V51A-4731:
Chemistry and chronology of magmatic processes, Central Kenya Peralkaline province, East African Rift
Friday, 19 December 2014
Elizabeth Anthony, Univ Texas El Paso, El Paso, TX, United States, Alan L Deino, Berkeley Geochronology Center, Berkeley, CA, United States, John Charles White, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY, United States and Peter A. Omenda, geothermal development corporation, Nairobi, Kenya
Abstract:
We report here a synthesis of the geochemistry of magma evolution correlated with 40Ar/39Ar, 14 C, and U-series chronology for volcanoes in the Central Kenya Peralkaline Province (CKPP). The volcanic centers – Menengai, Eburru, Olkaria, Longonot, and Suswa - are at the apex of the Kenya Dome, and consist of trachyte, phonolite, comendite, and pantellerite. These volcanic centers are within the graben of the EARS and are characterized by a shield-building phase followed by caldera collapse and subsequent post-caldera eruptions. Geochemical modeling demonstrates that the magmas are the result of fractional crystallization of alkali basaltic magmas and magma mixing. Longonot and Suswa have the most chronologic data -14 C, Ar/Ar and U-series – and they show that the youngest eruptions have 230 Th/232Th of 0.8, which was inherited from the magma system prior to eruption. Subsequent changes in 230 Th/232 Th are due to post-eruptive decay of 230 Th and correlate well with 14 C and Ar/Ar.
