Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Association of Petroleum Geologists
Résumé : International audience
We describe the structure, microstructure, and petrophysical properties of fault rocks from two normal fault zones formed in low-porosity turbiditic arkosic sandstones, in deep diagenesis conditions similar to those of deeply buried reservoirs. These fault rocks are characterized by a foliated fabric and quartz-calcite sealed veins, which formation resulted from the combination of the (1) pressure solution of quartz, (2) intense fracturing sealed by quartz and calcite cements, and (3) neoformation of synkinematic white micas derived from the alteration of feldspars and chlorite. Fluid inclusion microthermometry in quartz and calcite cements demonstrates fault activity at temperatures of 195degC to 268degC. Permeability measurements on plugs oriented parallel with the principal axes of the finite strain ellipsoid show that the Y axis (parallel with the foliation and veins) is the direction of highest permeability in the foliated sandstone (10-2 md for Y against 10-3 md for X, Z, and the protolith, measured at a confining pressure of 20 bars). Microstructural observations document the localization of the preferential fluid path between the phyllosilicate particles forming the foliation. Hence, the direction of highest permeability in these fault rocks would be parallel with the fault and subhorizontal, that is, perpendicular to the slickenlines representing the local slip direction on the fault surface. We suggest that a similar relationship between kinematic markers and fault rock permeability anisotropy may be found in other fault zone types (reverse or strike-slip) affecting feldspar-rich lithologies in deep diagenesis conditions.
ISSN: 0149-1423

hal-00903428
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00903428
DOI : 10.1306/03071312127

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Société Géologique de France
Résumé : Based on a High-Resolution 3D seismic block acquired in the Gulf of Lion in 2004–2005 we investigated fluid pipes and pockmarks on the top of the interfluve between the Hérault canyon and the Bourcart canyon both created by turbidity currents and gravity flows from the shelf to the deep basin in the north-western Mediterranean Sea. Combining the geometry of the potential fluid pipes with the induced deformation of surrounding sediments leads then to the ability to differentiate between potential fluid sources (root vs source) and to better estimate the triggering mechanisms (allochtonous vs. autochtonous cause). We linked together a set of derived attributes, such as Chaos and RMS amplitude, to a 3D description of pipes along which fluids may migrate. As previously shown in other basins, the induced deformation, creating cone in cone or V-shaped structures, may develop in response to the fluid pipe propagation in unconsolidated sediments in the near surface. The level at the top of a cone structure is diachronous. It means that stratigraphic levels over this surface are deformed at the end of the migration. They collapse forming a depression called a pockmark. These pipes are the result of repeated cycles of fluid expulsion that might be correlated with rapid sea-level rise instead of sediment loading. The most recent event (MIS 2.2 stage) has led to the formation of a pockmark on the modern seafloor. It has been used as a reference for calculating the effect of a rapid sea-level rise on fluid expulsion. As all physical and geometrical parameters are constrained, we were able to define that a + 34 m of sea level rise may account for triggering fluid expulsion from a very shallow silty-sandy layer at 9 m below seafloor since the last glacial stage. This value is consistent with a sea level rise of about 102 m during this period. This study shows that the episodic nature of fluid release resulted from hydromechanical processes during sea-level rise due to the interactivity between high pressure regimes and principal in situ stresses.
ISSN: 0037-9409

hal-01667241
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01667241
DOI : 10.1051/bsgf/2017190

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
A large sand injectite network is very well exposed in the area of Bevons, Southeast France. The associated sandstone turbiditic channel–fill and the host marls are the Aptian–Albian rocks of the Vocontian Basin. The sand injection network is composed of dykes, sills and sedimentary laccoliths ranging in thickness from mm to pluri–m. The dykes and sills have vertical and horizontal lengths of up to and over 100 m and 1 km, respectively. Outcrop observations show that the architecture and morphology of the sand injectites in the marls is governed by the local stress field during injection, pre–existing faults, the host–rock lithology, compaction, and distance to the potential sand source(s). The main set of dykes is oriented N50–60° perpendicular to the minimum compressive stress σ3 during sand injection. Two other sets of dykes are intruded along pre–existing syn–sedimentary faults oriented N140–150° (set 2) and N90° (set 3) during the Apto–Cenomanian interval. Sills and dykes thin laterally away from their potential sand sources and thin laterally away from them. The vertical thickness variations of the dykes and wings are more complex, as thinning away from the sand sources is often compensated by thickening toward the palaeo–surface. Based on field observations and measurements, we characterized the 3D architecture of the sand injectites and showed that the injectites probably formed due to a forceful injection from an overpressured sand body sealed by low–permeability lithologies.
ISSN: 0191-8141

hal-01243488
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01243488
DOI : 10.1016/j.jsg.2015.07.001

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : The Restefond fault, located in the Late Eocene-Early Oligocene Alpine foreland basin, affects the well lithified and low porosity Grès d'Annot. The fault core zone is characterized by the occurrence of highly deformed sandstone lenses. Deformation inside the lenses corresponds to mm to sub-mm-spaced cleavage planes rich in phyllosilicates and up to cm-thick and dm-long quartz-calcite pure extensional veins. The cleavages are mostly composed of newly-formed synkinematic white mica and chlorite. By using thermodynamic thermometers based on the chemical composition of chlorite, a temperature of 200 ± 20 °C of fault activity was computed. This temperature shows that the Restefond fault was active at burial conditions comprised between 6.5 and 8 km, assuming a mean geothermal gradient between 25 and 30 °Ckm−1. The petrophysic properties of sandstones from the core zone and in the hanging and foot wall of the fault were determined on drilled plugs following three spacial directions. The permeability of the highly deformed sandstone from the core zone is about one order of magnitude higher than in the host rock. This increase in permeability occurs in the direction parallel to the S-C structures and is explained by the occurrence of well-connected micropores localized between platy phyllosilicates. This study shows that the fault petrophysic properties are mostly controlled by the precipitation of synkinematic phyllosilicates under deep burial conditions.
Swiss Journal of Geosciences

hal-00795551
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00795551
DOI : 10.1007/s00015-012-0099-z

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
European Clay Conference
Antalya, Turkey

hal-00671156
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00671156

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley-Blackwell
Résumé : This study describes normal fault zones formed in foreland arkosic turbidites (the Grès d'Annot Formation, SW French Alps) under deep diagenesis conditions (~200 °C) and highlights the occurrence of two markedly different fault-rock types: (1) the foliated fault rocks of the Moutière-Restefond area; and (2) the dilatant fault rocks of the Estrop area. The deformation of (1) is dominated by intra- and transgranular fracturing, pressure solution of quartz and feldspar grains and syn-kinematic phyllosilicate precipitation resulting from feldspar alteration. The combination of these mechanisms results in a strongly anisotropic strain with intense shortening normal to the foliation (pressure solution) and extension parallel to the foliation (quartz- and calcite-sealed extension veins). This deformation implies local mass transfer that may be achieved without (or with limited) volume change. The deformation of (2) is expressed as dilatant quartz-sealed veins and breccia textures in which the main mechanisms are transgranular fracturing and quartz precipitation. Type (2) implies fault volume increase, isotropy of deformation and mass transfer at distances larger than in type (1). This study discusses the origins of (1) and (2) and shows that the permeability of (1) is anisotropic, with higher values than the host rocks parallel to the Y main deformation axis (i.e. perpendicular to the slip vector), whereas the permeability of (2) is isotropic and equivalent to that of the host rocks.
ISSN: 0954-4879

hal-01115177
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01115177
DOI : 10.1111/ter.12100

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Mineralogical Society
Résumé : The diagenetic evolution of the magnetic minerals during burial in sedimentary basins has been recently proposed. In this study, we provide new data from the Grès d’Annot basin, SE France. We analyze fine-grained clastic rocks that suffered a burial temperature from ~60 to >250 °C, i.e., covering oil and gas windows. Low temperature magnetic measurements (10–300 K), coupled with vitrinite reflectance data, aim at defining the magnetic mineral evolution through the burial history. Magnetite is documented throughout the entire studied transect. Goethite, probably occurring as nanoparticles, is found for a burial temperature <80 °C. Micron-sized pyrrhotite is highlighted for a burial temperature >200 °C below the Alpine nappes and the Penninic Front. A model of the evolution of the magnetic assemblage from 60 to >250 °C is proposed for clastic rocks, containing iron sulfides (pyrite) and organic matter. This work provides the grounds for a better understanding of the magnetic properties of petroleum plays.
ISSN: 0009-8558

hal-01122812
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01122812
DOI : 10.3390/min4030667

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Association of Petroleum Geologists
Résumé : International audience
Determination of the membrane seal capacity of deformation bands is critical for managing geologic reservoirs in porous sandstones. In this study, we have analyzed a cataclastic shear-band network developed in uncemented porous sandstone in Provence, France. Geometrical analyses of the bands show significant differences between three types of bands (single strand, multistrand, and band cluster), sorted by their number of strands, their amount of shear displacement, and their thicknesses. At the microscopic scale, the image-analysis porosities and the grain-size distributions allow definition of three different types of microstructural deformation: damage zone, protocataclastic, and cataclastic. Whereas damage zone and protocataclastic deformations are observed in each type of band, cataclastic strands are observed in clusters and, sometimes, in multistrands. Cataclastic strands are characterized by a porosity reduction of 10 to 25% and a permeability reduction of three to five orders of magnitude compared to the host rock. Field observations of iron hydroxide precipitations around the bands suggest that cataclastic strands were membrane seals to water flow under vadose condition. This study therefore highlights the importance of the degree of cataclasis in shear bands as membrane seals to subsurface fluid flows in sandstone reservoirs.
ISSN: 0149-1423

hal-00766557
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00766557
DOI : 10.1306/04051211097

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
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 Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Fault affecting silicoclastic sediments are commonly enriched in clay minerals. Clays are sensitive to fluid–rock interactions and deformation mechanisms; in this paper, they are used as proxy for fault activity and behavior. The present study focuses on clay mineral assemblages from the Point Vert normal fault zone located in the Annot sandstones, a Priabonian-Rupelian turbidite succession of the Alpine foredeep in SE France. In this area, the Annot sandstones were buried around 6–8 km below the front of Alpine nappes soon after their deposition and exhumed during the middle-late Miocene. The fault affects arkosic sandstone beds alternating with pelitic layers, and displays throw of about thirty meters. The fault core zone comprises intensely foliated sandstones bounding a corridor of gouge about 20 cm thick. The foliated sandstones display clay concentration along S–C structures characterized by dissolution of K-feldspar and their replacement by mica, associated with quartz pressure solution, intense microfracturation and quartz vein precipitation. The gouge is formed by a clayey matrix containing fragments of foliated sandstones and pelites. However, a detailed petrographical investigation suggests complex polyphase deformation processes. Optical and SEM observations show that the clay minerals fraction of all studied rocks (pelites and sandstones from the damage and core zones of the fault) is dominated by white micas and chlorite. These minerals have two different origins: detrital and newly-formed. Detrital micas are identified by their larger shape and their chemical composition with a lower Fe–Mg content than the newly-formed white micas. In the foliated sandstones, newly-formed white micas are concentrated along S–C structures or replace K-feldspar. Both types of newly formed micas display the same chemical composition confirmed microstructural observations suggesting that they formed in the same conditions. They have the following structural formulas: Na0.05 K0.86 (Al 1.77 Fe0.08 Mg0.15) (Si3.22 Al0.78) O10 (OH)2. They are enriched in Fe and Mg compared to the detrital micas. Newly-formed chlorites are associated with micas along the shear planes. According to microprobe analyses, they present the following structural formula: (Al1,48 Fe2,50 Mg1,84) (Si2,82 Al1,18) O10 (OH)8. All these data suggest that these clay minerals are synkinematic and registered the fault activity. In the gouge samples, illite and chlorite are the major clay minerals; smectite is locally present in some samples.In the foliated sandstones, Kubler Index (KI) ((001) XRD peak width at half height) data and thermodynamic calculations from synkinematic chlorite chemistry suggest that the main fault deformation occurred under temperatures around 220 °C (diagenesis to anchizone boundary). KI measured on pelites and sandstones from the hanging and footwall, display similar values coherent with the maximal burial temperature of the Annot sandstones in this area. The gouge samples have a higher KI index, which could be explained by a reactivation of the fault at lower temperatures during the exhumation of the Annot sandstones formation
ISSN: 0191-8141

hal-01172423
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01172423
DOI : 10.1016/j.jsg.2015.03.012