Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
This paper provides a synthesis of current data and interpretations on the crustal structure of the Pyrenean-Cantabrian orogenic belt, and presents new tectonic models for representative transects. The Pyrenean orogeny lasted from Santonian (~84 Ma) to early Miocene times (~20 Ma), and consisted of a spatial and temporal succession of oceanic crust/exhumed mantle subduction, rift inversion and continental collision processes at the Iberia-Eurasia plate boundary. A good coverage by active-source (vertical-incidence and wide-angle reflection) and passive-source (receiver functions) seismic studies, coupled with surface data have led to a reasonable knowledge of the present-day crustal architecture of the Pyrenean-Cantabrian belt, although questions remain. Seismic imaging reveals a persistent structure, from the central Pyrenees to the central Cantabrian Mountains, consisting of a wedge of Eurasian lithosphere indented into the thicker Iberian plate, whose lower crust is detached and plunges northwards into the mantle. For the Pyrenees, a new scheme of relationships between the southern upper crustal thrust sheets and the Axial Zone is here proposed. For the Cantabrian belt, the depth reached by the N-dipping Iberian crust and the structure of the margin are also revised.The common occurrence of lherzolite bodies in the northern Pyrenees and the seismic velocity and potential field record of the Bay of Biscay indicate that the precursor of the Pyrenees was a hyperextended and strongly segmented rift system, where narrow domains of exhumed mantle separated the thinned Iberian and Eurasian continental margins since the Albian-Cenomanian. The exhumed mantle in the Pyrenean rift was largely covered by a Mesozoic sedimentary lid that had locally glided along detachments in Triassic evaporites. Continental margin collision in the Pyrenees was preceded by subduction of the exhumed mantle, accompanied by the pop-up thrust expulsion of the off-scraped sedimentary lid above. To the west, oceanic subduction of the Bay of Biscay under the North Iberian margin is supported by an upper plate thrust wedge, gravity and magnetic anomalies, and 3D inclined sub-crustal reflections. However, discrepancies remain for the location of continent-ocean transitions in the Bay of Biscay and for the extent of oceanic subduction. The plate-kinematic evolution during the Mesozoic, which involves issues as the timing and total amount of opening, as well as the role of strike-slip drift, is also under debate, discrepancies arising from first-order interpretations of the adjacent oceanic magnetic anomaly record.
ISSN: 0040-1951

insu-01683989
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01683989
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01683989/document
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01683989/file/teixell-tectono-2018.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2018.01.009

Éditeur(s) : Oxford Univ Press
Résumé : This study presents the results of a deep seismic survey across the north Algerian margin, based on the combination of 2-D multichannel and wide-angle seismic data simultaneously recorded by 41 ocean bottom seismometers deployed along a north-south line extending 180 km off Jijel into the Algerian offshore basin, and 25 land stations deployed along a 100-km-long line, cutting through the Lesser Kabylia and the Tellian thrust-belt. The final model obtained using forward modelling of the wide-angle data and pre-stack depth migration of the seismic reflection data provides an unprecedented view of the sedimentary and crustal structure of the margin. The sedimentary layers in the Algerian basin are 3.75 km thick to the north and up to 4.5-5 km thick at the foot of the margin. They are characterized by seismic velocities from 1.9 to 3.8 km s(-1). Messinian salt formations are about 1 km thick in the study area, and are modelled and imaged using a velocity between 3.7 and 3.8 km s(-1). The crust in the deep sea basin is about 4.5 km thick and of oceanic origin, presenting two distinct layers with a high gradient upper crust (4.7-6.1 km s(-1)) and a low gradient lower crust (6.2-7.1 km s(-1)). The upper-mantle velocity is constrained to 7.9 km s(-1). The ocean-continent transition zone is very narrow between 15 and 20 km wide. The continental crust reaches 25 km thickness as imaged from the most landward station and thins to 5 km over a less than 70 km distance. The continental crust presents steep and asymmetric upper- and lower-crustal geometry, possibly due to either asymmetric rifting of the margin, an underplated body, or flow of lower crustal material towards the ocean basin. Present-time deformation, as imaged from three additional seismic profiles, is characterized by an interplay of gravity-driven mobile-salt creep and active thrusting at the foot of the tectonically inverted Algerian margin.
Geophysical Journal International (0956-540X) (Oxford Univ Press), 2014-09 , Vol. 198 , N. 3 , P. 1486-1503

Droits : 2014 The Royal Astronomical Society
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00217/32836/32150.pdf
DOI:10.1093/gji/ggu179
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00217/32836/

Éditeur(s) : Gauthier-Villars
Résumé : Seismic data from the deep Gulf of Mexico basin indicate: 1) inferred ocenaic crust in the deep central Gulf (5 to 6 km thick; 6.8 to 7.1 km/sec.) is flanked symmetrically on the north and south by inferred transitional crust (8 to 15 km thick; 6.4 to 6.8 km/sec.); 2) acoustic basement seen on the reflection data in the central Gulf is an irregular reflector and probably represents the top of an oceanic volcanic (basaltic) layer (layer 2); 3) northof the Campeche Escar pment the top of transitional crust is represented by a strong, smooth reflector/unconformity that truncates rift basins and is onlapped by a thick salt and sedimentary section; 4) in the southeastern Gulf transitional crust consists of tilted basement blocks probably representing a thinned and rifted continental crust; lows between the blocks are filled with synrift sediments; 5) thick salt symmetrically flanks the north and south sides of the oceanic crust; 6) seismic stratigraphic analysis suggests that early sediments in the Gulf in areas of transitional crust represent an upward gradation from volcanics and nonmarine sediments including evaporites to shallow marine and then to deep marine; only deep marine sediments occur in the central Gulf overlying oceanic crust.
Oceanologica Acta, Special issue (0399-1784) (Gauthier-Villars), 1981

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00246/35679/34187.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00246/35679/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Geological Society of America
Résumé : International audience
On the New Jersey shelf (offshore North America), the presence of pore water fresher than seawater is known from a series of boreholes completed during the 1970s and 1980s. To account for this fresh water, a fi rst hypothesis involves possible present-day active dynamic connections with onshore aquifers, while a second involves meteoritic and/or sub- ice-sheet waters during periods of lowered sea level. Expedition 313 drilled three boreholes on the middle shelf, offering a unique opportunity for the internal structure of the siliciclastic system to be accessed, at scales ranging from the depositional matrix to the continental margin. This enables the stratigraphic architecture to be correlated with the spatial distribution and salinity of saturating fl uids. Expedition 313 revealed both very low salinities (<3 g/L) at depths exceeding 400 m below the seafl oor and evidence for a multilayered reservoir organization, with freshand/ or brackish-water intervals alternating vertically with salty intervals. In this study we present a revised distribution of the salinity beneath the middle shelf. Our observations suggest that the processes controlling salinity are strongly infl uenced by lithology, porosity, and permeability. Saltier pore waters generally occur in coarse-grained intervals and fresher pore waters occur in fi ne-grained intervals. The transition from fresher to saltier intervals is often marked by cemented horizons that probably act as permeability barriers. In the lowermost parts of two holes, the salinity varies independently of lithology, suggesting different mechanisms and/or sources of salinity. We present an interpretation of the sedimentary facies distribution, derived from core, logs, and seismic profi le analyses, that is used to discuss the marginscale two-dimensional reservoir geometry and permeability distribution. These proposed geometries are of primary importance when considering the possible pathways and emplacement mechanisms for the fresh and salty water below the New Jersey shelf.
EISSN: 1553-040X

insu-00858241
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00858241
DOI : 10.1130/GES00855.1

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD AGU and the Geochemical Society
Résumé : International audience
We analyze focal mechanisms of shallow-intermediate earthquakes in a NW-SE transect along the western Betic Cordillera and Alboran Sea, and deep earthquakes located in the central Betics to constrain the state of stress at the Gibraltar Arc slow convergence area. Shallow earthquakes (< 40 km) are preferably clustered at the mountain front. A general NW-SE horizontal compression is compatible with the convergence, and NW plunging compression axes are in agreement with frontal thrust activity. Toward the Alboran Sea the earthquakes are progressively deeper, reaching intermediate depths (40-120 km) near the coast and supporting the present-day activity of subduction only in this area. The Iberian continental crust concentrates most of the intermediate seismicity and is forced to partially sink into the mantle, probably through the pull of the oceanic slab. This downdip pull together with the buoyancy of the Iberian continental crust produces the slab curvature, downdip extension in the external arc of the continental slab, and downdip compression in the inner arc. T axes highly dipping to the southeast at 90-120 km depth occur at the oceanic/continental transition. Deep earthquakes (> 620 km) show very similar focal mechanisms, fitting the general slab behavior of resistance to further descent at the 660 km discontinuity. Seismicity features evidence the present-day stress distribution in a context of transition from subduction to continental collision.
ISSN: 1525-2027

hal-00669889
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00669889
DOI : 10.1029/2011GC003824

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Over the last decades, numerous studies have emphasized the role of serpentinites in the subduction zone geodynamics. Their presence and role in subduction environments are recognized through geophysical, geochemical and field observations of modern and ancient subduction zones and large amounts of geochemical database of serpentinites have been created. Here, we present a review of the geochemistry of serpentinites, based on the compilation of ~ 900 geochemical data of abyssal, mantle wedge and exhumed serpentinites after subduction. The aim was to better understand the geochemical evolution of these rocks during their subduction as well as their impact in the global geochemical cycle. When studying serpentinites, it is essential to determine their protoliths and their geological history before serpentinization. The geochemical data of serpentinites shows little mobility of compatible and rare earth elements (REE) at the scale of hand-specimen during their serpentinization. Thus, REE abundance can be used to identify the protolith for serpentinites, as well as magmatic processes such as melt/rock interactions before serpentinization. In the case of subducted serpentinites, the interpretation of trace element data is difficult due to the enrichments of light REE, independent of the nature of the protolith. We propose that enrichments are probably not related to serpentinization itself, but mostly due to (sedimentary-derived) fluid/rock interactions within the subduction channel after the serpentinization. It is also possible that the enrichment reflects the geochemical signature of the mantle protolith itself which could derive from the less refractory continental lithosphere exhumed at the ocean-continent transition. Additionally, during the last ten years, numerous analyses have been carried out, notably using in situ approaches, to better constrain the behavior of fluid-mobile elements (FME; e.g. B, Li, Cl, As, Sb, U, Th, Sr) incorporated in serpentine phases. The abundance of these elements provides information related to the fluid/rock interactions during serpentinization and the behavior of FME, from their incorporation to their gradual release during subduction. Serpentinites are considered as a reservoir of the FME in subduction zones and their role, notably on arc magma composition, is underestimated presently in the global geochemical cycle.
ISSN: 0024-4937

hal-00903601
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00903601
DOI : 10.1016/j.lithos.2013.05.019

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Seoul National University
Résumé : http://www.episodes.org/backissues/302/abstract2.htm
International audience
The Trans-North China Belt (TNCB) is a Paleoproterozoic collisional orogen (ca. 1.9-1.8 Ga) responsible for the amalgamation of the North China Craton. Detail field works in Lüliangshan, Hengshan, Wutaishan and Fuping massifs where the belt is well exposed, allow us to draw new tectonic map and crustal-scale cross sections. The available petrologic, radiometric, geochronologic data are integrated in a geodynamic evolution scheme for this orogen. The Low Grade Mafic Unit (LGMU) is interpreted as an ophiolitic nappe rooted in a suture zone located in the western part of the Lüliangshan. This ophiolitic nappe overthrusts to the SE upon the Orthogneiss-Volcanites Unit (OVU) that consists of a bimodal volcanicsedimentary series metamorphosed under amphibolite facies conditions intruded by calcalkaline orthogneiss. The OVU is a composite Neoarchean-Paleoproterozoic magmatic arc developed during two stages (ca. 2500 and 2100 Ma) upon a continental basement corresponding to the western extension of the Neoarchean Fuping massif. The OVU overthrusts to the SE the Fuping massif along the Longquanguan shear zone. This stack of nappe, coeval with an amphibolite facies metamorphism, is dated at ca 1880 Ma. Subsequently, the metamorphic series experienced a widespread migmatization at 1850 Ma and was intruded by post-orogenic plutons dated at 1800 Ma. The weakly to unmetamorphosed Hutuo Supergroup unconformably overlies the metamorphosed and ductilely deformed units (OVU and LGMU), but it is also involved in a second tectonic phase developed in subsurface conditions. These structural features lead us to question the ca 2090 Ma age attributed to the Hutuo supergroup. Moreover, in the Fuping massif, several structural and magmatic lines of evidence argue for an earlier orogenic event at ca 2100 Ma that we relate to an older west-directed subduction below the Fuping Block. The Taihangshan Fault might be the location of a possible suture zone between the Fuping Block and an eastern one. A geodynamic model, at variance with previous ones, is proposed to account for the formation of the TNCB. In this scheme, three Archean continents, namely from West to East, the Ordos, Fuping and Eastern Blocks are separated by the Lüliang and Taihang Oceans. The closure of the Taihang Ocean at ca 2100 Ma by westward subduction below the Fuping Block accounts for the arc magmatism and the 2100 Ma orogeny. The second collision at 1900-1880 Ma between the Fuping and Ordos blocks is responsible for the main structural, metamorphic and magmatic features of the Trans-North China Belt.
ISSN: 0705-3797

insu-00152972
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00152972
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00152972/document
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00152972/file/Episodes_TNCB_Faure_et_al.pdf

Éditeur(s) : Pergamon-elsevier Science Ltd
Résumé : Quantitative analyses on calcareous nannofossil assemblages on high temporal resolution (600-800 years) have been carried out from Core KC01B in the Ionian Sea (Eastern Mediterranean) throughout Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 13-9, between 500 and 300 ka. This is an interval of considerable climate changes, known as the Mid-Brunhes event, which includes MIS 11, considered as a possible analogue for future interglacial conditions. In the Mediterranean core, the interval is characterized by the dominance of Gephyrocapsa spp., as also known from ocean records. Calcareous nannofossil abundance fluctuations have been interpreted in terms of modification of sea surface primary productivity/water stratification and temperature. Specifically, the increase in abundance of Gephyrocapsa caribbeanica and small Gephyrocapsa coupled with decreases of Florisphaera profunda, Syracosphaera spp. and Rhabdosphaera spp. suggests enhanced primary productivity/mixed surface waters during interglacial stages and at the Terminations, which can be interpreted in terms of interaction between climate changes and mesoscale oceanographic circulation. On the other hand, distributions of Calciosolenia spp., Oolithotus spp. and Umbilicosphaera sibogae, which are in phase with delta O-18 curve showing higher abundances at the lighter values of the marine isotope record, are considered as warm-water indicators. Biotic proxies point to peculiar climate dynamics through the MIS 12-11 transition (i.e. Termination V). High productive, cool, low salinity and turbid surface waters characterize the early MIS 11(421-408 ka) and likely reflect enhanced continental humidity/monsoon activity over North Africa and increased runoff into the basin. A late surface water warming with respect to Termination V is established at about 403 ka, during a period of low insolation forcing, almost coeval with the deposition of sapropel S11. A climate optimum, lasting about 15 ky (403-389 ka), is then recorded during a period of low insolation forcing centred at 398 ka. The later part of MIS 11 is characterized by climate deterioration at about 389 ka. Comparison with results from subtropical to polar Atlantic records suggests a remarkable relation between Mediterranean and Atlantic climate regimes.
Quaternary International (1040-6182) (Pergamon-elsevier Science Ltd), 2013-03 , Vol. 288 , P. 97-111

Droits : 2011 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00181/29194/27593.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.quaint.2011.12.007
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00181/29194/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
This paper focuses on the analyses of the clastic sedimentary infill of the Coastal Plain of Eastern Mexico, which initiated synchronously with the Laramide orogeny in the vicinity of the Golden Lane. Results of these analyses are used as boundary conditions for calibrating/interpreting seismic profiles across more distal depocenters in the offshore of the Gulf of Mexico, from the sea shore and continental slope in the west to the abyssal plain in the east. The objective of the study is to better predict the reservoir distribution in the Deep offshore Basin of the Gulf of Mexico (DBGM), in order to explore for petroleum. The Coastal Plain is underlain by three morpho-tectonic domains: the tectonic front of the Sierra Madre Orientale (SMO), the Chicontepec deep water flexural basin, and the Tuxpan Platform (also known as the Golden Lane). Each domain is characterized by a distinct, dominantly siliciclastic Cenozoic lithostratigraphy. After a Jurassic rifting episode, followed by thermal subsidence, the oceanic basin and its western passive margin were deformed during the Upper Cretaceous and Paleogene, by far field stresses associated with the Cordilleran-Laramide Orogeny. Starting in the Late Cretaceous-Early Paleogene and during the Early Eocene, the tectonic load associated with the Laramide Orogen (Sierra Madre Oriental, SMO) caused flexural subsidence of the foreland located under the Coastal Plain. During this period, a massive transfer of siliciclastic sediments occurred from the Laramide foothills into the adjacent foreland. Sediments were eroded of the Sierra Madre tectonic wedge. Loading by these sediments pushed source units associated with the former passive margin down ward. The first syn-tectonic sediments of the Laramide orogeny were turbiditic silt layers in submarine fans which record also numerous collapse episodes and gravity slides. During the Late Eocene and Oligocene, the flexural subsidence stopped in the hinterland, whereas the subsidence of the passive margin resumed. This resulted in a change in the overall sedimentary architecture of the basin. Paleo-highs and reefs facies of the Golden Lane were flooded. Clastics by-passed the reefs and progradational clastic stratification formed as sediment moved towards the DBGM in the east. The final depositional environment of the continental platform/Coastal Plain became deltaic, marked by a succession of sand bars, levees and channels systems. From Miocene times onward, a system of gravitational listric faults developed near the platform to slope transition, resulting in a coeval compressional system at the transition between the slope and the abyssal plain. This system is driven by sediments charge. Because the sedimentation rate is larger than the subsidence, a large amount of clastics and slumped sediments are deposited in hangingwall basins.
ISSN: 0264-8172

hal-00424586
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00424586
DOI : 10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2008.03.009

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley-Blackwell
Résumé : International audience
New petrographic and microstructural observations, mineral equilibria modelling and U/Pb (monazite) geochronological studies were carried out to investigate the relationships between deformation and metamorphism across the Rehamna massif (Moroccan Variscan belt). In this area, typical Barrovian (muscovite to staurolite) zones developed in Cambrian to Carboniferous metasedimentary rocks that are distributed around a dome-like structure. First assemblages are characterized by the presence of locally preserved andalusite, followed by prograde evolution culminating at 6 kbar and 620 °C in the structurally deepest staurolite zone rocks. This Barrovian sequence was subsequently uplifted to supracrustal levels, heterogeneously reworked at greenschist facies conditions, which was followed locally by static growth of andalusite, indicating heating to 2.5–4 kbar and 530–570 °C. The 206Pb/238U monazite age of 298.3 ± 4.1 Ma is interpreted as minimum age of peak metamorphic conditions, whereas the ages of 275.8 ± 1.7 Ma and 277.0 ± 1.1 Ma date decompression and heating at low pressure, in agreement with previous dating of Permian granitoids intruding the Rehamna massif. The prograde metamorphism occurred during thickening and associated horizontal flow in the deeper crust (S1 horizontal schistosity). The horizontally disposed metamorphic zones were subsequently uplifted by a regional scale antiform during ongoing N–S compression. The re-heating of the massif follows late massive E–W shortening, refolding and retrograde shearing of all previous fabrics coevally with regionally important intrusions of Permian granitoids. We argue that metamorphic evolution of the Rehamna massif occurred several hundred kilometres from the convergent plate boundaries in the interior of continental Gondwanan plate. The tectonometamorphic history of the Rehamna massif is put into Palaeozoic plate tectonic perspective and Late Carboniferous reactivation of (Devonian)–Early Carboniferous basins formed during stretching of the north Gondwana margin and formation of the Palaeotethys Ocean. The inherited heat budget of these magma-rich basins plays a role in the preferential location of this intracontinental orogen. It is shown that rapid transition from lithospheric stretching to compression is characterized by specific HT type of Barrovian metamorphism, which markedly differs from similar Barrovian sequences along Palaeozoic plate boundaries reported from Variscan Europe.
ISSN: 0263-4929

hal-01468009
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01468009
DOI : 10.1111/jmg.12214

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
Résumé : International audience
The challenge is to implement research that can estimate the consequences ofclimate changes in terms of impact on terrestrial environments and resources.Emphasis should be placed on regions dependent on natural resources and forwhich demographic pressure is strong. Simulations obtained from climate modelprojections (using different Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs))predict that the Mediterranean basin and its southern periphery are particularlyvulnerable to water resources and environmental impact (IPCC, AR5, 2013).An annual rainfall decrease by 30% is found for the projection period 2070-2099(IPCC, AR5, 2013) associated with a decrease in water resources by 30 to 50%(Milano, 2012). In addition, several studies using regional atmospheric modelsindicate an increase in the precipitation inter-annual variability with extremeevents and a spatial heterogeneous signature, superimposed on a decrease in thetotal precipitation amount (Giorgi and Lionello, 2008; Raible et al. 2010).Currently, regional climate projections are highly sensitive to the climate modelused. In particular, spatial resolution as well as local climate conditions seemto impact significantly on the simulations (Jacob et al. 2014).The Mediterranean region, at the interface between arid and temperate climateswith several mountainous areas, is a complex climate system affected by theinteractions between mid-latitude and sub-tropical processes. In this context,Morocco, located at the transition between a temperate climate to the North anda tropical climate to the south constitutes a key area for an impact and sensitivitystudy to global climate changes. The climate is influenced by the Atlantic Ocean,the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara, together with a very steep orography inthe Atlas region. The precipitation distribution is therefore characterised by greatspatial variability, and exhibits a marked seasonality, a strong inter-annualvariability (Ouda et al. 2005) and in general a pronounced gradient from northto south and west to east. At a broader scale, Morocco is located on the subtropicalsubsidence path and between the Acores High and the Saharan Low (Agoussine,2003). Several studies have also identified strong links with inter-annualprecipitation variability and NAO index (Knippertz, 2003) as well as remoteclimate modes (Esper et al. 2007).Continental climate variability at a local/regional scale, if it is to be integratedin climate predictions, needs to be supported by long-term observation.Meteorological stations in Morocco provide climatic data mainly for the last40 years with only a few stations located in the mountainous region (Tramblayet al. 2012; 2013; Driouech et al. 2010). This climate database is also supportedby the IAEA network providing stations for which isotope tracers have beenapplied to daily/monthly rain and water vapour samples over 2 to 3 years between2000 and 2004. Besides the poor coverage of instrumented areas, lacustrinesystems can provide a climatic data set that offers access to short and long-termtime series of climate parameters when knowledge of modern lake water balanceis combined with lacustrine sedimentary-climate records. Lake sediment recordsideally provide high resolution climate/environmental information of the last10,000 years (Magny et al. 2013). This time interval (corresponding to theHolocene) is a key period to investigate short and long-term climate variabilityand to improve prediction in a warming climate.In this study we present an integrated approach focusing on a mountainous lake(Aguelmam Azigza). The modern lake system study is based on site monitoring(2012-2016) and available regional hydro-climatic data. These data show thatlake level changes during the instrumented period were mainly driven byprecipitation following the high inter-annual variability. These data are thencompared with accurately dated short sediment cores retrieved in the same lake.Micro-scale geochemical and sedimentological analyses of these sequencesenable us to identify various sedimentary facies that can be linked with periodsof high (low) lake levels over the past decades.
The Mediterranean Region under Climate ChangeLa méditerranée face au changement climatique

insu-01394690
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01394690
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01394690/document
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01394690/file/Vidaletal.2016-COP22-Chap1.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Résumé : Tectonics, v. 27, p. TC5011, 2008. http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2007TC002232
International audience
The seismic activity of the Ligurian Basin, the northeastern termination of the western Mediterranean basin, is larger than in surrounding regions, even though recent geodetic studies attest that this area is subject to very low levels of deformation. This basin is an example of a type of passive margins that cannot be considered solely as inert sites of sedimentation and of progressive subsidence and that are reactivated in a compressive pattern; other examples include the Kwanza basin (Angola) and the Brazil margin. We investigated, by means of 2-D thermomechanical modeling, the structural and rheological heterogeneities that can lead to concentration of strain in this marginal basin. We deduced that the deformation of the basin is due to its particular geometric features, narrow and with a thick surrounding continental crust, related to its position at the southern termination of the Alps. This sharp transition, in terms of both geometry and rheological contrast, is a main factor in explaining the weakness of the margin. We discuss the importance of buoyancy forces versus tectonic forces, as well as thermal effects, on the observed reactivation. Influence of contrast in rheology between an oceanic-type crust and continental crust is also studied. Geodynamical implications are proposed for the region. The good agreement between the predicted localized deformation and the observed seismicity distribution should help improve seismic hazard assessment in the region.
ISSN: 0278-7407

hal-00407859
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00407859
DOI : 10.1029/2007TC002232

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
This study provides an integrated review of plate tectonic models of the evolution of the Antarctica-Patagonia connection compared to geological records collected on land in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, and offshore along the northern edge of the Scotia Sea. A temporal framework for the sedimentary and tectonic events of the North Scotia Ridge and Tierra del Fuego is constructed with additional data compiled from entire Patagonia and the Austral Basin. This review provides robust correlations of seaways and tectonic events along the Scotia and South America plates and indicates that the opening of the Drake Passage was not steady state since ca. 30 Ma. Rather the regions forming the present-day northern limit of this gateway experienced important paleogeographic changes, from deep marine basins to shallow ridges and emerged regions during the late Oligocene and early-middle Miocene time. Our compilation of geological data shows that emergence along the North Scotia Ridge and Tierra del Fuego was achieved at 23-22 Ma, and has been followed by elimination of the Patagoniano Sea in Patagonia, starting at 22-23 Ma and achieved at 20 Ma. This transition towards more continental sedimentation in southern South America is correlated with more shallow marine conditions in the Austral Basin. This succession of events had a strong influence on the general geometry of the Drake Passage, corresponding to a constriction of its northern limit, starting in the window 29-22 Ma and achieved at 21 Ma. This period of active deformation in southern South America also corresponds to a period of the global climate having two anomalies well known from the isotopic records: the Late Oligocene Warming. around 26 Ma and the Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum which ended between 15 and 14 Ma. The possible effects of the post-Oligocene tectonic evolution of the Drake Passage region on general oceanic circulation are discussed. Causes for the synchronicity between tectonic events and these global warming events are examined.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-00413525
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00413525
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2008.12.037

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : CorseAlp 2011 was held in April 2011. A link to the website is here: CorseAlp 2011. The CorseAlp field trips were designed to introduce the participants to the general features of the geology of Alpine Corsica and to recent specific discoveries. Field trip 1 focused on the geology of the Ocean-Continent Transition preserved in the Monte San Petrone, in Central Corsica, which was subducted to eclogite facies conditions during the Alpine orogeny. Field Guide 1 itinerary: Bastia, Golo Valley, Piedicroce, M.S.Petrone and S.Florent.
Journal of the Virtual Explorer

hal-00689755
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00689755

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The contourite depositional system (CDS) along the southwestern Iberian Margin (SIM), within the Gulf of Cadiz and offshore areas of western Portugal bear the unmistakable signal of Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) exiting the Strait of Gibraltar. This locality records key information concerning the effects of tectonic activity on margin sedimentation, the effects of MOW dynamics on Atlantic circulation, and how these factors may have influenced global climate. Over the last four decades, numerous studies have been conducted on the late Miocene, Pliocene and Quaternary sedimentary stacking pattern of Neogene basins along the SIM for both academic and resources exploration purposes. However, understanding of the region rests primarily on basic seismic stratigraphy calibrated with limited data from only a few exploration wells. The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 339 recently drilled five sites in the Gulf of Cadiz and two sites on the western Iberian margin. The integration of core and borehole data with other geophysical databases leads us to propose a new stratigraphic framework. Interpretation of IODP Exp. 339 data along with that from industry sources and onshore outcrop analysis helps refine our understanding of the SIM's sedimentary evolution.We identify significant changes in sedimentation style and dominant sedimentary processes, coupled with widespread depositional hiatuses along the SIM within the Cadiz, Sanlucar, Doñana, Algarve and Alentejo basins. Following the 4.5 Ma cessation of a previous phase of tectonic activity related to the Miocene–Pliocene boundary, tectonics continued to influence margin development, downslope sediment transport and CDS evolution. Sedimentary features indicate tectonic pulses of about 0.8–0.9 Ma duration with a pronounced overprint of ~ 2–2.5 Ma cycles. These more protracted cycles relate to the westward rollback of subducted lithosphere at the convergent Africa-Eurasia plate boundary as its previous NW–SE compressional regime shifted to a WNW–ESE direction. Two major compressional events affecting to the Neogene basins at 3.2–3 Ma and 2–2.3 Ma help constrain the three main stages of CDS evolution. The stages include: 1) the initial-drift stage (5.33–3.2 Ma) with a weak MOW, 2) a transitional-drift stage (3.2–2 Ma) and 3) a growth-drift stage (2 Ma-present time) with enhanced MOW circulation into the Atlantic and associated contourite development due to greater bottom-current velocity. Two minor Pleistocene discontinuities at 0.7–0.9 Ma and 0.3–0.6 Ma record the effects of renewed tectonic activity on basin evolution, appearing most prominently in the Doñana basin. Several discontinuities bounding major and minor units appear on seismic profiles. Quaternary records offer the clearest example of this, with major units of about 0.8–0.9 Ma and sub-units of 0.4–0.5 Ma. Sedimentation is controlled by a combination of tectonics, sediment supply, sea-level and climate. This research identifies time scales of tectonic controls on deep-marine sedimentation, specifically over periods of 2.5–> 0.4 Ma. Shorter-term climatic (orbital) mechanisms control sedimentation at time scales of ≤ 0.4 Ma. The role of bottom water circulation and associated processes in shaping the seafloor and controlling the sedimentary stacking pattern on continental margins has to be seriously reconsidered in future multidisciplinary studies. This is not only because of the common occurrence of sandy contourite deposits in deep water setting and their economic interest for hydrocarbon exploration, but principally because they archive the heartbeat of the interior Earth and therefore have important sedimentary and paleoceanographic implications.
ISSN: 0025-3227

hal-01356166
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01356166
DOI : 10.1016/j.margeo.2015.09.013

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union
Résumé : International audience
We have analyzed shear wave splitting recorded by portable and permanent broadband and long-period stations located in the eastern United States. Teleseismic shear waves (SKS, SKKS, and PKS) were used to retrieve the splitting parameters: the orientation of the fast wave polarization plane ϕ and the delay time δt. In total, 120 seismic events were processed, allowing for more than 600 splitting measurements. Within the Appalachians, stations located in the western (external) part are characterized by δt≈1s and ϕ trending N50°– 70°E in the south and central regions and N30°–40°E in the north, closely following the trend of the orogenic belt in these areas. The transition region between north and central is characterized by δt≈1–1.3 s and by E-W trending ϕ that are at a high angle to the regional geologic trend. Measurements at two stations located in the eastern (internal) part of the belt indicate very weak anisotropy. The large-scale pattern of anisotropy is not consistent with that predicted for simple asthenospheric flow beneath the plate. Splitting along the southern and eastern margins of the continent is consistent with that expected for Grenvillian deformation, an alternative model of asthenospheric flow around the cratonic keel cannot be ruled out. Within the cratonic core, the correlation between δt and lithospheric thickness suggests a lithospheric anisotropy. Smaller-length-scale variations also argue for a significant contribution of lithospheric structures. The fabric responsible for shear wave splitting may have formed during tectonic episodes that affected the eastern United States, i.e., the Grenville and Appalachian orogenies and the subsequent rifting of the North Atlantic Ocean. Our observations in the western Appalachians suggest that the anisotropy may be preserved since the Grenvillian orogeny. The absence of detectable splitting in the two stations in the eastern Appalachians is attributed to the igneous intrusions related to the Atlantic rifting. The measurements in the transition between the northern and central southern Appalachians, constitute an intriguing anomaly, whose E-W ϕ have little obvious relation to the regional surface geology. We suggest two possible causes: (1) the local dominance of asthenospheric flow, motivated by the proximity of a pervasive low-velocity anomaly and (2) lithospheric deformation in a transcontinental strike-slip fault zone active during the Appalachian collision.
ISSN: 2169-9313

hal-01388859
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01388859
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01388859/document
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01388859/file/Barruol_JGR_1997.pdf
DOI : 10.1029/96JB03800

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : Corsica is located in the Mediterranean sea, about 90 km from the Italian coast of Tuscany and 175 km from the French Riviera. This relatively large island stretches for 180 km in the north-south direction and 85 Km east-west. The rugged landscape, with a mean elevation of ca. 500 m and the highest point at 2710 m (Monte Cinto) is interrupted only by a major plain along the east coast. CorseAlp 2011 was held in April 2011. A link to the website is here: CorseAlp 2011. The CorseAlp field trips were designed to introduce the participants to the general features of the geology of Alpine Corsica and to recent specific discoveries. Field trip 1 focused on the geology of the Ocean-Continent Transition preserved in the Monte San Petrone, in Central Corsica, which was subducted to eclogite facies conditions during the Alpine orogeny. The three days post-workshop field trip (Field trip 2) focused on the general architecture of Alpine Corsica in an EW transect between the Balagne region and Bastia. The main topics of Field trip 1 and 2 allow discussion about the overall evolution of Alpine Corsica in the framework of Mediterranean geodynamics, with a focus on the most controversial aspects.
Journal of the Virtual Explorer

hal-00688965
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00688965

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
P>The Strait of Hormuz area is a transition zone between the continental collision of the Zagros (west) and the subduction of an oceanic part of the Arabian Plate beneath the Makran wedge (east). Geology and recent GPS measurements indicate that about 15 mm yr-1 of relative motion in N10 degrees E direction is accommodated by two major fault systems: (1) the NNW-trending Minab-Zendan-Palami (MZP) fault system that connects the Main Zagros Thrust (MZT) to the inner Makran thrust system and the Frontal subduction thrust and (2) the N-trending Sabzevaran-Kahnuj-Jiroft (SKJ) fault system that bounds the Jazmurian depression to the west. We use dense GPS measurements along four transects across these fault systems in order to determine the strains spatial distribution. The northern GPS transect confirms the total fault slip rates for both fault systems estimated by the tectonic analyses (about 10 and 7.3 mm yr-1 in N10 degrees direction across the MZP and SKJ fault systems, respectively). For both fault systems, the elastic deformation spreads over shear zones that are several tens of kilometres wide. However, transects located close to latitude 27 degrees N reveal a much narrower shear zone (similar to 10 km) for the MZP fault system. Moreover, we confirm that most of the present-day strain is transferred towards the frontal subduction thrust rather than towards the inner Makran thrusts. In order to complement this new GPS velocity field with spatially dense measurements, we processed a set of ERS radar images by the radar interferometry (InSAR) technique. We used both a 'stacking' and a 'persistant-scatterers' approach to differentiate the ground deformation signal which spatial gradient is expected to be very low, from the atmospheric signal. Results from these interferograms appear to be relatively in agreement with the GPS-determined strain distribution. Nevertheless, they confirm the absence of any superficial creep behaviour since no sharp discontinuity on interferometric phase can be noted on any interferogram. Finally, we use a purely kinematic 'block model' inversion process to calculate slip rates and locking depths for each fault system from our GPS measurements. These models suggest that the relative quiescence over the last 200 yr has certainly produced a slip deficit as high as 2 m. So, we may wonder if the MZP fault system is not late in the interseismic phase of its earthquake cycle.
ISSN: 0956-540X

hal-00429386
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00429386
DOI : 10.1111/j.1365-246X.2009.04321.x