Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Résumé : International audience
We decipher late-orogenic crustal flow characterized by feedback relations between partialmelting and deformation in the Variscan Montagne Noire gneiss dome. The dome shape and finite strainpattern of the Montagne Noire Axial Zone (MNAZ) result from the superimposition of three deformations(D1, D2 and D3). The early flat-lying S1 foliation is folded by D2 upright ENE-WSW folds and transposed in thecentral and southern part of the MNAZ into steep D2 high-strain zones consistent with D2 NW-SE horizontalshortening, in bulk contractional coaxial deformation regime that progressively evolved to noncoaxial dextraltranspression. The D2 event occurred under metamorphic conditions that culminated at 0.65 ± 0.05 GPa and 720± 20°C. Along the anatectic front S1 and S2 foliations are transposed into a flat-lying S3 foliation with top-to-NEand top-to-SW shearing in the NE and SW dome terminations, respectively. These structures define a D3 transitionzone related to vertical shortening during coaxial thinning with a preferential NE-SW to E-W directedstretching. Depending on structural level, the metamorphic conditions associated with D3 deformation rangefrom partial melting conditions in the dome core to subsolidus conditions above the D3 transition zone. Wesuggest that D2 and D3 deformation events were active at the same time and resulted from strain partitioningon both sides of the anatectic front that may correspond to a major rheological boundary within the crust.
ISSN: 0278-7407

hal-01208098
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01208098

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : The northern Mirdita ophiolite massifs in Albanian Dinarides formed at a slow-spreading ridge, active during the Jurassic (160–165 Ma). They share a common horizontal Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous sedimentary cover showing that they were not deeply and intrinsically affected by later Alpine thrusting. The western massifs of Mirdita, first oceanic core complex (OCC) and detachment shear zone described in ophiolites, compare with OCCs in slow-spreading ridges and provide continuous exposure of the deep internal structure of this system, revealing its kinematics, thanks to detailed structural mapping in peridotites and gabbros. The Mirdita detachments root in the Moho transition zone (MTZ), a weak zone at the top of asthenospheric mantle, where basaltic melts impregnate dunites. The OCC domes are plagioclase-amphibole–bearing mylonitic peridotites, ∼400 m thick, grading downward within 200 m to harzburgitic mantle. The mylonitic detachments crossed Moho beneath a NNE-SSW–trending ridge. On the western side of OCC domes, the hanging wall of the ridge, crustal gabbros, and basalts are still preserved, despite being deeply affected by hydrothermal alteration. From there, the partially molten MTZ was detached as a shear zone, mixing with lower gabbros. The OCC emerged, migrating upsection and eastward over 5 km. Finally, the OCC front is observed in hornblende-rich syntectonic mylonites derived from upper gabbros and from the overlying former lid. Serpentinization is static within these mylonites. A low-temperature detachment fault is expressed as a sheared antigoritic mélange at the margin of the mylonitic shear zone. Asthenospheric flow in the harzburgitic mantle beneath the ridge of origin has been preserved below the OCC rooting. The dominant asthenospheric flow direction trends parallel to the ridge axis. This mantle flow rotates over 200 m into the low-temperature mylonitic detachments, where OCC motion turns transversal to the ridge. Crystal preferred orientation measurements on six samples point to brown hornblende crystal growth during mylonitic flow and illustrate the change of olivine intra-crystalline slip system in mylonites compared to porphyroclastic harzburgite.
ISSN: 1553-040X

hal-01504440
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01504440
DOI : 10.1130/GES01383.1

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Tectonic mixing of slab- and mantle-derived materials at the interface between converging plates highly enhances fluid-mediated mass transfer from the slab to the overlying mantle. Subduction mélanges can provide information about the interaction among different slices accreted at plate interface domains, with implications on the tectonic and geochemical evolution of the plate-interface itself. At Cima di Gagnone, pelitic schists and gneiss enclose chlorite harzburgite and garnet peridotite lenses, like in subduction mélanges located in-between downgoing slabs and overlying mantle. These peridotites host MORB-type eclogite and metarodingite, and derive from dehydration of serpentinized mantle protoliths. Their enrichment in fluid-mobile B, As, Sb, U, Th is the result of an early-stage oceanic serpentinization, followed by interaction with host metasediments during subduction burial. Here we define the element exchange process in the Gagnone mélange by means of the B, Sr and Pb isotope analysis of its main lithologies (ultramafic, mafic rocks and paragneiss). The 87Sr/86Sr and 206Pb/204Pb ratios of ultramafic rocks (0.7090–0.7124 and 18.292–18.837, respectively) show enrichments in radiogenic Sr and Pb after exchange with the host paraschist (up to 0.7287 87Sr/86Sr; 18.751 206Pb/204Pb). The δ11B values of peridotites (down to −10‰) point to a combined effect of (1) 11B release to deserpentinization fluids (serpentinized protoliths likely had positive δ11B and lower radiogenic Sr, Pb), and of (2) exchange with fluids from the surrounding metasediments. The whole Gagnone rock-suite is finally overprinted by retrograde fluids that essentially bring to an increase in radiogenic Pb (about 19.0 206Pb/204Pb) and to values of 0.710 87Sr/86Sr and of −10‰ δ11B. The recognition of different stages of interaction between mantle rocks and sedimentary/crustal reservoirs allows us to define the geochemical effects related to the early coupling of such rocks along the plate-interface. Our study shows that ultramafic rocks involved in subduction-zone metamorphism and serpentinization uptake radiogenic Pb and Sr released by associated sedimentary reservoirs. The exchange process envisioned here is not only representative of subduction mélanges: it can also be a proxy of mass transfer between slab and serpentinized supra-subduction mantle, as occurs in forearcs. Dehydration of the Gagnone-type serpentinized mantle releases crust-derived components to arcs, without direct involvement of metasediment dehydration and/or melting in subarc environments. The retention of appreciable amounts of fluid-mobile elements, radiogenic Pb and Sr in dehydrated Gagnone peridotites has implications on element recycling in the deep Earth’s mantle.
ISSN: 0016-7037

hal-01174137
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01174137
DOI : 10.1016/j.gca.2015.04.024

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
At the time of the collision with India (55Ma), the southern margin of Asia was a composite continental domainresulting from an already long history of successive accretions of different terranes having different rheologies.Knowledge about the structure, composition and thermal state of the Tibetan lithosphere through time is thusfundamental to understand the respective contributions of pre-Cenozoïc and Cenozoïc tectonics in the building ofthe Plateau to its present-day elevations.We focused on the boundary between the Qiangtang terrane to the south, and the Songpan-Ganze terrane to thenorth.We jointly studied deep crustal xenoliths and associated (ultra-)potassic magmatism from the Eocene basinsof Nangqian and Xialaxiu (Qinghai Province, China), north of the Qiangtang terrane. The aims were to retrievethe composition and the thermal state of the lower crust during Eocene times, to study the behavior of the lowercrust and lithospheric mantle of the Eastern Qiangtang terrane and the adjacent Songpan-Ganze terrane at the timeof the collision, and the link with the magmatic activity.Crustal xenoliths are of two types: biotite-rich, amphibole bearing metasediments; and garnet-bearing quartzofeldspathicgneisses. Such assemblages are typical of very high-grade amphibolite and granulite faciesmetamorphism; further study should allow us to quantify the pressures and temperatures those rocks experienceduntil the time they were sampled by their host lavas.Major element geochemistry places the c.a. 51-49 Ma (Spurlin et al., 2005) Xialaxiu volcanic field in a fairlydifferentiated (SiO265-70 wt%) high-K field of the calc-alcaline series. Trace element analysis suggests a strongcrustal contamination of the primary mantellic melts. C.a. 38-37 Ma (Spurlin et al., 2005) Nangqian magmaticbodies span across the alkaline series, with high to extreme (K2O6wt%) values. Complex major and traceelement patterns, coupled with high-resolution microprobe data on pyroxene xenocrysts, suggest that enrichmentoccurred at the source by metasomatism of the lithospheric mantle.Further work will precise which mechanisms could have accounted for such a metasomatism of the mantle beneaththe Northern Qiangtang terrane during Eocene, and whether the lower crust had an autochtonous or allochtonousnature.
Geophysical Research Abstracts
Vienne, Austria

insu-01308919
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01308919

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Société géologique de France
Résumé : Upper Carboniferous heating and melting of the middle orogenic crust associated with the emplacement of syntectonic granitoids are documented in the Upper Gneissic Unit of the Livradois area (central part of the French Massif Central). Crustal melting post-dates peak metamorphism conditions (800-625 degrees C, 10-8 kb) dated at 360 +/- 4 Ma (U-Th-Pb on monazite). The P-T evolution of the metamorphic series indicates that Barrovian metamorphism was followed by a decompression (from 10 +/- 1 kbar to 6 +/- 1 kbar) associated with either a decrease in temperature in the southern part of the series or with an increase in temperature (of about 150 degrees C) in the northern part of the series. This evolution records the first step of the exhumation of the series coeval with granitoids intrusion, of which the emplacements were dated at 315 +/- 4 and 311 +/- 18 Ma (U-Pb on zircon). The final stage of the exhumation is associated with an isobaric cooling of the whole series. Similarity of Ar-40/Ar-39 ages for biotite in the paragneisses (307-300 Ma) and K-feldspar in the granitoids (306-300 Ma) document rapid cooling for this stage. Moreover dextral reverse mylonites, at the border and the northern part of the metamorphic series indicate north-south compression coeval with the unroofing of the series. Youngest Ar-40-Ar-39 ages on K-feldspar (274.6 +/- 5 Ma) combined with normal shearing in mylonites limiting the Carboniferous Brassac-les-Mines basin document the late Carboniferous-early Permian stage of extension coeval with the upwelling of the Velay granitic dome.
EISSN: 1777-5817

hal-00617429
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00617429
DOI : 10.2113/gssgfbull.182.1.5

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union
Résumé : International audience
More than 10 years of geodetic measurements demonstrate an uplift rate of 1–3 mm/yr of the high topography region of the Western Alps. By contrast, no significant horizontal motion has been detected. Two uplift mechanisms have been proposed: (1) the isostatic response to denudation responsible for only a fraction of the observed uplift and (2) the rebound induced by the Wurmian ice cap melting which predicts a broader uplifting region than the one evidenced by geodetic observations. Using a numerical model to fit the geodetic data, we show that a crustal viscosity contrast between the foreland and the central part of the Alps, the latter being weaker with a viscosity of 1021 Pa s, is needed. The vertical rates are enhanced if the strong uppermost mantle beneath the Moho is interrupted across the Alps, therefore allowing a weak vertical rheological anomaly over the entire lithosphere.
ISSN: 0094-8276

hal-01332757
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01332757
DOI : 10.1002/2016GL067821

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer
Résumé : International audience
NWA2268 is a polymict eucrite discovered in the Sahara, at southwest Algeria, close to the region of Tindouf. This meteorite weighs 65 g and presents a thin black fusion crust. The rock is fine- to medium-grained breccia and contains mineral fragments of plagioclases, pyroxenes, spinel, olivine and silica. The rock contains some basaltic fragments with sub-ophitic or cumulative textures, constituted by plagioclases and exsolved pigeonite. Pyroxferroite grains are present and locally destabilised in an association of hedenbergite, fayalite and silica. It also presents unequilibrated eucritic clast with heterogeneous pyroxenes and plagioclases compositions. Pyroxenes in the all of the other clasts have equilibrated composition, with exolved pigeonites with augite lamellaes. This polymict eucrite contains also partially devitrified glass that represents impact melts linked to impact event. None recrystallization of this glass confirms a lack of post-brecciation metamorphism. Diogenitic fragments are less abundant than 10 %. The oxygen isotopic composition of NWA2268 is Δ17O (−0.43). This meteorite is interpreted as belonging to the HED group attributed to the 4-Vesta asteroid.
ISSN: 1866-7411

hal-00903591
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00903591
DOI : 10.1007/s12517-012-0624-4

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley-Blackwell
Résumé : International audience
The Early Palaeozoic Orogen of SE China consists of three litho-tectonic elements, from top to bottom: a sedimentary Upper Unit, a metamorphic Lower Unit and a gneissic basement. The boundaries between these units are flat lying, south directed, ductile decollements. The lower one is coeval with an amphibolite facies metamorphism (M1). The belt is reworked by migmatite-granite domes, high-temperature metamorphism (M2) and granitic plutons related to post-orogenic crustal melting. We date here the syn-M1 ductile shearing at 453 +/- 7 Ma by U-Th/Pb method on monazite. Previous ages and our new
ISSN: 0954-4879

hal-00420901
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00420901
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00420901/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00420901/file/Faureetal-TerraNova-2009.pdf
DOI : 10.1111/j.1365-3121.2009.00888.x

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 Springer
Résumé : International audience
In the Dent Blanche Tectonic System, the Mont Morion biotite-bearing granite is a km-scale intrusion preserved in a low-strain volume. Zircon saturation thermometry suggests that it crystallised from a melt that reached about 800 °C. U–Pb zircon and allanite geochronology indicates crystallization of the magma in the Permian (290 ± 3 Ma; 280 ± 8 Ma, respectively). Migmatitic biotite-gneiss and amphibolite are found as xenoliths within the Mont Morion granite and constitute its country-rocks. In two samples of migmatitic biotite-gneiss zircon has metamorphic overgrowths that yield U–Pb ages of 285 ± 3 Ma and 281 ± 4 Ma, and are thus contemporaneous with the intrusion of the granite. The Mont Morion granite with its country-rocks of migmatitic biotite-bearing gneiss and amphibolite was thus emplaced at middle crustal levels while amphibolite facies metamorphism affected its country rocks. The magmatic and metamorphic record in the Mont Morion area reflects the high-temperature regime and lithospheric thinning of the Adriatic continental margin during Permian.
ISSN: 1661-8726

insu-01622179
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01622179
DOI : 10.1007/s00015-017-0284-1

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Résumé : International audience
The Ronda peridotite supplies one of the best objects to document subcontinental mantle deformation, but its internal deformation and exhumation mechanisms remain controversial. Here we provide new structural data and numerical results that constrain the Oligocene-Miocene deformation history of the Ronda massif. We first describe a mantle shear zone in the northern massif that developed subcrustal strain localization during decompression and related partial melting. The deformation regime of this mantle shear zone evolved from penetrative NE-SW stretching to sinistral shear highlighted by discrete shear bands. We then show structural observations that document a viscous deformation in the southern massif occurring prior to the thrust-assisted emplacement of the peridotite during large decompression. Finally, we performed numerical investigations that quantify a high temperature of 980°C for the basal peridotite lens at the time of its crustal emplacement. Our numerical results constrain the timing of ductile deformation of the peridotite just before 22 Ma, probably between 30 and 22 Ma. Altogether, these features led us to conclude that the deformation and exhumation of the Ronda peridotite results from lithosphere thinning subsequently inverted in the course of the Oligocene-Miocene. Among available models, our findings support the hypothesis of peridotite exhumation by the inversion of a thinned back-arc continental lithosphere during westward slab rollback through the Alboran region.
ISSN: 0278-7407

insu-00924180
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00924180
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00924180/document
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00924180/file/tect20062.pdf
DOI : 10.1002/tect.20062

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : National audience
The Lesser Antilles subduction zone has produced no recent strong thrust earthquakes, making it difficult to quantify the seismic hazard from such events. The Lesser Antilles arc has a low subduction rate and an accretionary wedge that is very wide at its southern end. To investigate the effect of the wedge on seismogenesis, numerical models of forearc thermal structure were constructed along six transects perpendicular to the arc in order to determine the thermally predicted width of the seismogenic zone. The geometry of each section is constrained by published seismic profiles and crustal models derived from gravity and seismic data and by earthquake hypocenters at depth. A major constraint on the deep part of the model is that mantle temperature beneath the volcanic arc should achieve a temperature of 1,100°C to generate partial melts. Predicted surface heat flow is compared to the available heat flow observations. Thermal modeling results indicate a systematic southward increase in the width of the seismogenic zone, more than doubling in width from north to south and corresponding to a dramatic southward increase in forearc width (distance from the arc to the deformation front of the accretionary wedge). The minimum width of the seismogenic zone (distance between the intersections of the subduction interface with the 150°C and 350°C isotherms) increases from about 80 km, north of 16°N, to 230 km, at 13°N. The maximum width (between the 100°C and 450°C isotherms) ranges from about 150 km in the north to up to 320 km in the south. This large variation in the width of the seismogenic zone is a consequence of the increasing width of the accretionary wedge to the south, caused by the increased thickness of sediment on the subducting plate. There is good agreement between the thermally predicted seismogenic limits and the sparse distribution of recorded thrust earthquakes, which are observed only in the northern portion of the arc. Possible scenarios for mega-thrust earthquakes are discussed. Depending on the segment length (along-strike) of the rupture plane, the occurrence of an event of magnitude 8-9 cannot be excluded.
Bulletin Société Géologique de France

insu-00814056
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00814056
DOI : 10.2113/gssgfbull.184.1-2.47

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
The late stages of the Variscan orogeny in western and central Europe are characterized by the emplacement of numerous Carboniferous granitic intrusions. In the southern part of the Armorican massif, volcanic and plutonic rocks occur within the Carboniferous series of the Ancenis basin. Chemical analyses indicate that they belong to the same magmatic high-K calc-alkaline association of peraluminous composition, which likely derives from crustal melting of an igneous source. A LA-ICPMS U-Pb/zircon age of 319.3 ± 3.1 Ma dates, for the first time, this magmatic event and, by there, constrains the maximum age of both the end of the sedimentation and the northward tilting of the sediments in the Ancenis basin. This magmatic event is coeval with the sedimentation of the coal-bearing Namurian basins located along the Nort-sur-Erdre fault. These intrusions are interpreted as the feeding conduits of the volcano-sedimentary layers encountered in these basins. This would imply a minimal dextral displacement of ca. 20-25 km along the Nort-sur-Erdre fault.
Bulletin de la Socciété Géologique de France

insu-00656606
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00656606

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : 1 p.
International audience
The 12th May 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in the Longmen Shan occurred on a large thrust fault largely inherited from an Indosinian structure itself probably controlled by an older structural heritage of the South China block continental margin. Within the whole northeast Tibet region, such a structural inheritance has had a major impact on the Tertiary deformation. It appears of primary importance to assess the pre-Tertiary tectonic evolution of the main blocks involved to understand the actual deformation in the eastern edge of Tibet. Over the past decades, the Proterozoic to Cenozoic tectonic, metamorphic and geochronologic history of the Longmen Shan and Songpan Garzê area have been largely studied. We present a synthesis of the tectonic evolution of the Songpan Garzê fold and thrust belt from Triassic to present. The Songpan-Garzê belt was formed during closure of a wide oceanic basin ?lled with a thick (5 to 15 km) sequence of Triassic ?yschoid sediments. Closure of the basin due to Triassic subduction involved strong shortening, intense folding and faulting of the Triassic series. A large-scale décollement, that presently outcrops along the eastern boundary of the belt (Danba area), allowed the growth of a wide and thick accretionary wedge. It develops in the Paleozoic and Triassic series and separates the accretionary prism from an autochthonous crystalline basement which shares many similarities with the basement of the Yangtze Craton (0.7-0.9 Ga). To the north and northwest, below the thickened Triassic series of the belt, the composition (oceanic or continental) of the basement remains unknown. During the Indosinian orogeny the emplacement of orogenic granites (220 - 150 Ma) was associated to crustal thickening. The isotopic composition of granitoids shows that their magma source were predominantly derived from melting of the proterozoic basement with varying degrees of sedimentary material and negligible mantle source contribution. In the Danba area, the décollement outcrops in a large tertiary antiform with a NNW-SSE axis. It has been exhumed too in the hanging wall of the NE-SW faults of the Tertiary Longmen-Shan belt that marks the present day transition from the Tibetan plateau to the Sichuan basin. These faults have episodically absorbed signi?cant shortening since the Late Triassic. The amount and precise timing of post-triassic deformation are dif?cult to constrain especially because of the dif?culty to isolate the tertiary thermochronological signal from the protracted late Triassic - Cretaceous thermal history. Nonetheless it is generally accepted that Jurassic - Cretaceous tectonism did not modi?ed the general Triassic architecture of eastern Tibet contrarily to the Tertiary deformation. The long-term cooling histories obtained on Mesozoic granites and on the metamorphic series of the Danba dome are very similar showing a very slow and regular cooling during Jurassic andCretaceous, con?rming the absence of major tectonic event between c.a. 150 and 30 Ma. Low temperature thermochronology data indicate that ?nal exhumation and cooling occurred in theTertiary with an acceleration between 10 and 5 Ma along the major tectonic structures. Within the Longmen Shan range, a total denudation of 7 to 10 km is estimated for the late Cenozoic period. Similar amounts of late Tertiary denudation have been estimated along an east-west section across the Xianshuihe fault
Asian climate and tectonics seminar
Utrecht, Netherlands

insu-00610298
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00610298
DOI : 10.1016/j.jseaes.2010.03.008

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Résumé : International audience
The Atlas Mountains are characterized by high elevations and Quaternary volcanism. Long period magnetotelluric data acquired along a NNW-SSE transect reveal the presence of a conductive anomalous mantle below the High Atlas. Data dimensionality analyses show a preferent N80 degrees E strike of the deep resistivity structure in agreement with the induction vector alignment at long periods. Accordingly, a 2D inversion of the data set was carried out. Large resistive bodies at the crustal basement most likely correspond to batholiths emplaced in more conductive metapelites. They are covered by outcropping conductive sedimentary detritic and carbonate rocks. Lithospheric thinning producing anomalous mantle and basin development in the Atlas probably started during Triassic-Jurassic rifting. Inversion tectonics since the Oligocene produced low shortening on previous lithospheric weak zones, with thrusting of the Atlas above the stable African plate. Melting at the top of the anomalous mantle is connected with Quaternary basaltic volcanism in the Middle Atlas.
ISSN: 0278-7407

hal-00671017
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00671017
DOI : 10.1029/2010TC002859

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Nature Publishing Group
Résumé : International audience
High 3He/4He ratios in some basalts have generally been interpreted as originating in an incompletely degassed lower-mantle source1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. This helium source may have been isolated at the core-mantle boundary region since Earth's accretion4, 5, 6. Alternatively, it may have taken part in whole-mantle convection and crust production over the age of the Earth7, 8, 9; if so, it is now either a primitive refugium at the core-mantle boundary8 or is distributed throughout the lower mantle7, 9. Here we constrain the problem using lavas from Baffin Island, West Greenland, the Ontong Java Plateau, Isla Gorgona and Fernandina (Galapagos). Olivine phenocryst compositions show that these lavas originated from a peridotite source that was about 20 per cent higher in nickel content than in the modern mid-ocean-ridge basalt source. Where data are available, these lavas also have high 3He/4He. We propose that a less-degassed nickel-rich source formed by core-mantle interaction during the crystallization of a melt-rich layer or basal magma ocean5, 6, and that this source continues to be sampled by mantle plumes. The spatial distribution of this source may be constrained by nickel partitioning experiments at the pressures of the core-mantle boundary.
ISSN: 0028-0836

hal-00941025
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00941025
DOI : 10.1038/nature11771