Guadeloupe Archipelago Research Articles

Pliocene to Pleistocene vertical movements in the forearc of the Lesser Antilles subduction: insights from chronostratigraphy of shallow-water carbonate platforms (Guadeloupe archipelago)

An integrated stratigraphic study was conducted on the shallow water carbonate platforms of the Guadeloupe archipelago to refine the tectonic evolution of the Lesser Antilles forearc. The carbonate platforms are now dated to the Zanclean–Calabrian interval, and their demise occurred between 1.5 and 1.07 Ma. The precise chronostratigraphy allows dating of the main extensional tectonic events since the late Miocene. An initial episode occurred during the late Miocene, related to the reactivation of inherited N130°E-trending shear zones, and led to the emergence of most parts of the forearc. Subsequently, Zanclean to early Piacenzian carbonate platforms developed in association with a general subsidence of the forearc. During the late Piacenzan, a second extensional episode occurred. At this time La Désirade underwent major uplift and emergence whereas most of the forearc remained submerged. Prior to 1.07 Ma, a third north–south extensional episode occurred and led to the final demise of the carbonate platforms. Thus the forearc was characterized by general subsidence since the early Pliocene interrupted by three main extensional episodes and related differential uplifts. This suggests that the Lesser Antilles subduction is probably erosive north of latitude 15°N since c . 5 Ma, related to aseismic ridge subduction. Supplementary data: Planktonic foraminiferal assemblages, calcareous nannofossil taxa associations, 40 Ar/ 39 Ar geochronological data and palaeomagnetic data are available at www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18724 .

Numerical Simulations of Island-Induced Circulations and Windward Katabatic Flow over the Guadeloupe Archipelago

Abstract This article deals with the first high-resolution numerical modeling of the weather over the small and high islands of the Guadeloupe archipelago. Its main goal is to analyze the mechanisms that drive local-scale airflow circulations over this archipelago, using the 1-km Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF). Three meteorological situations corresponding to weak trade winds (WTW), medium trade winds (MTW), and strong trade winds (STW) have been selected and are linked with local Froude number values of 0.21, 0.41, and 0.82, respectively. For these three weather types, simulated typical meteorological variables present a good agreement with observational data at several locations. The 48-h simulations allow the completion of the previous coarse observational descriptions that did not include a map of the wind, skin temperature, cloud cover, and sensible heat flux for the whole archipelago. The expected local wind regime areas (windward, inland, and leeward) are retrieved in the model outputs, including the predominance of thermal and orographic effects over Grande-Terre Island and Basse-Terre Island, respectively. Under STW, the convection is inhibited and the local circulations are driven by the orography. In the case of WTW, the model simulates well a katabatic wind, inducing cold nocturnal reversed flow on the windward coast of Basse-Terre. This circulation, opposing the trade winds, extends to the sea and Grande-Terre Island. This flow has a maximum wind speed of 4.7 m s−1. This particular flow occurring in the most densely populated area produces an important nocturnal pollution period due to industrial sources (the diesel power plants of the archipelago).

Dog burials associated with Human burials in the West Indies during the early pre-Columbian Ceramic Age (500 BC-600 AD)

Across the Caribbean, the widespread presence of canine remains at archaeological sites from the Salado id period raises questions about the role of “man's best friend.” Dog (Canis familiaris) remains have been found located in both refuse middens and burials adjacent to human graves in a number of sites in the French Antilles and Barbuda, West Indies. This paper will critically examine dog remains and discuss the varied duality of the dog's role in the Saladoid world: from food source to lifelong companion. The importance of dogs within Amerindian sites from Saint Martin, the Guadeloupe archipelago, Martinique and Barbuda will be explored from a zooarchaeological perspective, concluding with a critical discussion of changes in cultural patterns, as seen through the decline in dog remains during the Troumassoid and Suazoid period at the sites in the French Antilles.

Timing of geothermal activity in an active island-arc volcanic setting: First 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dating from Bouillante geothermal field (Guadeloupe, French West Indies)

Abstract Mineral separates of adularia have been extracted from three samples of highly silicified hydrothermal breccias, newly discovered in the active Bouillante geothermal field (Guadeloupe archipelago), and investigated by 40 Ar/ 39 Ar geochronology in order to constrain the timing of geothermal activity in this part of the active Lesser Antilles island arc. The inverse isochron diagram indicates an age of 248±50 ka (2σ) for all adularia from one breccia sample ( n =8), with an initial 40 Ar/ 36 Ar ratio of atmospheric composition (309±12 (2σ)) attesting that this age is valid. This age is concordant with the weighted mean age of 290±40 ka for the same sample. Adularia from other samples yields concordant ages. The obtained 40 Ar/ 39 Ar ages can be related either to the magmatic activity of the Bouillante Volcanic Chain ( c. 850–250 ka ago) or to the initiation of the volcanic activity of the active Grande Découverte–Soufrière system (200 ka ago–present day). Our results demonstrate that the Bouillante hydrothermal event is coeval with change in the volcanic pulses previously recognized in the magmatic history of the studied area. The possible duration calculated for this hydrothermal activity requires at least two superposed volcanic pulses to be developed.

Monitoring design for quantification of marine turtle nesting with limited effort: a test case in the Guadeloupe archipelago

AbstractThe Guadeloupe archipelago hosts nesting of the threatened hawksbill Eretmochelys imbricata, green Chelonia mydas and leatherback Dermochelys coriacea marine turtles. There is a need to monitor the nesting of these species but, with > 150 beaches in the archipelago, exhaustive monitoring is infeasible. Using a new monitoring design and a new statistical tool we have been able to monitor one-third of the beaches. Seasonality and level of nesting were described for the three species for 2 years on > 50 beaches. For each species beaches were categorized as A- or B-beaches, with high and low nest density, respectively. A-beaches were monitored on 6–7 days per month before and after the peak nesting period and on 7–15 days during the peak, and the B-beaches on 14–22 days during the peak. The monitoring design and statistical tool are described in detail as they could be applied to any migratory species. Hawksbill turtles at Trois Ilets beach have been monitored for 9 years and a positive trend in nesting has been detected.

Tsunami hazard assessment of Guadeloupe Island (F.W.I.) related to a megathrust rupture on the Lesser Antilles subduction interface

Abstract. The French Caribbean Archipelago of Guadeloupe is located over the Lesser Antilles active subduction zone, where a handful of earthquakes have reached magnitudes of Mw = 7.0 (moment magnitude) and more. According to available catalogs, these earthquakes have been able to trigger devastating tsunamis, either directly by the shake or indirectly by induced landslides. The Guadeloupe Archipelago is known to have suffered from several violent earthquakes, including the 1843 Mw ~ 8.5 megathrust event. In this study, we discuss the potential impact of a tsunami generation scenario of a Mw = 8.5 rupture at the subduction interface using numerical modeling and high resolution bathymetric data within the framework of tsunami hazard assessment for Guadeloupe. Despite the fact that the mystery remains unresolved concerning the lack of historical tsunami data for the 1843 event, modeling results show that the tsunami impact is not uniformly distributed in the whole archipelago and could show important maximum wave heights. This is easily explained by the bathymetry and the presence of several islands around the main island leading to resonance phenomena, and because of the existence of a fringing coral reef partially surrounding Guadeloupe Island and its satellites. We then discuss the role of source parameters, the arrival times and the protective role of fringing coral reefs surrounding the islands, using tsunami modeling applied on two Guadeloupian touristic coastal places: Sainte-Anne and Saint-François.

Épidémiologie et incidence du cancer bronchique primitif dans une région à faible consommation tabagique : la Guadeloupe. Données 2008–2009 du registre des cancers

Few data are available about primary lung cancer in the Caribbean. The purpose of this study was to provide, for the first time, the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of primary lung cancer in the archipelago of Guadeloupe (French West Indies). From the cancer registry, we identified in this retrospective study, all incident cases of primary lung cancer that had occurred between 1st January 2008 and 31st December 2009 in Guadeloupe. Over the period from 2008 to 2009, 106 patients with primary lung cancer were identified. Males accounted for 72.6% and the women for 27.4%. Mean incidence rate over the 2 years was estimated at 13.4/100000 persons-years (95% CI: [6.0-20.8]) in men (world standardized) and 4.2/100000 persons-years (95% CI: [0.3-8.1]) in women. The median age at initial diagnosis was 65 years for men and 66 years for women. We noted a proportion of 61.3% of current smokers, 4.7% of passive smokers and 34% of non-smokers. The comorbidities were present in 41% of patients. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounted for 88.7% of lung cancers and small cell lung cancer for 7.5%. The most common histological type was adenocarcinoma (43%) followed by squamous cell (24%). Stage III and IV patients accounted for 64.1% of individuals with NSCLC. The incidence of primary lung cancer in Guadeloupe is relatively low compared to metropolitan France. Guadeloupe is also a French department where the rate of tobacco consumption is one of the lowest.

La Désirade island (Guadeloupe, French West Indies): a key target for deciphering the role of reactivated tectonic structures in Lesser Antilles arc building

Abstract In this paper we present and discuss new investigations performed on both the magmatic basement and the sedimentary formations of La Désirade. We report structural and sedimentary evidences for several episodes of deformation and displacement occurring prior to the present day tectonics. The main faults, respectively N130 ± 10°, N040 ± 10° and N090 ± 10°, previously considered as marker of the current tectonic regime corresponds to reactivated tectonic structures developed first during late Cretaceous compression and second during Pliocene to early Pleistocene extension. We demonstrate also the importance of late Pliocene-early Pleistocene and middle-late Pleistocene vertical movements in this part of the Lesser Antilles fore-arc as well as the role of compressive tectonics in the over thickened character of the arc basement in the Guadeloupe archipelago.

Pliocene to Pleistocene carbonate systems of the Guadeloupe archipelago, French Lesser Antilles: a land and sea study (the KaShallow project)

AbstractThis work presents a synthesis of the present-day knowledge on both emerged and submerged carbonate platforms of the Guadeloupe archipelago. Onshore and offshore data acquired during the KaShallow project are presented. Since the early Zanclean, some isolated platforms developed onto a Jurassic to Tortonian basement which displayed reliefs inherited from a major extensional tectonic episode dated from −8 to −5 Ma. Marie-Galante, Grande Terre and the southern shelf of Grande-Terre show strong similarities with Zanclean to Gelasian red-algal facies upward changing into early Calabrian coral facies. A major erosional unconformity (SB2) was recognized and allows to distinguish two early Calabrian formations (Calcaires à Agaricia Formation and Calcaires à Acropora Formation). The final emersion of these platforms is late Calabrian. The La Désirade platform displays Zanclean to early Piacenzian red-algal facies upward changing into coral facies. This platform emerged as soon as in the late Piacenzian. The island subsided again in relation with later extensional tectonic episode and early Calabrian reef platform then unconformably deposited. The Colombie bank deposits comprise Pliocene basinal deposits overlain by late Calabrian coral reefs. The Flandre bank might have emerged synchronously with La Désirade but was drowned only in the late Pleistocene-Holocene interval. Four extensional tectonic episodes have been identified in the late Miocene-Recent interval. Their effects depend on the location of the platforms within the fore-arc.

Exacerbations d’asthme en Guadeloupe et éruption volcanique à Montserrat (70 km de la Guadeloupe)

This study evaluates the impact of the ash cloud emitted in February 2010 during the eruption of the Soufrière Hill volcano of the island of Montserrat (70 km from Guadeloupe), on asthma exacerbations registered by the emergency hospital services in the archipelago of Guadeloupe in February 2010. We first recorded the clinical features and outcome of each adult patient admitted as an emergency with an acute asthma exacerbation during this period, then compared the admission rates for asthma exacerbation, concentrations of particulates and chemical pollutants, and climatic parameters before, during, and after exposure to the ash cloud. Then, using a generalized linear model defined by a Poisson regression, we calculated the risks related to these factors. There was an increase in acute asthma admissions during and after exposure to the ash cloud (2.44/day versus 5.6/day, P<0.003). PM10 (particles<10 microns) were the major particulate pollution episodes (mean: 223 μg/m(3)). Asthmatics admitted acutely during the period of pollution were young adults (35 [18-49] years old), and the majority had asthma classified as intermittent (57%, n=27). In multivariate analysis, PM10 were a risk factor for acute asthma presentations during this period (aRR 2.89, 95% [from 1.69 to 4.93]). This study describes the clinical data and outcome of adult patients admitted to emergency asthma exacerbation during the eruption of the Soufrière Hills Volcano in Montserrat and indicates that there was a significant impact of the ash plume on respiratory health, mainly in patients with intermittent asthma.

Sedimentology, palaeoenvironments and biostratigraphy of the Pliocene–Pleistocene carbonate platform of Grande‐Terre (Guadeloupe, Lesser Antilles forearc)

AbstractPliocene and Pleistocene deposits from Grande‐Terre (Guadeloupe archipelago, French Lesser Antilles) provide a remarkable example of an isolated carbonate system built in an active margin setting, with sedimentation controlled by both rapid sea‐level changes and tectonic movements. Based on new field, sedimentological and palaeontological analyses, these deposits have been organized into four sedimentary sequences (S1 to S4) separated by three subaerial erosion surfaces (SB0, SB1 and SB2). Sequences S1 and S2 (‘Calcaires inférieurs à rhodolithes’) deposited during the Late Zanclean to Early Gelasian (planktonic foraminiferal Zones PL2 to PL5) in low subsidence conditions, on a distally steepened ramp dipping eastward. Red algal‐rich deposits, which dominate the western part of Grande‐Terre, change to planktonic foraminifer‐rich deposits eastward. Vertical movements of tens of metres were responsible for the formation of SB0 and SB1. Sequence S3 (‘Formation volcano‐sédimentaire’, ‘Calcaires supérieurs à rhodolithes’ and ‘Calcaires à Agaricia’) was deposited during the Late Piacenzian to Early Calabrian (Zones PL5 to PT1a) on a distally steepened, red algal‐dominated ramp that changes upward into a homoclinal, coral‐dominated ramp. Deposition of Sequence S3 occurred during a eustatic cycle in quiet tectonic conditions. Its uppermost boundary, the major erosion surface SB2, is related to the Cala1 eustatic sea‐level fall. Finally, Sequence S4 (‘Calcaires à Acropora’) probably formed during the Calabrian, developing as a coral‐dominated platform during a eustatic cycle in quiet tectonic conditions. The final emergence of the island could then have occurred in Late Calabrian times.

Checklist of the Bryophytes of the Guadeloupe Archipelago and Martinique (French West Indies)

Checklists of the bryophytes of the Guadeloupe archipelago (including La Désirade, Marie-Galante and Les Saintes archipelago) and Martinique are presented based on published data, herbarium specimens and fieldwork. 613 species taxa, including 361 of liverworts, 242 of mosses and 10 of hornworts, are recorded from the Guadeloupe archipelago and 355 species (190 liverworts, 156 mosses, 9 hornworts) from Martinique. Fifty species (20 liverworts, 29 mosses, 1 hornwort) are new to the Guadeloupe archipelago and 21 (8 liverworts, 13 mosses) are new to Martinique.

DEM-based reconstruction of southern Basse-Terre volcanoes (Guadeloupe archipelago, FWI): Contribution to the Lesser Antilles Arc construction rates and magma production

We combine radiometric ages and geomorphologic investigations to quantify the relief creation of well preserved volcanic surfaces, applied to the volcanoes of southern Basse-Terre (Guadeloupe, Lesser Antilles Arc). The last 650 ka volcanic evolution of this island has been modeled using ten main stages constrained by K–Ar ages previously obtained on lava flows and domes from the volcanic massifs of the Axial Chain (1000–435 ka) and from the Grande Découverte Volcanic Complex (250 ka–present). Based on the construction of a 250,000-point database inferred from the analysis of the Guadeloupe Digital Elevation Model, 3D reconstructions of the successive volcanic stage landforms were calculated and the correlated geochronological maps drawn using ArcGIS software. Volumes and rates of construction were computed for each time span separating these ten stages. The average construction rates calculated here are 2.4 ± 0.3 × 10 −4 km 3/yr for the last million years, 0.9 ± 0.3 × 10 −4 km 3/yr for the last 100 ka, and 0.9 ± 0.2 × 10 −4 km 3/yr for the last 15 ka. Although Basse-Terre volcanism is characterized by a marked dominance of effusive products, our estimates should be considered as minimum values because the material that went into the sea during explosive events was not taken into account. However, we note that a relatively high construction rate of 4.5 ± 1.3 × 10 −4 km 3/yr has been obtained for the Icaques volcano, which was emplaced during the 630–600 ka time interval, within the depression formed by the first large-scale flank collapse having affected southern Basse-Terre. The sudden release of the lithostatic load induced by this mass-wasting event could explain this value, which is significantly higher than the average value of 0.8 ± 0.1 × 10 −4 km 3/yr obtained for the last 650 ka. Finally, the comparison with other analogous volcanic massifs from islands and continental arcs points to a relatively low magmatic production for southern Basse-Terre, which could be tentatively related to the relatively slow subduction rate of the Atlantic plate.

Additional shallow-water thecate hydroids (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa) from Guadeloupe and Les Saintes, French Lesser Antilles

This report supplements an earlier account on the hydroids of the Guadeloupe archipelago, and records 31 additional species of thecates. Among them, Halecium calderi sp. nov., Antennella armata sp. nov., and Antennella incerta sp. nov., are described. Laomedea tottoni Leloup, 1935 is redescribed and reassigned to the genus Clytia Lamouroux, 1812. Its synonymy is broadened upon inclusion of Clytia laxa Fraser, 1937. Hebella venusta (Allman, 1877) is considered valid based on comparison with related species, and its gonotheca is described for the first time. Two sympatric varieties of Sertularella diaphana (Allman, 1885), easily separable morphologically and by their cnidome composition, are discussed. Sertularella ornata Fraser, 1937 is recorded for the second time and is fully redescribed. Its name is actually a junior synonym of S. fusiformis (Hincks, 1861) f. ornata Broch, 1933, and it is here referred to as S. fraseri nom. nov. Sertularia thecocarpa Jarvis, 1922, Sertularella minuscula Billard, 1924, Sertularella parvula Mammen, 1965, and Sertularia stechowi Hirohito, 1995 are placed in the synonymy of Sertularella tongensis Stechow, 1919, the latter being transferred to the genus Sertularia Linnaeus, 1758. Sertularia ephemera nom. nov. is proposed as a replacement name for Sertularia tongensis Stechow, 1919. Aglaophenia postdentata Billard, 1913 is confidently recorded from the Atlantic for the first time. Dentitheca dendritica (Nutting, 1900) is redescribed, and additional notes on Macrorhynchia clarkei (Nutting, 1900) are provided. All the species discussed herein are new records for the study area. Illustrations are given for each species and data on the nematocyst complement and size of capsules are given when necessary. The number of hydroid species reported from the study area is raised to more than eighty. Hydroids of the Caribbean are moderately well known faunistically, though continuous discovery of new species is likely, the species composition being certainly richer than currently reported.

Hurricane Omar Waves Impact on the West Coast of the Guadeloupe Island, October 2008

A swell produced by the Hurricane Omar touched the west Guadeloupean coasts during the period of the 15 th to the 17 th in October 2008. The waves of this swell hit different islands of the Greater and Lesser Antilles arc. The cost of the destruction of this swell was evaluated at $ 46 million. On the island of Basse-Terre in the archipelago of Guadeloupe all the exposed zone, the quiet west coast was impacted by waves of observed height around 2.5 to 3m. The totality of this zone was modified by the effects of the waves, on more 100m in the land. By a complete observation of the Hurricane Omar, the causes and the consequences of the waves are described. The propagation of the waves on the coast and in the land of the west part of the island of Basse-Terre is particularly described. The compilation of the different testimonies, the observations on several spots of the coast and the buoys measurements in the Caribbean Sea allow to give the synoptic of the event and to qualify the consequences of the impact of the waves. To give more accurate values of the characteris- tics of the waves, some numerical simulations of the wave propagation were made with SWAN under realistic conditions and near the coast. The numerical simulation and the measurements are in accordance with the observations and the dif- ferent testimonies, waves of 2.5-3m height and 12s of peak period. To conclude, some indications for the future are given to help to protect the coastal population.

The 1755 Lisbon Tsunami in Guadeloupe Archipelago: Source Sensitivity and Investigation of Resonance Effects

On the 1 st of November 1755, a major earthquake of estimated Mw=8.5/9.0 destroyed Lisbon (Portugal) and was felt in whole Western Europe. It generated a huge tsunami which reached coastlines from Morocco to Southwestern England with local run-up heights up to 15 m in some places as Cape St Vincent (Portugal). Important waves were re- ported in Madeira Islands and as far as in the West Indies where heights of 3 m and damages are reported. The present knowledge of the seismic source(s), presented by numerous studies, was not able to reproduce such wave heights on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean whatever the tested source. This could be due to the signal dispersion during the propaga- tion or simply to the lack of simulations with high resolution grids. Here we present simulations using high resolution grids for Guadeloupe Archipelago for two different sources. Our results highlight important wave heights of the range of 1 m to more than 2 m whatever the source mechanism used, and whatever the strike angle in some particular coastal places. A preliminary investigation of the resonance phenomenon in Guadeloupe is also presented. In fact, the studies of long wave impact in harbours as rissaga phenomenon in the Mediterranean Sea leads us to propose the hypothesis that the 1755 waves in the West Indies could have been amplified by resonance phenomenon. Most of the places where amplification takes place are nowadays important touristic destinations.

Exploring Intonation in Guadeloupean Creole

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Ground-Motion Variability and Implementation of a Probabilistic-Deterministic Hazard Method

Abstract A key step in probabilistic seismic-hazard assessment is the prediction of expected ground motions produced by the seismic sources. Most probabilistic studies use a ground-motion prediction model to perform this estimation. The present study aims at testing the use of simulations in the probabilistic analysis instead of ground-motion models. The method used is the empirical Green’s function method of Kohrs-Sansorny et al. (2005), which takes into account the characteristics of the source, propagation paths, and site effects. The recording of only one small event is needed for simulating a larger event. The small events considered here consist of aftershocks from the M 6.4 Les Saintes earthquake, which struck the Guadeloupe archipelago (French Antilles) in 2004. The variability of the simulated ground motions is studied in detail at the sites of the French Permanent Accelerometric Array. Intrinsic variability is quantified: ground motions follow lognormal distributions with standard deviations between 0.05 and 0.18 (log units) depending on the spectral frequency. One input parameter bearing large uncertainties is the ratio of the stress drop of the target event to the small event. Therefore, overall sigma values (and medians) are recomputed, varying stress drop ratio values between 1 and 15. Sigma values increase but remain in general lower or equal to the sigma values of current ground-motion prediction models. A simple application of this hybrid deterministic–probabilistic method is carried out at several sites in Guadeloupe for the estimation of the hazard posed by an M 6.4 occurring in the rupture zone of the Les Saintes event.

GENETIC DIVERSITY OF CARIBBEAN MANGOES (MANGIFERA INDICA L.) USING MICROSATELLITE MARKERS

Mango was introduced to the Caribbean in the XVlllth century and became a popular garden tree. A regional programme for the inventory and conservation of fruit genetic resources undertaken in the French West Indies allowed the collection of 128 land races of mango in the Guadeloupe archipelago and in Martinique. Labelled accessions were selected according to local names, location and morphology. Microsatellite markers were developed for studying genetic diversity within this sample and within the germplasm bank maintained in Guadeloupe (Cirad) and for detecting duplicates. Nineteen microsatellite markers were selected and used to analyse a total of 307 accessions from India, South-East Asia, Florida, Africa and the Caribbean. Diversity was high within the sample with a total number of 140 alleles displayed. Results demonstrated the presence of duplicates in the germplasm bank and among the collected accessions, helping genetic resources management. Nevertheless, collecting efficiency was satisfactory with 73% of the material displaying distinct genetic profiles. Dissimilarities were calculated and a diversity representation was constructed using Neighbour Joining methodology. Accessions clustered in accordance with their geographical origin and their known history. The collected Caribbean accessions displayed a high variability, but shared some specific alleles and clustered together along with cultivars grown in Central (Mexico) and South America (Colombia) introduced from the South-East Asia, but also with cultivars from former French colonies in the Indian Ocean, indicating two introduction routes of mango to the French West Indies. (Resume d'auteur)

Cancer de la prostate en Guadeloupe : incidence, mortalité, caractéristiques cliniques et anatomopathologiques

In mainland France, as in most Western countries, prostate cancer is the most frequent cancer in men. However, the incidence of this cancer is highly variable, depending on the region of the world. This variability is largely accounted for by differences in access to care, but also by environmental conditions and the ethnogeographic origins of the populations. The French West Indies--the archipelago of Guadeloupe and the island of Martinique--are unique in terms of their geography, environment and the lifestyle and origins of their populations. We report the incidence and mortality rates for prostate cancer in the French West Indies and also provide the first description of the major clinical and anatomical characteristics of this disease in this region.