Recent emerged reef terraces of the Yenkahe resurgent block, Tanna, Vanuatu: implications for volcanic, landslide and tsunami hazards

²³⁰Th/²³⁴U dates imply a mean uplift of 156 mm/yr for the YRB (Yenkahe resurgent block) since A.D. 1002 until A.D. 1992. This volcanically related uplift occurs within the context of regional uplift of the southern New Hebrides arc. The late Holocene uplift rate, ~1 mm/yr, was determined from emerged terraces on the north and west coasts of Tanna. There have been several large volcanic eruptions in the geological history of Tanna; continued emplacement of magma at shallow levels below the YRB poses a possible volcanic hazard to the population there. Numerous faults in the weakly consolidated YRB strata and relief created by rapid uplift increase the probability of hazards from landslides and tsunamis. -from Authors