US-Kenya Cooperative Research: Refining Geothermal Exploration via Geochemical Modelling of Young Volcanic Centers in the Kenya Rift

University Of Texas At El Paso, El Paso TX

Investigators

Abstract

0096863 Anthony This award supports a two-year collaborative research project between Dr. Elizabeth Anthony, with the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Texas in El Paso, and Dr. Peter Omenda, with the Olkaria Geothermal Project, Kenya Electricity Generating Co. Ltd. In Kenya geothermal resources are focussed on young volcanic centers which sit in the axis of the Kenya Rift. Anthony and Omenda have already established that although these eruptive centers share many common characteristics, such as location and age, each center also has its own distinct evolutionary history. In addition, geophysicists have recently imaged shallow, high-density bodies beneath the volcanoes, which may represent the magma chambers or residues from magma crystallization. The investigators will collect volcanic and geophysical data from four volcanoes in the Kenya Rift, and use it to develop integrated models on the volume and composition of the subsurface magmas. These models will then be used to understand the cause for the different evolutionary histories, and to interpret the exact relationship between the volcanism and the shallow, high-density bodies. This project combines the petrologic expertise of Dr. Anthony with the geothermal and field experience of Dr. Omenda. Through this project the investigators expect to achieve a greater understanding of the history of volcanoes, and of the relationship between observed volcanic units and subsurface geophysics. This knowledge will also aid in future geothermal exploration and exploitation activities, such as the assessment of long-term heat budgets for individual volcanoes. The Division of International Programs and the Division of Earth Sciences are jointly providing support for this project.