Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : We present an experimental study of relations between hydraulic properties of clayey rocks and their deformation at bulk and micro scale. The experimentation is based on triaxial deformation of kaolinitic core samples, on permeability measurements, and on several methods of analysis of the microstructure. To produce the samples, remoulded kaolinite material is consolidated by axial loading up to 20 MPa in an oedometric cell. Then, in a triaxial cell, an undrained stress path is applied in order to induce shearing damage in the sample. The permeability of the sample is measured by fluid flow across the sample. Before and after these hydro-mechanical tests, the evolution and the homogeneity of the pore space and moreover the texture of the material are analysed by X-ray tomography, environmental scanning electron microscopy and thermic neutron diffraction. Contrary to expectations, the permeability at the sample scale does not vary significantly, although quite large deformation is reached. The final deformation is heterogeneous, with well-developed shear bands. It appears that the development of compacting and dilating zones generates a heterogeneous permeability field, which results in a negligible variation of the bulk permeability at the sample scale.
International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Science

hal-00496407
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00496407
DOI : 10.1016/j.ijrmms.2010.04.007

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Peridotite xenoliths with a broad range of textures provides evidence for consistent microstructural evolution in a vertical transect of the shallow lithospheric mantle (35?55 km depth) beneath the Persani Mountains, SE Carpathians, Romania, due to ongoing plate convergence in the Carpathian Arc nearby. The recrystallized grain size, crystal preferred orientations strength, and resulting seismic anisotropy vary continuously and display a strong correlation to equilibrium temperatures, suggesting a continuous change in deformation conditions with depth. The shallowmost xenoliths have microstructures typical of high stress deformation, marked by strong recrystallization to fine grain sizes, which results in weak crystal preferred orientations and anisotropy. The deepest xenoliths have coarse-grained porphyroclastic microstructures and strong crystal preferred orientations. Replacive orthopyroxene structures, consuming olivine, and high H2O concentrations in the pyroxenes are observed in some xenoliths indicating limited percolation of fluids or volatile-rich melts. Despite the high stress deformation and high H2O contents in some of the studied xenoliths, analysis of olivine crystallographic orientations indicates that [100] slip systems, rather than ?wet? [001] accommodate most of the deformation in all samples. Seismic anisotropy estimated from the measured olivine and pyroxene crystal preferred orientations suggests that the strike-parallel fast SKS polarization directions and ~ 1 s delay times measured in the SE Carpathians are likely the consequence of convergence-driven belt-parallel flow in the lithospheric mantle.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-00317303
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00317303
DOI : 10.1016/J.EPSL.2008.04.035

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley-Blackwell
Résumé : International audience
Sinkholes are frequently observed where soluble rocks are present, in meteoritic recharge areas or when subsurface dissolution causes ground collapse. Seismic profiles on the inner shelf of the Gulf of Lions (W. Mediterranean) display a giant atypical sub-circular structure, up to 800-m thick and 2-km wide. It is characterized by down-warped internal seismic reflections forming a concave V-shaped depression rooted in the substratum, most likely carbonated. This structure is interpreted as a poly-phased solution-subsidence/collapse structure of Plio-Quaternary age. The last phase of deformation probably occurred during the last sea-level low-stand phase. The mechanism proposed for the creation of this structure is collapse/dissolution of the soluble substratum, as a result of a combination of several possible factors including pre-existing deep Messinian palaeo-karst with active groundwater flows during Plio-Quaternary lowstands, and deep-rooted acidic fluids ascending through the substratum.
ISSN: 0954-4879

hal-00758063
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00758063
DOI : 10.1111/j.1365-3121.2011.01051.x

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
We conducted triaxial compression experiments to investigate the effects of pressure, temperature and strain rate on the rheology of talc rocks. The tests were carried out at T from 25 to 860 degrees C, P from 0.1 to 300 MPa, and <(epsilon) over dot> from 0.3 to 30 x 10-5 s(-1). In addition to being very weak, there are other important differences between the mechanical behavior of talc and that of most other silicates. Deformation at all temperatures up to dehydration was accommodated by a combination of crystal plasticity, frictional sliding, and cataclasis. A transition from localized to distributed deformation occurred at P = 300 MPa and T = 400 degrees C, but this transition is ill-defined as both distributed and localized deformation were observed at P = 300 MPa and T = 600 degrees C. Unlike most silicates, both the coefficient of internal friction and the coefficient of (sliding) friction are very low and nearly equal to each other. Temperature enhances plastic deformation (kinking), and inter- and intra-granular microcracks are observed parallel to the (001) planes at all conditions. Voids are created by delamination along (001) planes at kink-band boundaries. Full crystal plasticity was not achieved under any of the conditions tested, i.e., the von Mises criterion was never satisfied. However, the strength of the aggregates remained much less than the confining pressure. These unusual properties are likely a manifestation of the pronounced mechanical anisotropy of talc at the grain scale. At T >= 750 degrees C dehydration is observed, but only along shear zones. These results suggest that feedbacks between deformation and reaction kinetics could control fluid flow in fault zones. The presence of talc can promote significant weakening and strain localization in the oceanic lithosphere, the subducting plate and the overlying mantle wedge. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-00492706
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00492706
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2008.02.004

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : International audience
Most of the Mediterranean coastal porous aquifers are intensively exploited. Because of climatic and anthropogenic effects, understanding the physical and geological controls on groundwater distribution and flow dynamics in such aquifers is crucial. This study presents the results of a structural investigation of a system located along the coastline of the Gulf of Lions (NW Mediterranean). A key aspect of this study relies on an onshore-offshore integrated approach combining outcrops, seismic profiles, and borehole data analysis. This multidisciplinary approach provides constraints on pore-fluid salinity distribution and stratigraphic organization, which are crucial in assessing the modes of groundwater/seawater exchanges. Onshore, Lower Pliocene deposits dip gently seaward. They are unconformably overlain by Holocene clays in the lagoons. Offshore the Pliocene deposits either outcrop at the seabed or are buried below nonconsolidated sands infilling paleo-valleys. Beneath the lido, the groundwater salinity distribution consists of salty pore water, overlying fresher pore water. Active circulation of groundwater masses is inferred from the geophysical results. In particular, offshore outcrops and paleo-valleys may play an important role in salt water intrusion.
ISSN: 0017-467X

halsde-00866825
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/halsde-00866825
DOI : 10.1111/j.1745-6584.2012.01011.x

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
Random walk (RW) methods are recurring Monte Carlo methods used to modelconvective and diffusive transport in complex heterogeneous media. Many applications canbe found, including fluid mechanic, hydrology and chemical reactors modeling. These methodsare easy to implement, very versatile and flexible enough to become appealing for manyapplications because they generally overlook or deeply simplify the building of explicit complexmeshes required by deterministic methods. RWprovides a good physical understandingof the interactions between the space scales of heterogeneities and the transport phenomenaunder consideration. In addition, they can result in efficient upscaling methods, especiallyin the context of flow and transport in fractured media. In the present study, we review theapplications of RW to several situations that cope with diverse spatial scales and differentinsights into upscaling problems. The advantages and downsides of RW are also discussed,thus providing a few avenues for further works and applications.
ISSN: 0169-3913

insu-01308060
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01308060
DOI : 10.1007/s11242-016-0693-z

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
The porosity (from values of <1% up to more than 50%, with a mean value of 36.5%) and permeability (from very low values to 20.4 D, with a mean value around 800 mD) of 38 plugs, with a diameter 40 mm, have been measured. These plugs were taken approximately every 1.5 m along a 100 m-long core, sampling a series of reefal carbonate platform lithofacies. A non-unique relationship between porosity and permeability is obtained. In addition, the porosity was measured from processing X-ray micro-tomography images with resolutions ranging from 0.42 to 190.0 µm and sampling volumes ranging from less than 1 µm3 to few cm3. Depending on the structure of the pore network, the computed porosity is, in some cases, controlled by the X-ray image resolution and the sampled volume. While high resolution is required to image micro-porous material, large samples with lower resolution images are necessary for identifying distributed vugs and millimetre-scale structures. This study shows that multi-resolution X-ray micro-tomography is an effective tool for characterizing the multi-scale pore structure of carbonate rocks and understanding how it may control key petrophysical parameters such as porosity and permeability.
Geological Society Special Publication

hal-01174157
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01174157
DOI : 10.1144/SP406.12

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : Clay shale landscapes are sensitive to landslide, erosion, and re-sedimentation processes. In this context, tectonized clay shales have peculiar hydrological and mechanical behaviours. In order to improve our understanding of the processes involved in such systems, an experimental site has been settled in the Draix Observatory (ORE DRAIX) on a black marl hill slope of the Southern Alps (France) in the framework of the ECOU-PREF project. The site is a natural laboratory to study the evolution of clay shale landscapes at several scales (regional to µm). In this study, we aim to characterize the internal structure and fissure patterns of a stable interfluve, in order to locate preferential water flows within the system, and anticipate its evolution. This work is based on a series of mutli-disciplinary approaches including petrophysical analyses, well pulse injection tests and downhole geophysical measurements. Borehole geophysical results were combined with laboratory measurements on core plugs (permeability, density, porosity, and acoustic velocity). Optical and acoustical images have been used as an original tool for internal discontinuities characterisation and potential active flow path detection. They allowed the identification of three main lithological units interpreted as several stages of shale alteration. In addition, several main structural plane discontinuities (open fractures, schistosity planes, and fractures infilled with calcite or clays) were identified from the images and their potential transmissivity discussed with regard to piezometric and tracer measurements. In all, the integration of measurements leads to propose a simple scenario of fluid circulation and chemical alteration of the interfluve.
ISSN: 0885-6087

hal-00757581
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00757581
DOI : 10.1002/hyp.7997

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
Purpose: Marine mangrove sediments in the Manche-à-Eau lagoon (Guadeloupe, Caribbean Sea) harbor locally extensive, white microbial mats. These mats cover the surface of reduced sediments near the roots of red mangrove trees, Rhizophora mangle, and are mainly composed of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria belonging to the Beggiatoaceae family, with some filamentous cyanobacteria. The goal of this study was to investigatethe possible influence of sediment characteristics on the presence of these microbial mats. Materials and methods: Four push cores were collected in April 2013, two from zones with microbial mats and two from zones without mats. Sediment characteristics (grain-size distribution, mineralogy, total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) contents, atomic TOC/TN ratios, and organic matter (OM) δ13C values) were compared for all four cores.Results and discussion: Significant differences were observed between sediments below microbial mats and those without mats. Sediments with microbial mats contained greater amounts of clay, and higher TOC, TN, and TOC/TN ratios, with lower total carbonate content andδ13C values. The higher clay content most likely results from lower fluid flow velocity near to mangrove roots, while higher TOC/TN ratiosand lower δ13C values indicate higher inputs of OM from mangrove trees. These results are consistent with the fact that microbial mats were observed near the roots of mangrove trees, which trap OM from terrestrial vegetation and fine sediments.Conclusions: The grain-size distribution of sediment particles, the total carbonate content, and the δ13C values are the main parameters discriminating between zones with microbial mats and those without mats. Variations in total carbonate content, which is mainly of biogenic origin, result from conditions that are more favorable for benthic organisms in zones without microbial mats. Variations of the TOC/TN ratios are controlled by the presence of a non-negligible amount of inorganic nitrogen bound to surface clay mineral particles and/or by microbial processes.
ISSN: 1439-0108

hal-01682110
https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-01682110
DOI : 10.1007/s11368-016-1555-6

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Subduction infancy corresponds to the first few million years following subduction initiation, when slabs start their descent into the mantle. It coincides with the transient (yet systematic) transfer of material from the top of the slab to the upper plate, as witnessed by metamorphic soles welded beneath obducted ophiolites. Combining structure–lithology–pressure–temperature–time data from metamorphic soles with flow laws derived from experimental rock mechanics, this study highlights two main successive rheological switches across the subduction interface (mantle wedge vs. basalts, then mantle wedge vs. sediments; at ∼800 °C and ∼600 °C, respectively), during which interplate mechanical coupling is maximized by the existence of transiently similar rheologies across the plate contact. We propose that these rheological switches hinder slab penetration and are responsible for slicing the top of the slab and welding crustal pieces (high- then low-temperature metamorphic soles) to the base of the mantle wedge during subduction infancy. This mechanism has implications for the rheological properties of the crust and mantle (and for transient episodes of accretion/exhumation of HP-LT rocks in mature subduction systems) and highlights the role of fluids in enabling subduction to overcome the early resistance to slab penetration.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-01383368
http://hal.upmc.fr/hal-01383368
http://hal.upmc.fr/hal-01383368/document
http://hal.upmc.fr/hal-01383368/file/Agard_2016_Plate_interface.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2016.06.054

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
The purpose of our study is to model a geothermal reservoir. When geothermal reservoir are assumed to be composed of pure water, the transfer of mass and energy is classically described by two balance equations: mass balance equation and the energy balance equation. In addition to those equations, fluid velocity ist classically given by the Darcy law while thermodynamic properties, inferred from theoretical or empirical equations of state, are used to close the mathematical system. Once this system is closed, there exist different solutions. The first one is to solve for pressure and temperature with a variable switch to saturation in the two-phase region (e.g. TOUGH2). The second one is to solve for pressure and enthalpy to increase stability of phase transition between single and two-phase states (e.g. Hydrotherm). We adopted the second option and chose te use a splitting method to get rid of the complexity of coupling equations and a finite volume method for the spatial discretization. Selecting object-oriented languages, we developed a multi-language framework, combining Python, Fortran and a C++ implementation of IAPWS (from the freesteam project) including the supercritical equations, in porous media velocity is given by Darcy law and to close the system physical properties are determined by the IAPWS-IF97 thermodynamic formulation. We resolve the equations in pressure and enthalpy instead of pressure and temperature in order to increase stability and to handle easier the passage from a single-phase to a two-phase system. We solve the system by using a splitting method - to get rid of the complexity of coupling equations - and a finite volume method. We offer some freedom to users thanks to the implementation of several methods like explicit or implicit Euler, Runge-Kutta or BDF2 for time solvers or GMRES and BICGSTAB for the linear solver. We can handle several boundary conditions like no-flow - describing a boundary which can not exchange matter with the exterior - or like a mixed-therm condition - a Dirichlet condition to the pressure and a Dirichlet or an outflow condition to the temperature in order to describe a recharge or a discharge zone - ... We're developing a multi-language framework, combining Python, Fortran and the C++ implementation of IAPWS (from the freesteam project). All these languages are object-oriented. We've applied this simulation model to the dogger in Paris, France, to several one-dimensional systems and a two-dimensional one made by Coumou with the CSMP++ platform. The dogger is a reservoir exploited to produce heat by pumping water at 70 and reinjecting it in the reservoir at 40. In the one-dimensional systems we wanted to observe the process of heat transfer from a higher temperature boundary to a smaller one in a high-energy domain. The last simulation shows the natural convection of water in a fault. For every simulation we compared the solutions we found with an other code (TOUGH2 or CSMP++) and they agreed. The next step will be to model the geothermal plant in Guadeloupe, West Indies. It's the only place in France - and in the West Indies so far - producing electricity with the earth power. The temperature can reach up to 1000 and the pressure range is around a few hundreds MPa. In some surface zones we can see two-phase water at atmospheric pressure. In the 1980s Bouillante was a laboratory for France. Since 1995 Bouillante has given 30GWh electricity a year to the Guadeloupeans.
PROCEEDINGS, Thirty-Ninth Workshop on Geothermal Reservoir Engineering
Stanford, United States

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess
hal-00944133
https://hal-brgm.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00944133
https://hal-brgm.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00944133/document
https://hal-brgm.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00944133/file/Copol.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Geological Society of America
Résumé : International audience
Porous sandstones tend to deform by the formation of low-permeability deformation bands that influence fluid flow in reservoir settings. The bands may be distributed or localized into clusters, and limited recent data suggest that tectonic regime may exert control on their distribution and clustering. In order to explore this suggestion, we performed a synthetic analysis based of 73 sets of bands, including 22 new sets measured for a reverse Andersonian regime that fill the important gap in data for this context. We find a surprisingly strong correlation between clustering and tectonic regime, where bands clearly are more distributed in the reverse regime compared to the normal regime. Together with the observed band distributions, capillary pressure data show evidence that efficient membrane seals are expected for extension, whereas pervasive permeability anisotropy is expected for contraction. Such a basic new rule concerning tectonic regime is very useful for assessment of reservoir properties where deformation bands are common but below seismic resolution.
ISSN: 0091-7613

hal-01355925
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01355925
DOI : 10.1130/G37585.1

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Improving the prediction of sub-seismic structures and their petrophysical properties is essential for realistic characterization of deformed sandstone reservoirs. In the present paper, we describe permeability contrasts induced by cataclastic deformation bands and faults in porous sandstones (766 data synthesized from field examples and the literature). We also discuss the influence of several factors, including tectonic regime, presence of a fault, burial depth, host sandstone porosity, and grain size and sorting for their initiation and permeability. This analysis confirms that permeability decrease is as a function of grain-crushing intensity in bands. Permeability reduction ranges from very limited in crush-microbreccia of compaction bands to high permeability reduction in cataclasites and ultracataclasites of shear-dominated bands, band clusters and faults. Tectonic regime, and especially normal-fault regime, with its tendency to localize strain and generate faults, is identified as the most important factor, leading to the formation of cataclastic bands with high permeability contrasts. Moreover, moderate burial depth (1–3 km) favors cataclastic bands with high permeability contrasts with respect to the host sandstone. High porosity, coarse-grain size and good grain sorting can slightly amplify the permeability reductions recorded in bands.
ISSN: 0191-8141

hal-01218408
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01218408
DOI : 10.1016/j.jsg.2015.03.013

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
The Achmmach tin mineralization (NE of theMoroccan Central Massif) is associated with tourmaline-richalteration halos, veins, and faults hosted in sandstones andmetapelites of the Upper Visean-Namurian. These depositsare reported to be late Hercynian in age and related to theemplacement of late-orogenic granite not outcropping in thestudied area. Structural and paragenetic studies of theAchmmach tin deposit were conducted in order to establisha general model of the mineralization. From field constraints,the late Hercynian phase is marked by a transition fromtranspression to extension with deformation conditions evolvingfrom ductile to brittle environments. The transpression(horizontal shortening direction roughly trending E-W) is coevalwith the emplacement of the first tourmaline halos alongseveral conjugated trends (N070, N020, and N120).Thereafter, a tourmaline-rich breccia formed in response tothe fracturing of early tourmaline-altered rocks.Subsequently, during the extensional phase, these structureswere reactivated as normal faults and breccias, allowing theformation of the main tin mineralization (cassiterite) associatedwith a wide variety of sulfides (arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite,sphalerite, galena, pyrrhotite, bismuthinite, pyrite, and stannite). This evolution ends with fluorite and carbonate deposition.The hydrothermal fluid flow velocity, calculated byapplying statistical measures on the tourmaline growth bands,varies with the lithology. Values are lower in metapelites andhigher in breccia. In the general evolution model proposedhere, tourmaline alteration makes the rock more competent,allowing for brittle fracturing and generation of open spacewhere the main Sn mineralization was precipitated.
Mineralium Deposita

insu-01240481
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01240481
DOI : 10.1007/s00126-015-0613-0