Paper short abstract:

This paper provides a record of the general topographical changes in relation to clay mineralogy and its paleo geographical implication for a succession that covers stratigraphy along the upper staircase, a stretch of approximately 280 meters.

Paper long abstract:

This study is dedicated in contributing to establishing the condition of past environments of Kilombe Caldera in Kenya. The Caldera is an extinct volcano with a crater that is partly infilled with lake sediments. In order to apply argillaceous (clay-rich) sediments analyses as tracers to the past environmental conditions of quaternary environments at Kilombe, sediment samples and survey data collected from the study were analyzed using: X-ray diffraction(XRD) that has proven to provide information of the source rock and any chemical changes that resulted from effects of different weathering process; Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) used to distinguish between the different depositional environments; Coulter Counter to help determine particle size distribution and establish the important changes in the sedimentary environment; and Loss on Ignition (LOI), to provide an index of biological productivity. General results from the analysis of the Kilombe caldera 2018 cores clearly record changes in mineralogy along the upper staircase which runs from the Acheulean assemblages down to the Oldowan assemblages at a distance of about 280 meters.