Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The deep structure and deformation mechanisms of the Longmen Shan thrust belt (Sichuan, China), at the eastern border of the Tibetan plateau, were largely debated after the devastating Mw 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake (2008). Recent geophysical studies and field investigations have been focused on the active motion of the major Beichuan fault, which ruptured during the earthquake. However, the total exhumation across the fault still remains unclear. In the hanging wall of the Beichuan fault, the South China block is exhumed in the Pengguan massif. Close to the Beichuan fault, the rocks of the Pengguan massif underwent greenschist facies metamorphism associated with brittle-ductile deformation. No metamorphism is observed in the footwall of the fault. In this study, we characterize and date the metamorphic history recorded in the hanging wall of the Beichuan fault in order to constrain the depth and timing of exhumation of the rocks of the Pengguan massif along the fault. A high-resolution petrological approach involving chemical analyses and X-ray maps was used to analyze the micrometric metamorphic minerals. The P-T conditions of the greenschist facies metamorphic event were estimated by an inverse multi-equilibrium thermodynamic approach. The results, 280 ± 30 °C and 7 ± 1 kbar, suggest that the rocks of the Pengguan massif were exhumed from ca. 20 km depth. Our results underline the importance of the thrusting component in the long-term behavior of the Beichuan fault and provide a minimal depth at which the fault is rooted. In situ laser ablation 40Ar/39Ar dating of metamorphic white mica revealed that the greenschist overprint occurred at 135–140 Ma.The Pengguan massif was therefore partially thrusted along the Beichuan fault during the Lower Cretaceous, long before the Eocene-Miocene exhumation phase which is well-constrained by low-temperature thermochronology. Our results provide the first independent depth information for the exhumation history of the Pengguan massif and reveal a previously undocumented Lower Cretaceous tectonic event that marks the onset of the thick-skinned deformation in the external domain of the Longmen Shan (East of the Wenchuan Fault).
ISSN: 0743-9547

hal-01685556
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01685556
DOI : 10.1016/j.jseaes.2017.04.003

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 Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The Longmen Shan (Sichuan, China) is characterised by an unusual morphology which results from a Triassic prism tectonics and a more recent Neogene thick-skin thrusting. Among its specific features is the high elevation of the internal zones in continuity with the Songpan Garze fold-and-thrust belt (SG), which is associated with an abrupt 20 km Moho offset between the Sichuan Basin and the Tibetan plateau as revealed by the analysis of teleseismic data acquired by a dense seismic network. The jump in crustal thickness is located at the apex of the Wenchuan shear zone (WSZ) and marks the western boundary of the metamorphosed units of SG characterized by temperatures varying from 590 degrees C down to 300 degrees C as commonly observed in mature accretionary wedges. Both the structural style marked by intense shortening in tight kink folds and geophysical data suggest the presence of an horizontal discontinuity at similar to 15 km depth over a thick crust (similar to 63 km).;The Longmen Shan east of the WSZ is characterized by thick-skin detachment which thrusts the internal sedimentary units and the Proterozoic basement over the series of the Sichuan Basin deposited on a thinner crust of similar to 44 km thick. The major front is the Beichuan Fault Zone (BFZ) which brought the internal zones onto Triassic and Jurassic series with lower temperatures (less than 400 degrees C). Locally, temperatures of similar to 425 degrees C are found just below the klippes.;These results are in agreement with an original contact of the SG zone represented by an accretionary wedge of sediments thrusted over the margin of the continental crust of the Yangtze craton in the early stage (Indosinian) of the evolution. The present-day slow E-W component of the convergence, added to the difference in crustal thickness caused the Yangtze crust to indent the Songpan Tibetan crust which was softened by a high thermal regime. As a response the edge of the Tibet crust was inflated to the bottom (up to 70 km), whereas to the top, the crystalline massif were exhumed and pushed the deformation eastward as emerging and blind thrusts. This configuration reflects a moderate shortening of the crust which behaves as a soft thick material abutting the resistant and cold Yangtze crust.
ISSN: 0040-1951

hal-00534849
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00534849
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2010.03.018

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD AGU and the Geochemical Society
Résumé : International audience
Continental rifts and passive continental margins show fundamental along-axis segmentation patterns that have been attributed to one or a number of different processes: extensional fault geometry, variable stretching along strike, preexisting lithospheric compositional and structural heterogeneities, oblique rifting, and the presence or absence of eruptive volcanic centers. The length and width scales of the rift stage fault-bounded basin systems change during the late evolution of the new plate boundary, and the role of magmatism may increase as rifting progresses to continental rupture. Along obliquely spreading ridges, first-order mid-ocean ridge geometries originate during the synrift stage, indicating an intimate relationship between magma production and transform fault spacing and location. The Gulf of Aden rift is a young ocean basin in which the earliest synrift to breakup structures are well exposed onshore and covered by thin sediment layers offshore. This obliquely spreading rift is considered magma-poor and has several large-offset transforms that originated during late stage rifting and control the first-order axial segmentation of the spreading ridge. Widely spaced geophysical transects of passive margins that produce only isolated 2-D images of crust and uppermost mantle structure are inadequate for evaluation of competing rift evolution models. Using closely spaced new geophysical and geological observations from the Gulf of Aden we show that rift sectors between transforms have a large internal variability over short distances (∼10 km): the ocean-continent transition (OCT) evolves from a narrow magmatic transition to wider zones where continental mantle is probably exhumed. We suggest that this small-scale variability may be explained (1) by the distribution of volcanism and (2) by the along-strike differences in time-averaged extension rate of the oblique rift system. The volcanism may be associated with (1) the long-offset Alula-Fartak Fracture Zone, which may enhance magma production on its younger side, or (2) channeled flow from the Afar plume material along the newly formed OCT and the spreading ridge. Oblique extension and/or hot spot interactions may thereby have a significant control on the styles of rifting and continental breakup and on the evolution of many magma-poor margins.
ISSN: 1525-2027

hal-00504866
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00504866
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00504866/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00504866/file/G3-Leroy_al-2010.pdf
DOI : 10.1029/2009GC002963

Éditeur(s) : The American Asscoiation of Petroleum Geologists
Résumé : A plate tectonic model of the early opening of the south atlantic is used to des cibe the structural framework of the continental margins and adjacent oceanic and coastal areas on both sides of the ocean. It is proposed that major offsets of the continental margins necessarily induce the subsidence of coastal basins where fracture zones intersect the continents. The configuration of the accreting plate-margin boundary gradually developed throughout the opening of the ocean after Late Jurassic time. [NOT CONTROLLED OCR]
The American Asscoiation of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin (The American Asscoiation of Petroleum Geologists), 1972 , Vol. 56 , N. 6 , P. 991-1007

Droits : The American Asscoiation of Petroleum Geologists
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/1972/publication-5033.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/5033/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Geological Society
Résumé : International audience
We constrain the slip and cooling history of the Mykonos detachment footwall using thermochronometry. A U-Pb zircon age of 13.5 +/- 0.3 Ma dates intrusion of the Mykonos monzogranite. Ar-40/ Ar-39 homblende and biotite ages from the monzogranite are 12.7 +/- 0.6 Ma and 10.9 +/- 0.6 Ma, whereas zircon and apatite fission-track ages range from 13 +/- 0.8 Ma to 10.7 +/- 0.8 Ma and 12.5 +/- 2.2 Ma to 10.5 +/- 1.8 Ma. (U-Th)/He ages range from 13.6 +/- 0.6 Ma to 9.0 +/- 0.7 Ma for zircon and 11. +/- 10.5 Ma to 8.9 +/- 0.4 Ma for apatite. The ages in part overlap within 2 sigma errors and together with the long apatite fission-track lengths (>14 mu m) support rapid cooling at rates > 100 degrees C Ma(-1). The low-temperature thermochronometric ages decrease east-northeastwards in the direction of hanging-wall transport on the Mykonos detachment. Age-distance relationships show that the Mykonos detachment slipped at an average rate of 6.0 + 9.2/-2.4 km Ma(-1) c. 30 km of offset and c. 12 km of exhumation. This result indicates that Miocene low-angle normal faulting was not important for the exhumation of the Cycladic blueschist unit. The opening of the Aegean Sea basin in the Miocene was controlled by a few large-magnitude low-angle normal faults.
ISSN: 0016-7649

hal-00412177
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00412177
DOI : 10.1144/0016-76492006-145

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
To estimate the seismic hazard, the geometry (dip, length and orientation) and the dynamics (type of displacements and amplitude) of the faults in the area of interest need to be understood. In this paper, in addition to geomorphologic observations, we present the results of two ground penetrating radar (GPR) campaigns conducted in 2010 and 2011 along the Emeelt fault in the vicinity of Ulaanbaatar, capital of Mongolia, located in an intracontinental region with low deformation rate that induces long recurrence time between large earthquakes. As the geomorphology induced by the fault activity has been highly smoothed by erosion processes since the last event, the fault location and geometry is difficult to determine precisely. However, by using GPR first, a non-destructive and fast investigation, the fault and the sedimentary deposits near the surface can be characterized and the results can be used for the choice of trench location. GPR was performed with a 50 MHz antenna over 2-D lines and with a 500 MHz antenna for pseudo-3-D surveys. The 500 MHz GPR profiles show a good consistency with the trench observations, dug next to the pseudo-3-D surveys. The 3-D 500 MHz GPR imaging of a palaeochannel crossed by the fault allowed us to estimate its lateral displacement to be about 2 m. This is consistent with a right lateral strike-slip displacement induced by an earthquake around magnitude 7 or several around magnitude 6. The 2-D 50 MHz profiles, recorded perpendicular to the fault, show a strong reflection dipping to the NE, which corresponds to the fault plane. Those profiles provided complementary information on the fault such as its location at shallow depth, its dip angle (from 23 • to 35 •) and define its lateral extension. Central Asia is known for its high level of seismic hazards, especially Mongolia, which has been one of the most seismically active intracontinental regions in the world with four large earthquakes (magnitude around 8) along its active faults in the western part of the country during the last century (Khilko et al. 1985). The deformation in Mongolia is located between compressive structures related to the collision and penetration of the Indian plate into the Eurasian plate and extensive structures in the north of the country related with the Baykal rift (Tapponnier & Molnar 1979; Baljinnyam et al. 1993; Schlupp 1996; Bayasgalan & Jackson 1999). The seismic activity observed in the vicinity of Ulaanbaatar (UB), capital of Mongolia, is relatively low compared to the activity observed in western Mongolia. Nevertheless, since 2005, the seismic activity around UB not only has increased, but is also organized (see Fig. 1) at the west of UB along two perpendicular directions, which determine two active faults: Emeelt fault, discovered in 2008 (NNW-SSE direction, 25-km-long minimum and situated about 10 km W of UB) and Hustai fault (WSW–ENE direction, 80 km long, with its NE tip at less than 20 km west of UB); their length and morphology indicate that they can produce earthquakes of magnitude 6.5–7.5 (Schlupp et al. 2012). Most of the Mongolian population (1.2 million over 3 million) is concentrated at UB, which is the main political and economical centre of the country. Hence, the study of seismic hazard and the estimation of the probability of future destructive earthquakes are of primary importance for the country (Dugarmaa et al. 2006). Since the last large earthquake, the faults geomorphology has been highly smoothed by erosional processes and the exact location of the fault plane surface rupture is thus hidden within a several metre wide strip. The GPR method has been proven to give good and useful results to characterize faults by identifying offsets of radar reflections (Malik et al. 2007; Christie et al. 2009; Yalçiner et al. 2013) and
ISSN: 0956-540X

hal-01342629
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01342629
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01342629/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01342629/file/Dujardin_Bano_etal_Geoph.%20J.%20Int._2014_final.pdf
DOI : 10.1093/gji/ggu130

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union
Résumé : International audience
The strike-slip faults of north Tibet accommodate part of the Cenozoic convergence between India and Asia. Along the Karakax valley south of Yecheng and near the Xidatan trough south of Golmud, the active traces of the Altyn-Tagh and Kunlun faults follow narrow belts of metamorphic rocks. The deformation recorded in those mylonites is sinistral strike-slip. Rb/Sr and 40Ar/39Ar ages of deformation from syntectonic fabrics formed at 350–400°C 120 Ma. Argon loss suggests that deformation was associated to a 250–300°C thermal pulse that lasted 5–20 Ma after the onset of movement. Unroofing occurred much later, around 25 Ma when sudden cooling suggests a component of thrusting or more likely normal faulting. The Cretaceous shear may be related to collision between the Qiantang and the Lhasa blocks. The Karakax and Xidatan shear zones may have formed a unique, continuous boundary in the Cretaceous, which was later reused by the Tertiary strike-slip faults, leading to potentially calculable offsets along the Altyn-Tagh fault.
ISSN: 2169-9313

hal-00197562
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00197562
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00197562/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00197562/file/Arnaud_JGR000904_def.pdf
DOI : 10.1029/2001JB000904

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
In this paper, we present the first estimate of the Holocene deformation along the southern front of Gibraltar arc (Morocco) and the first field constraints on the local 1755 CE Fes-Meknes surface rupturing earthquake which could be associated to the “Great Lisbon Earthquake” (M > 8.5) in November 1st, 1755. Using satellite imagery, aerial photographs and field investigations, we carried out a morphotectonic study along the ~ 150 km-long Southern Rif Front (SRF) to identify the most recent evidences of tectonic activity. Analyzed offset alluvial deposits confirm that (i) the last ~ 5 ka cumulative deformation leading to a slip rate of ~ 3.5 ± 1 mm/yr for this segment of the SRF is consistent with the GPS derived horizontal shortening rate of 2–4 mm/yr and (ii) a recent major earthquake ruptured a ~ 30 km-long segment along the SRF. Based on deposits dating and historical seismicity we propose that this seismic event occurred in 1755 as a local earthquake. Even though this 1755 local event cannot be considered as a strong aftershock of the main Lisbon seismic event (M > 8.5), their temporal closeness, their occurrence under the same convergent stress regime (~ NNW-SSE-oriented compression) and the fact that Fes-Meknes area was strongly shaken during the Lisbon earthquake, raises the question of the possible triggering of the Fes earthquake. Anyway, our new results suggest that most of the Nubia-Rif belt convergence is accommodated by the SRF, making it potentially the most destructive structure of the Rif.
ISSN: 0040-1951

hal-01622048
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01622048
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2017.05.036

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The timing of E–W extension of the Tibetan plateau provides a test of mechanical models of the geodynamic evolution of the India–Asia convergence zone. In this work we focus on the Kung Co half graben (Southern Tibet, China), bounded by an active N–S normal fault with a minimum vertical offset of 1600 m. To estimate the onset of normal faulting we combined high and medium temperature (U–Pb, Ar/Ar) and low temperature ((U–Th)/He) thermochronometry of the Kung Co pluton, a two-mica granite of the northern Himalayan granitic belt that outcrop in the footwall of the fault. Biotite and muscovite Ar/Ar ages , are close from each other [not, vert, similar 16 Ma ± 0.2 (Ms) and not, vert, similar 15 ± 0.4 Ma (Bt)], which is typical of fast cooling. The zircon and apatite (U–Th)/He ages range from 11.3 to 9.6 Ma and 9.9 to 3.7 Ma respectively. These He ages are indicative of (1) fast initial cooling, from 11.3 to not, vert, similar 9 Ma, gradually decreasing with time and (2) a high geothermal gradient (not, vert, similar 400 °C/km), close to the surface at not, vert, similar 10 Ma. The Kung Co pluton was emplaced at about 22 Ma (U–Pb on zircon) at less than 10 km depth and 520–545 °C. Subsequent to its shallow emplacement, the pluton underwent fast thermal re-equilibration ending around 7.5 Ma, followed by a period of slow cooling caused either by the end of the thermal re-equilibration or by very slow exhumation (0.02–0.03 mm/yr) from not, vert, similar 7.5 Ma to at least 4 Ma. In either case the data suggest that the exhumation rate increased after 4 Ma. We infer this increase to be related to the initiation of the Kung Co normal fault. A critical examination of previously published data show that most not, vert, similar N–S Tibetan normal faults may have formed less than 5 Ma ago rather than in the Miocene as assumed by several authors. Such a young age implies that E–W extension is not related to the Neogene South Tibetan magmatism (25 to 8 Ma). Consequently, models relating E–W extension to magmatism, such as convective removal of the lower lithosphere, may be inappropriate. We rather think that this extension is related with local accommodation of boundary forces and displacements.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-00311791
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00311791
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2007.01.029

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Résumé : International audience
New structural observations coupled with 15 U/Pb and 24 Ar/Ar new ages from the Karakorum shear zone (KSZ) constrain the timing and slip rate of the right-lateral Karakorum fault zone (KFZ), one of the great continental Asian strike-slip faults. In the Tangtse-Darbuk area, the Tangtse (SW) and Muglib (NE) mylonitic strands of the KSZ frame the less deformed Pangong Range. Inherited U/Pb ages show that granitic protoliths are mostly from the Karakorum and Ladakh batoliths, with a major Miocene melting event lasting from ≥21.5 to 13.5 Ma. Some of the Miocene granitic bodies show structural evidence for intrusion synkinematic to the KSZ. The oldest of these granitoids is 18.8 ± 0.4 Ma old, implying that deformation started prior to ∼19 Ma. Microstructural data show that right-lateral deformation pursued during cooling. Ar/Ar data show that ductile deformation stopped earlier in the Tangtse (∼11 Ma) than in the Muglib strand (∼7 Ma). Deformation ended at ∼11 Ma in the Tangtse strand while it is still active in the Muglib strand, suggesting a progressive localization of deformation. When merged with published observations along the KFZ, these data suggest that the KFZ nucleated in the North Ayilari range at least ∼22 Ma ago. The long-term fault rate is 0.84 to 1.3 cm/yr, considering a total offset of 200 to 240 km. The KSZ collected magma produced within the shear zone and/or deeper in crust for which the producing mechanism stays unclear but was not the lower crustal channel flow.
ISSN: 0278-7407

hal-00745066
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00745066
DOI : 10.1029/2011TC003049

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : 1- We examined among- and within-species effects of seed mass for seedling establishment from seed to 5 years of age in a field experiment at Paracou, French Guiana. 2- Six seeds of each of eight species were weighed and planted into each of 120 plots (1 m2) throughout closed-canopy forest along 12 100-m transects in 1998. 3- We described the microhabitat of each planting site using principal components derived from measurements of light availability, soil moisture, carbon and nitrogen content, and soil phosphorus availability. Although both survival and relative growth rate (RGR) increased with increasing light availability, no other microhabitat variable significantly affected seedling performance. Nor did the magnitude of microhabitat effects on survival or RGR differ among species. 4- Larger-seeded species were more likely to survive from germination to 1 year as well as from 1 to 5 years of age. RGR for seedling height during the first year post-germination was not related to seed mass, but smaller-seeded species did grow slightly faster thereafter. Path analyses revealed that correlations between seed mass and performance were explained in part because larger seeds produced larger initial seedlings, which tended to survive better but grow more slowly. 5- We also analysed within-species effects of seed mass for the larger-seeded Eperua grandiflora and Vouacapoua americana (both Caesalpiniaceae). Larger seeds produced larger seedlings in both species, but larger seeds survived better only for Eperua. Larger seedlings grew more slowly in both species, but did not offset the early (Eperua) and later (Vouacapoua) positive direct effects of seed mass on RGR that may represent contrasting strategies for reserve deployment. 6- Our results demonstrate that seed size influences performance within and among species in part because of indirect effects of initial seedling size. However, we suggest that traits tightly correlated with seed mass at the species level, such as specific leaf area, leaf longevity and photosynthetic capacity, may also contribute to interspecific performance differences.
ISSN: 0022-0477

hal-01031089
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01031089
DOI : 10.1111/j.1365-2745.2005.01041.x

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Société géologique de France
Résumé : New-Caledonia island consists of an ultramafic nappe thrusted over a continental and arc-derived basement as the result of the closure of a back-arc basin during the upper Eocene. The morphology of New-Caledonia is mostly characterized by its elongated shape and rectilinear coastline. Indeed, the western and eastern edges of the island are delineated by N140 trending normal faults that are well imaged on seismic lines. Major tectonic lineaments onland, including the scarps corresponding to the main boundary of the ultramafic nappe, also trend N140 suggesting a morphotectonic control by faults having similar kinematics (longitudinal flexure-fault of previous authors). We provide detailed observations from some of these scarps demonstrating indeed that these are not erosional features in origin. We explore the possibility that such surfaces do represent major tectonic limits that accommodated extension and significant tectonic thinning of both the peridotite nappe and its basement. Remnants of a complex extensional fault zone, 200 m wide, are still preserved along the western scarp of the Mont Dore mountain, close to Noumea city. The deformed zone is composed of an early shallow dipping detachment fault, some decimeters thick, offset by a group of late high angle normal faults and is bounded by cataclastic breccias that progressively pass into the fractured host peridotite. The late high angle fault zones have been the site of important syn-tectonic fluid circulation and are underlined by cm-thick silica infills bearing vertical striae. Typical morphology of the main scarps with break of slope is related to the combination of high angle normal faults and low angle detachment. Similar shallow dipping detachment surfaces have been observed along the east coast of southern New-Caledonia as well as within the ultramafic nappe itself and its basement. This study confirms that N140 oriented, large fault zones, with pure-normal to transtensional component of displacement, controlled the morphotectonic evolution of New-Caledonia at the regional scale, after the obduction of ophiolite nappe at the end of the Eocene. Such a fact has to be taken into account when attempting to reconstruct the post-obduction evolution of the island and more particularly when considering the development and distribution of the Ni-rich lateritic surfaces.
EISSN: 1777-5817

hal-00411855
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00411855
DOI : 10.2113/gssgfbull.179.3.315

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : In SW Yukon – SE Alaska, the boundary between the Pacific and North America plates is characterized by a syntaxis at the transition between the Aleutian subduction to the W and the Fairweather – Queen Charlotte strike-slip faults to the SE. The relative motion is oblique to the main fault structures, and the area is marked by the Yakutat block collision. From the Chugach – Saint Elias mountains in the plate boundary zone (up to 6 000 m high) to the intraplate strike-slip faults, markers of the present-day deformation give information on its partition in the system.During my PhD, I first measure surface deformation using a dense GPS network, deployed up to 500 km inland the North America plate. After precise processing and corrections of transient effects in the area (postseismic and glacial isostatic rebound), a new residual velocity field is produced for the syntaxis area, from which I derive strain rates. Those data allow me to quantify the fault slip rates for Fairweather and southern Denali strike-slip faults, and to characterize a bi-modal deformation pattern: Along the plate boundary, the deformation is localized on large-scale structures (accretionary prism to the W, Fairweather to the E); In the syntaxis area, strain rates are the highest and the GPS data shows a diffuse intraplate deformation, similar to an indentor pattern. The Yakutat block seems to strongly drive the North America plate deformation.This indentor pattern induces strong lateral variations on the large intraplate faults: the Denali – Totschunda – Duke River system. In a second part, I realize a regional geomorphological study to characterize the role and slip rate of those faults. From very high-resolution Digital Elevation Models (~ 1 m), a detailed cartography is done. On the basis of fieldwork observations, I measure offsets of fluvial and glacial markers, which are sampled for dating. A dextral cumulative deformation is highlighted on the northern Denali Fault, where as all southern Denali is marked by vertical deformation. This study allows me to quantify new slip rates for the system Denali – Totschunda – Duke River, and to show the leading role of the Totschunda (~ 14 mm/a) and Duke River (~ 6 mm/a) faults, contrary to the Denali Fault (~ 1 mm/a) North of the syntaxis.The new tectonic model for the Yakutat collision provides an important case study for the understanding of indentor systems. The concomitance of a rigid-block deformation (to the West) and diffuse deformation (to the East), as well as the near-zero slip rate on the lithospheric-scale southern Denali Fault highlight the major control of boundary conditions and the structural heritage on the orogen deformation.
Au SO Yukon – SE Alaska, la frontière entre les plaques Pacifique et Nord-Amérique est marquée par une syntaxe à la transition entre la subduction des Aléoutiennes à l’O et le décrochement de Fairweather – Queen Charlotte au SE. Le mouvement relatif est oblique et la région est marquée par la collision du bloc Yakutat. De la chaine des Chugach – Saint Elias en frontière de plaque (jusqu’à 6 000 m d’altitude) aux grands décrochements intraplaque, les marqueurs de la déformation actuelle apportent des informations sur sa partition dans ce système.Au cours de cette thèse, je m’intéresse dans un premier temps à mesurer la déformation de surface à l’aide d’un réseau GPS dense, déployé jusqu’à 500 km à l’intérieur de la plaque Nord-Amérique. Après un travail minutieux de traitement des données et de correction des effets transitoires (rebond post-glaciaire et post-sismique), un champ de vitesses résiduelles robuste et inédit est produit au niveau de la syntaxe, dont je dérive des taux de déformation. Ces données me permettent de quantifier les vitesses de glissement les failles décrochantes de Fairweather et Denali au Sud, et également de caractériser une déformation bimodale : En frontière de plaques, la déformation est localisée sur les grandes structures (prisme d’accrétion à l’O, Fairweather à l’E) ; Au niveau de la syntaxe, les taux de déformation sont les plus importants et les données GPS mettent en évidence une déformation intraplaque diffuse, similaire à un champ attendu à l’aplomb d’un indenteur. Le bloc Yakutat semble donc contrôler fortement la déformation de la plaque Nord-Amérique.Ce champ de déformation induit des variations latérales fortes sur les grandes failles intraplaque : le système Denali-Totschunda-Duke River. Dans une seconde partie, je réalise une étude géomorphologique régionale pour caractériser le rôle et la vitesse de ces failles. À partir de Modèles Numériques de Terrain très haute résolution (~ 1 m), une cartographie de détail est réalisée. Puis une mission de terrain me permet de mesurer des décalages sur des marqueurs fluviatiles et glaciaires et collecter des échantillons pour les dater. Je mets en évidence une déformation cumulée dextre sur le segment Nord de la faille de Denali, alors que toute la partie Sud déforme verticalement la surface. Cette étude me permet de quantifier de nouvelles vitesses de failles sur le système Denali-Totschunda-Duke River, et de montrer le rôle prépondérant des failles de Totschunda (~ 14 mm/a) et Duke River (~ 6 mm/a) contrairement à la faille de Denali (~ 1 mm/a) au Nord de la syntaxe.Le nouveau modèle cinématique proposé pour la région de collision Yakutat permet d’apporter un nouvel exemple à la compréhension des systèmes d’indenteur. La concomitance d’une déformation de blocs (à l’Ouest) et diffuse (à l’Est), ainsi que l’absence de déformation sur la faille lithosphérique de Denali Sud met en évidence le contrôle majeur des conditions aux limites et de l’héritage structural dans la déformation des orogènes.
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01241688

tel-01241688
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01241688
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01241688/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01241688/file/manuscrit_anais_v2_optimise.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD AGU and the Geochemical Society
Résumé : International audience
New magnetotelluric and receiver transfer function studies provide insights from the upper to the lower crust of the eastern Betic Cordillera, which is deformed by large folds, normal faults, and a major transcurrent left-lateral fault, the Carboneras Fault Zone (CFZ). Receiver function analysis determines a NNW dipping Moho reaching 20 degrees that increases in depth, from 20 km south of the CFZ up to 34 km in the Sierra de Los Filabres. In addition, seismic discontinuities determined in the upper crust are interpreted as major contacts between metamorphic complexes that are detached and folded. The MT inversion model reveals a conductive zone, also representing a crustal seismic discontinuity, associated with the Alpujarride/Nevado-Filabride contact and fitting the N vergent geometry of the Sierra Alhamilla antiform. A small flexure at Moho coincides with the CFZ, as revealed by the Bouguer anomaly trend, in agreement with the receiver function results. Moreover, the Bahr strike and tipper angle at the stations placed closest to the CFZ clearly reveal the continuity of the CFZ at least down to approximately 15 km in depth, crossing all the detected crustal discontinuities up to the Moho. The lack of a clear Moho offset associated with the Carboneras Fault supports the idea that some large strike-slip faults tend to accommodate the deformation by a broadening fault zone at lower crustal levels. Its nucleation could occur at the base of a thin crust, where melting processes critically reduced the lithospheric strength during the late Miocene, to then propagate upward, reaching the topographic surface. Northward, the lithosphere comprised moderately larger strength, and the crustal discontinuities favored the development of larger folds with kilometric amplitude instead of strike-slip faults since the late Miocene.
ISSN: 1525-2027

hal-00671024
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00671024
DOI : 10.1029/2010GC003274

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Tectonically controlled landforms develop morphologic features that provide useful markers to investigate crustal deformation and relief growth dynamics. In this paper, we present results of morphotectonic experiments obtained with an innovative approach combining tectonic and surface processes (erosion, transport, and sedimentation), coupled with accurate model monitoring techniques. This approach allows for a qualitative and quantitative analysis of landscape evolution in response to active deformation in the three end-member geological settings: compression, extension, and strike–slip.Experimental results outline first that experimental morphologies evolve significantly at a short time scale. Numerous morphologic markers form continuously, but their lifetime is generally short because erosion and sedimentation processes tend to destroy or bury them. For the compressional setting, the formation of terraces above an active thrust appears mainly controlled by narrowing and incision of the main channel through the uplifting hanging-wall and by avulsion of deposits on fan-like bodies. Terrace formation is irregular even under steady tectonic rates and erosional conditions. Terrace deformation analysis allows retrieving the growth history of the structure and the fault slip rate evolution. For the extensional setting, the dynamics of hanging-wall sedimentary filling appears to control the position of the base level, which in turn controls footwall erosion. Two phases of relief evolution can be evidenced: the first is a phase of relief growth, and the second is a phase of upstream propagation of topographic equilibrium that is reached first in the sedimentary basin. During the phase of relief growth, the formation of triangular facets occurs by degradation of the fault scarp, and their geometry (height) becomes stationary during the phase of upstream propagation of the topographic equilibrium. For the strike–slip setting, the complex morphology of the wrench zone, composed of several interacting fault segments, enhances the interactions with the drainage network. Because of the widening of the main fault zone toward the surface, a significant amount of distributed deformation is observed along the wrench zone. Locally, where two terminations of fault segments interact, less than a quarter of the far field displacement can remain measurable using fault offsets, leading to a systematic underestimation of the real fault slip rate.These different experimental examples illustrate the great potential of the approach coupling deformation mechanisms and erosion–transport–sedimentation processes to investigate qualitatively and quantitatively the morphotectonic evolution of tectonically controlled landscapes.
ISSN: 0169-555X

hal-01243587
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01243587
DOI : 10.1016/j.geomorph.2015.02.011

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union
Résumé : International audience
Phyllosilicate content and related permeability of fault zones form primary controls on hydraulic and mechanical behavior of the brittle crust. Hence, understanding and predicting the localization of these ubiquitous minerals is a major issue for fundamental and applied geosciences. We describe normal fault zones cutting a foreland arkosic turbiditic formation suffering high-T diagenesis and formed under conditions (~200°C) typical of deeply buried reservoirs and common within the seismogenic interval. Microstructural analyses show a large proportion of phyllosilicates (up to 34%) in the fault rock, derived from near-complete feldspar alteration and disaggregation during deformation. This study shows that even faults with offsets (~20 cm) much lower than bed thickness can have such large feldspar-to-phyllosilicate transformation ratios, implying that the origin of the phyllosilicates is purely transformation related. These results imply that the potential sealing capacity and strength of faults could be predicted from the host rock feldspar content. Where sealing capacity and fault strength can be related to phyllosilicate content, these properties can then also be inferred from the predicted phyllosilicate content: this opens up new horizons concerning the hydraulic and the mechanical behavior of the upper crust.
ISSN: 0094-8276

hal-00903574
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00903574
DOI : 10.1002/grl.50829

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
We present results of a geomorphological and morphotectonic analysis of the northeastern part of the Rif. We show that the present day kinematics of the Rif is characterized by active deformation along the Trougout and Nekor faults in the North-East. Digital Elevation Models of offset drainage features (streams, fluvial terraces) allow determining a normal-left-lateral motion along the Trougout fault and a left-lateral strike-slip motion along the Nekor fault. Preliminary 3He cosmogenic dates of tectonic markers yield vertical and horizontal slip rates of ∼0.9 mm/yr and ∼0.5 mm/yr, respectively along the Trougout fault. The present-day localized transtension seen in the north-eastern Rif morphology (Ras Tarf) is coeval with uplifted marine terraces near the Al Hoceima Bay. U/Th dating of shells yield an average uplift rate of ∼0.2 mm/yr during the past 500 ka. These data show that active transtension in the northeastern Rif is also associated with uplift. 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.
ISSN: 0264-3707

hal-01053492
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01053492
DOI : 10.1016/j.jog.2014.01.004

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The basement of central Madagascar displays two contrasted structural patterns. The first one (D1) is characterized by north-striking foliations that are gently dipping to the west and carry W- to WSW-plunging lineations, whereas the second one (D2) is characterized by steeper foliations that are striking to the NNE and lineations that are either subhorizontal or gently plunging to the SSW. The younger pattern is related to late-Panafrican tectonics along the major Angavo shear zone that is about 1000 km in length and 40 km in width with apparently little offset. Deformation in the Angavo zone induced interference folding on both sides. The D2 event is characterized by low pressures (ca 400 MPa) and high temperatures (up to 790 degrees C) responsible for prograde granulite facies conditions, that resulted from heat transfer due to magma and fluid advection in the Angavo shear zone. The D2 event is pinned at 550 +/- 11 Ma by a new monazite age from a reoriented Andringitrean granite near Ankaramena. A new suite of amphibole and biotite Ar-Ar geochronological data enables to retrace the thermochronogical evolution inside and outside the Angavo shear zone. Combined with new structural results from the western interference zone. these ages yield a better understanding of the late-Panafrican history of central Madagascar. No diachronism is observed along the strike of the Angavo shear zone. Conversely, amphibole and especially biotite ages decrease from West to East, i.e. towards the shear zone. These new ages range from 511 to 469 Ma. A 1-D conductive model constrains the thermal effect in relation with the Angavo shear zone to be restricted to a lateral distance of ca 60 km (in map view) for a maximum heating duration of 20 Myr. This is in agreement with the Ar-Ar data and with the width of the observed interference zone. Following this episode of deformation and heat transfer, the estimated cooling rates of the Angavo shear zone range from to 15 to 6 degrees C/Myr, respectively before and after 515 Ma. A post-collision intracontinental setting is suggested for the Angavo shear zone, which is regarded as a remote effect of the Kuunga Orogeny between India and Antarctica.
ISSN: 0040-1951

hal-00463507
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00463507
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2009.03.009

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD IOP Publishing
Résumé : The Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM), Sevres, France, hosted the 7th International Comparison of Absolute Gravimeters (ICAG) and the associated Relative Gravity Campaign (RGC) from August to September 2005.;ICAG 2005 was prepared and performed as a metrological pilot study, which aimed:;(1) To determine the gravity comparison reference values;;(2) To determine the offsets of the absolute gravimeters; and;(3) As a pilot study to accumulate experience for the CIPM Key Comparisons.;This document presents a complete and extensive review of the technical protocol and data processing procedures. The 1st ICAG-RGC comparison was held at the BIPM in 1980-1981 and since then meetings have been organized every 4 years.;In this paper, we present an overview of how the meeting was organized, the conditions of BIPM gravimetric sites, technical specifications, data processing strategy and an analysis of the final results. This 7th ICAG final report supersedes all previously published reports.;Readings were obtained from participating instruments, 19 absolute gravimeters and 15 relative gravimeters. Precise levelling measurements were carried out and all measurements were performed on the BIPM micro-gravity network which was specifically designed for the comparison.
ISSN: 0026-1394

hal-00644529
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00644529
DOI : 10.1088/0026-1394/48/5/003