Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD European Geosciences Union (EGU) European Geosciences Union
Résumé : The Moroccan Mediterranean coast is located in one of the area's most vulnerable to extreme weather events or tsunami hazards. The objective of this research is to reconstruct the historical extreme submersion-event record using sea-induced deposits preserved in coastal lagoon. The Nador lagoon is the largest Moroccan lagoon (115 km2). It is located along the western Mediterranean, which has a high cyclogenetic character and is exposed to tsunamis from the Alboran Sea. The sandy barrier which separates the lagoon from the Mediterranean Sea is marked by much overwash, which indicate how intensely it has been exposed to the adverse sea events through history. Using the UWITEC© gravity coring platform, an undisturbed MC4.5 core (1.15 m long) was successfully sampled in the studied lagoon. To identify extreme sea events, a multi-proxy approach was applied combining sedimentological and geochemical data. Three paleoevents were identified; all of them are concentrated over the last 500 years, and the most recent event corresponds to the 1889 storm. For the others deposits, it is difficult to determine exactly their origin; however, the high frequency of storm events over the relevant period and the absence of historical tsunamis evidence is more in favor of the meteorological origin.
ISSN: 1561-8633

hal-01146451
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01146451
DOI : 10.5194/nhess-15-203-2015

Éditeur(s) : European Geosciences Union (EGU)
Résumé : Barrier layers are defined as the layer between the pycnocline and the thermocline when the latter are different as a result of salinity stratification. We present a revisited 2-degree resolution global climatology of monthly mean oceanic Barrier Layer (BL) thickness first proposed by de Boyer Montegut et al. (2007). In addition to using an extended data set, we present a modified computation method that addresses the observed porosity of BLs. We name porosity the fact that barrier layers distribution can, in some areas, be very uneven regarding the space and time scales that are considered. This implies an intermittent alteration of air-sea exchanges by the BL. Therefore, it may have important consequences for the climatic impact of BLs. Differences between the two computation methods are small for robust BLs that are formed by large-scale processes. However, the former approach can significantly underestimate the thickness of short and/or localized barrier layers. This is especially the case for barrier layers formed by mesoscale mechanisms (under the intertropical convergence zone for example and along western boundary currents) and equatorward of the sea surface salinity subtropical maxima. Complete characterisation of regional BL dynamics therefore requires a description of the robustness of BL distribution to assess the overall impact of BLs on the process of heat exchange between the ocean interior and the atmosphere.
Ocean Science (1812-0784) (European Geosciences Union (EGU)), 2009-09 , Vol. 5 , N. 3 , P. 379-387

Droits : European Geosciences Union (EGU)
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2009/publication-6915.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2009/sup-6915.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/6915/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD European Geosciences Union (EGU)
Résumé : International audience
The transformation of nonlinear long internal waves in a two-layer fluid is studied in the Boussinesq and rigid-lid approximation. Explicit analytic formulation of the evolution equation in terms of the Riemann invariants allows us to obtain analytical results characterizing strongly nonlinear wave steepening, including the spectral evolution. Effects manifesting the action of high nonlinear corrections of the model are highlighted. It is shown, in particular, that the breaking points on the wave profile may shift from the zero-crossing level. The wave steepening happens in a different way if the density jump is placed near the middle of the water bulk: then the wave deformation is almost symmetrical and two phases appear where the wave breaks.
ISSN: 1023-5809

hal-00331099
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00331099
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00331099/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00331099/file/npg-14-247-2007.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD European Geosciences Union (EGU)
Résumé : International audience
Pollen and clay mineralogical analyses of a Holocene sequence from Sebkha Boujmel (southern Tunisia) traces the climatic and environmental dynamics in the lower arid bioclimatic zone over the last 8000 years. During the Mid- to Late Holocene transition, between 8 and 3 ka, a succession of five wet/dry oscillations is recorded. An intense arid event occurs between 5.7 and 4.6 ka. This episode marks the onset of a long-term aridification trend with a progressive retreat of Mediterranean woody xerophytic vegetation and of grass steppes. It ends with the establishment of pre-desert ecosystems around 3 ka. The millennial-scale climate change recorded in the data from Sebkha Boujmel is consistent with records from the south and east Mediterranean, as well as with climatic records from the desert region for the end of the African Humid Period (AHP). Eight centennial climatic events are recorded at Sebkha Boujmel and these are contemporary with those recorded in the Mediterranean and in the Sahara. They indicate a clear coupling between the southern Mediterranean and the Sahara before 3 ka. The event at 4.2 ka is not evidenced and the link between events recorded in Sebkha Boujmel and the North Atlantic Cooling events is clearer from 3 ka onwards. These variations indicate the importance of climatic determinism in the structuring of landscapes, with the establishment of the arid climatic conditions of the Late Holocene. It is only from 3 ka onwards that the dynamic of plant associations is modified by both human activity and climatic variability. The climatic episodes identified during the historic period indicate strong regionalisation related to the differential impact of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the Mediterranean Oscillation (MO) on the Mediterranean basin. The local human impact on regional ecosystems is recorded in the form of episodes of intensification of pastoral and/or agricultural activities. The development of olive production and of several taxa associated with agriculture attest to increasing sedentism among human populations during Classical Antiquity. The significant increase in Artemisia (wormwood) between 1.1 and 0.8 ka (850–1150 AD) is linked to intensive pastoral activity, associated with heightened interannual and/or seasonal climatic instability. A complete re-shaping of the landscape is recorded during the 20th century. The remarkable expansion of the olive tree, and the deterioration of regional ecosystems with the spread of desert species, is linked to recent local socio-economic changes in Tunisia.
ISSN: 1814-9324

hal-01319967
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01319967
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01319967/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01319967/file/cp-12-1339-2016.pdf
DOI : 10.5194/cp-12-1339-2016

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD European Geosciences Union (EGU)
Résumé : International audience
Holocene climate fluctuations and human activity since the Neolithic have shaped present-day Mediter-ranean environments. Separating anthropogenic effects from climatic impacts to better understand Mediterranean pale-oenvironmental changes over the last millennia remains a challenging issue. High-resolution pollen analyses were un-dertaken on two cores from the Palavasian lagoon system (Hérault, southern France). These records allow reconstruction of vegetation dynamics over the last 4500 years. Results are compared with climatic, historical and archeological archives. A long-term aridification trend is highlighted during the late Holocene, and three superimposed arid events are recorded at 4600–4300, 2800–2400 and 1300–1100 cal BP. These periods of high-frequency climate variability coincide in time with the rapid climatic events observed in the Atlantic Ocean (Bond et al., 2001). From the Bronze Age (4000 cal BP) to the end of the Iron Age (around 2000 cal BP), the spread of sclerophyllous taxa and loss of forest cover result from anthropogenic impact. Classical Antiquity is characterized by a major reforestation event related to the concentration of rural activity and populations in coastal plains leading to forest recovery in the mountains. A major regional deforestation occurred at the beginning of the High Middle Ages. Around 1000 cal BP, forest cover is minimal while the cover of olive, chestnut and walnut expands in relation to increasing human influence. The present-day vegetation dominated by Mediterranean shrubland and pines has been in existence since the beginning of the 20th century.
ISSN: 1814-9324

hal-01447627
https://hal-univ-tlse2.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01447627
https://hal-univ-tlse2.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01447627/document
https://hal-univ-tlse2.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01447627/file/Azuara%20et%20al%202015_cor.pdf
DOI : 10.5194/cp-11-1769-2015

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD European Geosciences Union (EGU)
Résumé :  
The production of aboveground soft tissue represents an important share of total net primary production in tropical rain forests. Here we draw from a large number of published and unpublished datasets (n = 81 sites) to assess the determinants of litterfall variation across South American tropical forests. We show that across old-growth tropical rainforests, litterfall averages 8.61±1.91Mgha−1 yr−1 (mean±standard deviation, in dry mass units). Secondary forests have a lower annual litterfall than old-growth tropical forests with a mean of 8.01±3.41Mgha−1 yr−1. Annual litterfall shows no significant variation with total annual rainfall, either globally or within forest types. It does not vary consistently with soil type, except in the poorest soils (white sand soils), where litterfall is significantly lower than in other soil types (5.42±1.91Mgha−1 yr−1). We also study the determinants of litterfall seasonality, and find that it does not depend on annual rainfall or on soil type. However, litterfall seasonality is significantly positively correlated with rainfall seasonality. Finally, we assess how much carbon is stored in reproductive organs relative to photosynthetic organs. Mean leaf fall is 5.74±1.83Mgha−1 yr−1 (71% of total litterfall). Mean allocation into reproductive organs is 0.69±0.40Mgha−1 yr−1 (9% of total litterfall). The investment into reproductive organs divided by leaf litterfall increases with soil fertility, suggesting that on poor soils, the allocation to photosynthetic organs is prioritized over that to reproduction. Finally, we discuss the ecological and biogeochemical implications of these results.
Biogeosciences

hal-01032140
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032140
DOI : 10.5194/bg-7-43-2010

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD European Geosciences Union
Résumé : Xylem density is a physical property of wood that varies between individuals, species and environments. It reflects the physiological strategies of trees that lead to growth, survival and reproduction. Measurements of branch xylem density, ρx, were made for 1653 trees representing 598 species, sampled from 87 sites across the Amazon basin. Measured values ranged from 218 kg m−3 for a Cordia sagotii (Boraginaceae) from Mountagne de Tortue, French Guiana to 1130 kg m−3 for an Aiouea sp. (Lauraceae) from Caxiuana, Central Pará, Brazil. Analysis of variance showed significant differences in average ρx across regions and sampled plots as well as significant differences between families, genera and species. A partitioning of the total variance in the dataset showed that species identity (family, genera and species) accounted for 33% with environment (geographic location and plot) accounting for an additional 26%; the remaining "residual" variance accounted for 41% of the total variance. Variations in plot means, were, however, not only accountable by differences in species composition because xylem density of the most widely distributed species in our dataset varied systematically from plot to plot. Thus, as well as having a genetic component, branch xylem density is a plastic trait that, for any given species, varies according to where the tree is growing in a predictable manner. Within the analysed taxa, exceptions to this general rule seem to be pioneer species belonging for example to the Urticaceae whose branch xylem density is more constrained than most species sampled in this study. These patterns of variation of branch xylem density across Amazonia suggest a large functional diversity amongst Amazonian trees which is not well understood.
ISSN: 1726-4170

hal-01032137
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032137

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD European Geosciences Union (EGU)
Résumé : International audience
Storms and tsunamis, which may seriously endanger human society, are amongst the most devastating marine catastrophes that can occur in coastal areas. Many such events are known and have been reported for the Mediterranean, a region where high-frequency occurrences of these extreme events coincides with some of the most densely populated coastal areas in the world. In a sediment core from the Mar Menor (SE Spain), we discovered eight coarse-grained layers which document marine incursions during periods of intense storm activity or tsunami events. Based on radiocarbon dating, these extreme events occurred around 5250, 4000, 3600, 3010, 2300, 1350, 650, and 80 years cal BP. No comparable events have been observed during the 20th and 21st centuries. The results indicate little likelihood of a tsunami origin for these coarse-grained layers, although historical tsunami events are recorded in this region. These periods of surge events seem to coincide with the coldest periods in Europe during the late Holocene, suggesting a control by a climatic mechanism for periods of increased storm activity. Spectral analyses performed on the sand percentage revealed four major periodicities of 1228 ± 327, 732 ± 80, 562 ± 58, and 319 ± 16 years. Amongst the well-known proxies that have revealed a millennial-scale climate variability during the Holocene, the ice-rafted debris (IRD) indices in the North Atlantic developed by Bond et al. (1997, 2001) present a cyclicity of 1470 ± 500 years, which matches the 1228 ± 327-year periodicity evidenced in the Mar Menor, considering the respective uncertainties in the periodicities. Thus, an in-phase storm activity in the western Mediterranean is found with the coldest periods in Europe and with the North Atlantic thermohaline circulation. However, further investigations, such as additional coring and high-resolution coastal imagery, are needed to better constrain the main cause of these multiple events.
ISSN: 1814-9324

hal-01357199
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01357199
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01357199v2/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01357199/file/cp-12-1389-2016.pdf
DOI : 10.5194/cp-12-1389-2016

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union
Résumé : International audience
Natural Hazards and Earth System Science

hal-01676558
https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-01676558

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD European Geosciences Union (EGU)
Résumé : International audience
Climate models project that rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations will increase the frequency and the severity of some extreme weather events. The flood events represent a major risk for populations and infrastructures settled on coastal lowlands. Recent studies of lagoon sediments have enhanced our knowledge on extreme hydrological events such as palaeo-storms and on their relation with climate change over the last millennium. However, few studies have been undertaken to reconstruct past flood events from lagoon sediments. Here, the past flood activity was investigated using a multi-proxy approach combining sedimentological and geochemical analysis of surfaces sediments from a southeastern Tunisian catchment in order to trace the origin of sediment deposits in the El Bibane Lagoon. Three sediment sources were identified: marine, fluvial and aeolian. When applying this multi-proxy approach on core BL12-10, recovered from the El Bibane Lagoon, we can see that finer material, a high content of the clay and silt, and a high content of the elemental ratios (Fe ∕ Ca and Ti ∕ Ca) characterise the sedimentological signature of the palaeo-flood levels identified in the lagoonal sequence. For the last century, which is the period covered by the BL12-10 short core, three palaeo-flood events were identified. The age of these flood events have been determined by 210Pb and 137Cs chronology and give ages of AD 1995 ± 6, 1970 ± 9 and 1945 ± 9. These results show a good temporal correlation with historical flood events recorded in southern Tunisia in the last century (AD 1932, 1969, 1979 and 1995). Our finding suggests that reconstruction of the history of the hydrological extreme events during the upper Holocene is possible in this location through the use of the sedimentary archives.
ISSN: 1814-9324

hal-01571962
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01571962
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01571962/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01571962/file/affouri2017.pdf
DOI : 10.5194/cp-13-711-2017

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD European Geosciences Union
Résumé : We propose to assess the error done when temperature is considered as a conservative tracer in fluviokarst studies. As a matter of fact, heat exchanges occur between karstic Conduit System (CS) and Porous Fractured Matrix (PFM) that prevents from using this approximation without caution. The conservative tracer approximation boils down to consider the cooling of CS water by PFM flow in an open thermodynamic system where the CS is bounded by an Adiabatic Wall (AW). The resulting CS water temperature contrasts with the one obtained from more complete models (CW), which also take into account heat conduction within the CS, within the PFM, and from the CS to PFM through CS a Conductive Wall. In order to assess first orders of this error, the dimensionless equations, characteristic of CS cooling by PFM, have been solved thanks to Alternate Finite Difference Implicit methods both in AW and CW configurations. Four groups of dimensionless numbers appear in the various terms of energy and mass equations among which the Peclet and Reynolds numbers depict the large morphologic and hydrologic variability of natural karstic systems. A parametric exploration of the differences between AW and CW models has then been conducted vs. Peclet numbers (Pe numbers varying from 106 to 109, at constant CS Reynolds number) and vs. Reynolds numbers (Red varying from 103 to 107, at constant Peclet number). The error curves bound finite volumes in the Peclet–Reynolds space that converge uniformly to zero for the extreme values of these parameters. However, for Peclet and Reynolds numbers characteristic of realistic fluviokarst configurations, the errors reach finite values, that give first order information assessing the error done by considering temperatures as conservative tracers. Maximum relative errors around 10−2 (in fact 0.0092) have been found varying Pe; while it remained slightly lower than 0.7 × 10−2 varying Red. An illustrative example of the temperature conservative tracer AW approximation is presented with the data obtained from the main morphologic and hydrologic properties of the Cent–Font resurgence (Hérault, France). According to the results, the error reached at the output of the fluviokarst is 0.00613 (for Pe = 1.4993 × 108 and Red = 4.2969 × 104). When rescaled to the physical domain, this error leads to a temperature difference of 1.77 K between the CW and AW configurations.
ISSN: 1812-2108

hal-01358348
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01358348
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01358348/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01358348/file/hessd-11-169-2014.pdf
DOI : 10.5194/hessd-11-169-2014

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD European Geosciences Union
Résumé : The properties of the subduction interplate domain are likely to affect not only the seismogenic potential of the subduction area but also the overall subduction process, as it influences its viability. Numerical simulations are performed to model the long-term equilibrium state of the subduction interplate when the diving lithosphere interacts with both the overriding plate and the surrounding convective mantle. The thermomechanical model combines a non-Newtonian viscous rheology and a pseudo-brittle rheology. Rock strength here depends on depth, temperature and stress, for both oceanic crust and mantle rocks. I study the evolution through time of, on one hand, the brittle-ductile transition (BDT) depth, zBDT, and, on the other hand, of the kinematic decoupling depth, zdec, simulated along the subduction interplate. The results show that both a high friction and a low ductile strength at the asthenospheric wedge tip shallow zBDT. The influence of the weak material activation energy is of second order but not negligible. zBDT becomes dependent on the ductile strength increase with depth (activation volume) if the BDT occurs at the interplate decoupling depth. Regarding the interplate decoupling depth, it is shallowed (1) significantly if mantle viscosity at asthenospheric wedge tip is low, (2) if the difference in mantle and interplate activation energy is weak, and (3) if the activation volume is increased. Very low friction coefficients and/or low asthenospheric viscosities promote zBDT = zdec. I then present how the subducting lithosphere age affects the brittle-ductile transition depth and the kinematic decoupling depth in this model. Simulations show that a rheological model in which the respective activation energies of mantle and interplate material are too close hinders the mechanical decoupling at the down-dip extent of the interplate, and eventually jams the subduction process during incipient subduction of a young (20-Myr-old) and soft lithosphere under a thick upper plate. Finally, both the BDT depth and the decoupling depth are a function of the subducting plate age, but are not influenced in the same fashion: cool and old subducting plates deepen the BDT but shallow the interplate decoupling depth. Even if BDT and kinematic decoupling are intrinsically related to different mechanisms of deformation, this work shows that they are able to interact closely. Comparison between modelling results and observations suggests a minimum friction coefficient of 0.045 for the interplate plane, even 0.069 in some cases, to model realistic BDT depths. The modelled zdec is a bit deeper than suggested by geophysical observations. Eventually, the better way to improve the adjustment to observations may rely on a moderate to strong asthenosphere viscosity reduction in the metasomatised mantle wedge.
ISSN: 1869-9510

hal-00795559
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00795559
DOI : 10.5194/se-3-467-2012, 2012

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD European Geosciences Union
Résumé : We designed a thermo-mechanical numerical model for fast-spreading mid-ocean ridge with variable viscosity, hydrothermal cooling, latent heat release, sheeted dyke layer, and variable melt intrusion possibilities. The model allows for modulating several accretion possibilities such as the "gabbro glacier" (G), the "sheeted sills" (S) or the "mixed shallow and MTZ lenses" (M). These three crustal accretion modes have been explored assuming viscosity contrasts of 2 to 3 orders of magnitude between strong and weak phases and various hydrothermal cooling conditions depending on the cracking temperatures value. Mass conservation (stream-function), momentum (vorticity) and temperature equations are solved in 2-D cartesian geometry using 2-D, alternate direction, implicit and semi-implicit finite-difference scheme. In a first step, an Eulerian approach is used solving iteratively the motion and temperature equations until reaching steady states. With this procedure, the temperature patterns and motions that are obtained for the various crustal intrusion modes and hydrothermal cooling hypotheses display significant differences near the mid-ocean ridge axis. In a second step, a Lagrangian approach is used, recording the thermal histories and cooling rates of tracers travelling from the ridge axis to their final emplacements in the crust far from the mid-ocean ridge axis. The results show that the tracer's thermal histories are depending on the temperature patterns and the crustal accretion modes near the mid-ocean ridge axis. The instantaneous cooling rates obtained from these thermal histories betray these discrepancies and might therefore be used to characterize the crustal accretion mode at the ridge axis. These deciphering effects are even more pronounced if we consider the average cooling rates occurring over a prescribed temperature range. Two situations were tested at 1275-1125 °C and 1050-850 °C. The first temperature range covers mainly the crystallization range that is characteristic of the high temperature areas in the model (i.e. the near-mid-oceanic-ridge axis). The second temperature range corresponds to areas in the model where the motion is mainly laminar and the vertical temperature profiles are closer to conductive. Thus, this situation results in less discriminating efficiency among the crustal accretion modes since the thermal and dynamic properties that are described are common to all the crustal accretion modes far from the ridge axis. The results show that numerical modeling of thermo-mechanical properties of the lower crusts may bring useful information to characterize the ridge accretion structure, hydrothermal cooling and thermal state at the fast-spreading ridges and may open discussions with petrological cooling rate results.
ISSN: 1991-959X

hal-00907012
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00907012
DOI : 10.5194/gmd-6-1659-2013

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD European Geosciences Union
Résumé : International audience
We calculated the seismic properties of 47 mantle xenoliths from 9 kimberlitic pipes in the Kaapvaal craton based on their modal composition, the crystal-preferred orientations (CPO) of olivine, ortho- and clinopyroxene, and garnet, the Fe content of olivine, and the pressures and temperatures at which the rocks were equilibrated. These data allow constraining the variation of seismic anisotropy and velocities within the cratonic mantle. The fastest P and S2 wave propagation directions and the polarization of fast split shear waves (S1) are always subparallel to olivine [100] axes of maximum concentration, which marks the lineation (fossil flow direction). Seismic anisotropy is higher for high olivine contents and stronger CPO. Maximum P wave azimuthal anisotropy (AVp) ranges between 2.5 and 10.2% and the maximum S wave polarization anisotropy (AVs), between 2.7 and 8%. Changes in olivine CPO symmetry result in minor variations in the seismic anisotropy patterns, mainly in the apparent isotropy directions for shear wave splitting. Seismic properties averaged over 20 km-thick depth sections are, therefore, very homogeneous. Based on these data, we predict the anisotropy that would be measured by SKS, Rayleigh (SV) and Love (SH) waves for five endmember orientations of the foliation and lineation. Comparison to seismic anisotropy data from the Kaapvaal shows that the coherent fast directions, but low delay times imaged by SKS studies, and the low azimuthal anisotropy with with the horizontally polarized S waves (SH) faster than the vertically polarized S wave (SV) measured using surface waves are best explained by homogeneously dipping (45°) foliations and lineations in the cratonic mantle lithosphere. Laterally or vertically varying foliation and lineation orientations with a dominantly NW-SE trend might also explain the low measured anisotropies, but this model should also result in backazimuthal variability of the SKS splitting data, not reported in the seismological data. The strong compositional heterogeneity of the Kaapvaal peridotite xenoliths results in up to 3% variation in density and in up to 2.3% variation of Vp, Vs, and Vp / Vs ratio. Fe depletion by melt extraction increases Vp and Vs, but decreases the Vp / Vs ratio and density. Orthopyroxene enrichment due to metasomatism decreases the density and Vp, strongly reducing the Vp / Vs ratio. Garnet enrichment, which was also attributed to metasomatism, increases the density, and in a lesser extent Vp and the Vp / Vs ratio. Comparison of density and seismic velocity profiles calculated using the xenoliths' compositions and equilibration conditions to seismological data in the Kaapvaal highlights that (i) the thickness of the craton is underestimated in some seismic studies and reaches at least 180 km, (ii) the deep sheared peridotites represent very local modifications caused and oversampled by kimberlites, and (iii) seismological models probably underestimate the compositional heterogeneity in the Kaapvaal mantle root, which occurs at a scale much smaller than the one that may be sampled seismologically.
ISSN: 1869-9510

hal-01053516
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01053516
DOI : 10.5194/se-5-45-2014

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD European Geosciences Union
Résumé : International audience
Earth deformation is a multi-scale process ranging from seconds (seismic deformation) to millions of years (tectonic deformation). Bridging short- and long-term deformation and developing seismotectonic models has been a challenge in experimental tectonics for more than a century. Since the formulation of Reid's elastic rebound theory 100 years ago, laboratory mechanical models combining frictional and elastic elements have been used to study the dynamics of earthquakes. In the last decade, with the advent of high-resolution monitoring techniques and new rock analogue materials, laboratory earthquake experiments have evolved from simple spring-slider models to scaled analogue models. This evolution was accomplished by advances in seismology and geodesy along with relatively frequent occurrences of large earthquakes in the past decade. This coincidence has significantly increased the quality and quantity of relevant observations in nature and triggered a new understanding of earthquake dynamics. We review here the developments in analogue earthquake modelling with a focus on those seismotectonic scale models that are directly comparable to observational data on short to long timescales. We lay out the basics of analogue modelling, namely scaling, materials and monitoring, as applied in seismotectonic modelling. An overview of applications highlights the contributions of analogue earthquake models in bridging timescales of observations including earthquake statistics, rupture dynamics, ground motion, and seismic-cycle deformation up to seismotectonic evolution.
ISSN: 1869-9510

hal-01553120
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01553120
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01553120/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01553120/file/rosenau2017.pdf
DOI : 10.5194/se-8-597-2017

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union
Résumé : International audience
Natural Hazards and Earth System Science

hal-01676594
https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-01676594

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD European Geosciences Union
Résumé : During the Neoproterozoic orogeny, the middle crust of the Araçuaí belt underwent widespread partial melting. At the regional scale, this anatectic domain is characterized by a progressive rotation of the flow direction from south to north, suggesting a 3-D deformation of the anatectic middle crust. To better determine whether melt volumes present in the anatectic middle crust of the Araçuaí orogen were large enough to allow a combination of gravity-driven and convergence-driven deformation, we used the titanium-in-quartz (TitaniQ) geothermometer to estimate the crystallization temperatures of quartz grains in the anatectic rocks. When possible, we compared these estimates with thermobarometric estimates from traditional exchange geothermobarometers applied to neighboring migmatitic kinzigites. TitaniQ temperatures range from 750 to 900 °C, suggesting that quartz starts crystallizing at minimum temperatures of ≥ 800 °C. These results, combined with the bulk-rock chemical composition of diatexites, allows the estimation of a minimum of ~ 30% melt and a corresponding viscosity of ~ 109–1010 Pa s. Such a minimum melt content and low viscosity are in agreement with interconnected melt networks observed in the field. Considering that these characteristics are homogeneous over a wide area, this supports the finding that the strength of the middle crust was severely weakened by extensive partial melting, making it prone to gravity-driven flow and lateral extrusion.
ISSN: 1869-9510

hal-01116434
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01116434
DOI : 10.5194/se-5-1223-2014

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD European Geosciences Union
Résumé : No abstract available
ISSN: 1869-9510

hal-01115507
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01115507
DOI : 10.5194/se-5-509-2014

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD European Geosciences Union
Résumé : International audience
During the GWADASEIS cruise (Lesser Antilles volcanic arc, February-March 2009) a very high resolution (VHR) seismic-reflection survey was performed in order to constrain Late Quaternary to Present faulting. The profiles we obtained evidence frequent "ponding" of reworked sediments in the deepest areas, similar to the deposition of Mediterranean "homogenites". These bodies are acoustically transparent (few ms t.w.t. thick) and are often deposited on the hanging walls of dominantly normal faults, at the base of scarps. Their thickness appears sufficient to compensate (i.e. bury) co-seismic scarps between successive earthquakes, resulting in a flat and horizontal sea floor through time. In a selected area (offshore Montserrat and Nevis islands), piston coring (4 to 7 m long) was dedicated to a sedimentological analysis of the most recent of these particular layers. It corresponds to non-stratified homogenous calcareous silty sand (reworked calcareous plankton and minor volcanoclastics). This layer can be up to 2 m thick, and overlies finegrained hemipelagites. The upper centimeters of the latter represent the normal RedOx water/sediment interface. 210Pb and 137Cs activities lack in the massive sands, while a normal profile of unsupported 210Pb decrease is observed in the hemipelagite below, together with a 137Cs peak correspond- ing to the Atmospheric Nuclear Experiments (1962). The RedOx level was thus capped by a recent instantaneous major sedimentary event considered as post-1970 AD; candidate seismic events to explain this sedimentary deposits are either the 16 March 1985 earthquake or the 8 October 1974 one (Mw=6.3 and Mw=7.4, respectively). This leads to consider that the syntectonic sedimentation in this area is not continuous but results from accumulation of thick homogenites deposited after the earthquakes (as observed in the following weeks after Haiti January 2010 event, McHugh et al., 2011). The existence of such deposits suggests that, in the area of study, vertical throw likely results from cumulated effects of separated earthquakes rather than from aseismic creep. Examination of VHR profiles shows that all major co-seismic offsets are recorded in the fault growth sequence and that co-seismic offsets can be precisely estimated. By using a sedimentation rate deduced from 210Pb decrease curve (0.5 mm yr−1) and taking into account minor reworking events detected in cores, we show that the Redonda system may have been responsible for five >M6 events during the last 34 000 yr. The approach presented in this work differs from fault activity analyses using displaced sets of isochronous surfaces and postulating co-seismic offsets. Combining VHR seismic imagery and coring we can decipher co-seismic vs. slow continuous displacement, and thus actually estimate the amplitude and the time distribution of major co-seismic offsets.
ISSN: 1561-8633

insu-00844581
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00844581
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00844581/document
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00844581/file/nhess-12-1755-2012.pdf
DOI : 10.5194/nhess-12-1755-2012

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD European Geosciences Union
Résumé : The fixation of carbon in tropical forests mainly occurs through the production of wood and leaves, both being the principal components of net primary production. Currently field and satellite observations are independently used to describe the forest carbon cycle, but the link between satellite-derived forest phenology and field-derived forest productivity remains opaque. We used a unique combination of a MODIS enhanced vegetation index (EVI) dataset, a wood production model based on climate data and direct litterfall observations at an intra-annual timescale in order to question the synchronism of leaf and wood production in tropical forests. Even though leaf and wood biomass fluxes had the same range (respectively 2.4 +/- 1.4 and 2.2 +/- 0.4 Mg C ha(-1) yr(-1)), they occurred separately in time. EVI increased with leaf renewal at the beginning of the dry season, when solar irradiance was at its maximum. At this time, wood production stopped. At the onset of the rainy season, when new leaves were fully mature and water available again, wood production quickly increased to reach its maximum in less than a month, reflecting a change in carbon allocation from short-lived pools (leaves) to long-lived pools (wood). The time lag between peaks of EVI and wood production (109 days) revealed a substantial decoupling between the leaf renewal assumed to be driven by irradiance and the water-driven wood production. Our work is a first attempt to link EVI data, wood production and leaf phenology at a seasonal timescale in a tropical evergreen rainforest and pave the way to develop more sophisticated global carbon cycle models in tropical forests.
ISSN: 1726-4170

hal-01268497
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01268497
DOI : 10.5194/bg-10-7307-2013
PRODINRA : 256018