Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : When the upper crust below the mountain ranges shows crustal extension with a direction collinear to the convergence direction, it is generally accepted that it is the result of gravitational collapse. However, recent studies challenge this paradigm by showing that erosion induces uplift and extension in the central part of the low convergent mountain ranges. In this study, we investigate the impact of denudation on the seismotectonic regime of mountain ranges.In order to identify a relationship between seismotectonic regime and erosion, the first part of this work presents a compilation of data in the mountain ranges. Based on these observations, a simple kinematic model is proposed to predict the seismotectonic regime of the study ranges.For low convergence rate and moderate mean elevation ranges, this model predicts an extension regime when the denudation rate is 15% higher than the convergence rate.The second part is devoted to the development of thermomechanical 2D finite element models to study the impact of surface processes on the deformation of the Pyrenees. The results show that the isostatic response to erosion reactivates pre-existing structures. The kinematics of an inherited fault plane can be predicted due to the gradient of the horizontal surface velocity profile. Thus, a plane located in the eroded zone is reactivated in normal fault when near the border of the erosion area, this same plane is reactivated in reverse fault. These results suggest that the current deformation in the North Pyrenean Zone could be the result of surface processes.Given the small number of studies quantifying erosion rates in the Pyrenees, the models developed in the second part suffer from high uncertainty. To remedy this, we study the central Pyrenees through a study that combines two types of data : watershed denudation rates from cosmogenic isotopes concentration, and incision rates from sediments buried in the karst. These results are presented in chapter 3. Denudation profiles obtained are consistent with reactivation of a normal fault plane located in the North Zone of the Central Pyrenees.From our study in the Pyrenees, a good correlation appears between the value of the rate of erosion and the glacier occupation. Given that the glaciers where more developed in the Alps, it raises the question of the impact of the late-würmian deglaciation on the present deformation of this range. A numerical model detailing this relationship is presented in the fourth chapter. Theresults show that deglaciation of the western Alps is controlled by the rheological heterogeneity of the crust. Some of our models predict uplift rates consistent with those highlighted by geodesy.
Lorsque l’extension de la croûte sous les parties hautes des chaînes de montagnes est colinéaire à la direction de convergence, il est traditionnellement admis que le moteur est l’effondrement gravitaire. Pourtant, des études récentes remettent en cause ce paradigme en montrant que l’érosion induit un soulèvement et de l’extension dans la partie centrale des chaînes de montagne à faible taux de convergence. L’objectif de notre étude est d’étudier l’impact de la dénudation de la topographie sur le régime sismo-tectonique des chaînes de montagnes.La première partie de ce travail présente une compilation de données dans les chaînes de montagnes afin de dégager des relations entre régime sismo-tectonique et érosion. Sur la base de ces observations, un modèle cinématique simple permettant de prévoir le régime de la chaîne est proposé. Ainsi, pour les chaînes à faible taux de convergence et d’élévation moyenne, ce modèleprédit de l’extension lorsque le taux de dénudation est 15% plus élevé que le taux de convergence.La deuxième partie est consacrée au développement d’un modèle thermo-mécanique 2D en éléments finis pour étudier l’impact des processus de surface sur la déformation des Pyrénées.Les résultats montrent que la réponse isostatique à l’érosion permet de réactiver des structurespré-existantes. La cinématique d’un plan de faille hérité peut être prédite grâce au gradient du profil des vitesses de surface horizontales. Ainsi, un plan situé dans la zone d’érosion est réactivé en faille normale alors qu’en bordure de cette zone une faille est réactivée en régime inverse. Ces résultats suggèrent que la déformation actuelle des Pyrénées pourrait être la conséquence d’unprocessus d’érosion.Compte tenu du faible nombre d’études quantifiant les taux d’érosion dans les Pyrénées, les modèles développés dans la deuxième partie souffrent d’une forte incertitude. Pour y remédier, nous avons cherché à les quantifier dans les Pyrénées Centrales grâce à une étude qui combine deux types de données : taux de dénudation des bassins versants à partir des isotopes cosmogéniques, et vitesses d’incision à partir des sédiments piégés dans les karsts. Ces résultats sontprésentés dans la troisième partie. Les profils de dénudation obtenus sont compatibles avec unrejeu en faille normale d’un plan situé dans la Zone Nord Pyrénéenne des Pyrénées Centrales.Notre étude dans les Pyrénées, montre une bonne corrélation entre la valeur du taux d’érosion et la cartographie de l’occupation glaciaire. Les glaciers ayant été plus développés dans les Alpes, cela pose la question de l’impact de la déglaciation tardi-Wurmienne sur la déformation actuelle de cette chaîne. Un modèle numérique détaillant cette relation est présenté dans le quatrième chapitre. Les résultats montrent que la déglaciation des Alpes occidentales est contrôléepar l’hétérogénéité rhéologique de la croute. Certains de nos modèles prédisent des vitesses de surrection compatibles avec celles mises en évidence par la géodésie.
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01262333

tel-01262333
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01262333
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01262333/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01262333/file/these-Genti-2015-postjury.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier Masson
Résumé : Normal faulting mechanisms observed in the northern foothills of the Central–Western Pyrenees are remarkable, since one expects thrust faults at a convergent plate boundary. To understand the mechanisms involved, we used numerical modeling and investigated the impact of the following processes: gravitational potential energy associated with topography and dense crustal blocks; isostatic compensation in response to denudation and/or sedimentation. To decipher the effects of each process, we designed three model geometries and added a pre-existing weak fault where most of the seismicity occurs. To evaluate our model results, we derived the fault slip rate from the focal mechanisms in the region where we have the fault in our model. We found a slip rate of ∼15 m/Ma, which is in agreement with our modelling results. We conclude that flexural rebound induced by surface processes is able to explain the seismicity in Central–Western Pyrenees.
ISSN: 1631-0713

hal-01346028
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01346028
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01346028/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01346028/file/Genti.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.crte.2015.08.004

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Orogenic wedges locally present chaotic tectonostratigraphic units that contain exotic blocks of various size, origin, age and lithology, embedded in a sedimentary matrix. The occurrence of ophiolitic blocks, sometimes huge, in such “mélanges” raises questions on (i) the mechanisms responsible for the incorporation of oceanic basement rocks into an accretionary wedge and (ii) the mechanisms allowing exhumation and redeposition of these exotic elements in “mélanges” during wedge growth.To address these questions, we present the results of a series of analogue experiments performed to characterize the processes and parameters responsible for accretion, exhumation and tectonosedimentary reworking of oceanic basement lithospheric fragments in an accretionary wedge.The experimental setup is designed to simulate the interaction between tectonics, erosion and sedimentation. Different configurations are applied to study the impact of various parameters, such as irregular oceanic floor due to structural inheritance, or the presence of layers with contrasted rheology that can affect deformation partitioning in the wedge (frontal accretion vs basal accretion) influencing its growth. Image correlation technique allows extracting instantaneous velocity field, and tracking of passive particles. By retrieving the particle paths determined from models, the pressure-temperature path of mélange units or elementary blocks can be discussed. The experimental results are then compared with observations from ophiolite-bearing mélanges in Taiwan (Lichi and Kenting mélanges) and Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material (RSCM) Thermometry data on rocks from the northern Apennines (Casanova mélange). A geological scenario is proposed following basic observations. The tectonic evolution of the retroside of doubly vergent accretionary wedges is mainly controlled by backthrusting and backfolding. The retro wedge is characterized by steep slopes that are prone to gravitational instabilities. It triggers submarine landslides inducing huge mass transfers. This erosion combined with backthrusting could favour exhumation of the ophiolitic fragments formerly accreted at the base of the wedge along the rough seafloor-sediments interface. Such an exhumed material can be reworked and deposited as debris- flows in proximal basins located at the foot of the retrowedge slope forming a tectono-sedimentary mélange. These syntectonic basins are continuously deformed and involved in prograding backthrusting-induced deformation.
ISSN: 0264-3707

hal-01395127
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01395127
DOI : 10.1016/j.jog.2016.05.008

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union
Résumé : International audience
More than 10 years of geodetic measurements demonstrate an uplift rate of 1–3 mm/yr of the high topography region of the Western Alps. By contrast, no significant horizontal motion has been detected. Two uplift mechanisms have been proposed: (1) the isostatic response to denudation responsible for only a fraction of the observed uplift and (2) the rebound induced by the Wurmian ice cap melting which predicts a broader uplifting region than the one evidenced by geodetic observations. Using a numerical model to fit the geodetic data, we show that a crustal viscosity contrast between the foreland and the central part of the Alps, the latter being weaker with a viscosity of 1021 Pa s, is needed. The vertical rates are enhanced if the strong uppermost mantle beneath the Moho is interrupted across the Alps, therefore allowing a weak vertical rheological anomaly over the entire lithosphere.
ISSN: 0094-8276

hal-01332757
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01332757
DOI : 10.1002/2016GL067821