Processes and timescales of magmas: U-series, 40Ar/39Ar chronology, and
ternary feldspars, for the Quaternary Suswa volcano, Central Kenya
Peralkaline Province, East African Rift
Abstract
Processes and timescales of magmas: U-series, 40Ar/39Ar chronology, and
ternary feldspars, for the Quaternary Suswa volcano, Central Kenya
Peralkaline Province, East African Rift Vanessa V. Espejel-García a,
Elizabeth Y. Anthony b, Peter A. Omenda c, Alan L. Deino d, John C.
White e a Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua,
Circuito No. 1, Campus Universitario 2, C.P. 31125, Chihuahua, Chih.,
México. b University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA c
Scientific and Engineering Power Consultants, P.0. Box 38991, Nairobi,
Kenya d Berkeley Geochronology Center, Ridge Road, Berkeley, CA, 94709,
USA. e Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY 40475, USA
Corresponding author. Vanessa V. Espejel-García, vespejel@uach.mx, Tel.
(52) 614 221 7549. ORCID a 0000-0002-0486-8726 b 0000-0001-7951-1724 c
—- d 0000-0002-0099-9382 e 0000-0001-5107-6847 Suswa is a Late
Pleistocene to recent volcano in the axis of the East African Rift.
Early activity saw construction of a trachytic shield volcano, followed
by mafic-felsic magma mixing, explosive volcanism, and caldera collapse.
Recent activity includes drawn down of the magma chamber to create a
second, inner caldera, a resurgent dome, and eruption of phonolites
(White et al., 2012, Lithos, 152, 88-104). 40Ar/39Ar ages for the
initial shield volcano are ca. 110 ka. Formation of the outer caldera
occurred at ca. 46 ka, and initial post-caldera eruptions followed soon
thereafter at 32.5 ka. Final eruptions are ca. 11 ka to “zero age”.
230Th/232Th confirms simultaneity of mafic eruptions in the peripheral
fields and the youthfulness of the final events. The 203Th/232Th data
also demonstrate that depth for initial magma generation lies below the
spinel peridotite field within garnet peridotite. Ground deformation
includes deflation of 4.6 cm from 1997 to 2000 (Biggs et al., 2009) and
subsequent inflation of 4.3 +/- 0.8 cm/yr from 2015 to 2020 (Albino and
Biggs, 2021, G3). Alkali feldspar from pre- and most syn-caldera has a
limited compositional range. Feldspars in mingled lavas include bimodal
distribution of these alkali feldspar and plagioclase identical in
composition to similar-age cinder cones and fissure flows adjacent to
the volcano. Alkali feldspar shifts to greater An content in the
post-caldera phonolite. Oscillatory and tabular textures record rapid
crystal growth and turbulence in the phonolite magma chamber. However,
neither the textures nor the composition range necessitate renewed
addition of mafic material.