Pleistocene - Holocene volcanism at the Karkar geothermal prospect, Armenia

Quaternary volcanic centres north of the Bitlis-Zagros suture in Turkey, Iran and Caucasus represent both hazards potential or actual geothermal energy resources. Such challenges opportunities cannot be fully quantified without understanding these volcanoes' petrogenesis, geochronology magmatic, tectonic other eruption triggers. In this preliminary study, we discuss age geology Karkar monogenetic field Syunik, SE Armenia. The ~70 km2 is close to Armenia's only test drilling site. Fissure-fed trachybasaltic andesite trachyandesite lavas erupted on a trans-tensional segment Syunik branch Pambak-Sevan-Syunik Fault, where previous studies suggested Holocene for youngest eruptions. Here, high-resolution duplicate 40Ar/39Ar dating 7 groundmass separates provided inverse isochron ages ranging from 7.4 ± 3.6 ka 7.9 2.9 353 20 (2σ). Each lava flow displays petrographic whole rock geochemical patterns consistent with melting subduction-modified lithospheric mantle extensive evolution within crust involving fractional crystallisation mixing magma batches. Data confirm that activity related Fault overlapped Palaeolithic Bronze Age human occupation remains minor inundation hazard. Further work will allow constraint depth timescales storage. Both area around Porak volcano, which lies 35 km N might considered future developments.