Éditeur(s) : Elsevier
Résumé : A study of organic carbon mineralization from the Congo continental shelf to the abyssal plain through the Congo submarine channel and Angola Margin was undertaken using in situ measurements of sediment oxygen demand as a tracer of benthic carbon recycling. Two measurement techniques were coupled on a single autonomous platform: in situ benthic chambers and microelectrodes, which provided total and diffusive oxygen uptake as well as oxygen microdistributions in porewaters. In addition, sediment trap fluxes, sediment composition (Org-C, Tot-N, CaCO3, porosity) and radionuclide profiles provided measurements of, respectively input fluxes and burial rate of organic and inorganic compounds. The in situ results show that the oxygen consumption on this margin close to the Congo River is high with values of total oxygen uptake (TOU) of 4 +/- 0.6, 3.6 +/- 0.5 mmol m(-2) d(-1) at 1300 and 3100m depth, respectively, and between 1.9 +/- 0.3 and 2.4 +/- 0.2 mmol m(-2) d(-1) at 4000 m depth. Diffusive oxygen uptakes (DOU) were 2.8 +/- 1.1, 2.3 +/- 0.8, 0.8 +/- 0.3 and 1.2 +/- 0.1 mmol m(-2) d(-1), respectively at the same depths. The magnitude of the oxygen demands on the slope is correlated with water depth but is not correlated with the proximity of the submarine channel-levee system, which indicates that cross-slope transport processes are active over the entire margin. Comparison of the vertical flux of organic carbon with its mineralization and burial reveal that this lateral input is very important since the sum of recycling and burial in the sediments is 5-8 times larger than the vertical flux recorded in traps. Transfer of material from the Congo River occurs through turbidity currents channelled in the Congo valley, which are subsequently deposited in the Lobe zone in the Congo fan below 4800 m. Ship board measurements of oxygen profiles indicate large mineralization rates of organic carbon in this zone, which agrees with the high organic carbon content (3%) and the large sedimentation rate (19 mm y(-1)) found on this site. The Lobe region could receive as high as 19 mol C m(-2) y(-1), 1/3 being mineralized and 2/3 being buried and could constitute the largest depocenter of organic carbon in the South Atlantic.
Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography (0967-0645) (Elsevier), 2009-11 , Vol. 56 , N. 23 , P. 2223-2238

Droits : 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2009/publication-7316.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.dsr2.2009.04.005
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/7316/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
In places where sedimentation and erosion compete at fast rates, part of the record of past earthquakes on faults may be buried, hence hidden, in the first few metres below the surface. We developed a novel form of palaeoseismology, of geophysical type, based on the use of a dense pseudo-3-D Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey to investigate such possible buried earthquake traces, on a long, fast-slipping strike-slip fault (Hope fault, New Zealand), at a site (Terako) where marked alluvial conditions prevail. We first used LiDAR data to analyse the ground surface morphology of the 2 km2 site at the greatest resolution. Nineteen morphological markers were observed, mainly alluvial terrace risers and small stream channels that are all dextrally offset by the fault by amounts ranging between 3 and 200 m. The measurements document about 10 past earthquake slip events with a mean coseismic slip of 3.3 +/- 1 m, with the most recent earthquake event having a slip of 3 +/- 0.5 m. We then investigated a detailed area of the site (400 x 600 m2) with pseudo-3-D GPR. We measured 56, similar to 400 m long, 510 m spaced GPR profiles (250 MHz), parallel to the fault and evenly distributed on either side. The analysis revealed the existence of a palaeosurface buried at about 3 m depth, corresponding to the top of alluvial terraces of different ages. That buried surface is incised by a dense network of stream channels that are all dextrally offset by the fault. We measured 48 lateral offsets in the buried channel network, more than twice than at the surface. These offsets range between 6 and 108 m, as observed at the surface, yet provide a more continuous record of the fault slip. The similarity of the successive slip increments suggests a slip per event averaging 4.4 +/- 1 m, fairly similar to that estimated from surface data. From the total surface and buried 67 offset collection, we infer that a minimum of 30 large earthquakes have broken the Hope fault at the Terako site in the last about 67 kyr, with an average coseismic slip of 3.2 +/- 1 m, a minimum average recurrence time of about 200 yr, and a magnitude of at least Mw 7.07.4. Our study therefore confirms that part of the record of past earthquakes may indeed reside in the first few metres below the surface, where it may be explored with geophysical, GPR-based palaeoseismology. Developing such a new palaeoseismological tool should provide rich information that may complement surface observations and help to document the past earthquakes on faults.
ISSN: 0956-540X

hal-00704560
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00704560
DOI : 10.1111/j.1365-246X.2012.05366.x

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
The New Jersey continental shelf extends 150 km off the shoreline. During IODP Expedition 313, siliciclastic deposits of late Eocene to late Pleistocene age were drilled down to 631, 669 and 755 m below seafloor at sites 27A, 28A and 29A respectively in very shallow waters (33.5 to 36 m depth). Pore water salinities display multilayered brackish-salty-brine units 10 to 170 m thick, where low-salinity water is preferentially stored in fine-grained sediments. The sharp boundaries of these buried aquifers are often marked by cemented layers a few centimetres thick. The mineralogy and scanning electron microscope observations of these layers show two phases of cementation by authigenic minerals: (1) the early carbonate cement is frequently associated with pyrite, and (2) the late silicate cement infills the residual porosity. The isotopic compositions of the carbonate cements vary widely: −2.4 < δ¹⁸O ‰ VPDB < +2.8; −15.1 < δ¹³C ‰ VPDB < +15.6. The δ¹⁸O values indicate that the carbonate cements precipitated with pore waters comprising variable mixtures of seawater and ¹⁸O-depleted fresh water originating from submarine groundwater discharge. The δ¹³C values of the carbonate cements are related to organic matter diagenesis, providing ¹³C-depleted dissolved inorganic carbon during bacterial sulphate reduction and anaerobic oxidation of methane, and ¹³C-rich dissolved inorganic carbon during methanogenesis. The diagenetic cementation processes included chemical weathering of reactive silicate minerals by the CO²-rich pore waters issued from organic matter diagenesis that released bicarbonate, cations and dissolved silica, which were further precipitated as carbonate and silicate cements. The estimated range of temperature (18±4 °C) during carbonate precipitation is consistent with carbonate cementation at moderate burial depths; however, silicate cementation occurred later during diagenesis at deeper burial depths.
ISSN: 0276-0460

hal-01559985
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01559985
DOI : 10.1007/s00367-017-0506-6

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
At the North-Ecuadorian convergent margin (1°S–1.5°N), the subduction of the rough Nazca oceanic plate leads to tectonic erosion of the upper plate and complex seismogenic behavior of the megathrust. We used three selected pre-stack depth migrated, multi-channel seismic reflection lines collected during the SISTEUR cruise to investigate the margin structure and decipher the impact of the subducted Atacames seamounts on tectonic erosion, interseismic coupling, and seismogenesis in the region of the 1942 Mw7.8 earthquake.This dataset highlights a subducted ∼30×40 km∼30×40 km, double-peak seamount that belongs to the Atacames seamount chain and that is associated with a deep morphologic re-entrant containing mass transport deposits.The seamount subduction uplifted the margin basement by ∼1.6 km and pervasively broke the margin by deep and intense reverse faulting ahead of the seamount, a process that is likely to weaken considerably the margin. In the seamount wake, the basement reverse fault system rotated counter-clockwise. This faulted basement is overlain with slope sediment sliding along listric normal faults that sole out onto the BSR. This superposition of deep tectonic contraction within the basement and shallow gravitational extension deformation within the sediment highlights the key role of gas hydrate on outer slope erosion.In addition to long-term regional basal erosion, the margin basement has thinned locally by an extra 0.8–1 km in response to the subduction of the Atacames seamount chain and hydrofracturing by overpressured fluids at the margin toe. This pervasively and deeply fractured margin segment is associated with a seismically quiet and GPS-modeled low interseismic coupling corridor that terminates downdip near the 1942 epicenter and locked zone. We suggest that the deeply buried double-peak Atacames seamount triggered the 1942 earthquake ahead of its leading flank. This result supports previous studies proposing that subducted seamounts provide unfavorable conditions for locking the updip segment of the plate boundary limiting the updip extent of seismogenic zones, but may favor large subduction earthquakes at greater depths.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-01256399
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01256399
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2015.10.043

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
In orogenic systems, thrust faults play a major role in stacking different tectonic units and may act as conduits for the expulsion of large amounts of fluid of different origins (metamorphic, diagenetic, meteoric). This study focuses on the Monte Perdido thrust unit emplaced in the Paleogene Jaca thrust-sheet-top basin, in the SW-central Pyrenees. We aim to decipher the mechanisms and P-T conditions of deformation in fault zones and characterize the related fluid involvement, through combined microstructural, geochemical and microthermometry analyses. Two thrust faults cutting platform limestones, marls and siliciclastic turbidites of the lower part of the basin-fill (Paleocene-lower Eocene) have been studied. The fault zones are characterized by metre-thick shear zones with highly deformed, foliated clay-rich sediments. Foliation is underlined by preferentially oriented phyllosilicates. Several generations of shear and extension calcite, quartz and chlorite-bearing veins attest to fluid-rock interactions during a multi-stage deformation. Microstructural observations and stable isotope analyses on calcite from veins and host sediments suggest that deformation was aseismic and dominated by diffusive mass transfer from pressure solution sites along cleavage and stylolites to the precipitation sites in veins, with mineralizing fluids in equilibrium with the host sediments. Our results suggest an essentially closed hydrologic system, and imply the absence of significant fluid flow along the studied fault zones. Microthermometric study on fluid inclusions present in calcite and quartz veins, and calcite-quartz oxygen isotopic fractionation determined for the first generation shear veins, allow a geothermal gradient of 34 degrees C/km to be estimated. Analytical results demonstrate an evolution of the fault zones in three stages. The first stage was related to the emplacement of the Monte Perdido thrust unit during the middle Eocene at a temperature of similar to 208 degrees C and a burial depth of similar to 5.7 km. The second stage corresponds to a fault reactivation at a temperature of similar to 240 degrees C and a burial depth of similar to 6.5 km. The latter deformation may have been related to folding of the Monte Perdido thrust unit during the emplacement of the underlying Gavarnie thrust unit during the late Eocene-early Oligocene, with deeper burial resulting from aggradation of the thrust-sheet-top basin-fill. The last event corresponds to the formation of a dilatant vein system likely related to the exhumation of the massif.
ISSN: 0191-8141

hal-00644828
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00644828
DOI : 10.1016/j.jsg.2011.06.006

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : Sand intrusions (or injectites) are most often the product of post-depositional remobilization of sand leading to its injection into the surrounding rocks. While injectites were recognized for the first time nearly 200 years ago, their emplacement process has been studied for a couple of decades only, since the concepts of deep sea depositional environments have allowed us to better understand their emplacement processes. However, these processes are still relatively poorly understood. Our approach is based on the study of injectites in the Lower Congo Basin from seismic and well data, which we compare to a fossil system in the SE France basin. We have shown that: (1) In buried turbidite channel systems draping deposits on the channel flanks and terraces of channels have the same geophysical signature as 'wing-like' injectites. Finally, the only criterion for identifying seismic injectites is the presence of bedding-discordant seismic reflections, and in the best case the associated uplift of the overlying seismic reflectors. (2) Seismic-scale conical and saucer-shaped sand injectites have been identified in the Lower Congo Basin. The remobilization is likely due to overpressuring induced by the buoyancy effect of hydrocarbons trapped in the margins of a lobe buried underneath 160 m of sediment, followed by the sudden injection of fluidized sand associated with fault reactivation of faults (with a possible role of nearby salt diapirs). (3) A network of injectites (dykes, sills/wings and laccoliths) was formed in the Vocontian basin during the late Albian and/or early Cenomanian, from a lower-middle Albian turbidite channel. The emplacement is probably due to the early compartmentalization of the channel during its burial and the increase of the sedimentation rate generating overpressure; and the subsequent large influx of deep fluids triggering injection. The injection of sand was polyphased: a first episode formed the sills and another emplaced the dykes. Sills/wings and dykes propagated about 2 km laterally away from the parent sand body and about 200 m up to the surface, revealing a much more extended lateral than vertical reach, contrary to the classically accepted idea from the interpretation of seismic data. (4) The emplacement of this large network of injectites was governed by hydrofracturing. Therefore, its morphology is dependent on the host rock heterogeneity (isotropy, fractures), the paleo-stress orientation (ó3 = NW-SE) and the burial depth of the source (300-600 m) at the time of injection. The study of this fossil network allows us to define the relationship between morphology of the injected network and stress state at the time of injection. This relationship can be extrapolated to constrain the morphology of subsurface networks beyond seismicvisibility. (5) Sands injected into low permeability lithologies bear evidence to a major event of fluid escape in the studied basin, but also channeled fluids long after their formation. In this way, injectites both attest to specific episodes of fluid migration in sedimentary basins and contribute to long-lived re-routing of migrating fluids once emplaced. The injection of sand is associated with the sudden escape of fluids, probably resulting from a significant tectonic and/or sedimentary event; in addition, the architecture of injectite networks is governed by the local paleo-stress and heterogeneity in the host rock. Consequently, characterizing injectite networks is an important step in understanding the plumbing systems of continental margins, i.e. the post-depositional evolution of sedimentary basins.
Les intrusions sableuses (ou injectites) sont le plus souvent le produit de la remobilisation post-dépositionnelle des sédiments et de l'injection du sable dans les roches environnantes. Bien que reconnues pour la première fois il y a près de 200 ans, elles ne sont réellement étudiées que depuis quelques dizaines d'années, depuis que les concepts sur les environnements de dépôt dans les domaines marins profonds nous permettent de mieux comprendre les processus de mise en place. Cependant, ces processus restent encore aujourd'hui relativement mal compris. Notre approche repose sur l'étude d'injectites dans le bassin du Bas-Congo a partir de données de sismique et de puits que nous comparerons a un système fossile dans le bassin du SE de la France. Nous avons montre que : (1) Dans des systèmes de chenaux turbiditiques enfouis, les dépôts de drapage sur les marges et terrasses de chenaux présentent la même signature géophysique que les injectites de type "wing". Finalement, le seul critère sismique d'identification des injectites est la présence de réflexions sismiques sécantes vis-a-vis de la stratigraphie associée dans le meilleur des cas au soulèvement des réflecteurs sismiques sus-jacents. (2) Des injectites d'échelle sismique en forme de cône et d'assiette ont été identifiées dans le bassin du Bas-Congo. La remobilisation résulte probablement des pressions anormales induites par l'effet de flottabilité des hydrocarbures piégés dans les marges d'un lobe enfoui sous 160 m de sédiment, puis de l'injection soudaine du sable fluidise associée a la réactivation de failles (possible rôle des diapirs de sel a proximité). (3) Un réseau d'injectites (dykes, sills/wings et laccolites) s'est formé dans le bassin Vocontien entre la fin de l'Albien supérieur et/ou le début du Cénomanien, depuis un chenal turbiditique de l'Albien inférieur-moyen. La mise en place résulte probablement de la compartimentalisation précoce du chenal au cours de son enfouissement et de l'augmentation du taux de sédimentation générant la surpression et de l'apport ulterieur d'importante quantité de fluides profonds déclenchant l'injection. L'injection du sable a été polyphasée : une première injection a formé des sills et une suivante des dykes. Les sills/wings et les dykes se sont propagés latéralement au chenal source sur environ 2 km et vers la surface sur environ 200 m, mettant en évidence une forte remobilisation latérale plutôt que verticale, contrairement a l'idée classiquement admise a partir de l'interprétation des données sismiques. (4) La formation de ce large réseau d'injectites a été gouvernée par des mécanismes d'hydrofracturation. Par conséquent, sa morphologie a été dépendante des hétérogenéités de la roche hôte (milieu isotrope, fracture), des directions de paléo-contraintes (ƒÐ3 = NWSE) et de la profondeur d'enfouissement de la source (300-600 m) au moment de l'injection. L'étude de ce réseau fossile permet de définir les relations entre morphologie du réseau injecté et état de contraintes au moment de l'injection. Cette relation peut être extrapolée de façon à contraindre la morphologie des réseaux de subsurface au-delà de la visibilité sismique. (5) Les sables injectés dans des lithologies de faible perméabilité témoignent d'un épisode d'échappement de fluide important dans les bassins étudiés mais ont aussi guide les fluides longtemps après leur formation. Les injectites contribuent ainsi a l'initiation épisodique et la pérennisation de migrations de fluides dans les bassins sedimentaires. Le processus d'injection est associé a l'échappement brutal de fluides, résultant vraisemblablement d'un évènement tectonique et/ou sédimentaire important, et l'architecture des réseaux d'injectites est gouverné par les paléo-contraintes locales et les hétérogénéités de la roche hôte. Par conséquent, la caractérisation des réseaux d'injectites est une étape importante dans la compréhension de la plomberie des marges, c'est-a-dire l'évolution post-dépôt des bassins sédimentaires.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01011486

tel-01011486
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01011486
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01011486/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01011486/file/These_Monnier_2013_banalisee.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Field observations of highly porous and permeable sandstone in the Orange area (S-E Basin, France) show that networks of shear-enhanced compaction bands can form in a contractional regime at burial depths of about 400 m ± 100 m. These bands show equal compaction and shear displacements, are organized in conjugate and densely distributed networks, and are restricted to the coarse-grained (mean grain diameter of 0.6 ± 0.1 mm) and less porous (porosity of 26 ± 2%) sand layers. The bands are crush microbreccia with limited grain comminution and high grain microfracture density. They show reductions of permeability (mD) ranging from 0 to little more than 1 order of magnitude. They show no control on the alteration products related to meteoric water flow, which suggests that these shear-enhanced compaction bands have no or only negligible influence on subsurface fluid flow. Their selective occurrence and small (20%) reduction in transmissibility in densely populated layers prevented them from compartmentalizing the sandstone reservoirs. A comparison with compaction-band populations in the Navajo and Aztec sandtsones (western U.S.) emphasizes the role of burial depth and the presence of chemical compaction processes for the sealing potential of deformation bands.
ISSN: 0191-8141

hal-00807309
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00807309
DOI : 10.1016/j.jsg.2012.11.008

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : Fault zones are major discontinuities in sedimentary basins. Understanding their role on fluid migrations is an essential issue to (i) characterize the mechanisms and kinematics of deformation and (ii) to determine the parameters which control the distribution of energetic or mineral resources. This work applies to faulting under a temperature range of 200-250°C, corresponding to that of deeply buried reservoirs as well as potentially seismogenic fault zones. The studied faults are normal faults affecting the “Grès d’Annot” Formation, a Priabonian-Rupelian siliclastic turbidite succession of the Alpine foreland basin. They are located in two distinct areas: the Moutière-Restefond area in the eastern part of the basin and the Estrop area in the western part. Vitrinite reflectance outside fault zones indicates maximal temperatures of 240-260°C at Moutière-Restefond and 170-200°C at Estrop, i.e. burial depths around 8 km and 6 km, respectively, assuming a mean geothermal gradient of 30°C/km. Burial was due to underthrusting below the Embrunais-Ubaye Alpine nappes, the difference in burial between the two areas traducing the westward taper of the nappe front.The studied faults affect alternating arkosic sandstone beds and pelite layers with offsets from centimeters to decameters. Two types of core zones are recognized: (1) the foliated core zones of the Moutière-Restefond area, where deformation dominated by pressure solution and synkinematic phyllosilicate neoformation resulted in a foliated fabric, and (2) the core zones of the Estrop area, characterized by dilatant quartz-mineralized veins and breccia. Fault and host rock petrophysical properties were measured on drill plugs, using the water porosity technique and nitrogen permeability technique under 2 Mpa of confining pressure. In the Moutière-Restefond fault zones, plug axes were oriented in three orthogonal directions corresponding to the main deformation axes (X, Y, Z) of the foliated arkose to characterize the effect of structural anisotropy. In the Estrop fault zones, where deformation does not show equivalent anisotropy, the plug axes were oriented according to the main fault plane orientation (i.e., parallel to azimuth, parallel to dip and normal). In each fault zone, the porosity of fault rocks is equivalent to that of host rocks. In the Moutière-Restefond fault zones, the plugs parallel to the X and Z axes of deformation have a permeability similar to that of the host rocks, whereas permeability parallel to the Y axis (i.e. parallel to the foliation and the main fault plane) is one order of magnitude higher. By contrast, the permeability values in the Estrop fault zones are isotropic and equivalent to the host rock values. This study highlights the importance of various types of deformation mechanisms and related fluid-rock interactions in determining different fault rock types within a similar protolith, ultimately controlling distinct petrophysical properties of fault zones.
Les zones de failles constituent des discontinuités majeures dans la croûte supérieure. Ce mémoire s’intéresse aux failles actives à des profondeurs de 5-8 km, i.e. dans des conditions pouvant jouer un rôle important (i) sur le comportement mécanique de de la croûte, en particulier sur son potentiel sismogénique et (ii) sur la compartimentation des réservoirs géologiques profondément enfouis.Les failles étudiées sont des failles normales (rejet jusqu’à 50 mètres) affectant des alternances de bancs de grès arkosiques et de pélites dans les Grès d’Annot, une formation turbiditique d’âge priabonien-rupélien du bassin d’avant-chaine alpin. Les Grès d’Annot ont été enfouis sous les nappes de l’Embrunais-Ubaye peu de temps après leur dépôt et exhumés au Miocène moyen-supérieur. L’étude a été réalisée dans deux secteurs des Alpes de Haute-Provence, (1) le secteur de l’Estrop (chaine des Trois Evéchés, dans la partie occidentale du bassin) et (2) le secteur de Point Vert-Restefond (alentours du col de la Bonette, dans la partie orientale du bassin). La réflectance de la vitrinite dans les Grès d’Annot indique des températures maximales de 160-190°C dans le secteur (1) et de 240-260 °C dans le secteur (2) , soit des profondeurs d’enfouissement de 5-6 km et 8-10 km, respectivement, dans l’hypothèse d’un gradient géothermique moyen de 25-30°C/km. A partir des observations microstructurales, de données d’inclusions de fluides, de modélisations thermodynamiques sur chlorites syncinématiques et des indices de cristallinité de l’illite, on a établi que les failles du secteur (1) ont fonctionné à une température d’environ 200°C pour une pression de 0.6Kbar et celles du secteur (2) dans une gamme de température de 200-220°C et de pression comprise entre 0.6 et 1.1 Kba. L’activité de la faille de Point-Vert a été datée par la méthode 40Ar/39Ar au Miocène inférieur (21 Ma). Ces failles sont interprétées comme associées aux premiers stades du soulèvement résultant de l’activité des chevauchements dans le socle sous-jacent.Deux types principaux de roches de failles caractérisent les failles étudiées. Les brèches dilatantes sont majoritaires dans les zones de failles du secteur (1) alors que les arkoses foliées sont majoritaires dans les zones de failles du secteur (2). Les brèches dilatantes témoignent de mécanismes de déformation dominés par la fracturation transgranulaire et la pression-solution des silicates. Ce dernier mécanisme se manifeste principalement par d’abondantes précipitations cycliques de quartz, les stylolites restant peu développés. Les géométries structurales sont associées à l’activation de plans T de Riedel déterminant l’ouverture de relais extensifs et un régime localement dilatant. Nous associons ce type de roche de faille à une faible pression effective au cours de la déformation.La déformation cisaillante exprimée dans les arkoses foliées témoigne de mécanismes de déformation dominés par (i) la fracturation intragranulaire et transgranulaire, (ii) la pressionsolution/ précipitation des silicates, principalement le quartz, (iii) la néoformation de micas blancs liée à l’altération des feldspaths et (iv) la précipitation de chlorite. Ce travail montre également que les transformations minéralogiques liées aux interactions fluide-roche dans la zone de faille (forte augmentation de la proportion des phyllosilicates au dépend des feldspaths) changent radicalementla composition minéralogique de la roche. Nous associons ce type de roche de faille à une forte pression effective au cours de la déformation.La pétrophysique montre que les brèches de failles (secteur 1) ont une perméabilité isotrope et équivalente à celle du protolithe (10-3mD sous 2 MPa de confinement) tandis que les roches foliées (secteur 2) montrent une augmentation de perméabilité (10-2mD) selon l’axe Y de la déformation, d’un ordre de grandeur supérieure aux perméabilités suivant les axes X et Z et dans la roche hôte (10-3mD). Ce drain préférentiel potentiel est associé à l’orientation des phyllosilicates dans la foliation.
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01310382

tel-01310382
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01310382
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01310382/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01310382/file/Th%C3%A8seCAVAILHES2012.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Association for the Advancement of Science
Résumé : 6 pages
International audience
Large impacts provide a mechanism for resurfacing planets through mixing near-surface rocks with deeper material. Central peaks are formed from the dynamic uplift of rocks during crater formation. As crater size increases, central peaks transition to peak rings. Without samples, debate surrounds the mechanics of peak-ring formation and their depth of origin. Chicxulub is the only known impact structure on Earth with an unequivocal peak ring, but it is buried and only accessible through drilling. Expedition 364 sampled the Chicxulub peak ring, which we found was formed from uplifted, fractured, shocked, felsic basement rocks. The peak-ring rocks are cross-cut by dikes and shear zones and have an unusually low density and seismic velocity. Large impacts therefore generate vertical fluxes and increase porosity in planetary crust.
ISSN: 0036-8075

hal-01399386
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01399386
PUBMED : 27856906
DOI : 10.1126/science.aah6561

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) : Elsevier
Résumé : Sediment cores acquired in 2004 off the Rhone prodelta show consistent anomalous methane concentrations of up to 87,440 ppm. Methane compositional and isotopic data support a biogenic origin, although there are a few sites that show strongly depleted delta C-13 values (-53%o PDB) suggesting a mixed source for the gas (biogenic and thermogenic). Anomalous methane concentrations (samples with more than 90 ppm) are discussed and integrated with organic carbon data, sedimentary rates and ADCP profiles. Highest gas concentrations were found directly off the river mouth (20-40 m water depth) and where the IFREMER models point to the thickest accumulation (> 2 m) in response to the Rhone flood event. In areas unaffected by the high flux of organic matter and rapid/thick flood deposition, or in between flood events, the conditions for methanogenesis and gas accumulation have not been met; in these areas, the physical and biological reworking of the surficial sediment may effectively oxidize and mineralize organic matter and limit bacterial methanogenesis in the sub-surface. We propose that in the Rhone prodelta flood deposits deliver significant amounts of terrigenous organic matter that can be rapidly buried, effectively removing this organic matter from aerobic oxidation and biological uptake and leading to the potential for methanogenesis with burial.
Marine Geology (0025-3227) (Elsevier), 2006-12 , Vol. 234 , N. 1-4 , P. 215-231

Droits : 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2006/publication-2396.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.margeo.2006.09.005
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/2396/

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
Improving the prediction of sub-seismic structures and their petrophysical properties is essential for realistic characterization of deformed sandstone reservoirs. In the present paper, we describe permeability contrasts induced by cataclastic deformation bands and faults in porous sandstones (766 data synthesized from field examples and the literature). We also discuss the influence of several factors, including tectonic regime, presence of a fault, burial depth, host sandstone porosity, and grain size and sorting for their initiation and permeability. This analysis confirms that permeability decrease is as a function of grain-crushing intensity in bands. Permeability reduction ranges from very limited in crush-microbreccia of compaction bands to high permeability reduction in cataclasites and ultracataclasites of shear-dominated bands, band clusters and faults. Tectonic regime, and especially normal-fault regime, with its tendency to localize strain and generate faults, is identified as the most important factor, leading to the formation of cataclastic bands with high permeability contrasts. Moreover, moderate burial depth (1–3 km) favors cataclastic bands with high permeability contrasts with respect to the host sandstone. High porosity, coarse-grain size and good grain sorting can slightly amplify the permeability reductions recorded in bands.
ISSN: 0191-8141

hal-01218408
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01218408
DOI : 10.1016/j.jsg.2015.03.013

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The brittle structures of a Hercynian granite (La Borne, French Massif Central) observed at several scales, from regional to microscopic, are presented and interpreted on mechanical terms. Emphasis is placed on strike slip faults, joints, and cracks related to incipient shear fracturing during horizontal compression. Three compressive tectonic phases have been identified according to their brittle structures and characterised by the burial depth at the time of their generation.The two first phases (H1, H2) are Hercynian and occurred while the granite was deeply buried (∼5 to 3 km depth) whereas the last phase (P) is Pyrenean and occurred at very low depth. The geometric organizations of cracks, joints and faults are clearly similar at various scales from about 10 μm to several m.These field observations are strong arguments for the occurrence of shear structures at microscopic to macroscopic scales during tectonic events. Following this inference, it is proposed that, at least in the case of Hercynian phases, cracks, joints and macroscopic strike slip faults have been generated by the same mechanical process under high overburden weight. Therefore, incipient fractures seem to be generated as shearing structures and to evolve by coalescence with neighbouring ones with the same direction.
ISSN: 0191-8141

hal-01115718
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01115718
DOI : 10.1016/j.jsg.2014.05.002

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : This study is designed to improve the understanding of structural, mechanical and petrophysical characteristics of deformation bands in porous sandstone such as their potential influence on fluid storage or migration in reservoir setting. Structural and petrophysical analysis of band networks from Provence show that permeability of band is mainly controlled by the degree of cataclasis and diagenetic processes at depth. Map-scale analysis of band networks underlines the major influence of tectonic regime on band distribution, organization and permeability. Band associated to normal-fault regime (cataclasis and low-permeability) are located around map-sclae-fault whereas band associated to thurst-fault regime (moderate cataclasis and permeability) are pervasively distributed in all the area. Reverse-sense band are cataclastic and low-permeabiilty around the Roquemaure thrust, which show the potential role of large-scale fault on structural and petrophysical characteristics of bands. This analysis also shows the influence of fault propagation on formation of low permeability catacastic bands. This analysis suggests also granulometry as factor controlling organization of band networks.A mechanical analysis of deformation bands is realized based on results from Provence. Yield envelopes of these materials are calculated from analytical solution. Triaxial tests done on sandstone (L'Etang quarry, Orange) confirm the shape of yield envelope theoretically calculated. Triaxial tests done on the poorly-lithified sands (Boncavaï quarry, Uchaux) show grain size, sorting and packing influencing yield envelope and cataclastic band localization at shallow burial depth. Stress paths are calculated for burial and tectonic event (extension and contraction) using the relationship between main stress and secondary stresses (K0) calibrated from well data. These different results are integrated into a model which allows to estimate type and structural characteristics of bands susceptible to form for a known geological setting.A structural, mechanical and petrophysical model is established form these results. This model is calibrated by permeability data from deformation bands of Provence and results from the mechanical model of strain localization. This model is also confronted to a synthesis of permeability data from literature, which confirms the influence of the different controlling parameters integrated to the model. This model is applied for two sites of uranium exploration/exploitation in porous sandstone reservoirs and validated by field observations.
Cette étude est destinée à améliorer la compréhension des caractéristiques structurales, pétrophysiques et mécaniques des bandes de déformation dans les grès poreux ainsi que de leur rôle potentiel sur la migration ou le piégeage des fluides en milieu réservoir. L'analyse structurale et pétrophysique des réseaux de bandes de Provence montre que leur perméabilité découle principalement de l'intensité de la cataclase dans leur microstructure et des processus diagénétiques qui peuvent s'y localiser avec la profondeur. L'analyse régionale de ces réseaux de bandes souligne l'influence majeure du régime tectonique sur leur distribution, leur organisation et leur perméabilité. Les bandes associées au régime normal (cataclactiques et peu perméables) sont localisées autour des failles cartographiques, tandis que les bandes associées au régime inverse (modérement cataclastiques et perméables) sont distribuées dans toute la région. Les bandes inverses sont fortement cataclastiques et imperméables uniquement autour du chevauchement de Roquemaure ce qui montre le rôle potentiel de la présence de grande faille sur les caractéristiques structurales et pétrophysiques de ces bandes. D'autre part, cette analyse suggère que la granulométrie de l'encaissant peut influencer l'initiation et l'organisation des réseaux. L'analyse mécanique des bandes de déformation a ensuite été réalisée à partir des résultats obtenus en Provence. L'enveloppe de plasticité de ces matériaux est calculée à l'aide d'une solution analytique. Les essais triaxiaux menés sur le grès de la carrière de l'Etang (orange) confirment la forme de ces enveloppes estimées théoriquement. Les essais réalisés sur les sables de Boncavaï (Uchaux) montrent que la taille des grains, le tri et de la compaction dans ces matériaux peu lithifiés influent sur leurs enveloppes de plasticité et la localisation des bandes cataclastiques à faibles profondeurs. Les trajets de contraintes sont estimés pour les phases d'enfouissement et de chargement tectonique (extension et compression) à partir de la relation entre contrainte principale et contraintes secondaires (K0), calibrée à partir de données de forage. Ces résultats sont intégrés à un modèle permettant d'estimer la nature et les caractéristiques structurales des bandes susceptibles de se former dans un contexte géologique donné. Un modèle structural, mécanique et pétrophysique a été établir à partir de ces différents résultats. Ce modèle est calibré à partir des données de perméabilité mesurées sur les bandes de Provence et des résultats du modèle mécanique de localisation cité précédemment. Ce modèle a ensuite été confronté à une synthèse des données de perméabilité disponibles dans la littérature et confirme l'influence des différents paramètres de contrôle pris en compte dans le modèle. Ce modèle a enfin pu être appliqué sur deux sites d'explorations/exploitations d'uranium en réservoir gréseux poreux et validé par les résultats obtenus, en concordance avec les observations de terrain.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01001389

NNT : 2013MON20067
tel-01001389
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01001389
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01001389/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01001389/file/36072_BALLAS_2013_archivage-1_cor.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
Propagation energies for five examples of deformation bands in porous sandstones from four field sites in Nevada, Utah, and France were calculated by using the J-integral approach. Pure compaction bands that accommodate primarily closing displacements from the Valley of Fire (Nevada) site have a closing-mode band propagation energy of J I = 5.5 ± 1.6 kJ/m2. Shear-enhanced compaction bands having subequal amounts of normal (closing) and shear strains across them from the same site have propagation energies of J I = 6.11 ± 1.8 kJ/m2 and J II = 1.52 ± 0.5 kJ/m2 for closing and shearing modes respectively. Closing- and shearing-mode band propagation energies for shear-enhanced compaction bands from the Buckskin Gulch (Utah) site, 5.63 ± 1.7 and 1.91 ± 0.57 kJ/m2 and the Uchaux (France) site, 11.0 ± 3.3 and 2.35 ± 0.7 kJ/m2 respectively are comparable to the values for similar structures from the Valley of Fire site. Cataclastic deformation bands at the Orange (France) site accommodate significantly larger values of shear offset than do shear-enhanced compaction bands, with a ratio of shear to closing offset that exceeds 7. The calculated closing- and shearing-mode propagation energies for these shear bands, 17.8 ± 5.4 and 3.3 ± 1.0 kJ/m2 respectively are comparable to those for pure or shear-enhanced compaction bands deformed at approximately the same depth of burial. Strain softening of cataclastic compactional shear bands implies unstable shearing, whereas stable and perhaps strain-hardening shearing may be inferred for shear-enhanced compaction bands. Displacement-length scaling relations for shear-enhanced compaction bands of the form D∝L are consistent with the results and with suggestions of band thickening during growth obtained from bifurcation analyses and with field observations of shear zones in porous host rock.
ISSN: 0376-9429

hal-00750341
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00750341
DOI : 10.1007/s10704-012-9730-2

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The analysis of three cataclastic band sets from Provence (France) reveals that the band density, their conjugate angles, their ratio of shear displacement to compaction, and the amount of cataclasis within the bands differ and can be expressed as functions of tectonic setting and petrophysical properties. We identify (1) a dense and closely spaced network of shear-enhanced (reverse) compaction bands; (2) a regularly spaced less dense network of reverse compactional shear bands; and (3) a localized network of normal shear bands. The field data show that strain localization is favored in an extensional regime and is characterized by shear bands with a large shear to compaction ratio and a small conjugate band angle. In contrast, distributed strain is favored in a contractional regime and is characterized by compactional bands with a low ratio of shear to compaction and a large conjugate band angle. To explain the mechanical origin of this strain localization, we quantify the yield strength and the stress evolution in extensional and contractional regimes in a frictional porous granular material. We propose a model of strain localization in porous sands as a function of tectonic stresses, burial depth, material properties, strain hardening and fluid pressure. Our model suggests that stress reduction, inherent to extensional regime, favors strain localization as shear bands, whereas stress increase during contraction favors development of compactional bands.
ISSN: 0191-8141

hal-00856921
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00856921
DOI : 10.1016/j.jsg.2012.11.011

Éditeur(s) : Geological Society of America
Résumé : A seismic-refraction study of the sedimentary structure of the South West African continental shelf was carried out between lat 17°S and 24°S using expendable sonobuoys. Striking differences exist both in the topography and sedimentary structure between the shelf north and south of the Walvis Ridge. South of the ridge, as far as lat 23°S, the shelf consists of a prograded series, whereas north of the ridge, at least as far as lat 17°S, east-trending canyons cut the shelf sedimentary cover. The steep northem scarp of Walvis Ridge can be traced eastward under the sediment of the continental margin. The southern flank of the ridge is buried under a thicker sedimentary cover and could only be traced eastward to long. 10°E on seismic-reflection records. This flank probably parallels the northern scarp under the continental margin. Two-dimensional structural models, built with the help of seismic-retlection and seismic-refraction results and based on the hypothesis of local isostatic equilibrium, account for the obsewed gravity profiles. A compensating root consists of light material (density 2.95 g/cm3) and reaches a depth of about 25 km. Gravity results also suggest that the Walvis Ridge does not constitute a superimposed load on the lithosphere; rather, the ridge and its underlying compensating mass were created at approximately the same time as the adjacent ocean basins. The creation of the two aseismic ridges of the South Atlantic - the Rio Grande Rise and Walvis Ridge - by a mantle hot spot and plume is accepted; this theory seems to explain most of the peculiar features of the Walvis Ridge. However, it is probable that the surface expression of the mantle hot spot was controlled by the presence of weak zones in the lithosphere such as transform faults. [NOT CONTROLLED OCR]
Geological Society of America Bulletin (Geological Society of America), 1975 , Vol. 86 , P. 1713-1724

Droits : Geological Society of America
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/1975/publication-4978.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/4978/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
The chemical and isotopic compositions of clay minerals such as illite and chlorite are commonly used to quantify diagenetic and low-grade metamorphic conditions, an approach that is also used in the present study of the Monte Perdido thrust fault from the South Pyrenean fold-and-thrust belt. The Monte Perdido thrust fault is a shallow thrust juxtaposing upper Cretaceous-Paleocene platform carbonates and Lower Eocene marls and turbidites from the Jaca basin. The core zone of the fault, about 6 m thick, consists of intensely deformed clay-bearing rocks bounded by major shear surfaces. Illite and chlorite are the main hydrous minerals in the fault zone. Illite is oriented along cleavage planes while chlorite formed along shear veins (<50 μm in thickness). Authigenic chlorite provides essential information about the origin of fluids and their temperature. δ18O and δD values of newly formed chlorite support equilibration with sedimentary interstitial water, directly derived from the local hanging wall and footwall during deformation. Given the absence of large-scale fluid flow, the mineralization observed in the thrust faults records the P-T conditions of thrust activity. Temperatures of chlorite formation of about 240°C are obtained via two independent methods: chlorite compositional thermometers and oxygen isotope fractionation between cogenetic chlorite and quartz. Burial depth conditions of 7 km are determined for the Monte Perdido thrust reactivation, coupling calculated temperature and fluid inclusion isochores. The present study demonstrates that both isotopic and thermodynamic methods applied to clay minerals formed in thrust fault are useful to help constrain diagenetic and low-grade metamorphic conditions.
ISSN: 0010-7999

hal-00757736
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00757736
DOI : 10.1007/s00410-011-0718-0

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Résumé : International audience
We use digital elevation models and satellite imagery data completed with field observations to develop an integrated morphotectonic analysis of the anomalous topography of the Central Cordillera of Patagonia between 46 degrees S and 48 degrees S, in a region overlying subducted segments of the Chile Spreading Ridge. This region shows a number of peculiar features, not expected in a normal subduction-related belt located away from a buried spreading center. First, it is characterized by overall short-wavelength topography and highly contrasted reliefs, typical of deeply incised young mountain belts, but surprisingly, also by an average very low elevation of similar to 900 m. Second, the Cordillera lacks central high reliefs; instead, there is a central, depressed domain with average low slope gradients including the deepest point of the study area (300 m below sea level in the bottom of Lake General Carrera/Buenos Aires). This depressed area is flanked by western and eastern regions of higher elevation having opposite general slope dips. To the east, the central Patagonian Cordillera is now separated from the flat plains of the Pampean domain (representing its former piedmont) and several elevated basaltic plateaus (mesetas) by 160 degrees N-180 degrees N trending morphotectonic corridors and the western border scarps of the mesetas. These scarps correspond to neotectonic features controlled by recent vertical faults, mostly active after 3 Ma. Remnants of a former peneplain, the Avellanos surface, are widespread within the entire Cordilleran region. From geological evidence, this peneplain formed between 15 and 4 Ma and was connected originally with the mesetas domain and now is dissected by these corridors. It is shown that a negative inversion related to extensional and strike-slip faulting occurred in the frontal region of the Cordillera at 3 Ma synchronously with the emplacement of magmatic products. Timing of the extensional deformation in central Patagonia is concomitant with the migration at depth of different segments of the South Chile Ridge, which entered the trench at 6 and 3 Ma, respectively, and the consequent opening of a slab window allows asthenospheric hot mantle to reach lithospheric regions. Finally, migration of segments of the Chile Spreading Ridge since 6 Ma triggered regional uplift of the Cordillera followed by limited extension in relation with increased thermal weakening of the crust.
ISSN: 0278-7407

hal-00486334
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00486334
DOI : 10.1029/2009TC002453