Éditeur(s) : Amer Geophysical Union
Résumé : Recent ROV dives and high-resolution bathymetric data acquired over the Ashadze fields on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (13 degrees N) allow us to derive constraints on the regional and local geological setting of ultramafic-hosted hydrothermal fields. The active vent fields of Ashadze hydrothermal fields are located in the western axial valley wall, downslope from the termination of a prominent corrugated surface and in a transitional domain with respect to ridge segmentation. The study of the shipboard and ROV bathymetry shows that decameter (100 m by 60 m) to kilometer-scaled rockslides shape the axial valley wall slopes in this region. The Ashadze 1 vent field occurs on a coherent granular landslide rock mass that is elongated in an E-W direction. The Ashadze 1 vent field comprises hundreds of active and inactive sulfide chimneys. The Ashadze 2 vent field is located in a NNE-trending linear depression which separates outcrops of gabbros and serpentinized peridotites. Active black smokers in the Ashadze 2 field are located on ultramafic substratum in a 40-m diameter crater, 5-m deep. This crater recalls similar structures described at some vents of the Logatchev hydrothermal field (Mid-Atlantic Ridge 15 degrees N). We discuss the mode of formation for these craters, as well as that for a breadcrust-like array of radial fissures identified at Ashadze 1. We propose that hydrothermalism at Ashadze can be an explosive phenomena associated with geyser-like explosions. Our study also constrains the geological and geophysical context of the ultramafic-hosted Ashadze hydrothermal system that may use the oceanic detachment fault as a preferred permeability conduit.
Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems (1525-2027) (Amer Geophysical Union), 2012-11 , Vol. 13 , N. 1 , P. Q0AG14

Droits : 2012. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00111/22223/19895.pdf
DOI:10.1029/2012GC004433
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00111/22223/

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 Elsevier
Résumé : A synthesis of backscatter imagery coupled with a large 3D seismic dataset in the Lower Congo Basin (LCB) reveals a patchy distribution of features interpreted to be associated with fluid seepage from 300 m to 2500 m water depth. With the exception of one region of anomalous backscatter positive-relief mounds, all inferred seep sites occur in negative-relief pockmarks. The extensive 3D seismic dataset in the LCB offers a unique opportunity to study the plumbing system that is feeding surface cold seep systems, and in general, to reconstruct the relationship between tectonics and fluid flow in continental margins. The fluid seeps in the LCB are associated with morphologically, stratigraphically or tectonically controlled focused fluid flow. The integration of the geophysical datasets, backscatter imagery coupled to 3D seismic, clearly indicates that fluid seeps are not randomly distributed, but their seabed organization reflects 1) the location of the underlying structure (reservoir or trap) where the fluids are coming from, 2) the geometry and morphology of the reservoir/trap, and 3) the discontinuities in the sedimentary column along which fluids have migrated. In the LCB seafloor pockmarks are always associated with underlying tectonic structures (fault zones, salt diapirs, polygonal faults) or buried sedimentary bodies (turbiditic channels, erosional surfaces), whereas they never occur above sub-horizontal parallel-stratified fine-grained sediments. Even if triggering processes can not be clearly defined here, we propose a model of seafloor fluid seep organization, which represents a new tool for identifying the geometry of flow pathways and the underlying buried bodies where the fluids are originating from. This qualitative 3D model provides insight into the geohydrologic processes of continental margins.
ISSN: 0025-3227

hal-00406640
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00406640
DOI : 10.1016/j.margeo.2007.06.003

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Deep-seated gravitational spreading (DSGS) affects the slopes of formerly glaciated mountain ridges. On Mars, DSGS has played a key role in shaping the landforms of the giant Valles Marineris troughs. Though less spectacular, DSGS is common in terrestrial orogens, where understanding its mechanics is critical in the light of the ongoing climate change because it is a potential source of catastrophic landslides in deglaciated valleys. We conducted parametric numerical studies in order to identify important factors responsible for DSGS initiation. DSGS models are computed using an elastoviscoplastic finite element code. Using ADELI's software, we reproduce topographic ridge spreading under the effect of valley unloading. Two types of spreading topographic ridges are investigated, homogeneous or with horizontal rheological layering. We find that gravitational instabilities are enhanced by high slopes, which increase gravitational stress, and low friction and cohesion, which decrease yield stress. In the unlayered ridge, instability is triggered by glacial unloading with plastic strain concentration inside the ridge and at the base of the high slopes. Vertical fractures develop in the upper part of the slope, potentially leading to fault scarps. Ridge homogeneity promotes a deformation mode controlled by uphill-facing normal faulting and basal bulging. In the second case, the ridge encompasses horizontal geological discontinuities that induce rock mass anisotropy. Discontinuity located at the base of the slope accumulates plastic strain, leading to the formation of a sliding plane evolving into a landslide. The presence of a weak layer at ridge base therefore promotes another slope deformation mode ending up with catastrophic failure. Mechanical conditions and slope height being equal, these conclusions can probably be extrapolated to Earth. Compared with Mars, DSGS on Earth is inhibited because terrestrial topographic gradients are lower than in Valles Marineris, an effect counterbalanced by increased gravitational stress, where the intensity of deformation is enhanced because of the Earth gravity potential.
ISSN: 0169-555X

hal-01420007
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01420007
DOI : 10.1016/j.geomorph.2016.06.011

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
After Jurassic rifting, numerous carbonate platforms (i.e., the Orizaba, Cordoba and Golden Lane-Tuxpan platforms) developed during the Lower and Middle Cretaceous episode of thermal subsidence along the western passive margin of the Gulf of Mexico, with intervening basinal domains (i.e., the Tampico-Misantla, Zongolica, Veracruz and Deep Gulf of Mexico - DGM - basins).;During the Late Cretaceous-Paleocene, the east-verging Sierra Madre Oriental thrust belt developed, resulting in tectonic uplift and unroofing of the allochthonous units (i.e. tectonic units made up of former Orizaba and Cordoba platforms and Zongolica Basin series). This new topography provided also an important source of clastics to feed the adjacent foredeep, where coeval tectonic loading accounted for the bending of the foreland lithosphere. However, shallow water facies or even emersion persisted until the Eocene in the forebulge area (at the present location of the Golden Lane), preventing locally the clastics to reach the DGM. This topographic barrier was ultimately bypassed by the clastics only during the Oligocene and Neogene, once (1) the prograding clastic wedge had exceeded accommodation, and (2) the long lasting thermal subsidence of the passive margin could overpass the effect of the bending and force the former bulge to sink.;Numerous paleo-thermo-meters (Tmax, Ro), paleo-thermo-barometers (fluid inclusions), PVT and coupled forward kinematic and thermal modeling have been used to calibrate and date the progressive unroofing of the thrust belt. Coupled tectonic and sedimentologic modeling was applied in the foreland to predict the distribution of sand versus shale ratios in the Oligocene to Plio-Quaternary clastic sedimentary wedge of the passive margin, where gravitational gliding of post-Eocene series occurred during the Neogene along major listric faults.;Mantle dynamics are advocated as the main process accounting for post-orogenic uplift and regional tilting of the basement, which initiated a massive transfer of sediments from the Cordillera towards the Gulf of Mexico, from Oligocene onward, resulting in a destabilization and gravitational collapse of the western slope of the Gulf of Mexico in Neogene times.
ISSN: 0040-1951

hal-00445248
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00445248
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2009.04.012

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The Kekem shoshonitic gabbro-norite association is part of the high-K calc-alkaline (HKCA) post-collisional magmatism, a major feature of the Pan-African Belt in Cameroon. LA-ICP-MS U-Pb zircon analyses provide an age of 576 ± 4 Ma for the Kekem complex. This age is interpreted as dating the emplacement of the massif during the waning stage of the Pan-African orogeny. The latter is related to dextral movements along the Central Cameroon Shear Zone (CCSZ). The REE patterns display enriched LREE (LaN/YbN = 14.2-23.5) while HREE present a nearly flat profile (DyN/YbN = 1.3-1.7), and the La/Sm and Sm/Yb ratios led to propose that the Kekem gabbro-norites have been derived from the partial melting of a garnet-spinel lherzolite mantle source. The negative Nb-Ta and Ti anomalies and the positive Pb anomalies indicate that this mantle source was modified by contribution of a subduction-related material. The low Ce/Pb (2.6-10.4) and Th/Yb ratios associated to high Ba/La ratios, indicate that source enrichment could be related to slab derived fluids. As a whole, the Kekem geochemical features suggest that primary gabbro-noritic magmas derived from a subduction-modified mantle source (metasomatised lithospheric mantle). Moderately high 86Sr/87Sr initial ratios (0.7068-0.7082), low εNd (−5 to −9) and old Nd TDM model ages (1.6-1.8 Ga) are interpreted to result from contamination of Neoproterozoic mantle by the Paleoproterozoic crust. The ca. 576 Ma movements along the CCSZ are related to a Neoproterozoic metacratonization of the northern margin of the Congo craton during the Pan-African orogeny. This metacratonization led to vertical planar lithospheric delamination along lithospheric transcurrent faults, asthenospheric uprise and partial melting of the Paleoproterozoic lithospheric mantle.
ISSN: 0899-5362

hal-00903665
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00903665
DOI : 10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2013.03.010

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
The structure and dynamic evolution of a mountain belt piedmont are controlled by strong interactions between tectonics, surface processes (erosion, sedimentation), and climate. Studying these couplings relies on detailed geometric and kinematic analysis of morphostructural markers (folds, faults, terraces, alluvial surfaces) and analysis of syntectonic sedimentation. To study quantitatively how these markers form, evolve and record deformation, we developed a new analogue modelling approach using a specific composite granular material. The originality stands in the simultaneous modelling of orogenic deformation mechanisms and erosion-transport-sedimentation processes, but also in the use of techniques allowing quantitative measurement of morphostructural evolution. This methodology opens new perspectives in the fields of geomorphology (relief dynamics), seismotectonics (study of active faults), and sedimentology (including sequential stratigraphy).
ISSN: 0010-7999

hal-00411972
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00411972
DOI : 10.1016/j.crte.2008.01.005

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
Mylonite bodies are exhumed extensions at depth of shallow structural level brittle faults. They are characterised by intense strain localisation involving large volumes of middle to lower continental crust. The analysis of shear zone geometry and microstructures is a useful tool to decipher deformation kinematics, though finite strain estimation is still relatively qualitative. Timing of the deformation has also been the focus of numerous studies using the complete spectrum of geochronometers. However, only rare examples provide geochronological data that can be unambiguously interpreted and cooling, recrystallisation and neocrystallisation are difficult to tell from each other. Thus, time-scales over which major mylonite zones develop and remain active under ductile conditions as well as their strain rate often remain poorly documented. We investigated two sections across the South-Armorican Shear Zone (SASZ), a crustal-scale pluri-km thick dextral shear zone active during a single tectonic event of late-Variscan age and associated with syntectonic granite emplacement.. Finite strain profiles on these cross-sections, quantified from average Quartz grain-size in 34 samples, show a strong deformation partitioning towards the center of the SASZ, with a decrease, for each section, from 150µm in slightly deformed zones to less than 7-5 µm in the core of the ultramylonite. Furthermore, toward the core of the SASZ, development of a penetrative shear band network progressively eliminates lenses of less deformed rocks and results in homogenisation of the Quartz grain sizes. In parallel, we performed in-situ UV-laser Ar/Ar dating on the fabric-forming white micas. White micas population can be decomposed into inherited muscovites carried by the folation and newly-formed, syn-tectonic substituted phengites located along the shear bands yielding 2 age groups for each sample. Along the profiles, the difference between these two ages evolves from 10-15 Ma in weakly deformed domains to zero toward the SASZ core. In addition, mylonite-forming phengites yielded the same age irrespectively of their position on the section or of the rock strain.. On the regional point of view, this study brings deformation-ages for the late-orogenic evolution of the South Armorican domain. Strain accumulated along the SASZ in a time-span extending to 300-298 Ma, i.e. contemporaneously with the activity of nearby major extensional shear zones. These results support a new model of crustal-scale shear zone activity, where the whole body of the shear zone is active throughout its history (defined as the largest age difference through the section), i.e. the actively deforming zone does not get progressively narrower. The strain distribution nevertheless evolves with time, with an increasingly large fraction partitioned in the ultramylonitic core.
EGU General Assembly
Vienne, Austria

insu-00839320
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00839320
BIBCODE : 2010EGUGA..12.9881A

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier Masson
Résumé : International audience
We provide new constraints on the modes of mantle exhumation and denudation in the pre-orogenic Pyrenees by investigating the poorly known peridotites located east of the Lherz body, in eastern Ariè ge (Vicdessos, Urs, Bestiac, Caussou and Prades main peridotitic bodies). We show that: (1) numerous peridotite bodies, not described so far, are constituted by decametric to sub-metric outcrops scattered between and around the main outcrops identified by Monchoux (1970); (2) most of the peridotites form blocks and lenses of various sizes, from millimetric monocrystalline grains to hectometric olistoliths, embedded in debris flows involving mainly Mesozoic metasediments; these peridotites can therefore be linked to the S-type peridotites of Lagabrielle et al. (2010), and share similarities with the peridotites of Lherz region (Clerc et al., 2012). All originated from tectono-sedimentary processes associated with mantle exhumation in relation with extreme thinning and breakoff of the continental basement; (3) the various petrographic characters of these peridotites and their heterogeneity in serpentinisation degree imply a peculiar mode of exhumation, which merges mantle fragments inherited from different structural levels; (4) the lack of tectonic structures such as faults and shear planes associated with the ultramafic-rich breccia formation and the presence of neoformation of metamorphic minerals within the matrix preclude their origin as cataclasites related to the Latest Cretaceous and Tertiary Pyrenean contractional deformation. The peridotites of eastern Ariè ge are indisputable witnesses of the presence of an inverted hyper-extended Cretaceous passive margin forming the current North Pyrenean zone. The geometry of the extensional system was complex and probably associated with strike-slip faults and transcurrent motion. ß 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS on behalf of Acadé mie des sciences. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
ISSN: 1631-0713

Droits : http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/
insu-01280502
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01280502
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01280502/document
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01280502/file/1-s2.0-S1631071316000043-main.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.crte.2015.12.003

Éditeur(s) : Elsevier Sci Ltd
Résumé : The eastern Demerara Plateau offshore French Guiana was surveyed in 2003 during the GUYAPLAC cruise (multibeam bathymetry and acoustic imagery, 6-channel seismic reflection and 3.5 kHz echo-sounding). The data show the "post-transform" Cenozoic that the series located on the outer part of the plateau (below c. 2000 m) contain at least twelve stacked mass transport deposits (MTDs) that have recorded a history of large-scale slope failure, as well as two main normal fault sets that provide possible pathways for upward fluid migration through the series, reaching at high as the uppermost MTDs. Seabed data show that the area above the failures is characterized by circular-to-elongate (slope-parallel) depressions interpreted as fluid seeps (pockmarks), some of them have been modified by along slope currents. We suggest that the development of the MTDs to results from the combinaiton of the presence of fluid overpressure at depth the geometry of the margin's deep structure, in particular the existence of a 'free borderlateral border' on the outermost plateau. Our results also emphasise the role of stratigraphic decollements within the Cenozoic series.
Marine And Petroleum Geology (0264-8172) (Elsevier Sci Ltd), 2013-09 , Vol. 46 , P. 287-303

Droits : 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00157/26850/25316.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2013.06.010
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00157/26850/

Éditeur(s) : Elsevier
Résumé : We present new results from the MARADJA'03 cruise depicting the geological structures offshore central and western Algeria. Using swath bathymetry and seismic reflection data, we map and discuss the offshore limits of the Internal Zones corresponding to relics of the AIKaPeCa domain that drifted and collided the African plate during the Miocene. We identify large reverse faults and folds that reactivate part of these limits and are still active today. The morphology of the westernmost NE-SW margin suggests a former strike-slip activity accommodating a westward block translation responsible for the shift of the Internal Zones towards the Moroccan Rif.
Nous présentons les résultats récents de la campagne MARADJA'03, qui visent à mettre en évidence les structures géologiques dans le domaine marin au nord-ouest de l'Algérie. Grâce aux données de bathymétrie multifaisceau et de sismique réflexion, nous cartographions et discutons les limites en mer des Zones internes correspondant aux reliques du domaine AlKaPeCa qui a dérivé, puis est entré en collision avec la plaque africaine au Miocène. De grandes failles inverses et plis, actifs dans le champ de contrainte actuel, réactivent certaines de ces limites. La marge ouest-algérienne, orientée NE¿SW, indique la présence d'une ancienne activité en décrochement ayant accommodé la translation des Zones internes vers l'ouest.
Comptes Rendus Geoscience (1631-0713) (Elsevier), 2006 , Vol. 338 , N. 1-2 , P. 80-91

Droits : 2005 Académie des sciences Published by Elsevier SAS
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2006/publication-1211.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.crte.2005.11.009
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/1211/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Résumé : International audience
This paper presents a new balanced structural cross-section of the Jaca thrust-sheet-top basin of the southern Pyrenees combined with paleo-thermometry and apatite fission track (AFT) thermochronology data. The cross-section, based on field data and interpretation of industrial seismic reflection profiles, allows refinement of previous interpretations of the south-directed thrust system, involving the identification of new thrust faults, and of the kinematic relationships between basement and cover thrusts from the middle Eocene to the early Miocene. AFT analysis shows a southward decrease in the level of fission track resetting, from totally reset Paleozoic rocks and lower Eocene turbidites (indicative of heating to Tmax > ~120 °C), to partially reset middle Eocene turbidites and no/very weak resetting in the upper Eocene-lower Oligocene molasse (Tmax < ~60 °C). AFT results indicate a late Oligocene-early Miocene cooling event throughout the Axial Zone and Jaca Basin. Paleo-maximum temperatures determined by vitrinite reflectance measurements and Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material reach up to ~240 °C at the base of the turbidite succession. Inverse modelling of AFT and vitrinite reflectance data with the QTQt software for key samples show compatibility between vitrinite-derived Tmax and the AFT reset level for most of the samples. However, they also suggest that the highest temperatures determined in the lowermost turbidites correspond to a thermal anomaly rather than burial heating, possibly due to fluid circulation during thrust activity. From these results, we propose a new sequential restoration of the south Pyrenean thrust system propagation and related basin evolution.
ISSN: 0278-7407

insu-01312746
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01312746
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01312746/document
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01312746/file/Labaume_et_al-2016-Tectonics.pdf
DOI : 10.1002/2016TC004192

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
Our ability to decipher the mechanisms behind metamorphic transformation processes depends in a major way on the extent to which crystallographic and microstructural information is transferred from one stage to another. Within the Leka Ophiolite Complex in the Central Norwegian Caledonides, prograde olivine veins that formed by dehydration of serpentinite veins in dunites exhibit a characteristic distribution of microstructures: The outer part of the veins comprises coarse-grained olivine that forms an unusual, brick-like microstructure. The inner part of the veins, surrounding a central fault, is composed of fine-grained olivine. Where the fault movement included a dilational component, optically clear, equant olivine occurs in the centre. Electron backscatter diffraction mapping reveals that the vein olivine has inherited its crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO) from the olivine in the porphyroclastic host rock; however, misorientation is weaker and associated to different rotation axes. We propose that prograde olivine grew epitaxially on relics of mantle olivine and thereby acquired its CPO. Growth towards pre-existing microfractures along which serpentinisation had occurred led to straight grain boundaries and a brick-like microstructure in the veins. When dehydration embrittlement induced slip, a strong strain localisation on discrete fault planes prevented distortion of the CPO due to cataclastic deformation; grain size reduction did not significantly modify the olivine CPO. This illustrates how a CPO can be preserved though an entire metamorphic cycle, including hydration, dehydration, and deformation processes, and that the CPO and the microstructures (e.g. grain shape) of one phase do not necessarily record the same event.
ISSN: 0010-7999

hal-01622643
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01622643
DOI : 10.1007/s00410-017-1378-5

Éditeur(s) : Gauthier-Villars
Résumé : The Barbados Ridge composes the major part of the forearc region of the Lesser Antilles magmatic arc. The toe of the ridge is almost certainly the locus of modern accretion of sediment from the subducting Atlantic seafloor. The pre-Pleistocene geology of the island of Barbados, which exposes the crest of the Barbados Ridge, is best explained by accretion, implying that the ridge as a whole is an accretionary prism. Important elements of the island geology in this interpretation are the occurrence of much if not all of the pre-Pleistocene rocks in fault-bounded packets and the juxtaposition of age-overlapping abyssal pelagite and continent-derived fan deposits in such packets. The orientation of tectonic structures on Barbados, however, implies that the Paleogene subduction that created the older part of the prism occurred in a differently configured zone from the present one.
Oceanologica Acta, Special issue (0399-1784) (Gauthier-Villars), 1981

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00245/35674/34182.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00245/35674/

Éditeur(s) : Gauthier-villars
Résumé : The aim of the 20 Nautile dives of the recent Kanaut cruise was the study of the Kane Fracture Zone from its intersection with the Mid-Atlantic Ridge up to 80 km to the west. The dives have been conducted along four massifs located along the southern wall of the fracture valley. The flanks of the massifs consist of slightly tilted peridotites, gabbros and basalts, which have been exposed along normal and strike-slip major faults. No dike complex similar to that observed along the ZF Vema was observed The observed sections show pervasive cataclastic deformation and greenschist-facies metamorphic overprint.
Lors de la récente campagne Kanaut du Nautile (novembre-décembre 1992), 20 plongées ont eu pour objectif I’étude du mur sud de la Zone de fracture Kane, depuis son intersection orientale avec la dorsale médio-Atlantique jusqu’h environ 80 km de celle-ci. Les plongées réalisées SUT quatre massifs successifs bordant la vallée transformante, permettent d’observer des sections comprenant des péndotites, des gabbros et des basaltes, mis 21 l’affleurement B la faveur d’accidents normaux décrochants et d’un léger basculement. Les coupes observées ne montrent pas de complexe filonien épais, comme celui observé le long de la ZF Vema par exemple. L’ensemble de ces séries est fortement cataclasé et métamorphisé dans le facies des schites verts.
Comptes Rendus de l'Academie des Sciences Serie II (1251-8069) (Gauthier-villars), 1993-12 , Vol. 317 , N. 12 , P. 1641-1648

Droits : Académie des Sciences
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00183/29470/27886.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00183/29470/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer
Résumé : The analysis of three different regions of the South- Pyrenean fold-and-thrust belt reveals that during the Tertiary compression the hydrological system was compartmentalised in time and space. During the early-middle Eocene, when the thrust front affected marine soft-sediments in the Ainsa basin, the thrust fault zones were dominated by formation fluids derived from Eocene marine waters trapped in the underlying Eocene marls, although influences of meteoric waters were also present. During the middle-late Eocene, when the thrust front emplaced marine rocks over continental redbeds in the eastern Catalan basin (L'Escala thrust), the thrust fault zones were dominated by meteoric fluids. These fluids flowed preferentially along these faults, draining laterally the meteoric fluids and acting as barriers hindering their flowing towards more external parts of the belt. During the Oligocene, the most external part of the fold-and-thrust belt in the eastern Catalan basin developed on top of a salt detachment horizon. The thrust front affected continental materials of late Eocene-Oligocene age. At this moment, the thrusts were conduits for meteoric fluids arriving from the surface and also for evolved meteoric fluids migrating over short distance upwards after being in contact with the underlying evaporitic beds. Most of the fractures show a similar sequence of microfractures. Microfractures of stage 1 formed when the sediment was poorly lithified. Microfractures of stage 2 represent the main episode of vein formation which developed when a progressive induration of the host sediment occurred. During microfracture stage 3, formed in an extensional regime, the host sediment was more indurated. The repetition of this sequence of microfractures in different fracture generations of the same outcrop indicates that the sediment induration was restricted to the vicinity of the vein. Away from the veins, the sediment remained poorly lithified during the entire deformation cycle. Calcite cement within the host rock precipitated later than the syn-compressive veins, when the sediment was more indurated. Elemental geochemistry and stable isotopes of the calcite veins indicates that early generation of microfractures is infilled by local fluids (either marine or meteoric), whereas external fluids (meteoric or evolved meteoric) infilled the main compressive stage of microfractures. The hot temperature of these fluids (157°C to 183°C in the Atiart-Arro example) indicates their circulation through deep parts of the thrust belt. The progressive increase of the 87Sr/86Sr ratio through time is due to the progressive uplift, exposure and erosion of the internal Pyrenean Axial Zone.
Thrust belts and foreland basins, from fold kinematics to hydrocarbon systems

hal-00408001
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00408001
DOI : 10.1007/978-3-540-69426-7_5

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The identification of the structures and deformation patterns in magma-poor continental rifted margins is essential to characterize the processes of continental lithosphere necking. Brittle faults, often termed mantle detachments, are believed to play an essential role in the rifting processes that lead to mantle exhumation. However, ductile shear zones in the deep crust and mantle are rarely identified and their mechanical role remains to be established. The western Betics (Southern Spain) provides an exceptional exposure of a strongly thinned continental lithosphere, formed in a supra-subduction setting during Oligocene-Lower Miocene. A full section of the entire crust and the upper part of the mantle is investigated. Variations in crustal thickness are used to quantify crustal stretching that may reach values larger than 2000% where the ductile crust almost disappear, defining a stage of hyper-stretching. Opposite senses of shear top-to-W and top-to-E are observed in two extensional shear zones located close to the crust-mantle boundary and along the brittle-ductile transition in the crust, respectively. At locations where the ductile crust almost disappears, concordant top-to-E-NE senses of shear are observed in both upper crust and serpentinized mantle. Late high-angle normal faults with ages of ca. 21 Ma or older (40Ar/39Ar on white mica) crosscut the previously hyper-stretched domain, involving both crust and mantle in tilted blocks. The western Betics exemplifies, probably better than any previous field example, the changes in deformation processes that accommodate the progressive necking of a continental lithosphere. Three successive steps can be identified: i/a mid-crustal shear zone and a crust-mantle shear zone, acting synchronously but with opposite senses of shear, accommodate ductile crust thinning and ascent of subcontinental mantle; ii/hyper-stretching localizes in the neck, leading to an almost disappearance of the ductile crust and bringing the upper crust in contact with the subcontinental mantle, each of them with their already acquired opposite senses of shear; and iii/high-angle normal faulting, cutting through the Moho, with related block tilting, ends the full exhumation of the mantle in the zone of localized stretching. The presence of a high strength sub-Moho mantle is responsible for the change in sense of shear with depth. Whereas mantle exhumation in the western Betics occurred in a backarc setting, this deformation pattern controlled by a high-strength layer at the top of the lithosphere mantle makes it directly comparable to most passive margins whose formation lead to mantle exhumation. This unique field analogue has therefore a strong potential for the seismic interpretation of the so-called “hyper-extended margins”.
ISSN: 0264-8172

insu-01310895
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01310895
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01310895/document
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01310895/file/Frasca-MarPetGeol-2016.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2016.04.020

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union
Résumé : International audience
Expeditions 304 and 305 of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program cored and logged a 1.4 km section of the domal core of Atlantis Massif. Postdrilling research results summarized here constrain the structure and lithology of the Central Dome of this oceanic core complex. The dominantly gabbroic sequence recovered contrasts with predrilling predictions; application of the ground truth in subsequent geophysical processing has produced self-consistent models for the Central Dome. The presence of many thin interfingered petrologic units indicates that the intrusions forming the domal core were emplaced over a minimum of 100-220 kyr, and not as a single magma pulse. Isotopic and mineralogical alteration is intense in the upper 100 m but decreases in intensity with depth. Below 800 m, alteration is restricted to narrow zones surrounding faults, veins, igneous contacts, and to an interval of locally intense serpentinization in olivine-rich troctolite. Hydration of the lithosphere occurred over the complete range of temperature conditions from granulite to zeolite facies, but was predominantly in the amphibolite and greenschist range. Deformation of the sequence was remarkably localized, despite paleomagnetic indications that the dome has undergone at least 45 degrees rotation, presumably during unroofing via detachment faulting. Both the deformation pattern and the lithology contrast with what is known from seafloor studies on the adjacent Southern Ridge of the massif. There, the detachment capping the domal core deformed a 100 m thick zone and serpentinized peridotite comprises similar to 70% of recovered samples. We develop a working model of the evolution of Atlantis Massif over the past 2 Myr, outlining several stages that could explain the observed similarities and differences between the Central Dome and the Southern Ridge.
ISSN: 0148-0227

hal-00617528
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00617528
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00617528/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00617528/file/2010JB007931.pdf
DOI : 10.1029/2010JB007931

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
This paper aims to demonstrate that the use of a modern tool, the GPS (Global PositioningSystem), can significantly improve our understanding of active faults and their seismic cycle. We focus on theNorth-Caribbean plate boundary, specifically in the Dominican Republic, and present some quantificationsof velocities that result from measurements that have been made possible by the instrumentation of the areaby a consortium of researchers from France, the USA and the Dominican Republic, since 1994. Then, wediscuss the velocities in terms of seismic potential of the regional major faults.
Cet article présente comment l'utilisation d'un outil moderne, le GPS (Global Positioning System) peut apporter des éléments significatifs dans la connaissance des failles actives et de leur cycle sismique. Nous nous intéressons ici à la frontière de plaque Nord-Caraibe, en République Dominicaine, et présentons des quantifications de vitesses de déplacement obtenues grâce à l'instrumentation de la zone depuis 1994 par un groupe de chercheurs français, états-uniens et dominicains. Les résultats sont ensuite discutés en termes d'aléas sismologiques des failles majeures.
ISSN: 2551-6116

hal-01537725
https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-01537725
https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-01537725/document
https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-01537725/file/Mazabraud-et-Forissier-2007.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
Extreme rainfall events can trigger numerous landslides in mountainous areas and a prolonged increase of river sediment load. The resulting mass transfer at the Earth surface in turn induces stress changes at depth, which could be sufficient to trigger shallow earthquakes. The 2009 Morakot typhoon represents a good case study as it delivered 3 m of precipitation in 3 days and caused some of the most intense erosion ever recorded. Analysis of seismicity time-series before and after the Morakot typhoon reveals a systematic increase of shallow (i.e. 0-15 km of depth) earthquake frequency in the vicinity of the areas displaying a high spatial density of landslides. This step-like increase in frequency lasts for at least 2-3 years and does not follow an Omori-type aftershock sequence. Rather, it is associated to a step change of the Gutenberg-Richter b-value of the earthquake catalog. Both changes occurred in mountainous areas of southwest Taiwan, where typhoon Morakot caused extensive landsliding. These spatial and temporal correlations strongly suggest a causal relationship between the Morakot-triggered landslides and the increase of earthquake frequency and their associated b-value. We propose that the progressive removal of landslide materials from the steep mountain landscape by river sediment transport acts as an approximately constant increase of the stress rate with respect to pre-typhoon conditions, and that this in turn causes a step-wise increase in earthquake frequency. To test this hypothesis, we investigate the response of a rate-and-state fault to stress changes using a 2-D continuum elasto-dynamic model. Consistent with the results of Ader et al. (2013), our preliminary results show a step-like increase of earthquake frequency in response to a step-like decrease of the fault normal stress. We also investigate the sensitivity of the amplitude and time-scale of the earthquake frequency increase to the amplitude of the normal stress change and to rheological parameters. Our study offers new insights on the potential influence of extreme erosional events on the short-time scale dynamics of faults and earthquakes.
American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting 2016
San Francisco, United States

insu-01416987
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01416987