNATIONAL GEOLOGICAL CONGRESS, RÍO DE JANEIRO
August 6 to 17, 2000
Conveners: Manuel A. Iturralde-Vinent and Edward G. Lidiak
This symposium was dedicated to analyzing the present status of Caribbean Plate
Tectonic models. Four special oral presentations and 12 posters were the subject of
interesting debates and active exchange of data and interpretations.
The oral session, attended by more than 50 persons, was celebrated the morning of
August 7th. Four special speakers presented their respective viewpoints concerning how they
understand the formation and evolution of the Caribbean, but the fact is that each one
produced a quite distinct scenario. In this regard, it is important to quote the senior convener,
in the fact that "The Caribbean is a singular area of planet Earth, and therefore, it had had a
single history". The plate tectonic models that explain the Caribbean plate as an
allochthonous crust originated within the Pacific Ocean, was very well exemplified by the
model of J. Pindell and L. Kennan. The special speaker Martin Meschede reviewed some
shortcomings of recent Pindell's and Paul Mann's models, and presented his arguments for an
in situ origin of the Caribbean plate. Another version of the in situ model was presented by
Giuseppe Giunta (visit Comparison at CaribPlate Web Site). M. Iturralde-Vinent, as special
speaker, evaluated the few similarities and many contradictions that exist among modern
Caribbean Plate Tectonic models (visit Forum at CaribPlate Web Site). The in situ models
were criticized because they have a problem of space in explaining the Cretaceous and early
Tertiary Greater Antilles-Aves Ridge-Caribbean mountains subduction-related volcanic arcs.
Some questions were also raised concerning the polarity of these arcs and the original
position of some terranes of the Caribbean margins, subjects that will require more careful
attention in the future.
Twelve papers were presented at the Poster Session which was held in the afternoon
on both August 7th and 8th. They included three of the special oral presentations as well as
new results from field research in key areas of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and Costa
Rica. This session produced an active exchange of viewpoints among presenting authors, but
also with many interested congress members.
The conveners and participants agreed that the symposium was an excellent forum
for the most valuable exchange of ideas, but as exciting was the possibility to meet people
based in different areas of the world with personal expertise and strong interest in the
Caribbean. In terms of the scientific impact of the symposium, we concluded that despite the
great amount of valuable information available about the Caribbean submarine and land
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