Éditeur(s) : Amer Geophysical Union
Résumé : New high-resolution multichannel seismic data (GWADASEIS-2009 and JC45/46-2010 cruises; 72 and 60 channels, respectively) combined with previous data (AGUADOMAR-1999 and CARAVAL-2002; 6 and 24 channels, respectively) allow a detailed investigation of mass-wasting processes around the volcanic island of Montserrat in the Lesser Antilles. Seven submarine deposits have sources on the flanks of Montserrat, while three are related to the nearby Kahouanne submarine volcanoes. The most voluminous deposit (similar to 20 km(3)) within the Bouillante-Montserrat half-graben has not been described previously and is probably related to a flank instability of the Centre Hills Volcano on Montserrat, while other events are related to the younger South Soufriere Hills-Soufriere Hills volcanic complex. All deposits are located to the south or southeast of the island in an area delimited by faults of the Bouillante-Montserrat half-graben. They cover a large part of the southeast quarter of the surrounding seafloor (similar to 520 km(2)), with a total volume of similar to 40 km(3). Our observations suggest that the Bouillante-Montserrat half-graben exerts a control on the extent and propagation of the most voluminous deposits. We propose an interpretation for mass-wasting processes around Montserrat similar to what has happened for the southern islands of the Lesser Antilles.
Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems (1525-2027) (Amer Geophysical Union), 2011-05 , Vol. 12 , N. 5 , P. Q05006

Droits : Copyright 2011 by the American Geophysical Union
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00200/31100/29510.pdf
DOI:10.1029/2010GC003451
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00200/31100/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Polygonal faulting is a widespread phenomenon in sedimentary basins worldwide. It changes basin-scale fluid flow patterns and alters the physical properties of the sediments making it important for hydrocarbon exploration and geohazard analysis. It is generally accepted that polygonal fault patterns derive from dewatering and compaction of the host sediments, but there is debate regarding the processes that control polygonal faulting. New multibeam-bathymetry data from the Hatton Basin, NE Atlantic, show up to 10 m deep and 200-600 m wide troughs at the seabed. They connect to each other forming polygons that are several hundred metres across, i.e. of similar size as buried polygonal fault systems observed in 3D seismic data. The troughs are symmetrical and resemble elongated pockmarks. Previously unpublished high-resolution 2D seismic data from the same area show seismic disturbance zones similar to pipes observed under pockmarks elsewhere as well as faults that have all the characteristics of polygonal fault systems. The observation of the wide disturbance zones is enigmatic, as they appear to follow the polygonal seafloor pattern. The observed extent of the polygonal sediment contraction system is substantial covering almost 37,000 km2. We calculate that some 2600 km3 of possibly carbon-bearing fluids have been expelled from this system and we expect that this will affect the benthic ecosystems, although so far there is only limited evidence for chemosynthetic habitats.
ISSN: 0025-3227

hal-00772468
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00772468
DOI : 10.1016/j.margeo.2012.09.013

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Transport of liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons through focused fluid flow systems is a widespread process in continental margins and sedimentary basins, which is gaining increased attention in the assessment of geohazards, environment conservation, and securing fossil energy resources. Studying the abundance, distribution and drivers for this process is crucial for understanding its role in 1) the dynamics of gas hydrate accumulation and destabilization, 2) submarine slope stability and related tsunamis, 3) the plethora of chemosynthetic benthic ecosystems that develop in deep seep sites, and 4) the input of greenhouse gases (e.g. methane) into the ocean/atmosphere system, which may influence the atmospheric carbon budget and Earth's paleo- and present climate. New ocean exploration tools provide ever more data and improve our understanding of these systems. However, the subject still suffers from a lack of interdisciplinary knowledge dissemination. The ongoing international debate about the timing and the processes that control fluid expulsion in sedimentary basins is fuelled by their implications for structural and petroleum geology. Because fluids expelled at cold seeps originate at depth they represent open windows into the underlying petroleum systems and are valuable indicators for the reservoir systems. They may also help in deciphering past and predicting future climate change because worldwide release of large amounts of fluids may have an impact on the chemistry of the ocean and atmosphere.
ISSN: 0025-3227

hal-00772472
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00772472
DOI : 10.1016/j.margeo.2012.10.012

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
3D seismic data located in the Gjallar Ridge (Vøring Basin, offshore Norway) reveals a closely-spaced polygonal fault system affecting more than 800 m of homogeneous mud-dominated Quaternary and Tertiary sequences. As some faults reach the modern seafloor, they represent an active polygonal fault system at present day. Even if the processes remain unclear and are still under debate, it is generally agreed that the initiation of polygonal faults is the result of shallow burial dewatering of fine-grained unconsolidated sediments by volumetric compaction. 3D seismic data are commonly interpreted by propagating horizons automatically and by picking faults manually. However, in the case of polygonal fault intervals, this approach is time consuming due to the huge number of faults and because automatic propagation can be misleading. In this study, we applied a new technique of 3D seismic interpretation based on a sequential stratigraphy analysis, using the new PaleoScan© software (Eliis Company). It allowed us to build a 3D geological model computing more than 300 horizons within the faulted intervals. We then used the coherency attribute, depicting anomalies in the shape of seismic waveform like faults, in order to constrain a possible link between fault distribution and stratigraphic levels. Our approach allows fault throws to be calculated in milliseconds on any polygonal fault plane. The result shows that fault segments have been reactivated by dip-linkage. Distribution of faults depends on mechanical units, intervals characterized by different petrophysical properties, which are independent from lithological and diagenetic changes. According to these results, we propose a model showing the evolution of polygonal fault intervals in which faulting stages are separated by a quiescence phase during burial. A first tier of polygonal faults is initiated at a specific depth, according to the Cam-clay model. Then, following a period of quiescence during which mud-rich sediments continued to accumulate, new fault segments are initiated above the first mechanical unit and within this undeformed interval. New nucleated faults then connect downward to pre-existing underlying polygonal fault system, thus progressively increasing the thickness of the faulted interval.
ISSN: 0025-3227

hal-00772470
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00772470
DOI : 10.1016/j.margeo.2012.07.016

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 Wiley
Résumé : International audience
We analyse the fluid flow regime within sediments on the Eastern levee of the modern Mississippi Canyon using 3D seismic data and downhole logging data acquired at Sites U1322 and U1324 during the 2005 Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 308 in the Gulf of Mexico. Sulphate and methane concentrations in pore water show that sulphate-methane transition zone, at 74 and 94 m below seafloor, are amongst the deepest ever found in a sedimentary basin. This is in part due to a basinward fluid flow in a buried turbiditic channel (Blue Unit, 1000 mbsf), which separates sedimentary compartments located below and above this unit, preventing normal upward methane flux to the seafloor. Overpressure in the lower compartment leads to episodic and focused fluid migration through deep conduits that bypass the upper compartment, forming mud volcanoes at the seabed. This may also favour seawater circulation and we interpret the deep sulphate-methane transition zones as a result of high downward sulphate fluxes coming from seawater that are about 5-10 times above those measured in other basins. The results show that geochemical reactions within shallow sediments are dominated by seawater downwelling in the Mars-Ursa basin, compared to other basins in which the upward fluid flux is controlling methane-related reactions. This has implications for the occurrence of gas hydrates in the subsurface and is evidence of the active connection between buried sediments and the water column.
ISSN: 1468-8115

hal-00590501
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00590501
DOI : 10.1111/j.1468-8123.2010.00304.x

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
An exploration 3D seismic data set from the Gjallar Ridge off mid-Norway images a giant fluid seep structure 3 × 5 km wide, which connects to late Palaeocene magmatic sills at depth. Two of the pipes that have developed as hydrothermal vents reach all the way to the modern seafloor implying that they either were active much longer than the original hydrothermal activity or have been reactivated. We combine detailed seismic analysis of the northern pipe and sandbox modeling to constrain pipe initiation and propagation. Although both the seismic data and the sandbox models suggest that fluids at depth are focused through a vertical conduit, sandbox models show that fluids ascend and reach a critical depth migration where focused migration abruptly transforms into distributed fluid flow through unconsolidated sediments. This indicates that at this level the sediments are intensely deformed during pipe propagation, creating a V-shaped structure, i.e. an inverted cone at depth and a positive relief anomaly, 5 to 10 m high, at the seafloor, which is clearly identified on 3D seismic data. Comparison of the geometries observed in sandbox modeling with the seismically observed geometries of the Giant Gjallar Vent suggests that the Giant Gjallar Vent may be a proto-fluid seep at an early stage of its development, preceding the future collapse of the structure forming a seafloor depression. Our results imply that the Gjallar Giant Vent can be used as a window into the geological processes active in the deep parts of the Vøring Basin.
ISSN: 0025-3227

hal-00772465
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00772465
DOI : 10.1016/j.margeo.2012.08.010

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Geological Society
Résumé : Polygonal faults, mainly oriented N50, N110 and N170, are abundant in the upper part of the mud-dominated Kai Formation (upper Miocene-lower Pliocene) of the Voting Basin. A second, less-developed tier of polygonal faults, oriented N20, N80 and N140, exists at the base of the overlying Naust Formation (upper Pliocene-Present). The faults abruptly terminate upward below a thick interval of debris flows. We propose a dynamic model in which: (1) the development of polygonal faults discontinues temporarily as a result of a change in regional sedimentation, leading to inactive polygonal faults; (2) rapid emplacement of debris flows in the late Pleistocene creates a new interval of polygonal faults in the lower part of the Naust Formation immediately beneath the debris flow and some faults penetrate into the underlying Kai Formation; (3) some polygonal faults within the Kai Formation are reactivated and propagated upward into the base of the Naust Formation. The high interconnectivity between faulted layers allows the fluids to reach shallower depths, forming well-expressed pipes and pockmarks on the sea floor. The model of cessation/reactivation of polygonal faults constrains the sealing capacity of sedimentary cover over the reservoirs and helps to reconstruct the fluid migration history through the sedimentary column.
ISSN: 0016-7649

hal-00406645
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00406645
DOI : 10.1144/0016-76492005-178