Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : Volatile-rich, silica-undersaturated alkaline lavas record the important role of fluids during fluid-rock and magma-rock interactions in the mantle, which are key processes to understand the dynamics of the convective mantle and lithosphere-asthenosphere interactions in intracontinental settings. The aim of this thesis is to bring new constraints on the genesis of alkaline magmas by characterizing the crystallization conditions, the source and the partial melting processes taking part in the genesis of olivine nephelinites, pyroxene nephelinites and basanites from the Jbel Saghro volcanic field in the Moroccan Anti Atlas.The petrological and geochemical study of rocks and minerals coupled with the analysis of fluid inclusions constrains the pre-eruptive conditions of Saghro nephelinites to 1.7–2.2 GPa and ~1350 °C. Minerals show that nephelinitic magmas are rich in volatile elements (Cl, F, S), and fluid inclusions indicate that magmas were saturated with a CO2-rich fluid at pressures > 590 MPa. The various mineralogical assemblages and the presence of peridotite xenoliths suggest a rapid ascent for olivine nephelinites and more complex processes at depth for pyroxene nephelinites.Fractional crystallization and partial melting modelling of Saghro mafic lavas indicate that they are low-degree melts (0.6–2.5 %) of an amphibole-bearing carbonated peridotite enriched in incompatible elements, at the garnet-spinel transition (~80–85 km). Saghro nephelinites display a temporal evolution with a slight increase of the degree of melting and a decrease of the amount of residual amphibole from the oldest (olivine nephelinites, 9.6 Ma) to the most recent (pyroxene nephelinites, 2.9 Ma). Basanites form a system that is independent from nephelinites and are slightly higher-degree melts. Important variations in their chemical composition suggest variable amounts of fractional crystallization during ascent.The peculiar characteristics of Saghro nephelinites and basanites (enrichment in incompatible elements, negative anomalies in K, Zr, Hf and Ti, high Ca/Al and Zr/Hf ratios) indicate that their source was affected by carbonatitic metasomatism. The influence of this metasomatism is stronger for pyroxene nephelinites than for olivine nephelinites. These results suggest fluid-rock interactions beneath the Northwest African Craton, leading to the formation of a metasomatized mantle by CO2-rich carbonatitic components at the lithosphere-asthenosphere transition. The origin of the metasomatism inducing source enrichment and the formation of amphibole veins could be attributed to the melting of relict subducted oceanic lithosphere. The relatively low melting temperatures (< 1350 °C) suggest the absence of a thermal anomaly beneath the Jbel Saghro, and thus support a lithosphere delamination model as precursor of Saghro volca0,3nism. However, the increasing degree of partial melting over time, also observed in the Middle Atlas, together with the isotopic and geochemical similarities with Canary Islands alkaline lavas does not allow us to discard the influence of a deviation of the Canary mantle plume beneath northwest Africa.
Les laves alcalines sous-saturées riches en éléments volatils sont les marqueurs du rôle important des fluides dans le manteau et des interactions fluide-roche et magma-roche, processus clés pour comprendre la dynamique du manteau convectif et les interactions asthénosphère-lithosphère en domaine intracontinental. L’objectif de cette thèse est d’apporter de nouvelles contraintes sur la genèse des magmas alcalins en caractérisant les conditions de cristallisation, la source et les processus de fusion partielle à l’origine des néphélinites à olivine, des néphélinites à pyroxène et des basanites du champ volcanique du Jbel Saghro dans l’Anti-Atlas marocain.L’étude pétrologique et géochimique des roches et des minéraux, couplée à l’analyse des inclusions fluides a permis de contraindre les conditions pré-éruptives des néphélinites de Saghro à 1.7–2.2 GPa et ~1350 °C. Les minéraux montrent que les magmas néphélinitiques sont riches en éléments volatils (Cl, F, S), et les inclusions fluides indiquent que les magmas étaient saturés en fluide riche en CO2 à des pressions > 590 MPa. Les différents assemblages minéralogiques des néphélinites et la présence de xénolites péridotitiques suggèrent une ascension rapide des néphélinites à olivine et des processus plus complexes en profondeur pour les néphélinites à pyroxène.La modélisation des processus de cristallisation fractionnée et de fusion partielle des laves mafiques de Saghro a permis de déterminer qu’elles sont issues de faibles taux de fusion partielle (0.6–2.5 %) d’une péridotite carbonatée enrichie en éléments incompatibles, au niveau de la transition grenat–spinelle (~80–85 km) et en présence d’amphibole. Les néphélinites de Saghro montrent une évolution temporelle avec une légère augmentation du taux de fusion et une diminution de la quantité d’amphibole au résidu des plus anciennes (néphélinites à olivine, 9.6 Ma) aux plus récentes (néphélinites à pyroxène, 2.9 Ma). Les basanites forment un système indépendant des néphélinites et sont issues de taux de fusion plus élevés. Les fortes variations dans leur composition chimique suggèrent qu’elles ont subi de la cristallisation fractionnée lors de leur ascension.Les caractéristiques particulières des néphélinites et basanites de Saghro (enrichissement en éléments incompatibles, anomalies négatives en K, Zr, Hf et Ti, rapports Ca/Al et Zr/Hf élevés) indiquent que leur source a subi un métasomatisme principalement carbonatitique. L’influence de ce métasomatisme est plus forte pour les néphélinites à pyroxène que pour les néphélinites à olivine, impliquant une évolution temporelle de l’intensité du métasomatisme. Ces résultats suggèrent des interactions fluide-roche sous le craton Nord-Ouest Africain, entraînant la formation d'un manteau métasomatisé par des composants carbonatitiques riches en CO2 au niveau de la transition lithosphère-asthénosphère. L’origine du métasomatisme provoquant l’enrichissement de la source et la formation de veines d’amphibole pourrait être liée à la fusion de reliquats de croûte océanique subductée. Les températures de fusion relativement faibles (< 1350 °C) suggèrent l’absence d’anomalie thermique sous le Jbel Saghro, et favorisent donc un modèle de délamination de la lithosphère comme initiateur du volcanisme. Cependant, l’augmentation du taux de fusion partielle au cours du temps, également observée dans le Moyen Atlas, et les similitudes isotopiques et géochimiques avec les laves alcalines des îles Canaries ne permettent pas d’exclure une influence du panache des Canaries sur la source du volcanisme alcalin du Jbel Saghro.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01615888

NNT : 2015MONTS070
tel-01615888
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01615888
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01615888/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01615888/file/53752_CHAMBOREDON_2015_archivage_cor.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
In petroleum industry, the difference between pore pressure (Pp) and minimum horizontal stress Sh (termed the seal or retention capacity) is of major consideration because it is often assumed to represent how close a system is to hydraulic failure and thus the maximum hydrocarbon column height that can be maintained. While Sh and Pp are often considered to be independent parameters, several studies in the last decade have demonstrated that Sh and Pp are in fact coupled. However, the nature of this coupling relationship remains poorly understood. In this paper, we explore the influences of the spatial pore pressure distribution on Sh/Pp coupling and then on failure pressure predictions and trap integrity evaluation. With analytical models, we predict the fluid pressure sustainable within a reservoir before failure of its overpressured shale cover. We verify our analytical predictions with experiments involving analogue materials and fluids. We show that hydraulic fracturing and seal breach occur for fluid pressure greater than it would be expected from conventional retention capacity. This can be explained by the impact of the fluid overpressure field in the overburden and the pressure diffusion around the reservoir on the principal stresses. We calculate that supralithostatic pressure could locally be reached in overpressured covers. We also define the retention capacity of a cover (RC) surrounding a fluid source or reservoir as the difference between the failure pressure and the fluid overpressure prevailing in shale at the same depth. In response to a localized fluid pressure rise, we show that the retention capacity does not only depend on the pore fluid overpressure of the overburden but also on the tensile strength of the cover, its Poisson's ratio, and the depth and width of the fluid source.
ISSN: 0264-8172

hal-00590497
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00590497
DOI : 10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2010.08.007

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
Résumé : Geothermal energy is considered as a green and infinite energy source at human scale. Currently, the yield of geothermal power plants is limited to temperatures of the operating fluid which 350 °C. From tectonic and volcanic activity at mid-ocean ridges, Iceland is a location where supercritical fluid extraction (T> 375 °C) can considered for the near future. Exploiting such fluids could theoretically multiply by a factor of ten the electrical power delivered by geothermal wells. Can such fluids circulate at the base of brittle oceanic crust? This work investigates the petrophysical properties of basalts in order to constrain geophysical observations in Iceland and predict the behavior of very high temperature geo-hydrothermal reservoirs. The first approach consisted in studying the physical properties of rocks that have hosted deep hydrothermal circulations at oceanic ridges. The study of these rocks at ODP Site 1256 shows that the porosity measured both in the field and in the lab is associated with amphibolite facies alteration minerals (T> 500 ° C). The second approach was to recreate in the laboratory the conditions of pressure, temperature and pore fluid pressure of high temperature to supercritical hydrothermal systems to predict the mechanical and electrical properties of basalts under these conditions. The mechanical results indicate that the brittle/ductile transition occurs at a temperature of about 550° C, where a strong permeability decrease is expected. The implementation and calibration of a new cell for measuring electrical conductivity at high temperature provide the first results for the interpretation of geophysical data. When applied to basaltic crustal conditions in Iceland, these results indicate that hydrothermal fluids could circulate, at least temporarily, in a supercritical state up to 5 km depth.
La géothermie est considérée comme une source d'énergie propre et inépuisable à échelle humaine. Actuellement, le rendement des centrales géothermiques est limité à l'exploitation de fluides de températures inférieures à 350 °C. L'association de l'activité tectonique et volcanique aux dorsales océaniques fait de l'Islande un lieu où l'extraction de fluides supercritiques (T> 375 °C) peut être envisagée. Cette exploitation pourrait multiplier par dix la puissance électrique délivrée par le système géothermal. Ces fluides peuvent-ils circuler dans la croûte océanique ? Ce travail propose de contraindre les observations géophysiques et de prédire le fonctionnement des réservoirs géo-hydrothermaux de très haute température par l'étude des propriétés physiques des basaltes. La première approche est focalisée sur l'étude de roches ayant accueilli une circulation hydrothermale par le passé. L'étude de ces roches au site ODP 1256, montre que leur porosité est associée à la présence de minéraux d'altération hydrothermale du facies amphibolite (T> 500 °C). La seconde approche a consisté à recréer, en laboratoire, les conditions des systèmes hydrothermaux, à très haute température, afin de prédire les propriétés mécaniques et électriques des basaltes dans ces conditions. Les résultats mécaniques indiquent que la transition fragile/ductile, souvent associée à une forte décroissance de perméabilité, intervient à une température d'environ 550 °C. La mise en place d'une cellule de mesure de la conductivité électrique de haute température a fourni les premiers résultats utiles à l'analyse des données géophysiques. Appliqués aux conditions de la croûte basaltique Islandaise, ces résultats indiquent que des fluides hydrothermaux pourraient circuler au moins transitoirement à l'état supercritique jusqu'à ~ 5 km de profondeur.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00591798

tel-00591798
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00591798
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00591798/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00591798/file/THESE_MV_pro.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union
Résumé : International audience
We present a 2-D Contact Dynamics discrete element model for simulating initiation and motion of rock avalanches, integrating hillslope geometry, Mohr-Coulomb rock behavior, pore pressure before avalanche triggering, and avalanche trigger. Avalanche motion is modeled as a dense granular flow of dry frictional and cohesive particles. On the basis of granular physics and shear experiments, we review some of the theories for the unexpectedly long runout of rock avalanches. Different causes are evoked, according to the strength (strong or weak) of the slip surface relative to the bulk. "Mechanical fluidization'' and "acoustic fluidization'' theories state that agitation of rock particles reduces frictional strength, increasing runout. Conversely, granular mechanics suggests that, as "shear-strain'' rate increases, granular material becomes more agitated, more dissipative, and more resistant. Another theory states that dynamic fragmentation of clasts creates an isotropic pressure that drives longer runout. In contrast, granular mechanics suggests that fragmentation may induce fluidization and strengthening of the granular material, while particle size reduction (among others) induces weakening of the granular flow and enhances long runout. Runout is also enhanced for column-like rock masses collapsing from steep hillslopes. Long runout may also be linked to thermal weakening mechanisms at the slip surface (e.g., thermal pressurization, and shear melting), which may lower drastically the shear strength. The model is illustrated with a hypothetical example of a rain-triggered avalanche, mobilizing shallowly dipping layers. Several phases are identified, including slope failure, avalanche triggering resulting from slip weakening, and avalanche motion in which rocks are folded and sheared.
ISSN: 0148-0227

hal-00420883
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00420883
DOI : 10.1029/2008JF001072

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The 40Ar/39Ar geochronological technique has significantly contributed to the study of crustal deformation. However, the frequent occurrence of extraneous argon in high-pressure terrains can make the interpretation of 40Ar/39Ar ages problematic. This contribution attempts to: i) characterize the distribution and origin of extraneous argon in the Cycladic Blueschist Unit (CBU, Greece) by applying the 40Ar/39Ar dating technique on three Cycladic islands, Syros, Tinos and Ios, which span a complete transect of the CBU and ii) discuss regional implications for the tectonometamorphic evolution of the CBU. Our results, combined with ages available in the literature, show that periods of peak-burial conditions (55–49 Ma) and syn- (45–38 Ma) to post-orogenic exhumation (37–21 Ma) are well constrained in the CBU by the 40Ar/39Ar method. Moreover, Variscan apparent ages are preserved in the Cycladic basement of Ios, indicating that the 40Ar/39Ar system was not completely reset during the Eocene metamorphic episode. Additionally, our 40Ar/39Ar data show that the occurrence of extraneous argon is heterogeneously distributed in the CBU. While high-pressure rocks of Syros and Tinos are only locally affected, extraneous argon is clearly evidenced in the CBU of Ios, yielding geologically meaningless ages up to 900 Ma. On each island, the most affected ages were obtained in microstructures where fluid circulation is enhanced such as shear bands or strain shadows around garnets. We suggest that the Cycladic Basement, a polymetamorphic continental unit, behaved as an argon reservoir that has been mobilized by fluid circulation at the Eocene. These argon-enriched fluids have then heterogeneously contaminated metamorphic rocks when percolating through the CBU. Finally, we claim that a minimum closure temperature of 550 °C must be accepted for the phengites of the CBU and conclude that volume diffusion is not the main process resetting the argon isotopic system in high-pressure rocks compare to recrystallization enhanced by fluid circulation and deformation.
ISSN: 0024-4937

Droits : http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/
insu-01424268
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01424268
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01424268/document
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01424268/file/Valentin-Lithos-Accepted-2016.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.lithos.2016.12.013

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union
Résumé : International audience
The brittle to ductile transition (BDT) in rocks may strongly influence their transport properties (i.e., permeability, porosity topology ...) and the maximum depth and temperature where hydrothermal fluids may circulate. To examine this transition in the context of Icelandic crust, we conducted deformation experiments on a glassy basalt (GB) and a glass-free basalt (GFB) under oceanic crust conditions. Mechanical and micro-structural observations at a constant strain rate of 10(-5) s(-1) and at confining pressure of 100-300 MPa indicate that the rocks are brittle and dilatant up to 700-800 degrees C. At higher temperatures and effective pressures the deformation mode becomes macroscopically ductile, i.e., deformation is distributed throughout the sample and no localized shear rupture plane develops. The presence of glass is a key component reducing the sample strength and lowering the pressure of the BDT. In the brittle field, strength is consistent with a Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion with an internal coefficient of friction of 0.42 for both samples. In the ductile field, strength is strain rate-and temperature-dependent and both samples were characterized by the same stress exponent in the range 3 < n < 4.2 but by very different activation energy Q(GB) = 59 +/- 15 KJ/mol and Q(GFB) = 456 +/- 4 KJ/mol. Extrapolation of these results to the Iceland oceanic crust conditions predicts a BDT at similar to 100 degrees C for a glassy basalt, whereas the BDT might occur in non-glassy basalts at deeper conditions, i.e., temperatures higher than 550 +/- 100 degrees C, in agreement with the Icelandic seismogenic zone.
ISSN: 0148-0227

hal-00760905
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00760905
DOI : 10.1029/2011JB008884

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
This study analyses the interactions between deformation and reactive fluid and melt percolation, and their effects on sub-arc mantle seismic properties based on microstructural observations on mantle xenoliths extracted by the Tubaf and Edison seamounts close to the Lihir Island, in the Papua New Guinea archipelago. These xenoliths sample an oceanic lithosphere, which has experienced high-temperature deformation in the presence of fluids or melts. This was followed by metasomatism under static conditions. Syn-kinematic percolation of reactive Si-rich melts or fluids in peridotites has produced pyroxene-enrichment, grain size reduction, and dispersion of olivine crystal preferred orientation (CPO). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses show that olivine has very low water contents (1-4 wt. ppm H2O), similar to spinel peridotites from other subduction zones. These low values may record both low water solubility in olivine at low pressure and dehydration during transport and exhumation. Water contents in pyroxenes are highly variable and likely result from spatially heterogeneous melt or fluid percolation. Analysis of olivine CPO indicates dominant activation of both (010)[100] and (001)[100] slip systems, which are characteristic of deformation under high temperature, low stress, low pressure and low to moderate hydrous conditions. Fast S-wave polarization and P- and Rayleigh propagation directions are thus parallel to the mantle flow direction. The pyroxene enrichment by melt-rock reactions is accompanied by dispersion of olivine CPO and induces a significant decrease of the maximum S-wave and P-wave anisotropy in the peridotites. The calculated seismic properties also show that the lowest Vp/Vs ratios (< 1.7) mapped in fore-arc mantle may only be explained by taking in consideration the CPO-induced elastic anisotropy of the peridotites.
ISSN: 0040-1951

hal-00950058
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00950058
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2013.09.024

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
At Cima di Gagnone, garnet peridotite and chlorite harzburgite lenses within pelitic schists and gneisses correspond to eclogite-facies breakdown products of hydrated peridotites and are suitable for studying dehydration of serpentinized mantle. Thermobarometry and pseudosection modelling yield peak temperatures of 750-850°C and pressures <3 GPa. The minimum temperature recorded by the garnet peridotite corresponds to the maximum conditions experienced by the chlorite harzburgite, suggesting that these rocks recrystallized cofacially at ∼800°C. Alternatively, they might have decoupled during subduction, as achieved in tectonically active plate interface boundaries. The major and rare earth element (REE) variability of the peridotites was mostly acquired during pre-subduction mantle evolution as a result of partial melting and reactive melt flow. The ultramafic suite is also characterized by fluid-mobile element enrichments (B, Pb, As, Sb, Cs, Li, U, Be), which confirm derivation from variably serpentinized protoliths. Similarity in the U, Pb, B, Li and Sr contents of the Gagnone peridotites to present-day oceanic serpentinites suggests that these elements were partly taken up during initial serpentinization by seawater-derived fluids. Positive Be, As and Sb anomalies suggest involvement of fluids equilibrated with crustal (metasedimentary) reservoirs during subsequent subduction metamorphism and peridotite entrainment in (meta)sediments. Fluid-mobile element enrichment characterizes all peak eclogitic minerals, implying that multiple hydration events and element influx pre-dated the eclogite-facies dehydration. Peak anhydrous minerals retain B, Li, As and Sb concentrations exceeding primitive mantle values and may introduce geochemical anomalies into the Earth's mantle. The relatively low contents of large ion lithophile elements and light REE in the Gagnone peridotites with respect to much higher enrichments shown by metasomatized garnet peridotite pods hosted in migmatites (Ulten Zone, Eastern Alps) suggest that the crustal rocks at Gagnone did not experience partial melting. The Gagnone garnet peridotite, despite showing evidence for chlorite dehydration, retains significant amounts of fluid-mobile elements documenting that no partial melting occurred upon chlorite breakdown. We propose that the Gagnone ultramafic rocks represent a prime example of multi-stage peridotite hydration and subsequent dehydration in a plate interface setting.
ISSN: 0022-3530

hal-01054319
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01054319
DOI : 10.1093/petrology/egt068

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
Résumé : This work provides new constraints on the interactions between deformation and percolation of melt or fluids, as well as on the implications of these processes for the seismic properties of the mantle wedge. It is based on the analysis of spinel peridotites from the massif of Ronda (Spain) and two xenolith suites from active subduction zones (Kamchatka, Papua New Guinea). A coupled structural, petrological and geochemical study of these samples shows that they underwent a reactive percolation of melts or Si-rich fluids, which was synchronous to a deformation event occurring under high temperature and low stress conditions, consistent with the PT conditions at the base of the lithosphere or in the asthenosphere. This reactive percolation is responsible for enrichment in pyroxenes, mainly orthopyroxene, which is often localized in bands parallel to the high-temperature foliation. This enrichment is associated with grain size reduction and dispersion of the crystallographic orientation of olivine. The dominant slip system in olivine is {0kl}[100], which results in fast S-wave polarization parallel to the flow direction in the mantle. The decrease in the intensity of the olivine crystal preferred orientations associated with the enrichment in pyroxene results in significant decrease of the anisotropy that may induce an underestimation of the thickness of the anisotropic layer by up to 33%. The observed orthopyroxene enrichment also lowers the Vp/Vs ratio, but cannot explain Vp/Vs < 1.7 mapped locally in the fore-arc mantle in Japan and the Andes. Such low Vp/Vs ratios may however be explained by considering the intrinsic anisotropy of the peridotites, which is generally ignored in large-scale Vp/Vs ratio mapping of the mantle wedge. Infrared analyses show that olivine from the both xenolith collections contains less water than the theoretical saturation calculated for their estimated equilibrium temperature in the spinel stability field. These low water content are similar to those observed in spinel peridotites from other subduction zones and probably record both the low solubility of water in olivine at relatively low pressure and dehydration during exhumation of the xenoliths. These measured water contents as well as theoretical saturation estimations are not sufficient to change the dominant slip direction of in olivine from [100] to [001].
Ce travail apporte de nouvelles contraintes sur les interactions entre déformation et processus d'hydratation et de percolation de magma ou de fluides dans le manteau à l'aplomb d'une zone de subduction et leurs implications sur les propriétés sismiques dans le coin mantellique. Il se base sur l'analyse de péridotites à spinelle provenant du massif de Ronda (Espagne) et deux séries de xénolites issues de zones de subduction actives (Kamchatka, Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée). L'étude structurale, pétrologique et géochimique de ces échantillons montrent qu'ils ont subit une percolation réactive de magma ou de fluide synchrone d'une déformation de haute température basse contrainte cohérente avec les condition PT de la base de la lithosphère ou de l'asthénosphère. Cette percolation réactive est responsable d'un enrichissement en pyroxènes, qui est souvent localisé dans des bandes parallèles à la foliation. Cet enrichissement est associé à une dispersion de l'orientation cristallographique de l'olivine. Les systèmes de glissement dominant dans l'olivine sont dans tous les cas {0kl}[100], ce qui implique que la direction de polarisation rapide des ondes S dans la partie supérieure du coin mantellique est parallèle à la direction d'écoulement dans le manteau. La décroissance de l'intensité des OPR de l'olivine associée à l'enrichissement en pyroxènes a pour conséquence une réduction non négligeable de l'anisotropie sismique qui peut induire jusqu'à 33% d'erreur sur l'interprétation de l'épaisseur de la couche anisotrope. Un enrichissement en orthopyroxène peut aussi entraîner une baisse du rapport Vp/Vs, mais ne peut expliquer les rapports Vp/Vs <1,7 cartés dans certains avant-arcs. Cependant de telles valeurs peuvent être expliquées si l'anisotropie des péridotites du coin mantellique est prise en compte. Les analyses par spectroscopie infra-rouge montrent que les olivines des deux séries de xénolites étudiées contiennent moins d'eau que la saturation théorique calculée pour leurs températures d'équilibre dans le domaine du spinelle. Ces faibles concentrations en eau sont similaires à celles observées dans les olivines des péridotites à spinelle des autres zones de subduction. Elles enregistrent probablement la faible solubilité de l'eau dans l'olivine à des pressions relativement basses et la déshydratation au cours de l'exhumation des xénolites. Ces teneurs en eau mesurées ainsi que les estimations de la saturation théorique ne sont pas suffisantes pour changer la direction de glissement dominante dans l'olivine de [100] à [001].
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00689832

tel-00689832
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00689832
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00689832/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00689832/file/These-Soustelle2010.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
A set of four reactive flow-through experiments at temperature T = 100 degrees C and total pressure P=12 MPa was performed in limestone reservoir samples. By using various ranging from 0.7 to 10 MPa, these experiments mimic mass transfers occurring (1) near the injection well, where the brine is almost saturated with CO2 (i.e. P-CO2 approximate to P), and (2) at increasing distances from the injection well, where the fluid displays lower values and higher divalent cation concentrations due rock dissolution along the fluid pathway. Results for P-CO2 = 10 MPa show non-uniform dissolution features associated with transport-controlled mass transfer, while reaction-controlled uniform dissolution is observed for P-CO2 = 2.5 MPa. The experiment with P-CO2 = 6 MPa allows investigating in detail the transition from transport-to reaction-controlled dissolution. Conversely, the experiment reproducing conditions far from the injection well (P-CO2 = 0.7 MPa), shows a decrease of porosity triggered by the precipitation of Mg-rich calcite. For all the dissolution experiments, the time-resolved porosity phi(t) can be modeled by a simple non-linear equation including parameters that characterise the dissolution regime triggered by the reactivity of the inlet fluid (measured by the Damkohler number, Da). Furthermore, all dissolution experiments display power scaling between permeability (k) and porosity (phi) with distinctly different scaling exponents characterising the reactivity of the fluid percolating the sample, independently from the decrease with time of the reactive surface area. It is shown also that dissolution at moderate positive values of Da seems the most efficient to increase permeability and promote a rapid spreading of the reaction front, while inducing minimal modification of the porosity in the vicinity of the CO2 injection well. These results can be used to parameterize the k-phi function for modeling the earliest dissolution processes occurring in the vicinity of the reaction front.
ISSN: 0009-2541

hal-00445277
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00445277
DOI : 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2009.03.028

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The Tso Morari serpentinites in the Ladakh area, northwest Himalaya, originated from the forearc mantle overlying the northward subducting Neo-Tethys lithosphere and the margin of the Indian continent. The serpentinites are characterized by high concentration of fluid-mobile elements (FME: As, Sb, B, Li, and U) compared to ophiolitic or abyssal serpentinites. The Pb isotopic compositions of serpentinites show influence of the subducted Indian continental lithosphere. Trace element concentrations of antigorite determined in situ with Laser Ablation High Resolution Inductively Coupled Mass Spectrometer (LA-HR-ICP-MS) show high contents of FME including Pb, in contrast to the spatially associated iron oxides. Rare earth elements (REE) and compatible elements, such as Sc and Co, remained immobile during the hydration, allowing the identification of the primary minerals (olivine or orthopyroxene) from which serpentine formed. Serpentinized olivine displays higher Sb and As concentrations (up to 1000 x PM) than serpentinized orthopyroxenes that are enriched in Pb, Cs and Li (2 to up to 10 x PM).;We propose that the observed FME distribution in two types of serpentine reflect the differential incorporation of FME during the downward movement of the serpentinite along the subduction plane. At temperature lower than 400 degrees C, at shallow depths, olivine is preferentially serpentinized and incorporates elements that are fluid soluble at low temperatures, such as Sb and As. Above 400 degrees C, orthopyroxene is hydrated and incorporates Pb, Cs, Li and possibly Ba. Boron and U are incorporated in both types of serpentine suggesting that they are released from slabs at temperatures around 300-400 degrees C. The serpentine acts as a sink for water, but also for FME and transports them to deeper and hotter levels in the mantle, down to the isotherm 600-650 degrees C where dehydration occurs.
ISSN: 0009-2541

hal-00475565
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00475565
DOI : 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2009.10.002

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : Understanding chemical element mobility during high-pressure metamorphism is paramount to the knowledge of the transformations occurring during the course of eclogite-facies metamorphism. In particular, the role of deformation and fluid circulation appear essential. In order to better decipher this role, we investigated two eclogite-facies samples from the Lindas Nappe in the Bergen arcs (Norwegian Caledonides), which are related to a fluid/deformation metamorphic event. This study, based on detailed microtextural investigations, coupled with major and trace element analyses, either in situ EMPA and LA-ICP-MS or by conventional ICP-MS nebulisation on mineral fractions, illustrates the complexity of chemical reactions accompanying the eclogite- and amphibolite-facies metamorphism. A single eclogite-facies mineral species two eclogite-facies (i.e. phengite and epidote) depicts various chemical features depending on its textural location at thin-section scale. The correlation with the mineralogical reaction occurring in each textural site demonstrates that the compositional variations are inherited from the precursor minerals. Thus, the composition of eclogite-facies minerals is locally controlled by the composition of few hundred-micron domains. On the contrary, alteration phases of the amphibolite facies (symplectite and calcic amphibole) display clear enrichment in LILE, Pb, Sr and LREE compared to their precursor minerals (omphacite and garnet). This supports that the transport of elements at hand-sample scale was enhanced during the retrogression and elements were efficiently delocalised from one textural site to another. The contrasting behaviour of element mobility between peak eclogite-facies metamorphism and retrogression can be explained in terms of rate processes and fluid/deformation activity. During eclogitisation,deformation allows the formation of textural and mineralogical microdomains. Contemporaneously the fluid circulation favours the development of heterogeneities by transport of elements in excess towards areas protected from deformation where phengite-bearing quartz lenses crystallise. This, together with the very fast recrystallisation of eclogite-facies minerals, results in a heterogeneous redistribution of elements at sample scale and in a chemical disequilibrium between different microdomains of hundred-micron size. During retrogression in the amphibolite facies, coeval with long-term ductile deformation, the fluids act as an efficient vector to redistribute the elements from a given textural site to another and, thus, allow to reach, at hand-sample scale, a new chemical equilibrium between the different crystallising phases.
ISSN: 0024-4937

hal-00404602
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00404602
DOI : 10.1016/j.lithos.2006.10.001

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Ocean Drilling Programm
Résumé : This paper provides a summary of postcruise scientific results from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 209 available to date, building upon shipboard observations and syntheses summarized in the Leg 209 Initial Results volume. During Leg 209, 19 holes were drilled at 8 sites along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge from 14°43´ to 15°44´N, mainly in residual mantle peridotite intruded by gabbroic rocks, in order to understand the tectonic and structural processes responsible for formation of oceanic lithosphere with abundant residual peridotite exposed on the seafloor coupled with a relatively low proportion of volcanic rocks. Based on proportions of recovered lithologies, the entire area may be underlain by mantle peridotite with ~20%–40% gabbroic intrusions and impregnations. Impregnated peridotites with olivine + two pyroxenes + plagioclase + spinel that apparently formed in equilibrium probably record crystallization from primitive mid-ocean-ridge basalt at pressures of 0.5–0.6 GPa. Metamorphic equilibria record isobaric cooling to ~1100°C at this pressure. Thus, the conductively cooled thermal boundary layer beneath the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in this region is >15 km thick. Combined crystallization and reaction with residual peridotite formed a series of impregnated peridotites recording increasing Na content at nearly constant Mg#; this process could explain some of the variation in fractionation-corrected Na (e.g., Na = 8.0) observed in mid-ocean-ridge basalts. Clinopyroxene textures and compositions record such impregnation processes, and they are particularly well documented for Site 1274. Other Leg 209 gabbroic rocks formed from extensive crystallization of highly evolved melts, indicating that a substantial proportion of melt entering the thermal boundary layer crystallizes entirely beneath the seafloor, with no volcanic equivalent. Alteration of peridotites occurred over a range of temperatures and is the result of three distinct processes: rock-dominated serpentinization with formation of brucite in olivine-rich lithologies, fluid-dominated serpentinization with formation of magnetite and no brucite, and fluid-dominated talc alteration with addition of SiO2 as well as H2O and oxygen. The latter two processes also exhibit detectable trace element metasomatism that is distinct in its character from the igneous impregnation described in the previous paragraph. Microstructures show that most residual peridotites were not ductilely deformed at temperatures less than ~1200°C. Structural and paleomagnetic data require tectonic rotations of relatively undeformed blocks; some rotations probably exceeded 60° around nearly horizontal axes parallel to the rift axis. Rotations occurred along several generations of high-temperature mylonitic shear zones extending deeper than 15 km depth and numerous faults at lower temperature. Early formed shear zones and faults were passively rotated around later features; such a process could have produced low-angle fault surfaces without slip on low-angle faults. This region provides end-member examples of processes that are common at many or most slow-spreading ridges. Osmium isotope ratios indicate an ancient history of depletion for residual peridotites from the 14°–16°N region along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Though depleted Os isotope ratios in peridotite have been reported elsewhere along the global ridge system, the values from this region are among the most depleted. In general, Os isotope ratios from mid-ocean-ridge basalts are systematically more radiogenic than Os isotope ratios from ridge peridotite samples, suggesting a polygenetic heterogeneous source for mid-ocean-ridge basalts. Geochemical studies of zircons from Leg 209 gabbroic rocks and impregnated peridotites, together with other ridge and arc-related zircons, indicate that ridge zircons have systematically lower fractionation-corrected U and Th concentrations compared to arc zircons. This observation provides a tool for interpreting the tectonic provenance of ancient detrital zircons and indicates an arclike provenance for Hadean detrital zircons. Geobiological studies and aerobiological studies were also undertaken during Leg 209. The geobiological work found no measurable microbial enhancement of olivine dissolution rate, possibly because the samples from Leg 209 were sterile. The aerobiological study determined that dust from North Africa, collected from the derrick of the JOIDES Resolution during Leg 209, contains a variety of abundant microorganisms.
Proceedings ODP, scientific results, 209

hal-00407966
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00407966
DOI : 10.2973/odp.proc.sr.209.001.2007

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 Nature Publishing Group
Résumé : International audience
Temperature and fluid pressure conditions control rock deformation and mineralization on geological faults, and hence the distribution of earthquakes1. Typical intraplate continental crust has hydrostatic fluid pressure and a near-surface thermal gradient of 31 ± 15 degrees Celsius per kilometre2, 3. At temperatures above 300–450 degrees Celsius, usually found at depths greater than 10–15 kilometres, the intra-crystalline plasticity of quartz and feldspar relieves stress by aseismic creep and earthquakes are infrequent. Hydrothermal conditions control the stability of mineral phases and hence frictional–mechanical processes associated with earthquake rupture cycles, but there are few temperature and fluid pressure data from active plate-bounding faults. Here we report results from a borehole drilled into the upper part of the Alpine Fault, which is late in its cycle of stress accumulation and expected to rupture in a magnitude 8 earthquake in the coming decades4, 5. The borehole (depth 893 metres) revealed a pore fluid pressure gradient exceeding 9 ± 1 per cent above hydrostatic levels and an average geothermal gradient of 125 ± 55 degrees Celsius per kilometre within the hanging wall of the fault. These extreme hydrothermal conditions result from rapid fault movement, which transports rock and heat from depth, and topographically driven fluid movement that concentrates heat into valleys. Shear heating may occur within the fault but is not required to explain our observations. Our data and models show that highly anomalous fluid pressure and temperature gradients in the upper part of the seismogenic zone can be created by positive feedbacks between processes of fault slip, rock fracturing and alteration, and landscape development at plate-bounding faults.
ISSN: 0028-0836

hal-01685757
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01685757
DOI : 10.1038/nature22355

Éditeur(s) : Oxford Univ Press
Résumé : In subduction zones, melting and dehydration of the subducted slab introduce material into the mantle wedge and modify its chemical and isotopic composition. As a consequence, island arc lavas differ significantly from mid-ocean ridge basalts and ocean island basalts. In some arcs, the composition of lavas is strongly influenced by the sedimentary material introduced with the slab; in others, magma composition is mainly affected by aqueous fluids released by the slab. The Lesser Antilles arc is known for its extreme continental-crust-like signature but for some Lesser Antilles lavas subducted sediments are barely involved and enrichment in fluid-mobile elements (Ba, U, Sr, Pb, etc.) is the dominant feature. Here we evaluate whether La/Sm is a quantitative proxy of sediment involvement in volcanic arcs, and we relate dehydration and melting processes to the temperature and pressure conditions of the slab. We use Martinique as a case study because in this island both dehydration and sediment melting fingerprints coexist. We measured major and trace elements for about 130 age-constrained samples, carefully chosen to cover all volcanic phases of Martinique (25 Ma to present). Using these results we demonstrate that: (1) weathering does not modify the La/Sm ratio; (2) fractional crystallization of amphibole and/or garnet does not increase La/Sm by more than 20%; (3) rare earth element transfer from wall-rock to magma during fractionation is not significant; (4) melting of the mantle source increases La/Sm by only about 20%. As a consequence, we show that the proportion of slab sediment incorporated in the mantle wedge controls the La/Sm ratio of the source. The observed correlations between La/Sm and Nd and Hf isotopic compositions indicate that the effect of sediment addition is the overwhelming factor: La/Sm is a good proxy for slab sediment proportion in Martinique. We observe a geographical gradient between slab dehydration and sediment melting on the island. Whereas lavas located on the western side of the island display a clear sedimentary input in their source, lavas located on the eastern side of the island, closer to the trench, are clearly influenced by dehydration of the subducted slab. In addition, the aqueous fluids clearly come from the subducted basalt and they did not interact with the overlying sediments. The influence of sediment added to the source of the magmas increases from the eastern part to the western part of the island. We relate this geographical change to the pressure and temperature conditions at the slab surface. Sediments probably cross their solidus under Martinique and hydrous melting is triggered. Finally, we show that under all volcanic arcs where the signature of sediments overwhelms the signature of fluids, the slab surface reaches P-T conditions that allow the subducted sediments to melt. Inversely, under most volcanic arcs where the signal of aqueous fluids dominates over sediment melts, the subducted slab is not hot enough for the sedimentary pile to melt.
Journal Of Petrology (0022-3530) (Oxford Univ Press), 2012-12 , Vol. 53 , N. 12 , P. 2441-2464

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00113/22392/20234.pdf
DOI:10.1093/petrology/egs055
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00113/22392/

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

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

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Before attaining the mantle wedge, where they trigger partial melting, volatiles released from dehydration reactions in the slab have to migrate across a relatively cold (<750 degrees C), peridotite-layer above the incoming slab. In order to unravel the mechanisms allowing for this initial stage of fluid transport, we performed a detailed field and microstructural study of metamorphic prograde peridotites in the Cerro del Almirez ultramafic massif (Betic Cordillera, Spain), where evidences of one of the most important dehydration reactions in subduction zones, the high-pressure antigorite breakdown (P = 1.6-1.9 GPa and T approximate to 680 degrees C), can be mapped in the field. This reaction led to arborescent growth of centimeter-size olivine and orthopyroxene, producing a chlorite-harzburgite with a spinifex-like texture. Microstructural observations and crystal preferred (CPO) mapping show no evidences of solid-state deformation during the prograde growth of olivine and orthopyroxene at the expenses of antigorite. However, a few tens to a hundred meters away from the reaction front, the metamorphic texture is partially obliterated by grain-size reduction in roughly planar conjugate zones, a few mm to meters wide. Grain size reduction zones (GSRZ) are characterized by (1) sharp contacts with undeformed spinifex-like texture domains, (2) important reduction of the olivine grain size (60-250 mu m), (3) olivine color change from brownish to colorless, (4) decrease in the modal amount of orthopyroxene, and (5) at the mm- to cm-scale, irregular shapes and abrupt terminations. Field and microstructural observations exclude that relative displacement took place across these GSRZ. Changes in modal composition imply reactions with fluids undersaturated in silica. Analysis of olivine crystal-preferred orientations (CPO) in GSRZ shows patterns similar, but more dispersed, than those in neighboring spinifex-like domains. It also reveals mm- to cm-scale discrete domains with rather homogeneous crystallographic orientations suggesting inheritance from the preexisting spinifex-like olivines in the host peridotite. Misorientation angles between neighboring grains in the GSRZ show peaks at similar to 5-10 degrees and similar to 20 degrees, but rotations are not crystallographically controlled. Based on these observations, we rule out the formation of the GSRZ by dynamic recrystallization during dislocation creep and propose that they record brittle deformation (microcraking) of the spinifex-like chlorite-harzburgite, probably induced by hydrofracturing at high pressure and relative low temperature conditions (680-710 degrees C). High-pressure hydrofracturing can, thus, be invoked as an efficient mechanism for fluid flow across the cold top-slab mantle layer, hence allowing the slab-derived fluids to ingress in the wedge.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-00534035
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00534035
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2010.06.029