Subduction zones and island arcs are regions of material flux to and from the mantle. Knowledge of the magnitude of these fluxes has a major bearing on understanding the evolution of the Earth. In the Mediterranean, the approach of Africa towards Europe appears to have resulted in the subduction of large amounts of sediment in the last few million years. Subducted sediment should affect the amount and chemistry of volcanism in the arc behind the subduction zone and the PI wishes to examine this model by analyzing ashes that were collected in cores in the Mediterranean that date back 5 million years.
