Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
We explore the relations between deformation, annealing, and melt percolation during rifting and the effect of these processes on seismic anisotropy by analyzing the microstructures and crystal preferred orientations (CPO) in a suite of mantle xenoliths from Mega, in the southern end of the Ethiopian rift. Previous geochemical studies on these xenoliths showed evidence for interactions with variable melt types and volumes during the rifting process. The peridotites have dominantly coarse-porphyroclastic microstructures, but coarse granular or partially recrystallized microstructures also occur. The olivine CPO, characterized by orthorhombic to fiber-[100] patterns and moderate intensities, the common occurrence of (100) tilt walls, and the predominance of <0vw> rotation axes accommodating low angle misorientations in olivine support deformation by dislocation creep with dominant activation of the [100](010) system. Annealing (static recrystallization) of variable intensity followed this deformation. Modal enrichment in pyroxenes in > 60% of the studied peridotites corroborates extensive, but spatially heterogeneous reactive melt percolation leading to refertilization of the lithospheric mantle beneath the southern Ethiopian rift. The common interstitial shapes of the pyroxenes and lack of correlation between the pyroxenes and the olivine CPOs in many samples suggest that part of the refertilization is post-kinematic. However, there is no simple relation between reactive melt percolation and annealing of the olivine deformation microstructure. Comparison with data from other xenolith localities points to changes in the metasomatic imprint in the lithospheric mantle along the East African rift system correlated with the evolution in the rift maturity. Seismic properties averaged over all samples show typical lithospheric mantle patterns with fast propagation of P- and polarization of the fast S-waves parallel to the lineation. The anisotropy is moderate (< 6% for P-waves and < 4% for S-waves), implying that aligned melt must contribute to the strong seismic anisotropy measured in the Main Ethiopian rift, north of Mega.
ISSN: 0040-1951

hal-01355918
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01355918
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2016.05.027

Résumé : Additional label information: Sorghum seedlings after transplanting from seed crop to field. This is one of the seed groups collected by Dr. Brandes in Ethiopia in the winter of 1944. The old stalks of the previous crops are used as a guard against erosion on this sloping land. (#52A) Summit, Canal Zone. USDA - Foreign Agric'l Relations Photo
North America -- Panama -- Caribbean
Caribbean
Caribbean area
Panama

C. Z. 88

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : This study provides additional constraints on the relations between deformation, hydration and percolation of fluids and melts in the subcontinental lithospheric mantle beneath a craton and a rift, as well as their implication on its geodynamical behaviour. I have analysed the microstructures, the CPOs, and the hydrogen content of mantle xenoliths from the Kaapvaal craton, and two sets of xenoliths from different localities along the East African Rift (North Tanzanian Divergence and SE Ethiopia).The coarse-granular microstructures and the well-defined CPOs in Kaapvaal peridotites suggest a deformation followed by a long quiescence time. Orthorhombic olivine CPOs predominates, but axial-[100] and axial-[010] are also measured. Cratonic peridotites record multiple metasomatic episodes, leading to a significant compositional heterogeneity, which cannot be imaged by seismic studies. Olivine hydrogen contents are variable, but tend to increase until 150 km depth, reaching up to 50 ppm wt. H2O. The deeper samples are almost dry. Piston-cylinder experiments on hydrogen diffusion between a volatile-rich kimberlitic melt and forsterite suggest that the presence of CO2 in the system could significantly decrease water fugacity and thus forsterite hydration. These experimental results indicate that the hydrogen contents measured in olivine were acquired during a metasomatic event rather than during xenolith extraction by kimberlites. However, this metasomatism was not followed by remobilization of the cratonic root.In the North Tanzanian Divergence, localities within the rift axis and the volcanic transverse belt (Lashaine and Olmani) show significant differences in microstructures and olivine CPO patterns. In Lashaine, coarse-granular microstructures and orthorhombic to axial-[100] CPO patterns in olivine can be explained by transpressional deformation during the formation of the Mozambique belt, or by the occurrence of a remnant of a cratonic domain embedded within the Mozambique belt. Within the rift axis, porphyroclastic to mylonitic microstructures suggest a recent rift-related deformation accompanied by syn-kinematic melt-rock reactions, and followed by variable annealing. The strong heterogeneity in microstructures and olivine CPO suggests that this deformation was acquired during multiple tectonic events probably linked to episodic magma percolation, separated by quiescence episodes. The axial-[100] patterns in olivine and the oblique fast directions reported by SKS studies are coherent with transtensional deformation within the lithospheric mantle beneath the rift.The peridotites from SE Ethiopia are less recrystallized than the rift-axis Tanzanian peridotites, displaying coarse-porphyroclastic microstructures. Microstructures and orthorhombic CPOs in olivine suggest syn- to post-metasomatic deformation. S-waves polarization anisotropies calculated for these samples cannot explain alone the delay times reported by SKS studies in this part of the East-African Rift.
Les travaux réalisés durant cette thèse apportent de nouvelles contraintes sur les relations entre déformation, hydratation et percolation de fluides et/ou de magmas dans le manteau subcontinental sous un craton et sous un rift, et leurs implications sur son comportement rhéologique. Il repose sur l'analyse des microstructures, des OPRs et des teneurs en hydrogène de xénolites mantelliques du craton du Kaapvaal, et sur deux séries de xénolites provenant de différentes localités le long du rift Est-Africain (Divergence Nord Tanzanienne et SE de l'Ethiopie). Les microstructures granulaires à gros grains et les OPRs bien définies des péridotites du craton du Kaapvaal sont cohérentes avec un épisode de déformation suivi d'une longue période de quiescence. Les OPRs de l'olivine sont majoritairement à symétrie orthorhombique, mais des symétries axiale-[100] et axiale-[010] sont aussi mesurées. Les péridotites cratoniques enregistrent de multiples épisodes métasomatiques, ayant entraîné une hétérogénéité de compositions à petite échelle ne pouvant être détectée par les études sismiques. Les teneurs en hydrogène mesurées dans l'olivine sont variables, mais ont tendance à augmenter jusqu'à 150 km de profondeur, atteignant alors jusqu'à 50 ppm wt. H2O. En dessous de cette profondeur, les échantillons montrent des teneurs en hydrogène très faibles. Les expériences réalisées en piston-cylindre sur la diffusion de l'hydrogène issue d'un liquide kimberlitique vers de la forstérite suggèrent que la fugacité en eau pourrait fortement être diminuée par la présence de CO2, empêchant l'hydratation de l'olivine durant extraction des xénolites par les kimberlites. Ces résultats expérimentaux suggèrent que les teneurs en hydrogène dans l'olivine des péridotites du craton du Kaapvaal ont été acquises durant un épisode métasomatique en profondeur et non pendant leur extraction par les kimberlites. Ces teneurs n'ont toutefois pas à ce jour entraîné de remobilisation de la racine cratonique. Enfin, le calcul des propriétés sismiques des péridotites cratoniques révèle que les anisotropies générées par les OPRs de ces échantillons sont suffisantes pour expliquer les anisotropies mesurées par les ondes SKS et les ondes de surface.Les xénolites de la Divergence Nord-Tanzanienne, montrent des variations significatives de microstructures et d'OPR de l'olivine entre les péridotites des localités dans l'axe du rift et celles de la chaîne volcanique transverse (Lashaine et Olmani). A Lashaine, les microstructures granulaires à gros grains et les OPRs de type orthorhombique et axial-[010] peuvent être expliquée par une déformation en transpression liée à la formation de la chaîne Mozambique ou par la présence d'une relique d'un domaine cratonique à l'intérieur de la chaîne Mozambique. Dans l'axe du rift, les microstructures porphyroclastiques à mylonitiques suggèrent une déformation plus récente, accompagnée de réactions magma-roche sous des conditions proches du solidus, suivie d'un recuit variable. L'hétérogénéité des microstructures enregistrées par les échantillons du rift suggère de multiples épisodes de déformation localisée, probablement liés à l'injection percolation épisodique de magmas, espacés de périodes d'accalmie. Les OPRs de l'olivine de type axial-[100] et l'orientation des directions de polarisation des ondes SKS suggère que le rift s'est formé en régime de transtension Les péridotites du Sud-Est de l’Éthiopie présentent des microstructures porphyroclastiques à gros grains moins recristallisées qu'en Tanzanie. Les microstructures et les OPRs principalement de type orthorhombique suggèrent une déformation syn- à post-métasomatisme. Les anisotropies de polarisation des ondes S calculées pour ces échantillons sont insuffisantes pour expliquer à elles seules les déphasages des ondes SKS dans cette partie du rift.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01684759

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess
NNT : 2014MON20139
tel-01684759
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01684759
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01684759/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01684759/file/43443_BAPTISTE_2014_archivage_cor.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Résumé : Extensional fault systems in the Earth's crust can exhibit two end-member geometries that we identify as distributed and localized faulting regimes. A satellite image analysis of fault populations from the Main Ethiopian Rift-Afar area reveals that the rift architecture contains these two faulting regimes. The occurrence of these regimes reveals a jump in the scale of fault segmentation and linkage. Strain localization at rift border zones exhibits particularly large-scale fault linkage and a power law size distribution. This regime replaces prior distributed fault systems, showing small-scale fault linkage and an exponential size distribution. The distributed faulting is interpreted as confined to the thick trap basalt carapace. We show that continental fault systems can develop by a combination of these two geometries, and we demonstrate how to quantitatively decipher the jump between them.
ISSN: 0278-7407

hal-00411147
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00411147
DOI : 10.1029/2007TC002148

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Multi-proxy analysis of two marine sediment cores (MS27PT and MD04-2726) from the Nile continental slope provides evidence of changes in Nile sediment discharge related to changes in Ethiopian African Monsoon (EAM) precipitation, and allows us to reconstruct changes in Nile River runoff, vegetation and erosion in the Nile headwaters. Sediment element composition and neodymium isotopic composition reveal significant changes in clastic sediment provenance, with sources oscillating between a Saharan aeolian contribution during the Last Glacial Maximum/deglacial transition and during the Late Holocene, and a Blue/Atbara Nile fluvial contribution during the African Humid Period (AHP). This study provides a new understanding of past environmental changes. Between 14.6 and 14.13 ka there was a major input of sediments from the Ethiopian Highlands, consistent with a stronger EAM at that time. Climate in the Nile basin was wetter between 14.8 and 8.4 ka, with a corresponding increase in Blue Nile water and sediment discharge via the main Nile into the Eastern Mediterranean. The gradual climatic transition from the AHP to the present-day dry climate was reflected in a decrease in Blue Nile sediment deposition and flood discharge between 8.4 and 3.7 ka, with aridity at a maximum between 3.7 and 2.6 ka. The onset of drier conditions in the Blue Nile basin seems to have begun before the 8.2 ka cooling event in the North Atlantic. We speculate that the climatic change from the wet AHP to the dry late Holocene may have been a result of a break in the low latitude dynamic equilibrium between climate, vegetation and erosion, which may in turn have affected the climate in higher latitudes. Reduced Nile flow may also have had an impact on Levantine Intermediate Water originating in the Eastern Mediterranean through an increase in intermediate water formation.
ISSN: 0277-3791

hal-01277950
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01277950
DOI : 10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.10.030