Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD SpringerOpen
Résumé : The Karakorum Fault zone (KFZ) plays an important role in understanding the formation, evolvement and deformation of the Tibetan Plateau. The high-T dextral shearing metamorphic rocks, e.g., mylonites or mylonitized gneisses-granites, locally crop out along the southeastern part of the KFZ in the Ayila Ri'gyü Range area. The SHRIMP U-Pb dating of the syn-kinematic crystallized zircons indicates that the initial age of the KFZ is ∼27 Ma, ∼10 Ma older than previous results. The extensive high-T dextral shearing along the KFZ started at least at 27–20 Ma, accompanied by the syn-kinematic emplacement of leuco-granites. Deformation and concomitant fluid circulation during shearing most likely occurred as early as at 25–13 Ma. The KFZ probably grew from southeast to northwest along the fault as a result of continuous convergence between the India plate and Eurasia plate.
ISSN: 1001-6538

hal-00406402
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00406402
DOI : 10.1007/s11434-007-0164-6

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Reef positions record the interaction between eustasy and tectonics, and have been used worldwide to characterize vertical deformations of upper-plates at different time-scales and constrain the seismic behavior of megathrusts. Along the Lesser Antilles volcanic arc, high-resolution marine geophysical data were collected on the 2–20 km wide eastern Martinique reef platform to reconstruct its stratigraphic and morphologic history, and understand the influence of local normal faulting, volcanism and plate-scale subduction processes on Holocene and Late Pleistocene reef development. The subsiding Martinique platform's stratigraphy is composed of multiple superimposed sea-level highstand deposits separated by subaerial exposure surfaces of sea-level low stands. The carbonate platform consists of two laterally-extensive carbonate units (unit U2 overlying unit U3) that extend to the platform edge to a depth of − 95 m MSL (mean sea level), and form two morphologic terraces, M2 and M3 respectively. The landward portion of unit U2 is partially overlain between 0 and − 60 m MSL by the living reef tract U1. The current reef is composed of a landward fringing reef, a lagoon and a seaward barrier reef, the latter forming a double-bank barrier around the Caravelle Peninsula. In near-shore multi-channel seismic profiles, a distinct reflector at ~− 35 m MSL, probably a subaerial exposure surface E1, separates the reef sequence formed during the last transgression from a Pleistocene fossil reef tract forming unit U2. Offshore of Mount Pelée volcano (Late Pleistocene), the Holocene reef did not develop above unit U2, whose upper surface is incised by channels and apparent sinkholes. During the Holocene transgression, the possibility of excessive turbidity due to volcanic activity may have inhibited reef development in this area. The un-dated unit U2 probably developed 120–130 ka ago during the last interglacial (MIS 5.5) + 6 m MSL highstand as thick, extensive reefs deposited all along the Lesser Antilles arc. Due to subsidence, MIS 5.5 reefs are not represented by onshore facies, except along the southern Sainte Anne Peninsula where normal faulting and uplift balances island-scale subsidence. Based on unit U2's present elevation and assuming an MIS 5.5 age and + 6 m MSL sea level, Martinique has subsided at maximum 0.3 m/ky, likely due to subduction processes that question the coupling state of the megathrust.
ISSN: 0025-3227

hal-01307036
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01307036
DOI : 10.1016/j.margeo.2015.08.001

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Properly assessing the extent and magnitude of fault ruptures associated with large earthquakes is critical for understanding fault behavior and associated hazard. Submarine faults can trigger tsunamis, whose characteristics are defined by the geometry of seafloor displacement, studied primarily through indirect observations (e.g., seismic event parameters, seismic profiles, shipboard bathymetry, coring) rather than direct ones. Using deep-sea vehicles, we identify for the first time a marker of coseismic slip on a submarine fault plane along the Roseau Fault (Lesser Antilles), and measure its vertical displacement of ∼0.9 m in situ. We also map recent fissuring and faulting of sediments on the hangingwall, along ∼3 km of rupture in close proximity to the fault's base, and document the reactivation of erosion and sedimentation within and downslope of the scarp. These deformation structures were caused by the 2004 M w 6.3 Les Saintes earthquake, which triggered a subsequent tsunami. Their characterization informs estimates of earthquake recurrence on this fault and provides new constraints on the geometry of fault rupture, which is both shorter and displays locally larger coseismic displacements than available model predictions that lack field constraints. This methodology of detailed field observations coupled with near-bottom geophysical surveying can be readily applied to numerous submarine fault systems, and should prove useful in evaluating seismic and tsunamigenic hazard in all geodynamic contexts.
ISSN: 0012-821X

insu-01557932
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01557932
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01557932/document
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01557932/file/EPSL-2006-escartin.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2016.06.024

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : The depth of the oceanic lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary (LAB), as inferred from shear wave velocities, increases with lithospheric age, in agreement with models of cooling oceanic lithosphere. On the other hand, the distribution of radial anisotropy under oceanic plates is almost age-independent. In particular, radial anisotropy shows a maximum positive gradient at a depth of ∼70 km, which, if used as a proxy, indicates an age-independent LAB depth. These contrasting observations have fueled a controversy on the seismological signature of the LAB. To better understand the discrepancy between these observations, we model the development of lattice preferred orientation (LPO) in upper mantle crystal aggregates and predict the seismic anisotropy produced by plate-driven mid-ocean ridge flows. The model accounts for the progressive cooling of the lithosphere with age and can incorporate both diffusion and dislocation creep deformation mechanisms. We find that an age-independent distribution of radial anisotropy is the natural consequence of these simple flows. The depth and strength of anisotropy is further controlled by the deformation regime – dislocation or diffusion creep – experienced by crystals during their ascent towards, and subsequent motion away from, the ridge axis. Comparison to surface wave tomography models yield constraints on rheological parameters such as the activation volume. Although not excluded, additional mechanisms proposed to explain some geophysical signatures of the LAB, such as the presence of partial melt or changes in water content, are not required to explain the radial anisotropy proxy. Our prediction, that the age-independent radial anisotropy proxy marks the transition to flow-induced asthenospheric anisotropy, provides a way to reconcile thermal, mechanical and seismological views of the LAB.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-01553243
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01553243
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2016.12.004

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD AGU and the Geochemical Society
Résumé : International audience
Rainbow is a dome-shaped massif at the 36°14′N nontransform offset along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It hosts three ultramafic-hosted hydrothermal sites: Rainbow is active and high temperature; Clamstone and Ghost City are fossil and low temperature. The MoMARDREAM cruises (2007, 2008) presented here provided extensive rock sampling throughout the massif that constrains the geological setting of hydrothermal activity. The lithology is heterogeneous with abundant serpentinites surrounding gabbros, troctolites, chromitites, plagiogranites, and basalts. We propose that a W dipping detachment fault, now inactive, uplifted the massif and exhumed these deep-seated rocks. Present-day deformation is accommodated by SSW-NNE faults and fissures, consistent with oblique teleseismic focal mechanisms and stress rotation across the discontinuity. Faults localize fluid flow and control the location of fossil and active hydrothermal fields that appear to be ephemeral and lacking in spatiotemporal progression. Markers of high-temperature hydrothermal activity (∼350°C) are restricted to some samples from the active field while a more diffuse, lower temperature hydrothermal activity (<220°C) is inferred at various locations through anomalously high As, Sb, and Pb contents, attributed to element incorporation in serpentines or microscale-sulfide precipitation. Petrographic and geochemical analyses show that the dominant basement alteration is pervasive peridotite serpentinization at ∼160–260°C, attributed to fluids chemically similar to those venting at Rainbow, and controlled by concomitant alteration of mafic-ultramafic units at depth. Rainbow provides a model for fluid circulation, possibly applicable to hydrothermalism at oceanic detachments elsewhere, where both low-temperature serpentinization and magmatic-driven high-temperature outflow develop contemporaneously, channeled by faults in the footwall and not along the detachment fault.
ISSN: 1525-2027

hal-01115281
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01115281
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01115281/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01115281/file/Andreani_et_al-2014-Geochemistry%2C_Geophysics%2C_Geosystems.pdf
DOI : 10.1002/2014GC005269

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union
Résumé : International audience
We present the results of a paleomagnetic study of seven new volcanic sections (146 flows) from Kerguelen Archipelago. For two of these sections, preliminary (;40;Ar/;39;Ar) ages are reported to aid in the calibration of the paleomagnetic results. The primary contribution of this report, however, is a compilation of these new data with those already published in order to describe statistically the characteristics of the paleomagnetic field as recorded by the Kerguelen flood basalts. In total, 258 paleomagnetic directions sampled at 13 stratigraphic sections through the lava pile are available and span an approximately 5 Ma window: from 25 to 30 Ma. The composite section represents at least 11 polarity zones that are correlated to the reference geomagnetic polarity timescale. Our approach is to investigate the average normal and reversed polarity field directions over this 5 Ma window. We calculated a paleomagnetic pole found to be located at ;λ; = 85.5°N, = 189.3°E (A;95; = 2.3°, K = 16.5, N = 233). This pole is in close agreement with the coeval paleomagnetic poles obtained from different worldwide places when analyzed in the Indo-Atlantic hot spot reference frame. In the statistical analysis we tackle the specific question: Is the secular variation isotropic? This question is directly related to the occurrence of a longitudinal confinement of the virtual geomagnetic poles, which is still a matter of debate among paleomagnetists. By means of statistical tests we show that the paleomagnetic data from Kerguelen agree with an isotropic model for paleosecular variation. Finally, we present adjustments to Camps and Prévot's (1996) statistical model, developed for some Northern Hemisphere latitudes, to the Southern Hemisphere paleomagnetic data from Kerguelen.
ISSN: 0148-0227

hal-00407636
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00407636
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00407636/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00407636/file/pcamps-JGR2007.pdf
DOI : 10.1029/2006JB004648

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
The deformation of natural systems in response to subsurface water storage and redistribution provides insightsinto the main water flow path within heterogeneous systems, including the role of faults or fractures. A longbaseline tiltmeter was installed in the low-noise underground laboratory of Rustrel (LSBB) to study the responseof the Fontaine de Vaucluse (FDV) karst hydrosystem to water cycle. Tilt data and piezometric levels recorded in aborehole close to the LSBB show a strong correlation with the discharge of the system observed at the FDV spring30 km away. Over several months, tilt data were recorded on three base lines, thus allowing, for the first time,to study the tilt gradient variation that appears homogeneous. Such information provides a significant constrainton hydrological processes leading to the measured deformation. Several deformation models were tested usingthe ADELI code to estimate the type of hydro-mechanical structure that could reproduce the measured tilt andits gradient. On one hand, models show that uniform loading at the surface produces a much smaller signal thanobserved on measured data. On the other hand, the deformation related to the filling of a fracture following aprecipitation event requires unrealistic fracture size. Finally, we found that a suitable hydro-mechanical modelcorresponds to the loading of numerous fractures at the interface between the saturated and unsaturated zones. Sucha configuration predicts a tilt distribution in agreement with observations. This study suggests that tilt networksinto a karst system should provide key observation for deciphering hydrological processes
Geophysical Research Abstracts
Vienne, Austria

insu-01308594
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01308594

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
ISSN: 0040-1951

hal-00843380
https://hal-mines-paristech.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00843380
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2013.05.043

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
We performed forward modelling of seismic anisotropy beneath a migrating strike-slip plate boundary to: (1) test if such a geodynamic context might explain teleseismic shear wave splitting data in the vicinity of the central part of the San Andreas Fault and (2) constrain the power of such data to unravel vertical and lateral variations in deformation patterns in the upper mantle. The modelling involves five steps: (1) thermomechanical modelling, using a finite-element code, of the deformation field, (2) viscoplastic self-consistent modelling of the resulting olivine and pyroxene crystal preferred orientations, (3) calculation of the elasticity tensors for different domains of the finite elements (FEs) model, (4) forward modelling of seismic wave propagation through the model using ray theory, finite-frequency theory and a full-wave approach and (5) performing splitting measurements on the synthetic seismograms. SKS splitting data in central California are best fitted by a model with a hotter geotherm within 60 km of the plate boundary accounting for the opening of an asthenospheric window due to the northward migration of the Mendocino Triple Junction. The westward motion of the plate boundary cannot however explain the rotation of fast polarization directions east of the San Andreas Fault in central California. Comparison between modelled and measured individual shear wave splitting also implies that the homogeneity of the two-layer models accounting for the observations in the vicinity of the San Andreas Fault indicates a sharp transition between lithospheric and asthenospheric deformations beneath this plate boundary. The ability of different synthetic approaches to localize horizontally and vertically the plate boundary-related deformation differs significantly. Splitting in ray theory synthetics closely follow variations in olivine crystallographic preferred orientations in the model. In contrast, splitting analysis on full-wave synthetics, which should be more representative of actual long-period SKS waves, results in smooth apparent lateral variations of anisotropy; the exact location and width of the plate boundary may only be retrieved by comparing fast-polarization profiles obtained using a multichannel analysis on waves with different periods.
ISSN: 0956-540X

hal-01236150
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01236150
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01236150/document
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01236150/file/Bonnin_San_Andreas_modelling_GJI2012.pdf
DOI : 10.1111/j.1365-246X.2012.05650.x

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union
Résumé : International audience
After the January 12, 2010, Haiti earthquake, we deployed a mainly offshore temporary network of seismologic stations around the damaged area. The distribution of the recorded aftershocks, together with morphotectonic observations and mainshock analysis, allow us to constrain a complex fault pattern in the area. Almost all of the aftershocks have a N‐S compressive mechanism, and not the expected left‐lateral strike‐slip mechanism. A first‐order slip model of the mainshock shows a N264°E north‐dipping plane, with a major left‐lateral component and a strong reverse component. As the aftershock distribution is sub‐parallel and close to the Enriquillo fault, we assume that although the cause of the catastrophe was not a rupture along the Enriquillo fault, this fault had an important role as a mechanical boundary. The azimuth of the focal planes of the aftershocks are parallel to the north‐dipping faults of the Transhaitian Belt, which suggests a triggering of failure on these discontinuities. In the western part, the aftershock distribution reflects the triggering of slip on similar faults, and/or, alternatively, of the south‐dipping faults, such the Trois‐Baies submarine fault. These observations are in agreement with a model of an oblique collision of an indenter of the oceanic crust of the Southern Peninsula and the sedimentary wedge of the Transhaitian Belt: the rupture occurred on a wrench fault at the rheologic boundary on top of the under‐thrusting rigid oceanic block, whereas the aftershocks were the result of the relaxation on the hanging wall along pre‐existing discontinuities in the frontal part of the Transhaitian Belt.
ISSN: 0094-8276

insu-00643489
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00643489
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00643489/document
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00643489/file/GRL-haiti.2011.pdf
DOI : 10.1029/2011GL049799

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The characteristic frequencies at which two different melt-related attenuation mechanisms occur in partially molten gabbronorite are computed as a function of aspect ratios of the melt-filled cracks, and the melt viscosity. The computations were done for basaltic and andesitic melts. The melt viscosity is constrained by (i) laboratory measurements performed in the range 10(8)-10(14) Pa s with a creep apparatus and in the range 10(-1) to 10(5) Pas with a rotational Couette viscorneter, and (ii) modeling of viscosity at high temperatures. The results of the characteristic frequency calculations suggest that melt squirt flow is a viable attenuation mechanism at seismic frequencies for aspect ratio of melt inclusions in the range 10(-1) to 10(-2) for the andesite, and 10(-4) to 10(-3) for the two basalts.
ISSN: 0031-9201

hal-00412014
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00412014
DOI : 10.1016/j.pepi.2008.04.010

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Kimberlites of the Udachnaya-East pipe (Siberia) include a uniquely dry and serpentine-free rock type with anomalously high contents of chlorine (Cl ≤ 6.1 wt%), alkalies (Na2O + K2O ≤ 10 wt%) and sulfur (S ≤ 0.50 wt%), referred to as a “salty” kimberlite. The straightforward interpretation is that the Na-, K-, Cl- and S-rich components originate directly from a carbonate-chloride kimberlitic magma that is anhydrous and alkali-rich. However, because brines and evaporites are present on the Siberian craton, previous studies proposed that the kimberlitic magma was contaminated by the assimilation of salt-rich crustal rocks. To clarify the origin of high Cl, alkalies and S in this unusual kimberlite, here we determine its sulfur speciation and isotopic composition and compare it to that of non-salty kimberlites and kimberlitic breccia from the same pipe, as well as potential contamination sources (hydrothermal sulfides and sulfates, country-rock sediment and brine collected in the area). The average δ34S of sulfides is − 1.4 ± 2.2‰ in the salty kimberlite, 2.1 ± 2.7‰ in the non-salty kimberlites and 14.2 ± 5.8‰ in the breccia. The average δ34S of sulfates in the salty kimberlites is 11.1 ± 1.8‰ and 27.3 ± 1.6‰ in the breccia. In contrast, the δ34S of potential contaminants range from 20 to 42‰ for hydrothermal sulfides, from 16 to 34‰ for hydrothermal sulfates, 34‰ for a country-rock sediment (Chukuck suite) and the regional brine aquifer. Our isotope analyses show that (1) in the salty kimberlites, neither sulfates nor sulfides can be simply explained by brine infiltration, hydrothermal alteration or the assimilation of known salt-rich country rocks and instead, we propose that they are late magmatic phases; (2) in the non-salty kimberlite and breccia, brine infiltration lead to sulfate reduction and the formation of secondary sulfides – this explains the removal of salts, alkali-carbonates and sulfates, as well as the minor olivine serpentinization; (3) hydrothermal sulfur was added to the kimberlitic breccia, but not to the massive kimberlites. In situ measurements of sulfides confirm this scenario, clearly showing the addition of two sulfide populations in the breccia (pyrite-pyrrhotites with average δ34S of 7.9 ± 3.4‰ and chalcopyrites with average δ34S of 38.0 ± 0.4‰) whereas the salty and non-salty kimberlites preserve a unique population of djerfisherites (Cl- and K-rich sulfides) with δ34S values within the mantle range. This study provides the first direct evidence of alkaline igneous rocks in which magmatic sulfate is more abundant than sulfide. Although sulfates have been rarely reported in mantle materials, sulfate-rich melts may be more common in the mantle than previously thought and could balance the sulfur isotope budget of Earth's mantle.
ISSN: 0009-2541

hal-01571982
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01571982
DOI : 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2016.10.037

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
Volumes of magma intruded in and emitted by volcanoes through time can be estimated by reconstruction of vol-cano's morphology and time sequence. Classical approaches for quantifying magma volumes on active volcanoes are based on the difference between pre-and post-eruption digital elevation models (DEM), but this kind of approach needs the pre-eruptive surfaces to be available. For old and eroded volcanoes these surfaces are poorly constrained. However, because the geometrical form of many volcanic edifices exhibits a remarkable symmetry we propose, here, a new approach using primary volcanic landforms in order to estimate the amount of the both erupted and eroded material and to locate eruptive centers. A large fraction of composite volcanoes have near constant slope on their flanks and a form that is concave upwards near their summits. But many phenomena can lead to non-symetrical edifices and complex morphologies can result, for example from parasitic centers of volcanism on the flanks, from alternation of short effusive and explosive construction phases, from flank or caldera collapses, or from glacial and other types of erosion. In this study we propose that, on the first order approximation, complex morphologies can be modeled by piling regular cones. In this model, cones centers and slopes are derived by fitting primary volcanic landform with a linear function :elevation=f(distance from center). Such an approach allows to estimate both errors on location of the eruptive center and on the volume of the resulting cones. This model can then be used for quantifying volume of erupted and eroded material, and for quantifying catastrophic events as giant landslides or flank collapse. This approach is tested on four different active volcanoes : Mount Mayon (Philippines), Mount Fuji (Japan), Mount Etna (Sicily) and Mount Teide (Canary Island) to estimate errors in volume between modeled and actual edifices. It is then used on volcanoes of La Réunion hotspot to reconstruct the Piton des Neiges and Piton de la Fournaise volcanoes at its different stages of growing.
EGU 2014
Vienna, Austria

hal-01386609
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01386609

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : This work deals with the dating of Mount Etna lava flows and eruptive fissure deposits to the last four millennia following field investigations and stratigraphic data (BRANCA et alii, 2011a). We have studied 24 of these volcanic products, including 301 large samples, through high precision archeomagnetic dating checked by 226Ra-230Th radiochronology, thus providing additional material to the previous paper by TANGUY et alii (2007). In most cases our results allow attributing ages to the historical period, although two flows are shown to be prehistoric. For the historic lavas, archeoma - gnetic ages can be defined within decades, except for three of them that erupted during a time span (Greco-Roman epoch) when the geomagnetic field underwent little variation. Although 60% of these volcanics exhibit ages comprised between 700 AD and 1850, only one (1285) is mentioned by contemporary written accounts. We conclude that i) historical documents alone are insufficient to reconstruct a coherent sequence of eruptions, and ii) a multidisciplinary approach is necessary to obtain a comprehensive eruptive history of such a very active volcano, useful for both scientific and civil protection purposes, even for such a geologically recent period as that of the last 10 or 20 centuries. Thanks to these new archeomagnetic and 226Ra-230Th data coupled with stratigraphic data, a comprehensive volcanic history of the still-outcropping Mount Etna volcanics is now available for the last 2,400 years. KEY WORDS: Etna volcano, archeomagnetic dating, 226Ra- 230Th dating, stratigraphy, historical account.
Italian Journal of Geosciences

hal-00758077
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00758077
DOI : 10.3301/IJG.2012.01

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : National audience
Mass balances are often used to calculate sediment fluxes in sedimentary basins and denudationrates in adjacent topographies on intermediate to long timescales (from a few tens ofthousand to a million years). In this study, we focus on simple Quaternary catchment–alluvial fansystems in the northern Tian Shan Range and its foreland basin to discuss some ideas about sedimentproduction, storage, release, and bypass in relatively short (100 km long) sediment routing systems.Based on a geometrical reconstruction of the fans, we estimated the volumes of sediments exportedout of the range and deposited in its alluvial piedmont during the Middle- Late Pleistocene andthe Holocene. This work shows that the two areas clearly present evidence of a temporary butsignificant storage of sediments during the Pleistocene. These sediments were then excavated anddelivered farther into the foreland basin during the Holocene. The difference between the volumesof materials released from the range and piedmont areas and the volume stored in thecontemporaneous fans downstream indicates that the latter did not trap the whole sediment loadtransported by the rivers. The alluvial fans were bypassed by 27 to 78% of this load toward thedownstream alluvial plain. It implies a major volumetric partitioning of the deposits between thefans and the alluvial plain, with a sedimentation rate about twenty times higher in the fans thanin the plain. However, this volumetric partitioning might only occur during periods with a veryspecific hydrological regime such as the Holocene deglaciation. Eventually, the peculiar sedimentstorage and release pattern within the range and piedmont areas during the Pleistocene and Holocenecomplicates the calculation of mean paleodenudation rates using either sediment budgets or in situproduced cosmogenic nuclides.
Association des Sédimentologistes Français. 15ème congrès français de sédimentologie
Chambéry, France

hal-01252100
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01252100

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
No major earthquake occurred in North Chile since the 1877 Mw 8.6 subduction earthquake that produced a huge tsunami. However, geodetic measurements conducted over the last decade in this area show that the upper plate is actually deforming, which reveals some degree of locking on the subduction interface. This accumulation of elastic deformation is likely to be released in a future earthquake. Because of the long elapsed time since 1877 and the rapid accumulation of deformation (thought to be 6-7 cm yr−1), many consider this area is a mature seismic gap where a major earthquake is due and seismic hazard is high. We present a new Global Positioning System (GPS) velocity field, acquired between 2008 and 2012, that describes in some detail the interseismic deformation between 18°S and 24°S. We invert for coupling distribution on the Nazca-South America subduction interface using elastic modelling. Our measurements require that, at these latitudes, 10 to 12 mm yr−1 (i.e. 15 per cent of the whole convergence rate) are accommodated by the clockwise rotation of an Andean block bounded to the East by the subandean fold-and-thrust belt. This reduces the accumulation rate on the subduction interface to 56 mm yr−1 in this area. Coupling variations on the subduction interface both along-strike and along-dip are described. We find that the North Chile seismic gap is segmented in at least two highly locked segments bounded by narrow areas of weak coupling. This coupling segmentation is consistent with our knowledge of the historical ruptures and of the instrumental seismicity of the region. Intersegment zones (Iquique, Mejillones) correlate with high background seismic rate and local tectonic complexities on the upper or downgoing plates. The rupture of either the Paranal or the Loa segment alone could easily produce a Mw 8.0-8.3 rupture, and we propose that the Loa segment (from 22.5°S to 20.8°S) may be the one that ruptured in 1877.
ISSN: 0956-540X

hal-00941279
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00941279
DOI : 10.1093/gji/ggt183

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union
Résumé : International audience
We recover the Holocene earthquake history of seven seismogenic normal faults in the Fucino system, central Italy. We collected 800 samples from the well-preserved limestone scarps of the faults and modeled their 36Cl concentrations to derive their seismic exhumation history. We found that > 30 large earthquakes broke the faults in synchrony over the last 12 ka. The seven faults released strain at the same periods of time, 12-9 ka, 5-3 ka, and 1.5-1 ka. On all faults, the strain accumulation and release occurred in 3-6 ka supercycles, each included a 3-5 ka phase of slow (≤ 0.5-2 mm/yr) strain accumulation in relative quiescence, followed by a cluster of three to four large earthquakes or earthquake sequences that released most of the strain in < 1-2 ka. The large earthquakes repeated every 0.5 ± 0.3 ka during the paroxysmal phases and every 4.3 ± 0.9 ka between those phases. Earthquakes on the northern faults produced twice larger surface slips (~ 2 m) and had larger magnitudes (Mw 6.2-6.7) than those on the southern faults. On most faults, the relative strain level was found to control the amount of slip and the time of occurrence of the next large earthquake. Faults entered a phase of clustered activity once they had reached a specific relative strain threshold. The Tre Monti fault is identified as the most prone to break over the next century. Our data document earthquake synchrony and clustering at a broader space and time scale than has been reported to date.
ISSN: 0148-0227

hal-00903460
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00903460
DOI : 10.1002/jgrb.50299

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : Pb, Hf, Nd and Sr isotopes of basaltic lavas from the two Reunion Island volcanoes are reported in order to examine the origin of the sources feeding these volcanoes and to detect possible changes through time. Samples, chosen to cover the whole lifetime of the two volcanoes (from 2 Ma to present), yield a chemically restricted (compared to 0113 lavas) but complex distribution. Reunion plume isotopic characteristics have been defined on the basis of the composition of uncontaminated shield-building lavas from the Piton de la Fournaise volcano. The average epsilon(Nd), epsilon(Hf), Sr-87/Sr-86 and Pb-206/Pb-204, Pb-207/Pb-204, and Pb-208/Pb-204 isotope ratios calculated for this component are +4.4, +9.1, 0.70411, 18.97, 15.59 and 39.03, respectively. In Pb-Pb isotope space, each volcano defines a distinct linear trend but slight variation are also detected within the various volcanic sequences. The Piton des Neiges volcano yields a distinct and significantly more scattered isotopic distribution than Piton de la Fournaise for both Pb, Hf and Nd isotope tracers. A principal component analysis of the Pb isotope data from Piton de la Fournaise reveals a major contribution of the C and EM-1 components (with a clear Dupal flavor) as main components for the modem Reunion plume. The same components have been identified for Piton des Neiges but with a stronger participation of a depleted mantle component and a weaker EM-1 contribution. The compositional change of the lavas erupted by the Piton des Neiges and Piton de la Fournaise volcanoes is attributed to the impingement of two small-scale blobs of plume material at the base of the Reunion lithosphere. Compared to other hot-spots worldwide, in particular Hawaii and Kerguelen, magmas beneath Reunion are generated from a considerably more homogeneous, compositionally more primitive plume higher in Pb-206. Although shallow-level contamination processes have been locally detected they did not alter significantly the composition of the plume magmas. This is tentatively attributed to mantle dynamics producing small, high-velocity blobs that ascend rapidly through the lithosphere, and to the lack of a well-developed magma chamber at depth in the lithosphere.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-00412196
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00412196
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2007.11.018

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The decay of 187Re to 187Os provides a unique tracer of recycled lithosphere in the Earth's upper mantle, and the radiogenic Os isotope compositions of many mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) have been taken to indicate the presence of recycled oceanic crust in the mantle source. However, others have attributed the data to contamination by seawater or an age effect (due to 187Re decay following igneous crystallisation). This study presents new Re Os, U Th Ra and B isotope data for normal-MORB (N-MORB) glass (including 18 samples analysed previously). The scale of the variation in 187Os/188Os observed here in N-MORB glass ranges from 0.126 to 0.148, with a mean value of 0.133 ± 0.009 (2?). Previously published Os isotope data for MORB is shown to have been affected by an analytical artefact, and in particular the very radiogenic Os isotope compositions reported earlier are now shown not to exist. Nevertheless, some radiogenic Os isotope compositions are still seen in the data obtained here. Coupled Th and Ra excesses appear to rule out an age effect, at least, for those samples studied, however, ?11B covariations with 187Os/188Os are consistent with the assimilation of older oceanic crust (affected by seawater contamination). Individual sulphides (less likely to be affected by such contamination) are always less radiogenic than their glass host, with 187Os/188Os values ranging from 0.123 to 0.131. This indicates that sulphide precipitation occurred prior to contamination of the surrounding melt, but the data also suggest that low-Os sulphides have been affected by contamination through partial equilibration with that melt. Taken together, these indicate that dominant process responsible for the radiogenic Os isotope compositions of N-MORB glass is contamination by older oceanic crust. Although the influence of age effects and the presence of recycled material cannot be completely ruled out, Os-rich sulphides yield sub-chondritic Os isotope compositions which point rather to a long-term depletion in Re in the MORB source likely to have resulted from formation of the continental crust over much of Earth's history.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-00320075
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00320075
DOI : 10.1016/J.EPSL.2007.05.014

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Intraplate deformation is most often linked to major stress applied on plate margins. When such intraplate events are accompanied by magmatism, the use of several dating methods integrated within a multidisciplinary approach can bring constraints on the age, nature and source mobilized for generating the magma and in turn on the nature of the intraplate deformation. This study focuses on the large gabbro Arrikine sill (35 km in extension) emplaced within the Silurian sediments of the western margin of the Murzuq cratonic basin in southeastern Algeria. Its emplacement is dated during the early Devonian (415-400 Ma) through the determination of a reliable paleomagnetic pole by comparison with the Gondwana Apparent Polar Wander Path (APWP). This age can be correlated with deep phreatic eruptions before Pragian time thought to be at the origin of sand injections and associated circular structures in Algeria and Libya. For the sill, the K–Ar age of 325.6 ± 7.7 Ma is related to a K-rich aplitic phase that has K-enriched by more than 20% the Devonian gabbro. Laser-ICP-MS U–Pb method dates only inherited zircons mostly at c. 2030 Ma with additional ages at c. 2700 Ma and younger ones in the 766-598 Ma age range. The Arrikine sill is a high-Ti alkaline gabbro having the geochemical composition of a hawaiite akin to several intraplate continental and oceanic provinces, including the contemporaneous Aïr ring complexes province in Niger, but also to the Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii. This peculiar composition akin to that of the contemporaneous Aïr province is in agreement with a lower Devonian age for the Arrikine sill.The lower Devonian Arrikine sill emplacement is related to a “Caledonian” transtensive reactivation of the western metacratonic boundary of the Murzuq craton. This event also generated in the Saharan platform the so-called “Caledonian unconformity” of regional extension, the Aïr ring complexes and magmatic rocks that produced sand injections. It could be related to rifting of the Hun terranes that occurred at the plate margin to the north (Stampfli and Borel, 2002, Blackey, 2008 and references therein). The mid-Carboniferous (c. 326 Ma) reactivation corresponds to Variscan compression on NW Africa generating aplitic fluids, but also to the major “Hercynian unconformity” of regional extension. The generation of the Arrikine magma is attributed to partial melting through adiabatic pressure release of uprising asthenosphere along tectonically reactivated mega-shear zones, here bordering the relictual Murzuq craton enclosed in the Saharan metacraton.
ISSN: 0899-5362

hal-01306637
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01306637
DOI : 10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2015.11.019