Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Association for the Advancement of Science
Résumé : International audience
Sediments cored along the southwestern Iberian margin during Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 339 provide constraints on Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) circulation patterns from the Pliocene epoch to the present day. After the Strait of Gibraltar opened (5.33 million years ago), a limited volume of MOW entered the Atlantic. Depositional hiatuses indicate erosion by bottom currents related to higher volumes of MOW circulating into the North Atlantic, beginning in the late Pliocene. The hiatuses coincide with regional tectonic events and changes in global thermohaline circulation (THC). This suggests that MOW influenced Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), THC, and climatic shifts by contributing a component of warm, saline water to northern latitudes while in turn being influenced by plate tectonics.
ISSN: 0036-8075

hal-01054316
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01054316
DOI : 10.1126/science.1251306

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : We present a preliminary probabilistic tsunami hazard assessment of Canadian coastlines from local and far-field, earthquake, and large submarine landslide sources. Analyses involve published historical, palaeotsunami and palaeoseismic data, modelling, and empirical relations between fault area, earthquake magnitude, and tsunami run-up. The cumulative estimated tsunami hazard for potentially damaging run-up (≥1.5 m) of the outer Pacific coastline is ~40-80 % in 50 years, respectively one and two orders of magnitude greater than the outer Atlantic (~1-15 %) and the Arctic (<1 %). For larger run-up with significant damage potential (≥3 m), Pacific hazard is ~10-30 % in 50 years, again much larger than both the Atlantic (~1-5 %) and Arctic (<1 %). For outer Pacific coastlines, the ≥1.5 m run-up hazard is dominated by far-field subduction zones, but the probability of run-up ≥3 m is highest for local megathrust sources, particularly the Cascadia subduction zone; thrust sources further north are also significant, as illustrated by the 2012 Haida Gwaii event. For Juan de Fuca and Georgia Straits, the Cascadia megathrust dominates the hazard at both levels. Tsunami hazard on the Atlantic coastline is dominated by poorly constrained far-field subduction sources; a lesser hazard is posed by near-field continental slope failures similar to the 1929 Grand Banks event. Tsunami hazard on the Arctic coastline is poorly constrained, but is likely dominated by continental slope failures; a hypothetical earthquake source beneath the Mackenzie delta requires further study. We highlight areas susceptible to locally damaging landslide-generated tsunamis, but do not quantify the hazard.
ISSN: 0921-030X

hal-00963614
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00963614
DOI : 10.1007/s11069-013-0809-5

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD SAGE Publications
Résumé : International audience
A multiproxy analysis of lacustrine sediments cored in Grand-Case Pond at Saint-Martin, north of the Lesser Antilles archipelago, reveals three distinct climatic periods for the last 3700 years. From 3700 to ~2500 yr cal. BP and from 1150 yr cal. BP to the present, carbonate mud deposition occurred in connection with pond lowstands. These periods were also punctuated by severe drought events, marked by gypsum laminae, and hurricane landfalls, leading to marine sand inputs into the pond. The intermediate time interval, from 2500 to 1150 yr cal. BP, is typified by black organic mud deposition, suggesting that hypoxic to anoxic conditions prevailed at the pond bottom. These were probably linked with a perennial pond highstand and reflect more uniform and wetter climatic conditions than today. The carbon isotopic composition of the ostracod Perissocytheridea bisulcata shows that the lowest δ13C values are recorded during the hypoxic periods, as a consequence of bacterial recycling of isotopically depleted organic matter. Such a climatic history agrees closely with that documented from other records in the Caribbean area, such as the Cariaco Basin, central coast of Belize or Barbados. By constrast, discrepancies seem to emerge from the comparison between hurricane activity recorded at Saint-Martin on the one hand and Vieques (Puerto Rico) on the other hand. We explain this apparent contradiction by a balance between two distinct storm paths in response to latitudinal shifts of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Stronger storm activity over the Gulf coast and the inner Caribbean Sea is favoured by a southern position of the ITCZ in connection with dry climatic conditions. Plausible links with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) are also suggested.
ISSN: 0959-6836

halshs-00758748
https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00758748
https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00758748/document
https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00758748/file/Malaize_et_al._2011_cor.pdf
DOI : 10.1177/0959683611400198

Éditeur(s) : Elsevier
Résumé : High P-wave velocities (7.1-7.8 km/s) lower crustal bodies (LCBs) imaged along volcanic margins are commonly interpreted as plume and break-up-related thick mafic underplating. This interpretation is partly challenged in this paper based on new seismic observations and modelling of the outer Voring Basin (Norway). An exceptional strong amplitude reflection, the T Reflection, is particularly well defined below the North Gjallar Ridge (NGR) between 7 and 8 s TWT. The T Reflection is located near the volcanic lava flows emplaced during the NE Atlantic breakup (similar to 55-54 Ma ago) and coincides with the top of the LCB, forming a mid-crustal dome. Based on structural and temporal relationships, we show that the dome clearly influences the structural development of the NGR and predates the continental breakup at least by 10-15 Ma. Using a thermo-kinematical model, we tried also to investigate and quantify the relationships between the extension, LCB and the magmatic production. Modelling suggests that significant Paleocene-Early Eocene magmatism can be produced without any temperature anomaly in the mantle if differential stretching occurs during the break-up initiation. The conclusion of 2D thermo-kinematical parametric analysis is that the magmatic model predicts, either little extension (beta < 2) with no melting or high extension (beta > 5) with significant melting along the outer Voring Basin. We suggest that the continental part of the LCB could not necessarily be breakup-related and so magmatic, as has often been stated previously. It is concluded here that the continental part of the LCB observed beneath the outer Voring Basin may be partly (or fully) attributed to inherited, high-pressure granulite/eclogite lower crustal rocks. The real amount of mafic material emplaced along the outer Voring Basin could be 20-40% less than thought.
Tectonophysics (0040-1951) (Elsevier), 2006 , Vol. 412 , N. 3-4 , P. 255-278

Droits : 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2006/publication-1042.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.tecto.2005.10.038
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/1042/

Éditeur(s) : Gauthier-Villars
Résumé : This review addresses the problem of recently introduced plants in the Mediterranean in order to analyse their vectors, the dispersal processes and the possible ecological and economic consequences. Ninety-five cases (94 macroscopic algae and one seagrass) are listed and discussed. Three major routes of access into the Mediterranean are indicated: shipping, the Suez canal and aqua-culture. The recent introduction of Caulerpa taxifolia along our coasts has called attention to a new potential source: aquaria. Among the successful acclimatizations, cold-temperate Pacific and Atlantic species remain confined to the north of the Mediterranean (Gulf of Lions, Adriatic), whereas some tropical or sub-tropical plants colonize large areas. Some introduced algae proliferate to the detriment of the indigenous Mediterranean vegetation. In contrast with some terrestrial introductions, no population crash has been observed in the Mediterranean, although some notable fluctuations seem to occur in coastal lagoons. From an economic point of view, the two activities most affected by this phenomenon are aquaculture and fishing. With the gradual disappearance of European frontiers, the worldwide development of marine cultures and the multiplication of giant Seaworlds, the transfer of live marine organisms will become routine and the risk of new introductions will considerably increase in the Mediterranean. Only international legislation, established by the countries of the littoral, will be able to control these problems.
Oceanologica Acta (0399-1784) (Gauthier-Villars), 1994 , Vol. 17 , N. 1 , P. 1-23

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00098/20879/18493.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00098/20879/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : The effects of climate change on extreme events are difficult to assess because extremes present large variability and consequently, it is difficult to identify significant trends in relation to the lack of instrumental long time series. Here we present a record of these extreme storm events in the French Mediterrannean coast over the past 7000 years based on a long sediment core from lagoonal environment in Gulf of Lions. Using a high resolution multiproxies approach on core associating grain size, faunal to reconstruct Mid to Late Holocene history of backbarrier deposits in relation to landfalling activity. Even if change in lagoon geomorphological setting over the Holocene does not allow to compare storm events in terms of intensity trough time, we have recorded six periods of increase in storm activity at 6200, 5500, 4400, 3200, 1500 yr cal B.P. and over the LIA (450 and 100 yr cal B.P.). These evidences of changes in coastal hydrodynamic, inversely correlated to periods of aridification in Western Mediterranean region, are in phase with those observed over the North Atlantic and correspond to Holocene cooling events. This increase in storm activity during Holocene cold events over Mediterranean region was probably due to thermal gradient increase leading to enhanced lower tropospheric baroclinicity over a large Central Atlantic-European domain. This study demonstrates that temperatures in North Atlantic region influence the severe storm activity and therefore the Mediterranean climate at Holocene timescale.
Les effets du changement climatique sur les événements extrêmes sont difficiles à estimer car ces phénomènes présentent une large variabilité, et par conséquent il est délicat d'identifier des tendances significatives compte tenu de l'absence de longues séries de données instrumentales. Dans cette étude, nous présentons un enregistrement de ces tempêtes extrêmes sur la côte Méditerranéenne française au cours des 7000 dernières années à partir de carottes sédimentaires prélevées dans un système lagunaire du Golfe du Lion. L'utilisation d'une approche multi-traceur à haute résolution avec des analyses granulométriques, faunistiques, géochimiques (XRF), en minéraux argileux associées à des données chronologiques de radiocarbone et de 210Pb, 137Cs ; nous a permis de reconstruire l'histoire, au cours de l'Holocène, des dépôts lagunaires en relation avec l'activité des tempêtes. Bien que les paramètres morphologiques de cet environnement lagunaire aient changé durant l'Holocène, ne permettant pas de comparer ces événements au cours du temps en terme d'intensité, nous enregistrons six périodes d'augmentation de l'activité des tempêtes datées à 6200, 5500, 4400, 3200, 1500 an cal B.P. et durant le Petit Age Glaciaire (de 450 à 100 an cal B.P.). Ces changements de l'activité hydrodynamique côtière, en antiphase avec les périodes d'aridifications en Méditerranée de l'Ouest, sont corrélées avec celles observées dans le bassin Nord Atlantique et correspondent aux événements de refroidissement Holocène. L'augmentation de l'activité des tempêtes dans la cette région de la Méditerranée durant les périodes froides, associée à une diminution des températures au pôle Nord, est probablement liée à l'augmentation du gradient thermique qui, par interaction barocline, favorise les cycles d'évolution des tempêtes dans toute l'Europe et la Méditerranée de l'Ouest. Cette étude démontre ainsi que la température dans la région Nord Atlantique influence l'activité des tempêtes extrêmes et donc du climat Méditerranéen à l'échelle de l'Holocène.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00437757

tel-00437757
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00437757
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00437757/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00437757/file/Sabatier_these.pdf

Éditeur(s) : American Geophysical Union
Résumé : Lagrangian analyses of a global ocean circulation model quantify the salinity changes experienced by the warm limb of the thermohaline circulation during the northward flow to the Atlantic deep convection regions. 6 Sv out of the estimated 10-Sv transfer from 45 degrees S to 47 degrees N flow through regions of prevailing surface evaporation: the southern and northern formation regions of Salinity Maximum Water and the Gulf of Cadiz/Mediterranean Sea domain. The remaining transport gains salinity through mixing with adjacent waters. As much as 6 Sv flow through the low-salinity surface mixed layer at the latitudes of the ITCZ whose effect annihilates that of the southern region of Salinity Maximum Water. Most of the salinity increase corresponds to the transformation of South to North Atlantic Central Water, with strong diapycnal transfers for the water that intersects the high and low salinity regions, and nearly isopycnal modifications for the water that avoids these regions.
Geophysical Research Letters ( GRL ) (0094-8276) (American Geophysical Union), 2006-03 , Vol. 33 , N. 6 , P. NIL_44-NIL_47

Droits : 2006 by the American Geophysical Union
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2006/publication-1213.pdf
DOI:10.1029/2005GL024938
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/1213/

Éditeur(s) : Wiley-blackwell Publishing, Inc
Résumé : Oceanic larvae of the European (Anguilla anguilla) and American (A. rostrata) eels have to cross the Atlantic Ocean from the Sargasso Sea to European or North American coasts before entering continental habitats. In some European rivers, eel recruitment is now < 1% of levels in the 1980s. A better understanding of the effects of anthropogenic pressures and environmental fluctuations on eel larvae and subsequent recruitment is a prerequisite to build efficient management plans. The present paper provides insight into the critical oceanic phase of the eel life cycle with a focus on the duration of the larval migration whose estimates varies between 7 months and more than 2 years in both species. Does this range correspond to a natural variability in larval duration or does it stem from methodological artefacts? We first review the different methods used to estimate the duration of larval migration and critically describe their possible sources of misinterpretation. We then evaluate the consistency of these methods with the current knowledge about the ecology and physiology of eel larvae and the physical oceanography. While a moderate discrepancy in migration duration was found between methods for the American eel, the discrepancy was large in the European eel. In this species, otolith microstructure studies indicated migration durations between 7 and 9 months, while other methods pointed to durations of about 2 years. We show that estimates in favour of a long migration duration seem more robust to methodological caveats than methods estimating short durations of migration.
Fish And Fisheries (1467-2960) (Wiley-blackwell Publishing, Inc), 2010-09 , Vol. 11 , N. 3 , P. 289-306

Droits : 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00011/12208/9033.pdf
DOI:10.1111/j.1467-2979.2010.00362.x
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00011/12208/

Éditeur(s) : Copernicus Gesellschaft Mbh
Résumé : Deep-sea bivalves found at hydrothermal vents, cold seeps and organic falls are sustained by chemosynthetic bacteria which ensure part or all of their carbon nutrition. These symbioses are of prime importance for the functioning of the ecosystems. Similar symbioses occur in other bivalve species living in shallow and coastal reduced habitats worldwide. In recent years, several deep-sea species have been investigated from continental margins around Europe, West Africa, East America, the Gulf of Mexico, and from hydrothermal vents on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. In parallel, numerous more easily accessible shallow marine species were studied. We here provide a summary of the current knowledge available on chemosymbiotic bivalves in the area ranging west-to-east from the Gulf of Mexico to Marmara Sea, and north-to-south from the Arctic to the Gulf of Guinea. Characteristics of symbioses in 51 species from the area are summarized for each of the five bivalve families documented to harbor chemosynthetic symbionts (Mytilidae, Vesicomyidae, Solemyidae, Thyasiridae and Lucinidae), and compared among families with special emphasis on ecology, life cycle, and connectivity. Chemosynthetic symbioses are a major adaptation to ecosystems and habitats exposed to reducing conditions, yet relatively little is known regarding their diversity and functioning apart from a few "model species" on which effort has focused over the last 30 yr. In the context of increasing concern about biodiversity and ecosystems, and increasing anthropogenic pressure on Oceans, we advocate for a better assessment of bivalve symbioses diversity in order to evaluate the capacities of these remarkable ecological and evolutionary units to withstand environmental change
Biogeosciences (1726-4170) (Copernicus Gesellschaft Mbh), 2013 , Vol. 10 , N. 5 , P. 3241-3267

Droits : Author(s) 2012. CC Attribution 3.0 License.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00133/24417/22431.pdf
DOI:10.5194/bg-10-3241-2013
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00133/24417/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Société géologique de France
Résumé : International audience
New geodynamical data from West Africa bring consistent informations on the pre-Mesozoic reconstruction within a large area running from the western Sahara to the Colombian cordillera. These new data support a Neoproterozoic Ocean (WANO) between the Amazonian (AMC) and West African (WAC) cratons previously to the Iapetus and Rheic oceans. We delineate 31 blocs detached from the surrounding three continents: NAC (North American Craton), AMC and WAC. 7 came from the WAC margin, 7 from the NAC, 6 from the AMC and 11 from an intermediate volcano sedimentary domain (COB) built on a 1200-1000 Ma oceanic crust. These imbricated blocks formed a tight mosaic by the Hercynian/Alleghanian tectonic event which gave way to the Pangea super-continent. But, during the Atlantic Ocean opening these blocks began to move. They were separated by new oceanic basins. However, previously to the Pangea, blocks from the COB domain formed two sets of garlands located on the northwestern Gondwana margin. The northern one moved to the North until the Silurian to collide the NAC (Taconic tectonic event) meanwhile the southern one remains on the Gondwana margin. All together were gathered by the Carboniferous/Permian time. Then, the framework for the opening of the Atlantic Ocean was not totally disconnected from the "Variscan" collage and many variscan weakness zones were re-used as initial breaking zones. Beyond this tectonic impact, the pre-mesozoic assemblage allows us to compare this "Caribbean" island arc with another one: the Indonesian "Banda" arc. Thus, West Africa is a geological key area for correlations between the Caribbean, the Appalachian, the Brazilian "Nordeste" and the West European domains and for the understanding of the Atlantic Ocean opening process.
EISSN: 1777-5817

hal-00842747
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00842747
DOI : 10.2113/gssgfbull.184.1-2.5

Éditeur(s) : Amer Geophysical Union
Résumé : The objective of the paper is to analyze the degree of realism of the Parallel Ocean Program ( POP) model of the Los Alamos Laboratory using the combined TOPEX/Poseidon and ERS-1/2 (TPERS) sea level anomaly (SLA) data sets and to present a detailed study of mesoscale characteristics in the North Atlantic. This description spans 8 years of data from 1993 to 2000. At first, we focus on the analysis of the mean eddy kinetic energy ( EKE) and show that the major characteristics of mesoscale variability are realistically simulated despite an overestimation of the EKE model in the Gulf Stream region. We then describe the SLA space and timescales and propagation velocities at a resolution never achieved before. There is a high level of agreement between the model and altimeter values regarding spatial scales and propagation velocities. POP timescales are, however, significantly longer in the subtropical regions. The westward zonal propagation velocity of both the model and the observations are higher than the speed computed from standard Rossby wave theory. The effect of mean current advection on POP and TPERS propagation velocities is also clearly seen in the Labrador Current and in the Gulf Stream and its recirculations. Finally, a study of the seasonal and interannual variability of the high-frequency (HF) EKE is carried out. The model reproduces accurately most of the HF-EKE seasonal variations in the Caribbean Sea and at high latitudes despite a phase advance. A clear HF-EKE interannual variability is then evidenced. Our hypothesis is that a contraction of the subpolar and subtropical gyres due to the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) could explain a reduction of the eddy activity in the North Atlantic Current, in the Newfoundland basin, and in the Azores Current. In the Caribbean Sea, the interannual variability of the EKE for both POP and TPERS seems to be caused by an interannual variability of the wind stress.
Journal Of Geophysical Research-oceans (0148-0227) (Amer Geophysical Union), 2004-12 , Vol. 109 , N. C1205 , P. 16 PP.

Droits : 2004 AGU
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00087/19841/17491.pdf
DOI:10.1029/2004JC002360
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00087/19841/

Éditeur(s) : Elsevier
Résumé : A comprehensive analysis of velocity data from subsurface floats in the northwestern tropical Atlantic at two depth layers is presented: one representing the Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW, pressure range 600-1050dbar), the other the upper North Atlantic Deep Water (uNADW, pressure range 1200-2050dbar). New data from three independent research programs are combined with previously available data to achieve blanket coverage in space for the AAIW layer, while coverage in the uNADW remains more intermittent. Results from the AAIW` mainly confirm previous studies on the mean flow, namely the equatorial zonal and the boundary currents, but clarify details on pathways, mostly by virtue of the spatial data coverage that sets float observations apart from e.g. shipborne or mooring observations. Mean transports in each of five zonal equatorial current bands is found to be between 2.7 and 4.5 Sv. Pathways carrying AAIW northward beyond the North Brazil Undercurrent are clearly visible in the mean velocity field, in particular a northward transport of 3.7Sv across 16 degrees N between the Antilles islands and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. New maps of Lagrangian eddy kinetic energy and integral time scales are presented to quantify mesoscale activity. For the uNADW, mean flow and mesoscale properties are discussed as data availability allows. Trajectories in the uNADW east of the Lesser Antilles reveal interactions between the Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC) and the basin interior, which can explain recent hydrographic observations of changes in composition of DWBC water along its southward flow. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers (0967-0637) (Elsevier), 2009-10 , Vol. 56 , N. 10 , P. 1615-1632

Droits : 2009 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2009/publication-6815.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.dsr.2009.06.002
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/6815/

Éditeur(s) : Springer
Résumé : Interannual variability of subtropical sea-surface-height (SSH) anomalies, estimated by satellite and tide-gauge data, is investigated in relation to wintertime daily North-Atlantic weather regimes. Sea-level anomalies can be viewed as proxies for the subtropical gyre intensity because of the intrinsic baroclinic structure of the circulation. Our results show that the strongest correlation between SSH and weather regimes is found with the so-called Atlantic-Ridge (AR) while no significant values are obtained for the other regimes, including those related to the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), known as the primary actor of the Atlantic dynamics. Wintertime AR events are characterized by anticyclonic wind anomalies off Europe leading to a northward shift of the climatological wind-stress curl. The latter affects subtropical SSH annual variability by altered Sverdrup balance and ocean Rossby wave dynamics propagating westward from the African coast towards the Caribbean. The use of a simple linear planetary geostrophic model allows to quantify those effects and confirms the primary importance of the winter season to explain the largest part of SSH interannual variability in the Atlantic subtropical gyre. Our results open new perspectives in the comprehension of North-Atlantic Ocean variability emphasizing the role of AR as a driver of interannual variability at least of comparable importance to NAO.
Climate Dynamics (0930-7575) (Springer), 2013-09 , Vol. 41 , N. 5-6 , P. 1159-1171

Droits : Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00161/27248/25480.pdf
DOI:10.1007/s00382-012-1578-7
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00161/27248/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : Guadeloupe Island (West French Indies) is one of the twenty islands that compose the Lesser Antilles Arc, which results from the subduction of the Atlantic Ocean plate beneath the Caribbean one. The island lies in a complex volcano-tectonic system and the need to understand its geological context has led to numerous on- and offshore geophysical investigations. This work presents the compilation and processing of available, on-land, airborne and marine, gravity and magnetic data acquired during the last 40 years on Guadeloupe Islands and at the scale of the Lesser Antilles Arc. The overall dataset provides new Bouguer and reduced to the pole magnetic anomaly maps at the highest achievable resolution. Regionally, the main central negative gravity trend of the arc allows defining two subsident areas. The first one is parallel to the arc direction (~N160°E) to the north, whereas the second unexpected southern one is oriented parallel to oceanic ridges (N130°E). Along the Outer Arc, the long wavelength positive anomaly is interpreted, at least along the Karukera Spur, as an up-rise of the volcanic basement in agreement with the seismic studies. To the NE of Guadeloupe, the detailed analysis of the geophysical anomalies outlines a series of structural discontinuities consistent with the main bathymetric morphologies, and in continuity of the main fault systems already reported in this area. Based on geophysical evidences, this large scale deformation and faulting of the Outer Arc presumably primarily affects the Atlantic subducting plate and secondarily deforms the upper Caribbean plate and the accretion prism. At the scale of Guadeloupe Island, joined gravity and magnetic modeling has been initiated based on existing interpretation of old seismic refraction profiles, with a general structure in three main layers. According to our geophysical anomalies, additional local structures are also modeled in agreement with geological observations: i) the gravity and magnetic signals confirm an up-rise of the volcanic basement below the limestone platforms outcropping on Grande-Terre Island ; ii) the ancient volcanic complexes of Basse-Terre Island are modeled with high density and reverse magnetized formations; iii) the recent volcanic centre is associated with formations consistent with the low measured density and the underlying hydrothermal system. The EW models coherently image a NNW-SSE depression structure in half-graben beneath Basse-Terre Island, its western scarp following the arc direction in agreement with bathymetric and seismic studies to the north of the island. The so-defined depressed area, and particularly its opening in half-graben toward the SW, is interpreted as the present-day front of deformation of the upper plate associated with the recent volcanic activity on and around Guadeloupe. Based on this regional deformation model, perspectives are given for further integrated investigation of key targets to address the internal structure and evolution of the Lesser Antilles Arc and Guadeloupe volcanic system.
Colloque 2012 du Comité National Français de Géodésie et Géophysique (CNFGG)
Clermont-Ferrand, France

hal-00742653
https://hal-brgm.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00742653
https://hal-brgm.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00742653/document
https://hal-brgm.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00742653/file/CNFGG_Caraibes.pdf

Éditeur(s) : Gauthier-Villars
Résumé : Pegasus current measurements carried out along a section located off French Guiana are presented; the section was repeated five times from September 1989 to June 1991 during the NOE (region Nord-Ouest equatoriale)/STACS (Sub Tropical Atlantic Climate Studies) cruises on board the NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) research vessels. The data (vertical and horizontal distributions) show, as suggested by earliest observations, the presence of different currents. At the surface, and in winter, the North Brazil Current (NBC) flows northwestward (positive), is strong (120 cm/s), confined in the first 250 m, coastally trapped (within 250 km) and fed by offshore waters; in summer the NBC strengthens (the velocity increases to 150 cm/s), vertically extends (down to 800 m) and veers offshore; the mean NBC mass flux computed from all the sections available is 34 +/- 9 Sv with absolute maximum and minimum respectively in September 1989 (81 +/- 4 Sv) and February 1990 (13 +/- 1 Sv). Subsurface, a southeastward (negative) undercurrent (herein after named Western Boundary UnderCurrent) is present in winter-spring and located in the layer 250-800 m with similar velocities in February 1990 (- 33 cm/s) and June 1991 (- 29 cm/s) but with largest vertical and horizontal extensions in the latter case; in summer (September 1989 and September 1990) this undercurrent is absent; the mean mTBUC mass flux is - 9 +/- 3 Sv; the maximum is observed in June 1991 (- 19 +/- 2 Sv) and the minimum in February 1990 (- 3 +/- 0.4 Sv) and January 1991 (- 5 +/- I Sv). Deeper, the equatorward Deep Western Boundary Current is trapped against the continental shelf (within 100 km of the shelf break), extends downward from 1 200 to 3 000 m depth with the velocity core centred in the 1 700-2 000 m layer, is maximum (- 50 cm/s) in spring-summer and minimum (- 23 cm/s) in winter; the absolute velocity (- 92 cm/s) has been recorded at 2 000 m depth in September 1989 suggesting a strong variability at this level; the mean equatorward DWBC mass flux is - 30 +/- 14 Sv with absolute maximum and minimum respectively in September 1989 (- 59 +/- 6 Sv) and September 1990 (- 7 +/- 1 Sv). The Integrated Mass, Temperature and Salt Fluxes (IMF, ITF and ISF) with the cumulated errors, computed across the whole section and down to 3 000 m depth for the September 1990, January 1991 and June 1991 cruises, are all positive in September 1990 (respectively 1.9 +/- 19 Sv, 3.1 +/- 30.1 PW and 74 +/- 1 845 Tt/s) but all negative both in January 1991 (- 13.3 +/- 17.0 Sv, - 15.6 +/- 26.5 PW and - 478 +/- 1594 Tt/s) and June 1991 (- 3.8 +/- 10.1 Sv, - 4.0 +/- 16.3 PW, - 130 +/- 989 Tt/s) showing a strong variability between the summer and winter periods. The mean IMF, ITF and ISF values (respectively - 5.1 +/- 46.4 Sv, - 5.2 +/- 73 PW and - 178 +/- 4428 Tt/s) are high and negative, indicating the large influence of the DWBC and the associated North Atlantic Deep Water (upper part) off French Guiana at 5 degrees N.
Oceanologica Acta (0399-1784) (Gauthier-Villars), 1994 , Vol. 17 , N. 2 , P. 143-157

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00098/20881/18495.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00098/20881/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Understanding long-term variability in the frequency of intense storm activity is important for assessing whether changes are controlled by climate evolution. Understanding this variability is also important for predicting present and future community vulnerability and economic loss. Our ability to make these assessments has been limited by the short (less than 50 years) instrument record of storm activity. Storm-induced deposits preserved in the sediments of coastal lagoons offer the opportunity to study the links between climatic conditions and storm activity on longer timescales. In this study, we present a record of these extreme climatic events that have occurred in the French Mediterrannean coast over the past 1500 years. The identification of these extreme events is based on the analysis of sediment cores from Gulf of Aigues-Mortes lagoons that contain a specific sedimentary and geochemical signature associated with intense storms.;Overwash deposits do not show any evidence of intense storm landfalls in the region for several hundred years prior to the late 17th century A.D. The apparent increase in intense storms around 250 years ago occurs during the latter half of the Little Ice Age, a time of lower continental surface temperatures. Comparison of the sediment record with palaeoclimate records indicates that this variability was probably modulated by atmospheric dynamics. The apparent increase of the superstorm activity during the latter half of the Little Ice Age was probably due to the thermal gradient increase leading to enhanced lower tropospheric baroclinicity over a large Central Atlantic/European domain and leading to a modification of the occurrence of extreme wind events along the French Mediterranean coast. A complete understanding of the relationship between climate fluctuations, storm activity, and the coastal response will be crucial to predicting the impacts of future climate change.
ISSN: 0031-0182

hal-00617525
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00617525
DOI : 10.1016/j.palaeo.2010.11.009

Éditeur(s) : Copernicus Gesellschaft Mbh
Résumé : Boundary Exchange (BE - exchange of elements between continental margins and the open ocean) has been emphasized as a key process in the oceanic cycle of neodymium (Nd) (Lacan and Jeandel, 2005a). Here, we use a regional eddy-permitting resolution Ocean General Circulation Model (1/4A degrees) of the North Atlantic basin to simulate the distribution of the Nd isotopic composition, considering BE as the only source. Results show good agreement with the data, confirming previous results obtained using the same parameterization of the source in a coarse resolution global model (Arsouze et al., 2007), and therefore the major control played by the BE processes in the Nd cycle on the regional scale. We quantified the exchange rate of the BE, and found that the time needed for the continental margins to significantly imprint the chemical composition of the surrounding seawater (further referred as characteristic exchange time) is of the order of 0.2 years. However, the timescale of the BE may be subject to large variations as a very short exchange time (a few days) is needed to reproduce the highly negative values of surface waters in the Labrador Sea, whereas a longer one (up to 0.5 years) is required to simulate the radiogenic influence of basaltic margins and distinguish the negative isotopic signatures of North Atlantic Deep Water from the more radiogenic southern origin water masses. This likely represents geographical variations in erosion fluxes and the subsequent particle load onto the continental margins. Although the parameterization of the BE is the same in both configurations of the model, the characteristic exchange time in the eddy-permitting configuration is significantly lower than the previous evaluations using a low resolution configuration (6 months to 10 years), but however in agreement with the available seawater Nd isotope data. This results highlights the importance of the model dynamics in simulating the BE process.
Ocean Science (1812-0784) (Copernicus Gesellschaft Mbh), 2010 , Vol. 6 , N. 3 , P. 789-797

Droits : Author(s) 2010. This work is distributed, EGU
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00013/12412/9201.pdf
DOI:10.5194/os-6-789-2010
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00013/12412/

Éditeur(s) : American Geophysical Union
Résumé : The origins and fates of the Atlantic salinity maximum water (SMW), formed through excess evaporation in the tropics and subtropics of both hemispheres, are studied using monthly mean outputs of a numerical simulation of the world ocean climatological circulation. After defining formation domains from the surface salinity field and the vertical stratification, a Lagrangian technique is used to estimate the formation rates and main pathways in each hemisphere and the role of this water in the framework of the warm water return flow of the meridional overturning cell. Formation rates around 9 and 11 Sv are found in the Southern and Northern Hemispheres, respectively. While the export of the southern SMW from its formation area is realized by the western boundary currents, that of the northern SMW mainly results from interior subduction. Equatorward of the formation regions, a fraction of each SMW variety is entrained in the subtropical cells that connect the subtropics to the equatorial region. Poleward of them, both varieties are seen to feed the regions of subtropical mode water (STMW) formation around 35degrees of latitude in both hemispheres. The bulk of the transport associated with each variety eventually turns northward: This amounts to similar to6 Sv of southern SMW gathered in the North Brazil Undercurrent (NBUC), and similar to10 Sv of northern SMW found in the Gulf Stream at 35degreesN, of which 8 Sv have gone through the Caribbean Sea. Of the 13.4-Sv northward transport of the meridional overturning cell estimated by the model at 47degreesN, more than 50% (6.9 Sv) is found to have transited through at least one of the SMW regions. This gives an indication of the likely important role of SMW formation in the observed northward salinity increase of the upper Atlantic Ocean.
Journal of Geophysical Union - Research C - Oceans (0148-0227) (American Geophysical Union), 2002-09 , Vol. 107 , N. C10 , P. NIL_610-NIL_624

Droits : 2002 by the American Geophysical Union
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2002/publication-769.pdf
DOI:10.1029/2002JC001318
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/769/

Éditeur(s) : E.J. BRILL Leiden.
Résumé : Genus Janirella Bonnier, 1885, has numerous members in the North Atlantic Ocean (J. nanseni Bonnier, 1885; J. abyssicola Richardson, 1911; J. glabra Richardson, 1911; J. spongicola Hansen, 1916; J. lobata Richardson, 1908; J. laevis Hansen, 1916; J. vemae Menzies, 1962; J. priseri Chardy, 1972) as well as in the adjoining seas (J. bonnieri Stephensen, 1915 in the Mediterranean Sea and J. carribica Menzies, 1956 in the Caribbean Sea). Two new species have been added to this list, J. bocqueti sp. n. and J. laubieri sp. n., collected during the Noratlante cruise of the R.S. "Jean Charcot".
Le genre Janirella Bonnier, 1885, compte de nombreux représentants en Atlantique Nord (J. nanseni Bonnier, 1885 ; J. abyssicola Richardson, 1911 ; J. glabra Richardson, 1911 ; J. spongicola Hansen, 1916 ; J. lobata Richardson, 1908 ; J. laevis Hansen, 1916 ; J. vemae Menzies, 1962 ; J. priseri Chardy, 1972) ainsi que dans les mers adjacentes (J. bonnieri Stephensen, 1915 en Méditerranée et J. carribica Menzies, 1956 en mer des Caraïbes). A cette liste viennent s'ajouter deux espèces nouvelles, J. bocqueti sp. n. et J. laubieri sp. n., récoltées au cours de la campagne Noratlante du N.O. ,,Jean Charcot". [OCR NON CONTRÔLE]
Crustaceana (E.J. BRILL Leiden.), 1974 , Vol. 26 , N. 2 , P. 129-135

Droits : E.J. BRILL Leiden.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/1974/publication-5118.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/5118/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Société géologique de France
Résumé : International audience
Guadeloupe island (West French Indies) is one of the twenty islands that compose the Lesser Antilles arc, which results from the subduction of the Atlantic ocean plate beneath the Caribbean one. The island lies in a complex volcano-tectonic system and the need to understand its geological context has led to numerous on- and offshore geophysical investigations. This work presents a compilation and the processing of available, on-land, airborne and marine, gravity and magnetic data acquired during the last 40 years on Guadeloupe islands and at the scale of the Lesser Antilles arc. The overall dataset provides new Bouguer and reduced to the pole magnetic anomaly maps at the highest achievable resolution. Regionally, the main central negative gravity trend of the arc allows defining two subsident areas. The first one is parallel to the arc direction (~N160°E) to the north, whereas the second unexpected southern one is oriented parallel to oceanic ridges (N130°E). Along the Outer arc, the long wavelength positive anomaly is interpreted, at least along the Karukera spur, as an up-rise of the volcanic basement in agreement with the seismic studies. To the NE of Guadeloupe, the detailed analysis of the geophysical anomalies outlines a series of structural discontinuities consistent with the main bathymetric morphologies, and in continuity of the main fault systems already reported in this area. Based on geophysical evidences, this large scale deformation and faulting of the Outer arc presumably primarily affects the Atlantic subducting plate and secondarily deforms the upper Caribbean plate and the accretion prism, as evidenced in bathymetry as well as on the islands. At the scale of Guadeloupe island, combined gravity and magnetic modeling has been initiated based on existing interpretation of old seismic refraction profiles, with a general structure in three main layers. According to our geophysical anomalies, additional local structures are also modeled in agreement with geological observations: i) the gravity and magnetic signals confirm an up-rise of the volcanic basement below the limestone platforms outcropping on Grande-Terre island ; ii) the ancient volcanic complexes of Basse-Terre island are modeled with high density and reverse magnetized formations; iii) the recent volcanic centre is associated with formations consistent with the low measured density and the underlying hydrothermal system. The E-W models coherently image a NNW-SSE depression structure in half-graben beneath Basse-Terre island, its western scarp following the arc direction in agreement with bathymetric and seismic studies to the north of the island. The so-defined depressed area, and particularly its opening in half-graben toward the SW, is interpreted as the present-day front of deformation of the upper plate, associated with the recent volcanic activity on and around Guadeloupe. Based on this regional deformation model, perspectives are given for further integrated investigation of key targets to address the internal structure and evolution of the Lesser Antilles arc and Guadeloupe volcanic system.
EISSN: 1777-5817

hal-00853352
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00853352
DOI : 10.2113/gssgfbull.184.1-2.77