Éditeur(s) : AGU
Résumé : New, high-quality multichannel seismic reflection data from the western New Caledonia offshore domain allow for the first time the direct, continuous connection of seismic reflectors between the Deep Sea Drilling Project 208 drill hole on the Lord Howe Rise and the New Caledonia Basin. A novel seismic interpretation is hence proposed for the northern New Caledonia Basin stratigraphy, which places the Eocene/Oligocene unconformity deeper than previously thought and revisits the actual thickness of the pre-Oligocene sequences. A causal link is proposed between the obduction of the South Loyalty Basin over New Caledonia (NC) and the tectonic history of the northern New Caledonia Basin. Here it is suggested that as the South Loyalty Basin was being obducted during early Oligocene times, the NC Basin subsided under the effect of the overloading and underthrusted to accommodate the compressional deformation, which resulted in (1) the uplift of the northern Fairway Ridge and (2) the sinking of the western flank of New Caledonia. This event also had repercussions farther west with the incipient subsidence of the Lord Howe Rise.
Tectonics (0278-7407) (AGU), 2008-12 , Vol. 27 , N. TC6006 , P. 1-20

Droits : 2008 American Geophysical Union
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2008/publication-4782.pdf
DOI:10.1029/2008TC002263
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/4782/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The Karukéra spur is an easternmost submerged rise of the Lesser Antilles fore-arc in the Guadeloupe archipelago, culminating about 4000 m above the fore-arc basin 150 km west of the deformation front. The analysis of 3500 km 2D high-resolution multichannel seismic reflection and multibeam bathymetric data, and the study of 14 core samples, allow for the first time to reconstruct its sedimentary anatomy and tectonic evolution. Seven seismic units (US1 to US7) are evidenced, organised into four major depositional sequences separated by erosional surfaces. Units US1 to US4 thicken to the south-southeast on the spur. The sedimentary deposits rest upon a deeply eroded metamorphic basement of the Caribbean Plate as in La Désirade Island. Sequence 1 (units US1 and US2) remains unknown in its lower part because it does not outcrop. Its upper part comprises early Miocene shallow water carbonates. Sequence S2 (Unit US3) only comprises an upper Miocene transgressive systems tract deposited into basinal environment. It is bounded by major erosional surfaces SB2 and SB3. Sequence 3 (US4 to US6) is Zanclean to Pleistocene. It is dominantly composed of shallow water, reefal deposits. Sequence 4 corresponds to recent deposits. The Karukéra spur experienced three main extensional episodes with alternations between uplift and subsidence periods. Uplifts are responsible for emersions and erosions. Subsidence severely drowned shallow water deposits. The first extensional episode led to the formation of horsts and grabens in the basement, prior to early Miocene deposits. The second extensional episode occurred during upper Miocene, in accordance with data in surrounding islands. The third tectonic episode developed since Calabrian. Noticeable is the constant reactivation of N130°–N150°, N150°–N180° and N40° trending faults since early Miocene and the neoformation of E–W trending faults since Calabrian. Our results suggest that at the latitude of Guadeloupean archipelago the Lesser Antilles subduction zone is an erosional margin because of the successive sweepings of the Santa Lucia then Tiburon Ridges.
ISSN: 0025-3227

hal-01172231
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01172231
DOI : 10.1016/j.margeo.2015.02.007

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

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

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union
Résumé : During the 2003 summer monsoon, the Hi-CLIMB seismological stations deployed across the Himalayan Range detected bursts of high-frequency seismic noise that lasted several hours to days. On the basis of the cross correlation of seismic envelopes recorded at 11 stations, we show that the largest transient event on 15 August was located nearby a village partially destroyed on that day by a devastating debris flow. This consistency in both space and time suggests that high-frequency seismic noise analysis can be used to monitor debris flow generation as well as the evacuation of the sediment. A systematic study of one year of seismic noise, focusing on the detection of similar events, provides information on the spatial and temporal occurrence of mass movements at the front of the Himalayas. With a 50% probability of occurrence of a daily event, a total of 46 debris flows are seismically detected. Most of them were generated in regions of steep slopes, large gullies, and loose soils during the 2003 summer monsoon storms. These events are compared to local meteorological data to determine rainfall thresholds for slope failures, including the cumulative rainfall needed to bring the soil moisture content to failure capacity. The inferred thresholds are consistent with previous estimates deduced from soil studies as well as sediment supply investigations in the area. These results point out the potential of using seismic noise as a dedicated tool for monitoring the spatiotemporal occurrence of landslides and debris flows on a regional scale.
ISSN: 0148-0227

hal-00464177
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00464177
DOI : 10.1029/2008JF001198

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Résumé : International audience
Detailed seafloor mapping in the area east of Taiwan revealed trench-parallel stretching and folding of the Ryukyu forearc and lateral motion of the accretionary wedge under oblique convergence. East of 122ø40'E, a steep accretionary wedge is elongated in an E-W direction. A major transcurrent right-lateral strike-slip fault accommodates the strain partitioning caused by an oblique convergence of 40 ø. A spectacular out-of-sequence thrust may be related to the subduction of a structural high lying in the axis of the N-S trending Gagua Ridge. This asperity is likely responsible for the uplift of the accretionary wedge and forearc basement and may have augmented strain partitioning by increasing the coupling between the two plates. West of 122ø40'E, the low-taper accretionary wedge is sheared in a direction subparallel to the convergence vector with respect to the Ryukyu Arc. The bayonet shape of the southern Ryukyu Arc slope partly results from the recent (re)opening of the southern Okinawa Trough at a rate of about 2 to 4 cm/yr. Right-lateral shearing of the sedimentary forearc with respect to the nonlinear Ryukyu backstop generates trench-parallel extension in the forearc sediment sequence at dilational jogs and trench-parallel folding at compressive jogs. The Hoping Basin lies above a diffuse trench/trench/fault (TTF) or TFF unstable triple junction moving toward the south along a N-S transform zone which accommodates the southward drift of the Ryukyu Arc with respect to Eurasia.
ISSN: 0278-7407

hal-01261555
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01261555
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01261555/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01261555/file/Lallemand_et_al-1999-Tectonics.pdf
DOI : 10.1029/1998TC900011

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
In order to better constrain the relationship between tectonics and sedimentation of the Eastern Sardinian Margin, from the Messinian to the present day (METYSS project), a lithostratigraphic study was carried out on the Late Neogene deposits along the Cedrino Valley (eastern Sardinia). The late Neogene evolution is documented from sedimentological and tectonic analysis, biostratigraphic dating, and by mapping and logging stratigraphic sections. Previous authors have differentiated an early Pliocene marine formation from an older continental formation, possibly Miocene, the entire system being covered by late Pliocene to Quaternary lava flows. Preliminary biostratigraphic data suggest the absence of the lowermost Pliocene, based on the absence of Globorotalia margaritae and the presence of Globorotalia puncticulata, implying a sediment age between 3.81 and 2.41 Ma. At the foot of the Fiuli cliff, some mud clasts include a coccolith microflora, Tortonian in age, suggesting reworking. The Pliocene marine deposits consist of a single filling sequence instead of a succession of superimposed sequences as we would expect during this period of time; the occurrences of terms rarely respect the usual transgressive-regressive succession. Contrasting bathymetric environments (fore-shore, pro-delta, shelf or upper slope) can be abruptly superimposed on top of the other, along few meter thick intervals. A rapidly flooded term is observed in several sites and indicates a spatial variability over only a few kilometers distance. Some deep water deposits are in the middle of the infilling Pliocene sequence, whereas shallower water deposits can be repeated along a vertical section, or even interrupted by emersion. These marked differences can express syn-, or possibly post-sedimentation tectonic uplifts. The 10–25° bed dips originated through local tectonic uplift. At Fiuli, the geometry of the bedding planes is indicative of tilting toward the west, in a direction opposite to the one observed at Onifai. These Pliocene series form a wide syncline with an approximately NNE–SSW axis. This morpho-structural behavior appears to be largely atypical of this East-Sardinian coastal area.
ISSN: 1040-6182

hal-01134707
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01134707
DOI : 10.1016/j.quaint.2014.11.022

Éditeur(s) : D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht- Holland
Résumé : Serial seismic reflection profiles off Tunisia and between Sardinia and Tunisia are presented. Interpretation is given which includes paleozoïc basement and its autochtonous (Eocene and plio-quaternary) and allochtonous (Numidian nappe) cover. Recent tectonic activity is discussed, (Plio-quaternary foundered basins, 'flexure', local uplifts, intrusions). Then the nature of the basement of the Sardinia-Tunisia zone is discussed with respect to the various hypotheses on the region of the Western Mediterranean. [NOT CONTROLLED OCR]
Une série de profils de sismique réflexion effectués au large de la Tunisie et dans le détroit sardano-tunisien aboutissent à l'élaboration d'un schéma géologique interprétatif dans lequel nous replaçons le socle paléozoïque et sa couverture autochtone (Eocène et plio-quaternaire) et allochtone (nappe numidienne). Nous discutons ensuite des manifestations néotectoniques (bassins d'effondrements plio-quaternaires - mouvement de flexure - surrections locales - venues intrusives). Enfin la nature du substratum du détroit sardano-tunisien est discutée en liaison avec les hypothèses dynamiques et statiques relatives à la formation de la Méditerranée occidentale. [OCR NON CONTRÔLE]
Marine Geophysical Researches (D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht- Holland), 1970-06 , Vol. 1 , P. 162-177

Droits : D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht- Holland
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/1970/publication-4912.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/4912/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The East Sayan ranges are a key area to understand the interactions between the transpressive deformation linked to the far-field effects of the India-Asia collision and the extension linked to the opening of the Baikal Rift System. The active deformation that affects this range is very recent (around 5 Ma) but occurs in a very complex morphotectonic setting and the understanding of the Tertiary deformation relies entirely on a detailed knowledge of the pre-deformation situation. Using apatite fission track thermochronology, cosmogenic 10Be and morphological study on Tertiary lava flows we demonstrate that prior to the Oligocene the morphology of the East Sayan area was characterized by a wide, constantly rejuvenated erosion surface. Apatite fission track thermal modelling indicates that this surface started to form at least in Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous (140-120 Ma). The long-term exhumation rates (several tens of million years) derived from apatite fission track data (17.5 m/Ma) and the short-term erosion rates (over a few hundred thousand years) derived from cosmogenic 10Be data (12-20 m/Ma) are coherent implying a near constant mean erosion rate since Late Jurassic. This constant, slow erosion prevented the formation of a lateritic-kaolinic weathering crust on the planation surface. By Oligocene-early Miocene times a long wavelength uplift that remains to be explained, induced incision that created shallow valleys later filled by basaltic lava flows. Finally, the present short-wavelength topography initiated during the Pliocene.
ISSN: 0743-9547

insu-00805603
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00805603
DOI : 10.1016/j.jseaes.2011.09.017

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Geological Society of America
Résumé : International audience
The post-rift denudation history of high-elevation divergent continentalmargins is central to deciphering source-to-sink systems acrosssuch margins and to unraveling their topographic evolution. We performed40Ar-39Ar dating of supergene K-Mn oxides from supergenemanganese ore deposits in order to constrain the age of in situ formedlaterites on both the lowland and highland sides of the Western GhatsEscarpment of Peninsular India. Documentation of laterites as oldas 53 Ma on the highland and 47 Ma at the foot of the escarpmentshows that the escarpment stabilized before 47 Ma (possibly 60 Ma).The topographic setting of the dated weathering mantles also constrainsdenudation of the lowland and the highland since ca. 50 Mato maximums of 5 m/m.y. and 15 m/m.y., respectively. Our resultschallenge denudation rates derived from apatite fission track thermochronologyby documenting the topography and relief longevityof the southwest Indian margin and its hinterland. The results precludelarge-magnitude uplift of Peninsular India after the Eocene,and more generally argue against late Neogene uplift and topographicrejuvenation of continental shields.
ISSN: 0091-7613

ird-01419633
http://hal.ird.fr/ird-01419633
http://hal.ird.fr/ird-01419633/document
http://hal.ird.fr/ird-01419633/file/GEOLOGY-S-15-00851_HAL.pdf
DOI : 10.1130/G37303.1

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Geological Society
Résumé : International audience
An integrated stratigraphic study was conducted on the shallow water carbonate platforms of the Guadeloupe archipelago to refine the tectonic evolution of the Lesser Antilles forearc. The carbonate platforms are now dated to the Zanclean-Calabrian interval, and their demise occurred between 1.5 and 1.07 Ma. The precise chronostratigraphy allows dating of the main extensional tectonic events since the late Miocene. An initial episode occurred during the late Miocene, related to the reactivation of inherited N130°E-trending shear zones, and led to the emergence of most parts of the forearc. Subsequently, Zanclean to early Piacenzian carbonate platforms developed in association with a general subsidence of the forearc. During the late Piacenzan, a second extensional episode occurred. At this time La Désirade underwent major uplift and emergence whereas most of the forearc remained submerged. Prior to 1.07 Ma, a third north-south extensional episode occurred and led to the final demise of the carbonate platforms. Thus the forearc was characterized by general subsidence since the early Pliocene interrupted by three main extensional episodes and related differential uplifts. This suggests that the Lesser Antilles subduction is probably erosive north of latitude 15°N since c. 5 Ma, related to aseismic ridge subduction.
ISSN: 0016-7649

hal-01053696
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01053696
DOI : 10.1144/jgs2013-005

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union
Résumé : International audience
In Taiwan, about one third of the lithospheric plate convergence between Eurasia and the Philippine Sea plate is accommodated on the eastern coast across the narrow Longitudinal Valley (LV). The Longitudinal Valley Fault (LVF) is the main seismically active fault zone in this region. However, the spatial distribution of ground deformation due to interseismic loading on locked fault segments remains widely unknown. To address this problem, we use a "permanent scatterer" (PS) interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) approach for processing the ERS satellite archives. The PS mean velocity maps allow accurately mapping and quantifying the ground deformation all along the LV. Assuming that, close to the surface, the fault plane along the central LVF creeping segment dips 55 degrees to the east, we derive a slip vector at the surface of similar to 25 mm/yr with a mean rake of 70 degrees. In agreement with our PS observations, shallow seismicity indicates a clear change in the fault mechanical behavior of the creeping segment around Fuli town. Finally, we propose a combination of the PS velocity fields for estimating a 3-D map of ground deformation. In the southern part of the LV, the vertical component reveals an uplift of the Coastal Range with respect to the LV of similar to 10 mm/yr. Moreover, between Taitung and Luyeh, the vertical deformation is essentially accommodated along the Luyeh Strand. Finally, north of Rueisuei, the Coastal Range uniformly subsides at similar to 15 mm/yr relative to the western side of the LV. However, a local uplift pattern is detected around latitude 23 degrees 42'.
ISSN: 0148-0227

hal-00595532
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00595532
DOI : 10.1029/2010JB007898

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : International audience
Large-scale conical and saucer-shaped sand injectites have been identified in the Upper Miocene sediments of the Lower Congo Basin. These structures are evidenced on the 3D high-resolution seismic data at about 600 ms TWT (two-way traveltime) beneath the seabed. The conical and saucer-shaped anomalies range from 20 to 80 m in height, 50 to 300 m in diameter, and 10 to 20 ms TWT in thickness. They are located within a sedimentary interval of about 100 m in thickness and are aligned over 20 km in dip direction (NE-SW), above the NW margin of an underlying Upper Miocene submarine fan. We have interpreted the conical and saucer-shaped anomalies as upward-emplaced sand injectites sourced from the Upper Miocene fan because of their discordant character, the postsedimentary uplifting of the sediments overlying the cones and saucer-shaped bodies, the alignment with the lateral fringe of the Upper Miocene submarine fan, and the geological context. Sand injection dates from the Miocene-Pliocene transition (approximately 5.3 Ma). The prerequisite overpressure to the sand injection process may be due to the buoyancy effect of hydrocarbons accumulated in the margins of the fan. Additionally, overpressure could have been enhanced by the lateral transfer of fluids operating in the inclined margins of the lobe. The short duration of sand injection and the presence of many sandstone intrusions suggested that the process of injection was triggered by an event, likely due to a nearby fault displacement related to diapiric movements. This is the first time that sand injectites of seismic scale have been described from the Lower Congo Basin. The localized nature of these injectites has led to a change in the migration path of fluids through the sedimentary cover. Consequently, the sand intrusions are both evidence and vectors of fluid migration within the basin fill.
ISSN: 1468-8115

hal-00963594
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00963594
DOI : 10.1111/gfl.12057

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : The evolution of mountain belt piedmont is controlled by interactions between tectonics, erosion and sedimentation. To study coupling between these processes, we analyze morphometric data collected in the eastern Tian Shan piedmont (NW China) and develop a new analogue modelling technique. The modeling approach uses an experimental set-up and analog material specifically designed to study simultaneously tectonic structures (faults, folds), detailed morphology (drainage basins, channels, alluvial fans, etc.) and stratified sedimentation. Measurement techniques based on laser interferometry and image correlation are also developed to quantify the topographic and kinematic evolution of models.
Our experiments allow a new approach for the study of piedmont morphotectonic evolution. Our results indicate that tectonics mainly controls this evolution. The propagation of deformation and the formation of relief both significantly influence the development of drainage networks, the evolution of drainage basins and the formation of morphotectonic markers. Particularly, a study of alluvial fans and watershed metrics suggests that there is a dynamical equilibrium between uplift, erosion and morphology. In addition, our results show that terrace nucleation is controlled by thrust activity and hydrography adjustments. Folding of terraces responds to a homothetic deformation pattern.
This new methodology brings promising perspectives in the fields of geomorphology, seismotectonics and sedimentology.
L'évolution d'un piémont de chaîne de montagnes est contrôlée par les interactions entre la tectonique, l'érosion et la sédimentation. Pour étudier ces processus, nous avons analysé des données morphométriques issues des piémonts orientaux du Tian Shan (NW Chine) et développé un nouveau type de modélisation analogique. Cette approche utilise un dispositif et un matériau expérimental spécialement conçus pour modéliser simultanément des structures tectoniques (failles, plis), une morphologie détaillée (bassins versants, rivières, cônes alluviaux, etc.) et une sédimentation stratifiée. Des techniques de mesure optique ont été également mises en oeuvre afin de quantifier l'évolution topographique et cinématique des modèles.
Les expériences réalisées offrent une opportunité inédite d'étudier l'évolution morphotectonique d'un piémont. Nos résultats montrent que la tectonique exerce un contrôle de premier ordre sur cette évolution. La propagation de la déformation et la formation des reliefs influencent en effet significativement le développement du réseau de drainage, l'évolution des bassins versants et la formation des marqueurs morphotectoniques. En particulier, l'analyse de la morphométrie des cônes alluviaux et de leurs bassins versants suggère qu'un équilibre dynamique s'installe entre la surrection, l'érosion et la morphologie. Nos résultats montrent également que l'apparition des terrasses est guidée par l'activité des chevauchements et les adaptations de l'hydrographie. Leur modèle de plissement répond à une déformation homothétique.
Cette nouvelle approche ouvre des perspectives d'étude prometteuses en géomorphologie, sismotectonique et stratigraphie.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00339145

tel-00339145
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00339145
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00339145v2/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00339145/file/These_Graveleau08.pdf

Éditeur(s) : Nature Publishing Group
Résumé : Submarine mud volcanoes are important sources of methane to the water column. However, the temporal variability of their mud and methane emissions is unknown. Methane emissions were previously proposed to result from a dynamic equilibrium between upward migration and consumption at the seabed by methane-consuming microbes. Here we show non-steady-state situations of vigorous mud movement that are revealed through variations in fluid flow, seabed temperature and seafloor bathymetry. Time series data for pressure, temperature, pH and seafloor photography were collected over 431 days using a benthic observatory at the active Hakon Mosby Mud Volcano. We documented 25 pulses of hot subsurface fluids, accompanied by eruptions that changed the landscape of the mud volcano. Four major events triggered rapid sediment uplift of more than a metre in height, substantial lateral flow of muds at average velocities of 0.4m per day, and significant emissions of methane and CO2 from the seafloor.
Nature Communications (2041-1723) (Nature Publishing Group), 2014-11-11 , Vol. 5 , P. 1-8

Droits : 2014 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00245/35601/34137.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00245/35601/34138.pdf
DOI:10.1038/ncomms6385
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00245/35601/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union (AGU) American Geophysical Union
Résumé : International audience
GPS data reveal that the Brahmaputra Valley has broken from the Indian Plate and rotates clockwise relative to India about a point a few hundred kilometers west of the Shillong Plateau. The GPS velocity vectors define two distinct blocks separated by the Kopili fault upon which 2–3 mm/yr of dextral slip is observed: the Shillong block between longitudes 89 and 93°E rotating clockwise at 1.15°/Myr and the Assam block from 93.5°E to 97°E rotating at ≈1.13°/Myr. These two blocks are more than 120 km wide in a north-south sense, but they extend locally a similar distance beneath the Himalaya and Tibet. A result of these rotations is that convergence across the Himalaya east of Sikkim decreases in velocity eastward from 18 to ≈12 mm/yr and convergence between the Shillong Plateau and Bangladesh across the Dauki fault increases from 3 mm/yr in the west to >8 mm/yr in the east. This fast convergence rate is inconsistent with inferred geological uplift rates on the plateau (if a 45°N dip is assumed for the Dauki fault) unless clockwise rotation of the Shillong block has increased substantially in the past 4–8 Myr. Such acceleration is consistent with the reported recent slowing in the convergence rate across the Bhutan Himalaya. The current slip potential near Bhutan, based on present-day convergence rates and assuming no great earthquake since 1713 A.D., is now ~5.4 m, similar to the slip reported from alluvial terraces that offsets across the Main Himalayan Thrust and sufficient to sustain a Mw ≥ 8.0 earthquake in this area.
ISSN: 0148-0227

hal-01115084
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01115084
DOI : 10.1002/2014JB011196

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Geological Society of America
Résumé : International audience
The long-lived Andean subduction zone underwent several flat slab episodes and is therefore ideal to study the consequences of a complete cycle of slab flattening and steepening on the upper plate deformation pattern. In the modern Peruvian forearc (15°–17°S), slab flattening caused a Paleogene (52–30 Ma) landward migration of volcanic activity. Combining structural geology and a source-to-sink thermochronological study, we show that the flat slab period is contemporaneous with uplift accommodated by large-scale crustal extension in the forearc. In this light, we argue that the study area is an ancient analog to the modern Mexican and northern Peruvian forearcs located above modern flat slab segments and currently undergoing widespread extension.
ISSN: 0091-7613

hal-01685553
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01685553
DOI : 10.1130/G38990.1

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Geological Society of London
Résumé : International audience
The interplay between tectonics and erosion has a predominant control on the evolution of the morphology of mountain belts. Here we investigate the modalities of deformation in Central Nepal on a c. 100 ka time scale in response to tectonic and external forcings, through the use of a finite-element thermomechanical model coupled with an integrative denudation formulation that accounts for fluvial incision and hillslope landsliding. We study the complex coupling existing between tectonics and erosion, with special emphasis on the influences of rock strength and rainfall distributions. Our results underline the key role played by lithologic variations in the elevation of both rivers and mean topography. We show that the location of the Main Frontal Thrust is mainly controlled by the low erodability of the unconsolidated sandstone in the Siwaliks Hills. As previously suspected (Burbank et al. 2003), our simulations demonstrate that the pattern of uplift in Nepal is mainly dependent on both erodability and fault geometry, rather than on rainfall distribution.
ISSN: 2041-4927

hal-01543331
https://hal-amu.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01543331
DOI : 10.1144/GSL.SP.2006.253.01.18

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : In order to identify and quantify the Rif (Morocco) present-day deformation, especially those related to active faults (location, geometry, kinematic), we perform a morphotectonic study. The studied area and faults are located in the Northern part (conjugate faults of Al-Hoceima Bay: Trougout, Boujibar and Rouadi), the Eastern part (Nekor fault) and the Southern part of the chain (Rif frontal thrust between Fes and Meknes cities).Morphotectonic tools (DEMs at different scales, satellite and aerial pictures), field studies and Quaternary dating methods (U/Th, OSL, 14C and in-situ cosmogenic isotopes 10Be, 3He, 36Cl) allow us to characterize transtensional deformation in the Northern Rif. Horizontal and vertical slip rates along the N-S-oriented Trougout major fault are ~1.6 mm/yr and ~2 mm/yr respectively. In the Southern part, the Rif frontal thrust shows a shortening rate of ~1.8 mm/yr into Fes and Meknes area. In the Eastern part, the deformation is focused on the Nekor left-lateral strike-slip major fault with ~1.5 mm/yr. Incision features and raised marine terraces involve an uplift of the chain about ~0.2 mm/yr. The overall deformation in the Rif seems to be continuous since the Messinian-Pliocene time.These new morphotectonic constraints are consistent with the GPS measurements showing southwestward overall motion of most of the Rif belt with respect to stable Africa, associated to clockwise rotation. Finally, we propose a geodynamic model in which the Rif, the Alboran sea and the Betics belong to a single microplate bounded by the strike-slip faults of the Betics on the North, the Rif frontal thrust on the South, the Nekor and TASZ (Trans Alboran Shear Zone) strike-slip faults on the East and North-East, and the western Rif folded structures on the West.
L'objectif de cette étude est d'identifier et de quantifier les déformations actuelles dans la chaine du Rif (Maroc), notamment celles associées aux failles actives (localisation, géométrie, cinématique). Pour ce faire, nous mettons en œuvre pour la première fois dans cette région, une approche morphotectonique. Les sites et failles sélectionnés et étudiés se situent dans la partie Nord (les failles conjuguées de la baie d'Al-Hoceima: Trougout, Boujibar et Rouadi), l'Est (la faille de Nékor) et le Sud (front chevauchant sud rifain entre Fes et Meknes).A partir des outils de la morphotectonique (MNTs à différentes résolutions, images satellitaires, photographies aériennes), d'analyses de terrain et grâce aux méthodes de datation du Quaternaire (U/Th, OSL, 14C et isotopes cosmogéniques produits in-situ 10Be, 3He, 36Cl), cette étude met en évidence et quantifie une déformation transtensive dans la partie Nord de la chaine. Les vitesses de glissement horizontales et verticales le long de la faille principale d'orientation méridienne de Trougout sont de ~1.6 mm/an et ~2 mm/an, respectivement. Dans la partie Sud, nous montrons que le front rifain entre Fez et Meknes est actif avec une vitesse de raccourcissement de ~1.8 mm/an. La déformation dans la région Est se localise principalement sur la faille du Nékor avec une vitesse décrochante senestre de ~1.5 mm/an. Par ailleurs, la présence de nombreuses figures d'incision et de surfaces marines soulevées au niveau du littoral Nord témoignent d'une surrection généralisée de la chaine de l'ordre de ~0.2 mm/an. L'ensemble de cette déformation semble être constante depuis la période du Messino-Pliocène. Ces résultats sont cohérents avec les données GPS qui montrent un déplacement de ~5mm/an vers le SW de l'ensemble du Rif associé à un mouvement rotatif horaire, dans le référentiel Afrique stable. D'un point de vue géodynamique, nous proposons que le Rif, la mer d'Alboran et les Bétiques appartiennent à une même microplaque limitée au Nord par les failles décrochantes des Bétiques, au Sud par le chevauchement rifain, à l'Est et au Nord-Est par les failles décrochantes de Nékor et de la TASZ (Trans Alboran Shear Zone) et à l'Ouest par les structures plissées bordières du Rif.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01170466

NNT : 2014MON20105
tel-01170466
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01170466
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01170466v2/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01170466/file/41875_POUJOL_2014_archivage_cor.pdf

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 Elsevier
Résumé : We have integrated the relatively unknown distal domains of the Lower Congo basin, where the main depocenters of the Congo submarine fan are located, with the better-constrained successions on the shelf and upper slope, through the analysis of thousands of km of 2D seismic reflection profiles off-shore the Congo-Angola passive margin. The basin architecture is depicted by two ca. 800-km-long regional cross sections through the northern (Congo) and southern (Angola) margin. A large unit deposited basinward of the Aptian salt limit is likely to be the abyssal-plain equivalent of the upper-Cretaceous carbonate shelf that characterized the first post-rift deposits in West-equatorial African margins. A latest-Turonian shelf-deepening event is recorded in the abyssal plain as a long period (Coniacian-Eocene) of condensed sedimentation and basin starvation. The onset of the giant Tertiary Congo deep-sea fan in early Oligocene following this event reactivates the abyssal plain as the main depocenter of the basin. The time-space partitioning of sedimentation within the deep-sea fan results from the interplay among increasing sediment supply, margin uplift, rise of the Angola salt ridge, and canyon incision throughout the Neogene. Oligocene-early Miocene turbidite sedimentation occurs mainly in NW-SE grabens and ponded inter-diapir basins on the southern margin (Angola). Seaward tilting of the margin and downslope salt withdrawal activates the up-building of the Angola escarpment, which leads to a northward (Congo) shift of the transfer zones during late Miocene. Around the Miocene-Pliocene boundary, the incision of the Congo submarine canyon confines the turbidite flows and drives a general basinward progradation of the submarine fan into the abyssal plain The slope deposition is dominated by fine-grained hemipelagic deposits ever since. Results from this work contribute to better understand the signature in the ultra-deep deposits of processes acting on the continental margin as well as the basin-wide sediment redistribution in areas of high river input.
ISSN: 0040-1951

hal-00424533
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00424533
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2008.04.009