Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer
Résumé : Subduction is a major process that plays a first-order role in the dynamics of the Earth. The sinking of cold lithosphere into the mantle is thought by many authors to be the most important source of energy for plates driving forces. It also deeply modifies the thermal and chemical structure of the mantle, producing arc volcanism and is responsible for the release of most of the seismic energy on Earth. There has been considerable achievements done during the past decades regarding the complex interactions between the various processes acting in subduction zones. This volume contains a collection of contributions that were presented in June 2007 in Montpellier (France) during a conference that gave a state of the art panorama and discussed the perspectives about "Subduction Zone Geodynamics". The papers included in this special volume offer a unique multidisciplinary picture of the recent research on subduction zones geodynamics. They are organized into five main topics: Subduction zone geodynamics, Seismic tomography and anisotropy, Great subduction zone earthquakes, Seismogenic zone characterization, Continental and ridge subduction processes. Each of the 13 papers collected in the present volume is primarily concerned with one of these topics. However, it is important to highlight that papers always treat more than one topic so that all are related lighting on different aspects of the complex and fascinating subduction zones geodynamics.
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00808864

ISBN : 978-3-540-87974
hal-00808864
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00808864

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Résumé : International audience
The Ama Drime range located at the transition between the high Himalayan range and south Tibet is a N-S active horst that offsets the South Tibetan Detachment System (STDS). Within the horst, a paragneissic unit, possibly attributed to the upper Himalayan crystalline series, overly the lower Himalayan crystalline series Ama Drime orthogneissic unit containing large metabasite layers and pods that have experienced pressure >= 1.4 GPa. Combining structural analysis with new and published pressure-temperature (P-T) estimates as well as U-Th/Pb, Ar-39/Ar-40 and (U-Th)/He ages, the P-T-deformation-time (P-T-D-t) paths of the main units within and on both sides of the horst are reconstructed. They imply that N-S normal faults initiated prior to 11 Ma and have accounted for a total exhumation <= 0.6 GPa (22 km) that probably occurred in two phases: the first one until similar to 9 Ma and the second one since 6 to 4 Ma at a rate of similar to 1 mm/yr. In the Ama Drime unit, 1 to 1.3 GPa (37 to 48 km) of exhumation occurred after partial melting since similar to 30 Ma until similar to 13 Ma, above the Main Central Trust (MCT) and below the STDS when these two fault systems were active together. The switch from E-W (STDS) to N-S (Ama Drime horst) normal faulting between 13 and 12 Ma occurs at the time of propagation of thrusting from the MCT to the Main Boundary Thrust. These data are in favor of a wedge extrusion or thrust system rather than a crustal flow model for the building of the Himalaya. We propose that the kinematics of south Tibet Cenozoic extension phases is fundamentally driven by the direction and rate of India underthrusting.
ISSN: 0278-7407

hal-00486405
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00486405
DOI : 10.1029/2009TC002551

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : This work addresses a study of geodynamics in Armenia, a country located in the central part of the zone of continental collision between the Arabian and Eurasian lithosphere plates. The work includes two main parts: study of recent deformations of the lithosphere by means of GPS and detailed paleoseismological and morphometric investigations in the zone of the Artanish-Tskhouk segment of the PSSF. We analyze and compare rates of deformation determined by the GPS data and the rates estimated by the paleoseismological and morphometric studies. The Armenian-French network of GPS observations was installed in Armenia in 1998. Three observation sessions were conducted in 1998, 2000 and 2003. Based on the evidence obtained, a detailed study of the velocity field was conducted to analyze lithosphere deformation in Central and Northern Armenia. Slip rates were estimated for the principal active faults in Armenia. Several field works, including paleoseismological, archaeo-seismological, archaeological, geodetic and morphological studies, had been implemented in the zone of the Artanish-Tskhouk segment of the PSSF in 2003-2005. The fault was mapped in detail; rates of main horizontal and vertical slip along the fault were estimated and re-estimated. Four (4) paleo- and archeo-earthquakes were studied and dated. Eventually, the obtained data allowed us to re-estimate slip rates, maximum possible magnitudes and recurrence intervals of strong earthquakes on the Artanish-Tskhouk segment of the PSSF. A technique enabling estimation of horizontal and vertical displacements along strike-slip faults during paleo-earthquakes by the evidence obtained from paleo-seismological trenching was developed.
Les travaux présentés dans ce mémoire sont consacrés à l'étude de la géodynamique du territoire de l'Arménie qui est situé dans la partie centrale de la zone de collision continentale entre les plaques Arabique et Eurasienne. Le mémoire comprend deux parties principales: 1/ l'étude des déformations actuelles par la géodésie GPS; 2/ l'étude paléosismologique et morphométrique détaillée de la zone du segment d'Artanish-Tskhuk de la faille de Pambak-Sevan-Syunik (PSSF). On présente l'analyse et la comparaison des vitesses de déformations estimées par les données de GPS et par les données paléosismologiques et morphométriques. Le réseau d'observations GPS Arméno - Français a été installé en Arménie en septembre 1998. Trois campagnes de mesure du réseau ont été réalisées en 1998, 2000 et 2003. L'analyse détaillée du champ de vitesse à partir des données GPS a permis d'étudier et de quantifier les déformations actuelles de l'Arménie centrale et septentrionale. On a pu estimer les vitesses des déplacements des failles actives principales du territoire de l'Arménie. Un ensemble de travaux sur le terrain comprenant des recherches paléosismologiques, archéosismologiques, archéologiques, géodésiques, et morphologiques a été réalisé entre 2003 et 2005 dans la zone du segment d'Artanish-Tskhuk de la faille de PSSF. La cartographie détaillée de la faille a été réalisée et l'on a estimé et/ou re-estimés les déplacements horizontaux et verticaux le long de la faille. Quatre paléo- et archéoséismes ont été étudiés et datés. À partir des données obtenues, pour le segment d'Artanish-Tskhuk de la faille de PSSF, on a réévalué les vitesses de déplacements, la magnitude maximale possible, et l'intervalle récurrence des séismes forts. Une méthode d'évaluation des déplacements horizontaux et verticaux a été proposée à partir des logs de tranchées sur les failles de décrochements associées à des paléoséismes.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00551535

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess
tel-00551535
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00551535
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00551535/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00551535/file/thesedavtyan2.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Nature Publishing Group
Résumé : International audience
Assessing seismic hazards remains one of the most challenging scientific issues in Earthsciences. Deep tectonic processes are classically considered as the only persistentmechanism driving the stress loading of active faults over a seismic cycle. Here we show via amechanical model that erosion also significantly influences the stress loading of thrust faultsat the timescale of a seismic cycle. Indeed, erosion rates of about B0.1–20mmyr1, asdocumented in Taiwan and in other active compressional orogens, can raise the Coulombstress by B0.1–10 bar on the nearby thrust faults over the inter-seismic phase. Masstransfers induced by surface processes in general, during continuous or short-lived andintense events, represent a prominent mechanism for inter-seismic stress loading offaults near the surface. Such stresses are probably sufficient to trigger shallow seismicity orpromote the rupture of deep continental earthquakes up to the surface.
ISSN: 2041-1723

insu-01087103
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01087103
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01087103/document
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01087103/file/Steer2014_NatureComm_accepted.pdf
DOI : 10.1038/ncomms6564

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
We have discovered in a marine core, located 20 km east of the Coastal Range of Taiwan at the top of a 1200 m deep submarine high, sheltered from rivers discharges and gravitational flows, a 23 cm-thick anomalous sequence topped with broken bivalves and wood fragments. Based on radiocarbon dating, we distinguish five sub-events within ∼ 100 yrs, about 3000 years ago. The oldest four sub-events are interpreted as the record of local submarine landslides, likely triggered by clustered earthquakes that are common in this tectonically active area. The last event including shells and wood has a different origin. Despite the high level of climatic and tectonic recent activity, no comparable event has been observed at the same site since that time, making it unique during the last 3.75 ka. Hydrodynamical modeling stimulated with a set of submarine landslide-triggered tsunami sources and combined with the regional oceanic circulation dominated by the Kuroshio Current, allow us to better constrain the transport paths of the suspended material, the expected run-up at the coast, and ultimately the trigger and source that best fit our observations. The Kuroshio Current appears as a strong constraint that generally prevents cross-shore transport of suspended material even during a major tsunami. Since the largest aerial debris flow observed along the east coast of Taiwan during the last 4 ka was synchronous with the marine deposit, our preferred scenario starts with the occurrence of four distinct large earthquakes within less than a century, triggering both submarine and aerial landslides in the study area. Then, a giant typhoon reworked the nearshore material as well as the slided material stored upstream resulting in a debris flow. It deeply modified the surface current, allowing the wood debris and shells to fastly reach the core site.
ISSN: 0040-1951

hal-01467640
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01467640
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2015.11.001

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley-Blackwell
Résumé : International audience
We surveyed the junction between the central and southern Philippine Trench and the Sangihe Trench near 6øN using swath bathymetry, gravity, and magnetics. These data, along with seismicity, allow us to discuss the genetic relations between these trenches and the forces acting on converging plates. Our final model favors the northern extension of the Halmahera Arc up to 8øN, with three segments offset left-laterally along NW-SE transform faults. Accretion of the northern segment to Mindanao Island 4 to 5 m.y. ago resulted in the failure within the Philippine Sea Plate east of the arc. Initiation of the Philippine Trench between 7øN and 10øN agrees with the maximum recorded depth of the Philippine Trench floor (10,000 m below sea-level) and Philippine Sea slab (200 km). South of 6øN (trench junction), another segment of the arc is being subducted beneath the Sangihe margin, while south of 3øN, the southern segment of the Halmahera Arc is still active. The rapid southward shallowing of the trench floor along the southern Philippine Trench, the type of faulting affecting both sides of the trench, the lack of significant interplate seismicity, and the concentration of the seismicity beneath the Miangas-Talaud Ridge are interpreted as a slowing down of the subduction along this branch of the Philippine Trench compared with the rest of the subduction zone. The Sangihe deformation front has been recognized up to 7øN but seems active only south of 6øN.
ISSN: 2169-9275

hal-01261614
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01261614
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01261614/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01261614/file/lallemandJGR1998.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Résumé : International audience
[1] This article presents (U-Th)/He thermochronological data from the Longmen Shan belt, eastern Tibet. Located between the Songpan-Garze terrane and the Yangtze craton, this mountain range is one of the steepest margins of the Tibetan Plateau and an important area for the comprehension of the mechanisms that control the dynamics of such plateau borders in terms of spatial distribution of deformation or timing of topographic building. We describe several age-elevation transects and perform forward modeling of our data to derive quantitative information on the exhumation of the range. A major phase of exhumation started at 8–11 Ma, with an average rate of $0.65 mm a À1. Comparison of zircon and apatite ages indicates that the eastern part of the range may have experienced a significant decrease in exhumation since 2–3 Ma. We use the distribution of finite exhumation across the major faults of the area to quantify their dip-slip throw rate over the last 10 Ma. The Beichuan Fault, which was activated during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, is the major active structure of the Longmen Shan since the late Miocene, with an average thrusting slip rate between 0.4 and 1 mm a À1. Conversely, over the same time period, only minor dip-slip activity occurred on the Wenchuan Fault Zone. This distribution in space and time of exhumation and deformation is discussed and compared to the different proposed models for the geodynamical evolution of the eastern Tibetan margin. It also provides an important long-term perspective to put in context the destructive 2008 Sichuan earthquake that struck the central Longmen Shan.
ISSN: 0278-7407

hal-01577059
https://hal-amu.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01577059
https://hal-amu.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01577059/document
https://hal-amu.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01577059/file/godard2009late.pdf
DOI : 10.1029/2008TC002407

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Société géologique de France
Résumé : International audience
In this paper, we provide the first structural map of Les Saintes archipelago (Guadeloupe, Lesser Antilles). The finite strain pattern displays four families of fault systems characterized by their statistical structural orientations: N000-N020, N050-N070, N090-N110 and N130-N140 trending fault systems. Our onshore results thus underline a fault network much more complex than the one depicted by the previous offshore geophysical investigations around Les Saintes archipelago, which show only N120-N150 trending system. According to the available K-Ar dating of the volcanic rocks and the relative chronology of the faults defined in the field, we determine the deformation history in Les Saintes islands since the last 3 Ma. The four highlighted trending fault systems are already active since the Pliocene and are consistent with the present-day extensional tectonics in the Guadeloupe archipelago compatible with the reactiva-tion of inherited structures at the active arc scale. We interpret the tectonic evolution of Les Saintes islands as the result of interplay between subduction of aseismic ridges (Tiburon and Barracuda ridges) and oblique convergence. Furthermore , we recognized an exhumed geothermal paleo-system in Terre-de-Haut island which is a good analogue of the present-day active Bouillante geothermal system. Its duration is estimated at 400 k.y. during the Pliocene.
EISSN: 1777-5817

hal-01625778
https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-01625778
https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-01625778/document
https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-01625778/file/VeratIEtAl_Final.pdf
DOI : 10.2113/gssgfbull.187.1.3

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
A network of continuous GPS stations has been installed in NW Iran since 2005 to complement the survey GPS network already existing in the region. We present the 1999-2009 GPS-derived velocity field for this region based on the continuous and survey-mode observations. The results confirm a right lateral slip of 7 +/- 1 mm/yr for the North Tabriz fault, in agreement with previous studies. This rate is consistent with earthquakes of magnitude 7-7.3 and recurrence times of 250-300 yr. The higher spatial coverage of the new network shows that deformation is localized in the vicinity of the Chalderan, south Gailatu-Siah Cheshmeh-Khoy fault and the North Tabriz fault. However the eastern end of the North Tabriz fault appears to cross Mount Bozgush rather than following its southern foothills. This new velocity field does not indicate the 8 mm/yr of NNE-SSW extension suggested earlier for the region, but rather shows lower extension of 1-2 +/- 1 mm/yr across the eastern segment of the North Tabriz fault and the Talesh. To the west, the Chalderan and the western North Tabriz fault segment act like pure strike slip faults without significant extension or compression. The denser network in the Rudbar earthquake region (Ms 7.3, 1992) shows no significant motion across the fault, suggesting that the recurrence time of earthquakes like the Rudbar event must be very long. The lack of substantial compressive strain and the sharp azimuth change of the velocity vectors in the transition zone from Arabia to Lesser Caucasus motion imply that processes other than "extrusion", possibly related to old subduction or delamination, contribute to active deformation.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-00617666
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00617666
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2011.04.029

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Résumé : New structural, microstructural, and 40Ar/39Ar data from the NW Massif Central (France) provide additional constraints on the timing and tectonic setting of late Variscan granite magmatism. Previous studies had emphasized the role of late orogenic extension in the emplacement of granite plutons in the Limousin region. In contrast, the new data set is consistent with syntectonic emplacement of magma in a dextral simple shear active from 350 to 300 Ma in a transpressional regime. As an alternative hypothesis to late orogenic extension, we propose that magmas migrated into tensional bridges between active P shears associated with a lithospheric shear zone comparable to a pop-up structure. The Galician region, in the western end of the Ibero-Armorican tectonic arc, exhibits major left-lateral ductile shear zones which can be interpreted as conjugate structures to the Limousin and Armorican shear zones. Citation: Ge´belin, A., M. Brunel, P. Monie´, M. Faure, and N. Arnaud (2007), Transpressional tectonics and Carboniferous magmatism in the Limousin, Massif Central, France: Structural and 40Ar/39Ar investigations
ISSN: 0278-7407

hal-00104212
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00104212
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00104212/document
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00104212/file/2005TC001822.pdf
DOI : 10.1029/2005TC001822

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Résumé : International audience
Sandbox modeling is used to study the deformation of accretionary wedges caused by the subduction of oceanic ridges. The first experiment incorporates a massive ridge within a sand wedge. The wedge thickens and shortens when the forward propagation of the basal decollement ceases. The wedge thickening results in taper change, reactivation of preexisting thrusts, and retreat of the frontal part of the sand wedge. Similar mechanisms may have affected some margins that have undergone ridge subduction such as the Tonga margin after the subduction of the oblique Louisville oceanic ridge. The second experiment shows the effects of an active basement thrust slice as it enters a subduction zone. This process may have happened in the eastern Nankai accretionary wedge. Initially, the wedge in this experiment behaved similarly to that of the first experiment. Rapidly the topographic slope changed, the wedge thickened above the basement slice generating a slope break in the topography; a deeper propagating accretionary wedge again characterized by a small taper developed. These results, when compared with observations made in the Eastern Nankai Trench, are in agreement with the past subduction of a basement thrust slice in this area.
ISSN: 0278-7407

hal-01261549
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01261549
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01261549/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01261549/file/Lallemand_et_al-1992-Tectonics.pdf
DOI : 10.1029/92TC00637

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Société géologique de France
Résumé : International audience
In this paper we present and discuss new investigations performed on both the magmatic basement and the sedimentary formations of La Désirade. We report structural and sedimentary evidences for several episodes of deformation and displacement occurring prior to the present day tectonics. The main faults, respectively N130 ± 10°, N040 ± 10° and N090 ± 10°, previously considered as marker of the current tectonic regime corresponds to reactivated tectonic structures developed first during late Cretaceous compression and second during Pliocene to early Pleistocene extension. We demonstrate also the importance of late Pliocene-early Pleistocene and middle-late Pleistocene vertical movements in this part of the Lesser Antilles fore-arc as well as the role of compressive tectonics in the over thickened character of the arc basement in the Guadeloupe archipelago
EISSN: 1777-5817

hal-00830329
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00830329
DOI : 10.2113/gssgfbull.184.1-2.21

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : In this study, I examine the strain modes of the forearc, arc and back-arc domains in arc-continent collisional settings leading to arc material subduction, delamination and/or accretion. The study focusses on two well-documented colliding island arcs: the Izu–Bonin–Mariana (IBM) arc in Japan and the Luzon arc in Taiwan, both carried by the Philippine Sea plate. Firstly, there is a body of evidence that both the IBM and the Luzon arcs were built on the same Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous “proto-Philippine Sea Plate” crust. Their internal structure is thus more heterogeneous than expected from Paleogene or Neogene supposedly “intra-oceanic” island arcs. Secondly, those arc systems and proximal “back-arcs” have similar seismic characteristics attesting either for the presence of a middle crust with continental velocities and/or serpentinized uppermost mantle that facilitate crustal shortening/slivering and subsequent decoupling from the rest of the subducting plate. It is shown that the proximal back-arc domain (called “rear-arc” in case of paleoarc activity), overlying the mantle wedge and the subducting slab, may lose its strength if slab-derived hydration occur. Decoupling then occurs below the Moho. Arc delamination likely occurs in mid-crustal levels because middle-crust, heated by nearby magmatism, becomes weak. Accretion of arc material onto the upper plate depends on the characteristics of the arc itself and the geodynamic configuration. Most of the accreted material is probably underplated rather than frontally accreted.
ISSN: 0743-9547

hal-01243080
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01243080
DOI : 10.1016/j.jseaes.2013.07.043

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Nature Publishing Group
Résumé : International audience
The variation of elastic- wave velocities as a function of the direction of propagation through the Earth's interior is a widely documented phenomenon called seismic anisotropy. The geometry and amount of seismic anisotropy is generally estimated by measuring shearwave splitting, which consists of determining the polarization direction of the fast shear- wave component and the time delay between the fast and slow, orthogonally polarized, waves. In subduction zones, the teleseismic fast shear- wave component is oriented generally parallel to the strike of the trench(1), although a few exceptions have been reported (Cascadia(2) and restricted areas of South America(3,4)). The interpretation of shear- wave splitting above subduction zones has been controversial and none of the inferred models seems to be sufficiently complete to explain the entire range of anisotropic patterns registered worldwide(1). Here we show that the amount and the geometry of seismic anisotropies measured in the forearc regions of subduction zones strongly depend on the preferred orientation of hydrated faults in the subducting oceanic plate. The anisotropy originates from the crystallographic preferred orientation of highly anisotropic hydrous minerals (serpentine and talc) formed along steeply dipping faults and from the larger- scale vertical layering consisting of dry and hydrated crust - mantle sections whose spacing is several times smaller than teleseismic wavelengths. Fault orientations and estimated delay times are consistent with the observed shear- wave splitting patterns in most subduction zones.
ISSN: 0028-0836

hal-00412016
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00412016
DOI : 10.1038/nature07376

Éditeur(s) : Elsevier Science Bv
Résumé : The Danube River Basin–Black Sea area represents a unique natural laboratory for studying the interplay between lithosphere and surface as well as source to sink relationships and their impact on global change. This paper addresses some information on the “active sink” of the system; i.e. the Danube deep sea fan and the Black Sea basin. The present study focuses on the distal sedimentary processes and the evolution of sedimentation since the Last Glacial Maximum. This is investigated through recently acquired long piston coring and shallow seismic data recovered at the boundary of influence of the distal part of the Danube turbidite system (to the north-west) and the Turkish margin (to the south). This dataset provides a good record of the recent changes in the sedimentary supply and climato-eustasy in the Black Sea region during the last 25 ka. This study demonstrates that the deep basin deposits bear the record of the Late Quaternary paleoenvironmental changes and that the western Black Sea constitutes an asymmetric subsident basin bordered by a northern passive margin with confined, mid-size, mud-rich turbidite systems mainly controlled by sea-level, and a southern turbidite ramp margin, tectonically active. Highlights ► Oceanographic results from survey carried out in the western Black Sea are presented. ► The Danube fan distal part: the Black Sea main depositional feature is described. ► This study is on the morphology and gravity sedimentation in the Black Sea deep basin. ► Data were collected at the boundary between the Danube fan and the Turkish margin. ► The dataset provide a good record of sedimentary supply and climato-eustatic changes.
Global And Planetary Change (0921-8181) (Elsevier Science Bv), 2013-04 , Vol. 103 , P. 232-247

Droits : 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00095/20637/18272.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2012.05.002
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00095/20637/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union
Résumé : International audience
Based on observations from both modem convergent margins and sandbox modeling, we examine the possible conditions favoring frontal accretion and/or frontal and basal tectonic erosion. Mean characteristic parameters (!.t, !.t* • and [) are used to discuss the mechanical stability of 28 transects across the frontal part of convergent margins where the Coulomb theory is applicable. Natural observations reveal that "typical accretionary wedges" are characterized by low tapers with smooth surface slope and subducting plate, low convergence rates and thick trench sediment, while "nonaccretionary wedges" display large tapers with irregular surface slopes and rough subducting plate, high convergence rates and almost no trench fill. Sandbox experiments were performed to illustrate the effects of seamounts/ridges in the subduction zone on the deformation of an accretionary wedge. These experiments show that a wedge of sand is first trapped and pushed in front of the seamount which acts as a moving bulldozer. This is followed by a tunnelling effect of the subducting seamount through the frontal wedge material, which results in considerable sand reworking. At an advanced subduction stage, the d6collement jumps back from a high level in the wedge to its former basal position. We conclude that a high trench sedimentation rate relative to the convergence rate leads to frontal accretion. In contrast, several conditions may favor tectonic erosion of the upper plate. First, oceanic features, such as grabens, seamounts or ridges, may trap upper plate material during their subduction process. Second, destabilization of the upper plate material by internal fluid overpressuring causing hydrofracturing is probably another important mechanism.
ISSN: 0148-0227

hal-01261600
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01261600
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01261600/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01261600/file/lallemandJGR1994.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
In fold and thrust belts drainage organization and patterns of sedimentation depend conceptually on the ability or not for preexisting reaches to incise uplifting thrust sheets. In this study we investigate experimentally the dynamics of drainage network in a wedge submitted to shortening and erosion. It allows us to reproduce and to monitor the interactions between tectonics, erosion and sedimentation during the development of up to five successive thrust sheets. In the experiments channels adjust to uplift rate by both increasing their slope and narrowing their channels as it is observed in nature. The series of experiments shows that the proportion of persistent preexisting transverse channels increases with the ratio of rainfall over shortening rates. The experiments confirm the view that the competition between discharge and tectonic uplift controls along-strike variations in sediment flux in sedimentary basins by controlling the drainage organization. If the transverse channels draining a wedge are not diverted, a line-source dispersal system develops in front of the active structure. If channels are diverted in the backlimb of the frontal structure it results in point-sourced depositional systems separated by areas fed only by small channels developing in the front of the wedge. Fans accumulated in front of the active structures reveal two stages of sedimentation, one of progradation, while the frontal structure is active and a second one of valley backfilling and thrust sealing during internal deformation of the wedge. The experiments also suggest that spatial variations in rock uplift rate along a thrust front may be evidenced by minimum-discharge variations of persistent transverse channels.
ISSN: 0040-1951

insu-01252482
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01252482
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2015.09.007

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union
Résumé : International audience
Seismic reflection profiles from the sediment rich Alaska subduction zone image short, frontally accreted, imbricate thrust slices and repeated sequences of long, underthrust sheets. Rapid landward increases in wedge thickness, backthrusting, and uplift of the forearc are observed, suggesting underthrusting beneath the wedge. These features and a widely varying frontal wedge morphology are interpreted to be caused by different modes of accretion active concurrently along the trench at different locations. Episodic wedge growth is observed in high basal friction experiments using sand as an analog material. Two phases of an accretionary cycle can be distinguished: frontal accretion of short imbricate thrust slices, alternating with underthrusting of long, undeformed sheets. The phase is shown experimentally to depend upon the surface slope of the wedge. Mechanical analysis of the forces at work predicts these two modes of deformation due to the varying frictional forces and yield strengths for a temporally varying wedge geometry. Maximum length of thrust slices is calculated for experimental conditions and confirmed by the observations. For a steep frontal slope (at the upper limit of the Mohr-Coulomb taper stability field) the overburden is too great to permit underthrusting, and failure occurs repeatedly at the wedge front producing short imbricate slices. The wedge grows forward, lowering the surface angle to the minimum critical taper. For a shallow frontal slope the reduced overburden along an active roof thrust permits sustained underthrusting, causing frontal erosion and backthrusting, steepening the wedge and thus completing the cycle.
ISSN: 0148-0227

hal-01261538
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01261538
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01261538/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01261538/file/gutscherJGR1998.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union
Résumé : International audience
Strain and strain rate partitioning in partially molten rocks are two of the important mechanisms that govern the process of coupling and/or decoupling of the partially molten lithosphere. Consequently, the proportion of partial melt and crystals and their network in partially molten rocks influence the degree of the partitioning along with the bulk rheology of the system. This study explores the possible role of finite strain and strain rate on the rate and volume of partial melting and crystallization in a metapelitic system undergoing deformation. Cylinders of synthetic quartz-muscovite aggregate (7: 3 volume ratio) were deformed in torsion at 750 C, 300 MPa and constant shear strain rate ((gamma) over dot = 3 x 10(-4) s(-1)) for finite shear strains (gamma) 1-15. The deformed samples were studied along the longitudinal tangential ( LT) and axial ( LA) sections to obtain the data along a range of strain rates for a given finite strain and vice versa. The results showed that deformation plays an important role on the kinetics of partial melting and crystallization. With increasing strain rate, amount and rate of crystallization comprise the volumetrically dominant process compared to partial melting at a given finite strain. In contrast, when the strain rate is constant, partial melting is the dominant process over crystallization up to moderate strain (gamma < 5). The dominant process reverses at higher strain, and the system shows more crystallization than partial melting. Application of the experimental data to geological systems implies that for metapelites a significant amount (similar to 20%) of partial melt can generate at high strain rate and moderate strain (gamma similar to 7), but at high strain (gamma = 15) the system is melt depleted. Under such conditions, decoupling should take place in brittle-ductile mode. On the other hand, rocks undergoing deformation with low strain rates and strain (gamma < 3) contain more than 25% partial melt, which can act as a major decoupling agent by localizing ductile shear zones.
ISSN: 0148-0227

hal-00617714
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00617714
DOI : 10.1029/2010JB007865

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The island of Taiwan is located on the convergent boundary between the Philippine Sea plate and the Chinese continental margin. It offers very active mountain building and collapsing processes well illustrated by the rugged topography, rapid uplift and denudation, young tectonic landforms, active faulting and numerous earthquakes. In this paper, using simple models, we have estimated vertical movements and associated absolute gravity variations which can be expected along a profile crossing the southern part of the island and probably suffering the highest rates of rising. The two different tectonic styles proposed for the island, thin-skinned and thick-skinned, were taken into account. Horizontal and vertical movements were modeled by an elastic deformation code. Gravity variations due to these deformations are then modeled at a second step. They are dominated by plate and free-air effects, i.e. elevation of the topography, with several mu Gal yr(-1). By comparison, gravity changes generated by mass transfers are weak: maximum 0.1 mu Gal yr(-1) with the thin-skinned tectonic and 0.3 mu Gal yr(-1) with the thick-skinned tectonic. Though elastic rheology has limitations, this modeling offers interesting results on what gravity signal can be expected from the AGTO project (Absolute Gravity in the Taiwanese Orogen), which proposes to study the dynamic of these mountain ranges using absolute gravimetry (AG) and also including relative gravimetry (RG) and GPS measurements.
ISSN: 0264-3707

hal-00456035
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00456035
DOI : 10.1016/j.jog.2009.09.004