Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Transmission electron microscopy observations on olivine crystals deformed at moderate (≤1273 K) temperature evidenced dislocations interactions explaining the hardening observed in the experiments, but also recovery mechanisms by the absorption or emission of point defects. Thus we investigate the possibility that, at geological strain-rates, these recovery processes allow steady-state deformation by dislocation creep at low to moderate temperatures in the lithospheric mantle. We test this hypothesis using a 2.5-D dislocation dynamics (DD) model, which combines dislocation glide and recovery by climb. This model shows that diffusion-controlled recovery processes allow for steady-state deformation by dislocation creep in the lithospheric mantle at stresses <500 MPa. For stresses of 50–200 MPa, steady-state strain-rates of 10−15 s−110−15 s−1 may be attained at temperatures as low as 900 K. Fitting of the DD model produces a flow law, which represents a lower bound for the lithospheric mantle strength, since the models describe the deformation of an olivine single crystal in an easy slip orientation. Comparison of strain-rates and Moho temperatures inferred for different geodynamic environments and the predictions of this model-based flow law implies, nevertheless, that, except in incipient rifts, most of the observed deformation may be produced by stress levels ≤200 MPa, consistent with those inferred to be produced by convection. This convergence suggests that the present models, which explicitly calculate the time-dependent dislocation dynamics, may provide a correct first order estimate of the mechanical behaviour of the lithospheric mantle, which cannot be derived directly from any existing data.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-01277178
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01277178
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01277178/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01277178/file/Boioli.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2015.10.012

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
This study presents microstructural evidence for deformation-controlled melt organization and for changes in olivine deformation associated with the presence of melt in an 80 m vertical section of the crust-mantle transition zone in the Oman ophiolite. This zone represents an 'end member' case for analyzing feedbacks between deformation and melt distribution in the upper mantle, since it experienced strong shear strains in presence of large melt fractions. It is characterized by a subhorizontal compositional layering at the mm to meter scale, from weakly impregnated dunites to olivine-rich gabbros, which parallels a pervasive foliation containing a strong stretching lineation. The parallelism between the compositional layering and the foliation, the diffuse limits of the layers, the alignment of elongated plagioclase-rich aggregates devoid of internal deformation structures with the elongation of olivine crystals in the dunitic layers, and the sharp compositional changes across some, but not all layer limits suggest deformation plays an essential role on the development of the layering. The variation on a mm-scale of the olivine crystal preferred orientation (CPO) symmetry as a function of the modal content: from axial-[100] symmetry in layers with <70% modal olivine to axial-[010] in more gabbroic levels (<40% olivine), which is repeated over the entire section, implies deformation in presence of variable melt fractions. Axial-[100] olivine CPO in olivine-rich layers is consistent with deformation by dislocation creep under high temperature, low pressure, dry conditions. Axial-[010] olivine CPO patterns imply additional sliding along preferentially wetted (010) grain boundaries, increase in the activity of [001] glide, or transpression localized in the melt-rich layers. Since the change in CPO symmetry is not accompanied by dispersion, instantaneous melt fractions must have remained <30-40% in all layers. The continuous variation in olivine CPO symmetry with decreasing olivine content implies therefore that the former depends on the cumulated strain in presence of melt rather than on the instantaneous melt fraction.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-00795508
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00795508
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2012.10.003

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
TEM Study of Heavitree quartzite deformed at high temperatures and a pressure of 1.5 GPa with three different preparations: water-added, vacuum dried, and sodium doped show a wide range of dislocation microstructure. The vacuum dried sample has a very heterogeneous dislocation distribution varying from almost no dislocations to very high densities. Dislocation nucleation occurs by cross-slip mechanisms, such as Frank-Read sources and Orowan loops around hard inclusions. Shear bands develop in the basal plane composed of two closely spaced shear planes. Dislocations have straight segments and they are aligned along directions of dense packing, suggesting strong Peierls stress control due to the crystal structure. No voids, bubbles or dislocation walls where observed in the vacuum dried sample. The sodium-doped sample had a homogeneous high dislocation density. The water-added sample has a significantly lower, relatively uniform dislocation density. Bubbles associated with dislocations are seen in every grain. Dislocations were either present in loops around bubbles or as straight dislocations with small bubbles spaced along the dislocation line. Some of the long straight dislocations are aligned parallel to the c-axis. Sub-grains where very frequent, sometimes form cells of about 2 p,m in diameter with straight edges. Analysis of dislocations show 1/3 < a > and [c] dislocations in sub-grain walls and free 1/3 < a > dislocations on prism planes. There is clear evidence for dislocation climb with sub-grain walls, dislocation cells, dislocation junctions and dislocation debris of small loops. The major difference between vacuum dried and water-added samples are the homogeneity of the microstructure and evidence for climb in the water-added sample. Glide is clearly difficult, with a high Peierls stress in the vacuum dried sample as shown by areas of very low and very high dislocation density and the crystallographic control of dislocation line direction. The sodium-doped sample indicates that nucleation was easy by the high homogenous dislocation density, but no climb recovery has taken place. The density is high and the dislocations are strongly interacting causing tangles; no evidence for crystallographic control can be observed at these levels of strain. The activation energy for creep in Heavitree quartzite decreases with inferred water content of the specimens form 185 kJ mol(-1) for vacuum dried to 151 for 0.4 wt% water-added samples. Analysis of diffusion data for oxygen under hydrothermal conditions and inferred diffusion data for the hydrogarnet defect and dislocation velocity suggests activation energies for these processes are similar to the activation energy for the dislocation creep of Heavitree quartzite and other quartz aggregates. For data from the previously published experiments with the highest stress resolution there is a correlation between the A pre-factor in the power law creep equation and the activation energy for creep. It is speculated that the correlation may be due to variable hydrogarnet defect concentrations.
ISSN: 0031-9201

hal-00413112
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00413112
DOI : 10.1016/j.pepi.2008.07.009

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
We performed torsional deformation experiments on pre-hydrated fine-grained olivine aggregates using an innovative experimental assembly to investigate water weakening in mantle rocks at high shear strains. San Carlos olivine powder was cold-pressed and then hot-pressed under hydrous conditions, producing aggregates with average grain sizes of 7 or 15 μm. Deformation experiments were performed in a high-resolution gas-medium apparatus equipped with a torsional actuator, under a confining pressure of 300 MPa, a temperature of 1200 °C, and constant shear strain rates ranging from 8 × 10−5 to 1.4 × 10−4 s−1. Maximum shear stresses range from 150 to 195 MPa. These values are 30% lower relative to those determined in previous torsion experiments on dry, fined-grained dunites under similar conditions. Textures and microstructures of the starting and deformed specimens were characterized by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. All deformed aggregates exhibit a shape-preferred orientation marking a foliation and lineation, as well as a reduction in mean grain size from 15 μm down to 3-4 μm due to dynamic recrystallization. Olivine crystallographic fabrics developed rapidly (γ < 0.1), but their strength, characterized by the J-index, is low compared to naturally deformed peridotites or to polycrystalline olivine deformed at similar finite shear strains under dry conditions. The crystallographic fabrics are consistent with deformation by a dislocation accommodated creep mechanism with activation of multiple {0 k l}[1 0 0] systems, among which the (0 1 0)[1 0 0] slip system is dominant, and minor participation of the (0 1 0)[0 0 1] slip system. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed the occurrence of dislocations with [1 0 0] and [0 0 1] Burgers vectors in most grains. Analysis of unpolarized infrared spectra indicates that hydrogen concentration in the olivine lattice is below the saturation level of 18 ppm wt H2O, which is similar to those typically observed in spinel-bearing peridotite xenoliths, and also provide evidence for water-rich inter-granular material trapped in pores and grain boundaries. Seismic properties computed from the CPO observations correspond to those most commonly observed in naturally deformed mantle peridotites with fast P-wave propagation and S-wave polarization subparallel to the shear direction. These torsion experiments on fine-grained olivine polycrystals under hydrous conditions indicate that water weakening under lithospheric conditions is linked to various defects with hydrogen in the olivine structure, as well as with water-derived species in grain boundaries or pores.
ISSN: 0031-9201

hal-00745170
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00745170
DOI : 10.1016/j.pepi.2012.05.001

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD AGU and the Geochemical Society
Résumé : International audience
The association of experimental data showing that the plastic deformation of olivine, the main constituent of the upper mantle, is highly anisotropic and the ubiquitous seismic anisotropy in the upper mantle, which indicates that olivine crystals show coherent orientations over scales of tens to hundreds of kilometers, implies that the long-term deformation in the upper mantle is anisotropic. We propose a multiscale approach, based on a combination of finite element and homogenization techniques, to model the deformation of a lithospheric plate while fully considering the mechanical anisotropy stemming from a strain-induced orientation of olivine crystals in the mantle. This multiscale model explicitly takes into account the evolution of crystal preferred orientations (CPO) of olivine and of the mechanical anisotropy during the deformation. We performed a series of numerical experiments simulating the uniaxial extension of a homogeneous (100% olivine) but anisotropic plate to test the role of the olivine CPO on the plate mechanical behavior and the link between CPO and mechanical anisotropy evolution. Even for this simple solicitation, different orientations and intensity of the initial olivine CPO result in variable plate strengths and deformation regimes. A plate with an initial CPO where the olivine [100] and [010] axes are concentrated at 45 degrees to the extension direction has high resolved shear stresses on the easy (010)[100] and (001)[100] slip systems of olivine. This results in low strength and in deformation by transtension. Plates with an initial CPO where the maximum of [100] axes is parallel or normal to the extension direction show a high initial strength. Isotropic plates have an intermediate behavior. The progressive rotation of olivine [100] axes toward the imposed stretching direction results in hardening in all models, except in those characterized by an initial concentration of olivine [100] axes normal to the imposed extension, in which softening is followed by hardening.
ISSN: 1525-2027

hal-00420063
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00420063
DOI : 10.1029/2009GC002423

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
The mantle above a subducting slab is the site of complex interactions between deformation, partial melting, fluid migration and magma transport. To constrain these interactions and their effects on olivine deformation, we analyze microstructures, crystal preferred orientations, and water contents of peridotite xenoliths entrained by andesites of the Avacha volcano, southern Kamchatka arc. These xenoliths are refractory spinel harzburgites that have coarse-grained microstructures with widely spaced subgrain boundaries and sinuous grain boundaries in olivine, consistent with deformation by dislocation creep under low deviatoric stress (< 13 MPa) and with a significant contribution from diffusional processes. Analysis of crystal preferred orientations (CPO) indicates dominant activation of high-temperature, low-stress {0kl}[100] slip systems in olivine and of(100)[001] in orthopyroxene. In most samples, coarse opx crystals, elongated parallel to the lineation, enclose small olivine grains in crystallographic continuity with neighbouring crystals, indicating crystallization of orthopyroxene at the expense of olivine as a result of reactive percolation of Si-rich fluids coeval with the high-temperature deformation. Secondary crystallization of interstitial orthopyroxene led locally to development of opx-rich lenses parallel to the foliation, characterized by a decrease in olivine grain size and dispersion of the olivine CPO without changing the dominant slip systems. Half of the samples also show acicular orthopyroxene aggregates with which is associated a fine-grained matrix composed of rounded strain-free olivine, orthopyroxene, spinel, and rare amphibole crystals. This matrix occurs pervasively along grain boundaries or forms millimeter-scale irregular lenses and anastomosing veinlets that crosscut the coarse crystals and their ductile deformation structures. Both acicular orthopyroxene and the fine-grained matrix are interpreted as resulting from reactive transport of H2O-rich fluids under static conditions, probably in the lithospheric mantle. Infrared analyses show that olivine contains 1-8 center dot 6 ppm by weight of water. These low water contents are similar to those observed in spinel peridotites from other subduction zones and probably record both the low solubility of water in olivine at low pressure and dehydration during exhumation of the xenoliths. Water contents in orthopyroxene are highly variable (25-506 ppm H2O), probably recording spatially heterogeneous interaction with fluids or melts and compositional disequilibrium in the studied samples. Change in the dominant percolation mechanism from porous flow to fracturing suggests cooling, consistent with the low temperatures estimated from pyroxene thermometry (< 800-900 degrees C). The Avacha xenoliths therefore record pervasive deformation of a region of the mantle under asthenospheric conditions, followed by its accretion to the base of the lithosphere, probably as a result of cooling of the mantle wedge. Percolation of Si-rich fluids or hydrous melts is recorded at all stages; this probably enhanced diffusion and lowered deviatoric stresses during ductile deformation, but did not change the dominant slip direction in olivine from [100] to [001].
ISSN: 0022-3530

hal-00456053
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00456053
DOI : 10.1093/petrology/egp085

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

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

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union
Résumé : International audience
Rheological properties of mantle minerals and rocks at temperatures (T) appropriate to much of Earth's lithosphere have remained poorly constrained, even though past experimental studies on olivine single crystals and polycrystalline aggregates have quantified the high-temperature creep mechanisms (T > 1200 degrees C). Consequently, we have performed deformation experiments on crystals of San Carlos olivine at lower temperatures, from 900 degrees to 1200 degrees C, in triaxial compression along the [101](c) direction. The experiments were carried out at a confining pressure of 300 MPa in a high-resolution gas-medium mechanical testing apparatus at differential stresses of 100 to 500 MPa. Several samples were deformed at constant displacement rate and others at constant load, in order to provide insight into possible effects of work-hardening. Under the deformation conditions investigated, little evidence of work-hardening was observed. The data follow a power-law dependence on stress, as in previous high-temperature deformation studies. The samples were, however, considerably weaker than predicted by the experimentally determined high-temperature constitutive equation for olivine crystals of this orientation from the study of Bai et al. (1991). The mechanical behavior correlates instead with the weaker of the two mechanisms (flow laws) that contribute to the high-temperature constitutive equation. Thus, our experiments demonstrate that published high-temperature constitutive equations overestimate the strength of lithospheric mantle and that the transition to low-temperature creep occurs at lower temperatures than previously inferred. Citation: Demouchy, S., S. E. Schneider, S. J. Mackwell, M. E. Zimmerman, and D. L. Kohlstedt (2009), Experimental deformation of olivine single crystals at lithospheric temperatures, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L04304, doi: 10.1029/2008GL036611.
ISSN: 0094-8276

hal-00420070
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00420070
DOI : 10.1029/2008GL036611

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
We have analyzed the microstructures and crystal preferred orientations (CPO), and calculated the seismic properties of 53 mantle xenoliths from four localities within the North Tanzanian Divergence of the East African rift: two within the rift axis and two in the transverse volcanic belt. Olivine OH concentrations were measured in 15 xenoliths.Most samples have harzburgitic to dunitic compositions and high olivine Mg#. Microstructures and olivine CPO patterns vary strongly depending on the location. In-axis peridotites display mylonitic to porphyroclastic microstructures, which record recent deformation by dislocation creep. Highly stretched orthopyroxenes in mylonites indicate that the deformation was initiated under high stress and probably low temperature. Orthopyroxene replacement by olivine in mylonitic and porphyroclastic peridotites suggest syn-kinematic melt–rock reactions and further deformation under near-solidus conditions. Exsolutions in orthopyroxene imply significant cooling between melt-assisted deformation and xenolith extraction. Late metasomatism is evidenced by the occurrence of veins crosscutting the microstructure and interstitial clinopyroxene and phlogopite. Axial-[100] olivine CPOs predominate, suggesting activation of the high temperature, low pressure [100] {0kl} slip systems and, probably, transtensional deformation. In the volcanic belt, Lashaine peridotites display very coarse-granular textures, indicating deformation by dislocation creep under low deviatoric stress conditions followed by annealing. Axial-[010] olivine CPOs are consistent with transpressional deformation or simultaneous activation of the [100](010) and [001](010) slip systems. Intermediate microstructures and CPOs in Olmani suggests heterogeneous deformation within the volcanic belt. Olivine OH concentrations range between 2 and 12 ppm wt. H2O. No systematic variations are observed between in- and off-axis samples. Maximum P wave azimuthal anisotropy (AVp) ranges between 3.3 and 18.4%, and the maximum S wave polarization anisotropy (AVs) between 2.3 and 13.2%. Comparison between seismic properties of in-axis peridotites and SKS splitting data suggests transtensional deformation in the lithospheric mantle beneath the rift.
ISSN: 0040-1951

hal-01121552
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01121552
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2014.11.011

Éditeur(s) : Institut de Ciències del Mar de Barcelona, CSIC
Résumé : Acoustic and core data have recently been collected on the shelf break and the upper part of the slope of the south Aquitaine continental margin. They reveal the major role played by mass-flow gravity processes in deposit erosion and redistribution, modelling of the sea-bed, and transfer of sediment toward the deep-sea. The study region is bounded in the south by the Capbreton canyon. The northern area, which shows a smooth morphology, is characterised by small-scale deformations due to sediment creep or low-amplitude slide processes. The deformations are associated with mini listric-like faults that bound packets of sediments in which the deposit geometry is typical of constructional sediment waves. These sediment waves result from the interaction of depositional and gravity deformation processes. In the southern area, closer to the canyon, wave-like structures are still present but mostly of smaller size. They only result from gravity deformation processes without any evidence of constructional processes. In the vicinity of the Capbreton canyon, the shelf break and upper slope have a much more uneven morphology with sedimentary reliefs, escarpments and depressions directed toward the canyon thalweg. The depressions look like slide scars, and could be the result of regressive slides initiated at the top of the canyon flank. The age of the sliding event responsible for the formation of the depression observed today could be middle to upper Quaternary. Since their formation, these depressions act as conduits that channel the transfer of shelf sediment into the canyon, as demonstrated by the occurrence of a meandering channel on the sea-floor of one depression.
Scientia Marina (0214-8358) (Institut de Ciències del Mar de Barcelona, CSIC), 2006-06 , Vol. 70 , N. 1 , P. 89-100

Droits : 2006 Institut de Ciències del Mar de Barcelona
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2006/publication-3960.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/3960/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
We combined microstructural observations and high-resolution crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO) mapping to unravel the active deformation mechanisms in garnet clinopyroxenites, garnet-spinel websterites, and spinel websterites from the Beni Bousera peridotite massif. All pyroxenites display microstructures recording plastic deformation by dislocation creep. Pyroxene CPOs are consistent with dominant slip on [001]{110} in clinopyroxene and on [001](100) or [001](010) in orthopyroxene. Garnet clinopyroxenites have however high recrystallized fractions and finer grain sizes than spinel websterites. Recrystallization mechanisms also differ: subgrain rotation dominates in garnet clinopyroxenites, whereas in spinel websterites nucleation and growth also contribute. Elongated shapes and strong intracrystalline misorientations suggest plastic deformation of garnet, but CPOs are weak. Clinopyroxene porphyroclasts in spinel websterites show deformation twins underlined by orthopyroxene exsolutions. Thermodynamic calculations indicate that garnet clinopyroxenites deformed at 2.0 GPa and 950-1000 °C and spinel pyroxenites at 1.8 GPa and 1100-1150 °C. The lower temperatures may explain the faster work rates implied by the finer grained microstructures in garnet clinopyroxenites. Greater stresses may have also reduced the competence contrast between garnet and pyroxene in the garnet pyroxenites and, at the outcrop scale, lowered the competence contrast between pyroxenites and peridotites, favoring mechanical dispersion of pyroxenites in the cooler lithospheric mantle.
ISSN: 0191-8141

hal-00750322
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00750322
DOI : 10.1016/j.jsg.2012.02.019

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
This study reports petrostructural observations in the pargasite and phlogopite-bearing Finero peridotite massif (Italian Western Alps), which suggest that the pervasive foliation in this massif was formed by deformation concomitant with percolation of hydrous Si-rich melts: (1) diffuse contacts, but systematic parallelism between the pyroxenitic layers and the foliation of the peridotite (2) strong shape and crystal preferred orientations (SPO and CPO), but subhedral or interstitial shapes and weak intracrystalline deformation of the hydrous phases, (3) CPO, but interstitial shapes of the pyroxenes, (4) very coarse olivine grain sizes, which are correlated to the olivine abundance, and (5) elongated shapes, but weak intracrystalline deformation, and extremely weak and highly variable CPO of olivine. The pervasive deformation of the Finero peridotite occurred therefore under conditions that allowed coexistence of H2O–CO2-bearing melts, pargasite, and spinel, that is, temperatures of 980–1080 °C and pressures <2 GPa. The petrostructural observations suggest that the presence of hydrous melts results in accommodation of large amounts of deformation by stress-controlled dissolution–precipitation and advective transport of matter by the melts and in fast grain boundary migration in olivine. By consequence, it produces significant rheological weakening. Water contents in olivine are <4 ppm wt., implying limited contribution of hydration of olivine to weakening. In addition, the analysis of protomylonites composing the external domains of the shear zones that overprint the pervasive foliation indicates that the transition to melt-free conditions results in enhanced contribution of dislocation creep to the deformation. The associated increase of the peridotites' strength leads to onset of strain localization. The latter is not correlated to the local abundance in pargasite or phlogopite, implying that crystallization of amphiboles or phlogopite, even at concentrations of 25 vol.%, does not produce rheological weakening in the upper mantle.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-01667879
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01667879
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2017.08.015

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : Thrusting fault zone in foreland basins are characterized by highly foliated zones generally enriched in phyllosilicates which can play a major role on the mechanical behaviour of the fault. In this context, investigations of synkinematic clay minerals permit to determine the origin of the fluid from which they precipitated as well as the mechanisms of deformation. Our study is focused on clay mineral assemblages (illite and chlorite) in a major thrust fault located in the Monte Perdido massif (southern Pyrenees), a shallow thrust that affects upper cretaceous-paleocene platform carbonates and lower Eocene marls and turbidites. It implied 3 km of displacement of the Monte Perdido thrust unit with respect to the underlying Gavarnie unit. In this area the cleavage development by pressure-solution is linked to the Monte Perdido and Gavarnie thrust activity. The core zone of the fault, about 6 m thick, consists of an interval of intensely deformed clay-bearing rocks bounded by major shear surfaces. The deformed sediment is markedly darker than the protolith. Calcite-quartz shear veins along the shear planes are abundant. Detailed SEM and TEM observations of highly deformed fault zone samples indicate that clay mineral enrichment in the core zone of the fault is not only related to passive increase by pressure-solution mechanism but that dissolution-recrystallization of phyllosilicates occurs during deformation. A mineral segregation is observed in the highly deformed zone. Newly formed 2M 1 muscovite is present along the cleavage whereas IIb chlorite crystals fill SV2 shear veins suggesting syntectonic growth of phyllosilicates in the presence of fluids in low-grade metamorphic conditions. These mineralogical reactions act as weakening processes and would favour Monte Perdido fault creeping.
Swiss Journal of Geosciences

hal-00795553
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00795553
DOI : 10.1007/s00015-012-0098-0

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : To understand the effect of inherited lithospheric structures on the continental plates deformation process, we have developed a multi scale model that explicitly takes into account an anisotropic viscosity due to the Crystal Preferred Orientation (CPO) of olivine in the mantle by coupling a viscoplastic self-consistent simulation of the deformation at the polycrystalline aggregate to a 3D Finite Element code. Using this tool, we calculate the mechanical behavior of a continental lithosphere submitted to extension for various initial structures. The first set of experiments investigates the deformation of a plate with a homogeneous initial olivine CPO. Results show that the macroscopic anisotropy is strongly dependent on the initial orientation of the olivine CPO relative to the solicitation and to its evolution. The second set of experiments aims to analyze the deformation of a continental plate containing pre-existing lithospheric scale shear zones. These multi-domain models show that the olivine mechanical anisotropy may induce the reactivation of pre-existing lithospheric scale shear zones in a plate submitted to rifting. In both cases, the results shows that the macroscopic mechanic anisotropy induced by the evolution of olivine CPO in the upper mantle is a key parameter to understand the deformation of the continental plates and to explain the observed reactivation of inherited structure from past tectonics events
Afin de comprendre l'effet des structures préexistantes sur la déformation des plaques continentales, nous avons développé une méthode de modélisation mécanique multi-échelle utilisant une viscosité anisotrope induite par les Orientations Préférentielles du Réseau (OPR) des cristaux d'olivine présents dans le manteau. Cette méthode en couple le calcul viscoplastique autocohérent de la déformation d'un agrégat d'olivine à un code éléments finis 3D. Elle a été utilisée pour le calcul du comportement mécanique d'une plaque continentale soumise à une extension. Une première série d'expériences numériques sur l'extension de plaque lithosphérique présentant des OPR initiales d'olivine homogènes a permis de montrer que l'anisotropie mécanique macroscopique est fortement dépendante de l'orientation initiale de l'OPR. La seconde série de simulations analyse l'extension d'une plaque continentale présentant une zone présentant des OPR d'olivine héritées d'un événement tectonique précédant. Les résultats de ces calculs multi-domaines que l'anisotropie mécanique de l'olivine peut expliquer la réactivation des zones de cisaillement héritées lors du rifting. Les résultats obtenus dans les deux séries de modèles montrent que l'anisotropie mécanique macroscopique induite par l'évolution des OPR d'olivine dans le manteau supérieur est un paramètre clé pour la compréhension de la déformation des plaques continentales et pour expliquer la réactivation observée de structures tectoniques, tels que les grands décrochements, lors des épisodes tectoniques ultérieurs.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00369463

tel-00369463
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00369463
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00369463/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00369463/file/KnollThese09.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
We report microstructural evidence for fluid-assisted ductile strain localization in a ≤ 50 m-wide mylonitic–ultramylonitic shear zone in the Ronda Peridotite massif, Southern Spain. Strain localization occurred at relatively low pressure (< 0.8 GPa) and moderate temperature (750–1000 °C). Initial deformation by dislocation creep resulted in formation of mylonites. Focusing of aqueous fluids in the shear zone favored the activation of dissolution–precipitation creep, resulting in further strain localization. This process is recorded by two generations of ultramylonitic bands composed of fine-grained, well-mixed olivine–orthopyroxene aggregates. Microstructural observations in the ultramylonites suggest alternating dissolution and precipitation of olivine and orthopyroxene, which may be explained by local changes in silica molality of the percolating fluid (disequilibrium and mass transfer at scales > mm). In the mylonites, olivine shows a crystal preferred orientation (CPO) coherent with dominant (001)[100] glide, probably due to the presence of interstitial fluids during deformation. In the ultramylonites, olivine CPO is weak to very weak, consistently with a decreasing contribution of dislocation creep to deformation. In contrast, fine-grained orthopyroxene in both mylonites and ultramylonites displays a clear CPO characterized by a [001] maximum normal to the foliation, which is not consistent with dislocation glide in any known slip system for orthopyroxene. We interpret this CPO as formed by oriented crystallization during dissolution–precipitation. In the present study, dissolution–precipitation creep predominates only in small-scale ultramylonite bands due to limited fluid availability and localized dynamic permeability. However, this process may be important in intermediate temperature domains of subduction zones, where it may lead to a feedback between strain localization and fluid transport.
ISSN: 0024-4937

hal-01395122
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01395122
DOI : 10.1016/j.lithos.2016.07.038

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
We studied the deformation in a partially molten mantle through detailed petrostructural analysis of plagioclase lherzolites from the northwestern part of the central Lanzo massif. These peridotites display a pervasive anastomosed network of millimetre to centimetre-scale plagioclase-rich bands, which grades locally into a planar layering marked by an intercalation of plagioclase-rich and olivine-rich layers up to tens of centimetres wide. Both the anastomosed and the planar layering are subparallel to the deformation fabric, characterized by a foliation defined by the shape-preferred orientation of olivine and by crystal preferred orientation (CPO) of olivine, orthopyroxene, and clinopyroxene. This parallelism, the coexistence of microstructural evidence for melt-rock reactions and for deformation by dislocation creep, and the predominance of axial-[010] olivine CPO patterns, characterized by [010] axes clustered normal to the layering, indicate that deformation and the reactive melt percolation that formed the layering were coeval. Strong heterogeneity in mineral composition in the planar layering domains, with Fe-enrichment in olivine and spinel and highly variable Ti content in spinel in cm-scale plagioclase-rich bands, implies that the latter interacted with higher melt volumes. High Ti contents in pyroxenes and spinel in the anastomosed layering domains point to changes in melt composition, hinting to less effective melt transport. We propose therefore that the planar layering records melt segregation in layers parallel to the shear plane, whereas the anastomosed layering results from melt alignment along grain boundaries subparallel to the shear plane, without segregation. Finite strain in the different layers cannot be quantified, but comparison of the present observations with data from experiments and from other mantle outcrops displaying shear-controlled melt organization suggests that the transition from the anastomosed to the planar layering might record an increase in finite strain, that is, strain localization associated with variations in the instantaneous melt fraction.
ISSN: 0040-1951

hal-01053509
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01053509
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2014.01.007

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD AGU and the Geochemical Society
Résumé : International audience
Analysis of the microstructures in the km-scale mantle shear zone that separates the northern and the central parts of the Lanzo peridotite massif provides evidence of an evolution in time and space of deformation processes accommodating shearing in the shallow mantle within an extensional setting. This shear zone displays an asymmetric distribution of deformation facies. From south to north, gradual reorientation of the foliation of coarse porphyroclastic plagioclase-bearing peridotites is followed by development of protomylonites, mylonites, and mm-scale ultramylonite bands. A sharp grain size gradient marks the northern boundary. Early deformation under near-solidus conditions in the south is recorded by preservation of weakly deformed interstitial plagioclase and almost random clinopyroxene and plagioclase crystal orientations. Feedback between deformation and melt transport probably led to melt focusing and strain weakening in the shear zone. Overprint of melt-rock reaction microstructures by solid-state deformation and decrease in recrystallized grain size in the protomylonites and mylonites indicate continued deformation under decreasing temperature. Less enriched peridotite compositions and absence of ultramafic dykes or widespread melt-impregnation microstructures north of the shear zone and clinopyroxene and amphibole enrichment in the mylonites and ultramylonites suggest that the shear zone acted as both a thermal barrier and a high-permeability channel for late crystallizing fluids. These observations, together with chemical data indicating faster cooling of central Lanzo relative to the northern body, corroborate that this shear zone is a mantle detachment fault. All deformation facies have crystal preferred orientations consistent with deformation by dislocation creep with dominant activation of the (010)[100] and (100)[001] systems in olivine and orthopyroxene, respectively. Dynamic recrystallization produces dispersion of olivine CPO but not a change of dominant deformation mechanism. Evidence for activation of grain boundary sliding is limited to mm-scale ultramylonite bands, where solid-state reactions produced very fine grained polymineralic aggregates. Except for these latest stages of deformation, strain localization does not result from the microstructural evolution; the grain size decrease is a consequence of the need to deform a rock volume whose strength continuously increases because of decreasing temperature conditions. Strain localization in the intermediate levels thus essentially results from the more localizing behavior of both the deep, partially molten, and shallow parts of this extensional shear zone distribution.
ISSN: 1525-2027

hal-00644844
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00644844
DOI : 10.1029/2011GC003627

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
We use first first-principle methods and the Peierls-Nabarro model to evaluate the resistance to glide, characterized by the Peierls stress, of glide systems for end-member MgSiO3 Perovskite at mantle pressures. [010](100) is the easiest glide system in Mg-Perovskite at all pressures. Peierls stresses increase systematically with pressure for all systems except [001](010), indicating the importance of lattice friction at lower mantle pressures. The ratio of the maximum Peierls stress for each system relative to the [010](100) value defines their critical resolved shear stress (CRSS). These CRSS are used in a visco-plastic self-consistent homogenization model to predict the evolution of crystal preferred orientations (CPO) during deformation of polycrystalline Mg-Perovskite. In axial compression, [100] tends to align with the compression direction, in agreement with in situ observations in axial compression experiments. In simple shear, [010] concentrates near the shear direction and (100), although more dispersed, tends to align near the shear plane, consistent with the dominant activity of the easier [010](100) system. The calculated seismic anisotropy for a 100% Mg-Perovskite aggregate using the CPO in simple shear and the elastic constants Of MgSiO3 perovskite at lower mantle pressures and temperatures is weak (>3% for P-waves with and >2% for S-waves) and decreases with increasing temperature and pressure. P-waves show the fastest propagation parallel to the lineation and S-waves fast polarization is in the foliation at 38 GPa and normal to the lineation at 88 GPa. This weak anisotropy is consistent with global seismological observations of a nearly isotropic lower mantle. There are however two regions where strain-induced Mg-Perovskite CPO could contribute to anisotropy; a) low temperature regions in the uppermost lower mantle, where the predicted S-wave polarization anisotropy may attain 1.6% with a fast polarization parallel to the foliation, b) in high high-temperature domains in the D '' layer, where Mg-Perovskite may be the major stable phase, leading to polarization of fast S-waves normal to the lineation for propagation directions at high angle to the lineation and an apparent isotropy for all other propagation directions.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-00411460
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00411460
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2008.03.058

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
Detailed structural and petrological mapping in the Beni Bousera peridotite (Rif Belt, northern Morocco) shows that this orogenic peridotite massif is composed of four tectono-metamorphic domains with consistent kinematics, marked by a pervasive, shallowly dipping foliation with a NW-SE stretching lineation that progressively rotates towards a NNE-SSW orientation in the lowermost part of the massif. From top to bottom, these domains are garnet-spinel mylonites, Ariègite subfacies fine-grained porphyroclastic spinel peridotites, Ariègite-Seiland subfacies porphyroclastic, and Seiland subfacies coarse-porphyroclastic to coarse-granular spinel peridotites. Microstructures and crystal preferred orientations point to deformation dominantly by dislocation creep in all domains, but the continuous increase in average olivine grain size indicates decreasing plastic work rates from top to bottom. This evolution in deformation conditions is consistent with the change in synkinematic pressure and temperature conditions, from 900°C at 2*0 GPa in garnet-spinel mylonites to 1150°C at 1*8 GPa in the Seiland domain. A pervasive diffuse dunitic-websteritic layering subparallel to the foliation suggests deformation in the presence of melt in the Seiland domain. Gravitational instabilities owing to local melt accumulation may account for <200 m wide areas exhibiting a vertical lineation in this domain. To account for the consistent kinematics and the tectono-metamorphic evolution, which implies a temperature gradient of c. 125°C km−1 preserved across the Beni Bousera massif, we propose that the entire massif records the functioning of a low-angle shear zone, a few kilometres wide, which accommodated exhumation of the base of the lithosphere from ∼90 to ∼60 km depth. Partial melting in the Seiland domain may be explained by fast decompression of the footwall, without the need for exotic heat sources. Moreover, if the present-day orientation of the shear zone is similar to that when it was active in the mantle, the stretching lineations at high angle to the metamorphic gradient imply that shearing parallel to the trend of the belt accompanied thinning; that is, a transtensional deformation of the margin.
ISSN: 0022-3530

hal-00950056
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00950056
DOI : 10.1093/petrology/egt067

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
We have inferred the deformation mechanisms of antigorite by high-resolution EBSD mapping of samples from Cerro del Almirez ultramafic massif (Betic Cordillera, SE Spain). Textural relations and phase diagram calculations constrain the foliation development conditions to the subduction prograde path at up to 600-630 °C and 1.6-1.9 GPa. Deformation was followed by static annealing of antigorite at ca. 680 °C. The Crystal Preferred Orientation (CPO) of antigorite is characterised by a strong alignment of (001) poles normal to the foliation plane and a weaker, but clear, parallelism between [100] axes and the macroscopic lineation defined by the elongation of magnetite aggregates. Analysis of misorientations across subgrains shows predominance of [010] rotation axis, consistent with activation of the [100](001) slip system. However, tilt subgrain boundaries subparallel to (100), probably formed by edge dislocations of this system, are subsidiary. Most subgrain boundaries are subparallel to (001) planes. They are interpreted as (001) twins wherein continuing viscoplastic deformation resulted in a slight increase of the misorientation between the twins. Modelling of the evolution of the antigorite CPO using a lower bound approach and considering different deformation regimes and sets of basal and non-basal slip systems has shown that intensities of [100] and [010] maxima reflect the relative strength of the antigorite [100](001) and [010](001) systems. Activation of other basal or non-basal slip systems does not change significantly the CPO patterns, but results in less concentrated CPO. 3D transpression models better reproduce the CPO of natural antigorite serpentinites. We propose that the widespread occurrence of strong CPO in high-pressure antigorite serpentinite is consistent with deformation by dislocation creep with dominant glide on [hk0](001), together with the activation of twinning, implying that a power law rheology would better account for the mechanical behaviour of antigorite serpentinite deep in the subduction channel and mantle wedge.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-00795511
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00795511
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2012.06.049