Éditeur(s) : Elsevier Science Bv
Résumé : Here we present a new geochemical study of Lopevi volcano, one the most active volcanoes in the Vanuatu island arc. We focus on the temporally well-defined sequence of lava flows emitted since 1960, and for the first time, on pre-1960 volcanic products, including high-MgO basalts and felsic andesites, the most evolved lavas sampled so far on this island. This work reports the first Pb and Hf isotopic study of lavas from Lopevi island. These lavas display correlations between differentiation indexes such as SiO2 content and isotopic ratios. The felsic andesites extend the known correlations with both the least (Sr-Pb) and the most (Nd-Hf) radiogenic isotopic compositions on the island. Our results confirm that the rising magma interacted with the sub-arc crust. Assimilation-Fractional Crystallization (AFC) quantitative modeling of trace element ratios and isotopic compositions requires 1% and 10% of assimilated partial melts of a mafic oceanic crust to account for the pre- and post-1960 lavas, respectively. The post-1960 lavas differ from the former lavas emitted similar to 20 years earlier by enrichments in fluid mobile elements (K, Ba, Rb ... ), Th, and Light Rare Earth Elements (LREE). We ascribe these features to slight variations in the metasomatic agent added to the sub-arc mantle and ultimately derived from the subducted lithosphere. However, the contrasting time scales involved in subducted lithosphere dehydration and magma genesis, relative to the time elapsed between eruptions of the two lava series, suggest that two different portions of mantle which have undergone slightly different metasomatism, gave birth to the Lopevi lavas. These distinct magmas are still present beneath the volcano.
Journal Of Volcanology And Geothermal Research (0377-0273) (Elsevier Science Bv), 2013-08 , Vol. 264 , P. 72-84

Droits : 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00167/27801/26223.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2013.07.005
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00167/27801/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Nature Publishing Group
Résumé : International audience
The mantle and continental crust--Earth's main silicate reservoirs--have a lead isotope composition that is too radiogenic to have evolved from primitive Solar System material over 4.57 billion years1. To account for this imbalance, it has been suggested that unradiogenic lead may have partitioned into the metallic core2, 3, 4 or lower continental crust5. Alternatively, radiogenic lead could have been added to Earth later by meteorite impacts6. Unradiogenic lead was discovered in fragments of mantle rocks exhumed in the Horoman massif, Japan, implying that the mantle itself may provide a complementary reservoir of unradiogenic lead7. However, it is unclear why this unradiogenic component is not sampled by the melting that generates oceanic basalts8. Here we present double-spike lead isotope data for abyssal peridotite rocks, considered to represent suboceanic mantle, exposed on the Atlantic Ocean floor. We find that sulphides dated at about 1.83 billion years old and trapped as inclusions in silicate minerals preserve extremely unradiogenic lead isotope compositions. This unradiogenic lead could have been prevented from adding significantly to oceanic basalts if either the silicates shield the sulphide inclusions or if the sulphides reside in refractory mantle rocks that are rarely sampled during melting. We conclude that the lead isotope composition of the silicate Earth could be largely balanced by unradiogenic lead in sulphide in the mantle.
ISSN: 1752-0894

hal-00795575
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00795575
DOI : 10.1038/ngeo1531

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : Pb, Hf, Nd and Sr isotopes of basaltic lavas from the two Reunion Island volcanoes are reported in order to examine the origin of the sources feeding these volcanoes and to detect possible changes through time. Samples, chosen to cover the whole lifetime of the two volcanoes (from 2 Ma to present), yield a chemically restricted (compared to 0113 lavas) but complex distribution. Reunion plume isotopic characteristics have been defined on the basis of the composition of uncontaminated shield-building lavas from the Piton de la Fournaise volcano. The average epsilon(Nd), epsilon(Hf), Sr-87/Sr-86 and Pb-206/Pb-204, Pb-207/Pb-204, and Pb-208/Pb-204 isotope ratios calculated for this component are +4.4, +9.1, 0.70411, 18.97, 15.59 and 39.03, respectively. In Pb-Pb isotope space, each volcano defines a distinct linear trend but slight variation are also detected within the various volcanic sequences. The Piton des Neiges volcano yields a distinct and significantly more scattered isotopic distribution than Piton de la Fournaise for both Pb, Hf and Nd isotope tracers. A principal component analysis of the Pb isotope data from Piton de la Fournaise reveals a major contribution of the C and EM-1 components (with a clear Dupal flavor) as main components for the modem Reunion plume. The same components have been identified for Piton des Neiges but with a stronger participation of a depleted mantle component and a weaker EM-1 contribution. The compositional change of the lavas erupted by the Piton des Neiges and Piton de la Fournaise volcanoes is attributed to the impingement of two small-scale blobs of plume material at the base of the Reunion lithosphere. Compared to other hot-spots worldwide, in particular Hawaii and Kerguelen, magmas beneath Reunion are generated from a considerably more homogeneous, compositionally more primitive plume higher in Pb-206. Although shallow-level contamination processes have been locally detected they did not alter significantly the composition of the plume magmas. This is tentatively attributed to mantle dynamics producing small, high-velocity blobs that ascend rapidly through the lithosphere, and to the lack of a well-developed magma chamber at depth in the lithosphere.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-00412196
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00412196
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2007.11.018

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The In-Ezzane volcanic district (EZD), located at the triple junction of Algeria, Niger and Libya belongs to the Eastern Hoggar, covers 350 km2 and includes 9 volcanic edifices that are probably aligned along NW-SE faults, parallel to the Tafassasset valley. The low volume (0.7 and 1 km3) of emitted lavas, the similar morphology of the monogenic cones and the lack of differentiated rocks indicate that the volcanic activity of the EZD was restricted in time and volume. The new K-Ar age (i.e. 2.86 ± 0.07 Ma) indicates that the EZD is contemporaneous with the last alkali volcanism paroxysm in Hoggar and with the nearby Libyan volcanics. The EZD alkali basalts (mainly basanite) show a remarkable homogeneous compositions both in major elements (44.8 ⩽ SiO2 ⩽ 45.8 wt.%; 5.2 ⩽ (Na2O + K2O) ⩽ 6.2 wt.%), trace elements (4.3 ⩽ Th ⩽ 5.5 ppm; 34.7 ⩽ La ⩽ 44.7 ppm; 16.1 < La/Yb(N) < 21.6) and radiogenic isotopes (0.70285 < 87Sr/86Sr < 0.70303; 0.51298 < 143Nd/144Nd < 0.51301; (19.212 < 206Pb/204Pb < 19.340, 15.589 < 207Pb/204Pb < 15.602 and 38.834 < 208Pb/204Pb < 38.903). Relative to the Hoggar alkaly basalts the EZD basalts appear systematically impoverished in incompatible elements and show a depleted signature both in Sr and Nd isotopes (almost MORB-like). The Pb isotopes are relatively enriched and intermediate between tholeiites and alkali basalts of the Hoggar. This unusual geochemical signature, is uneasy to reconcile with the known characteristics of the Hoggar swell, and would rather fingerprint a circum cratonic mantle lying beneath the west border of the Murzuq craton (Libya).
ISSN: 0899-5362

hal-01054340
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01054340
DOI : 10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2013.12.001

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The decay of 187Re to 187Os provides a unique tracer of recycled lithosphere in the Earth's upper mantle, and the radiogenic Os isotope compositions of many mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) have been taken to indicate the presence of recycled oceanic crust in the mantle source. However, others have attributed the data to contamination by seawater or an age effect (due to 187Re decay following igneous crystallisation). This study presents new Re Os, U Th Ra and B isotope data for normal-MORB (N-MORB) glass (including 18 samples analysed previously). The scale of the variation in 187Os/188Os observed here in N-MORB glass ranges from 0.126 to 0.148, with a mean value of 0.133 ± 0.009 (2?). Previously published Os isotope data for MORB is shown to have been affected by an analytical artefact, and in particular the very radiogenic Os isotope compositions reported earlier are now shown not to exist. Nevertheless, some radiogenic Os isotope compositions are still seen in the data obtained here. Coupled Th and Ra excesses appear to rule out an age effect, at least, for those samples studied, however, ?11B covariations with 187Os/188Os are consistent with the assimilation of older oceanic crust (affected by seawater contamination). Individual sulphides (less likely to be affected by such contamination) are always less radiogenic than their glass host, with 187Os/188Os values ranging from 0.123 to 0.131. This indicates that sulphide precipitation occurred prior to contamination of the surrounding melt, but the data also suggest that low-Os sulphides have been affected by contamination through partial equilibration with that melt. Taken together, these indicate that dominant process responsible for the radiogenic Os isotope compositions of N-MORB glass is contamination by older oceanic crust. Although the influence of age effects and the presence of recycled material cannot be completely ruled out, Os-rich sulphides yield sub-chondritic Os isotope compositions which point rather to a long-term depletion in Re in the MORB source likely to have resulted from formation of the continental crust over much of Earth's history.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-00320075
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00320075
DOI : 10.1016/J.EPSL.2007.05.014

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Borntraeger Science Publishers
Résumé : This study characterizes the stratigraphical context as well as the palaeoenvironmental and sealevel trends during the Late Frasnian and Famennian in the Buschteich section (Thuringia, Germany). An integrated approach combines conodont biostratigraphy, chemostratigraphy based on carbon and oxygen isotopes, conodont biofacies analyses and investigations of the morphotypes of foraminifera that occur in the section was applied. Conodonts provided a fine-scale biostratigraphical framework. All the Famennian conodont biozones were identified, with the exception of the three lowest. The Frasnian – Famennian transition was further identified by a positive carbon isotope excursion. This continuous Famennian record is developed in a condensed limestone succession. The reddish Griotte facies, typical of strata of this period, were not documented. Black shales were not developed except for an interval of dark colored mud rocks corresponding to the Hangenberg event at the top of the section. The carbonate succession of Buschteich was deposited in an outer ramp environment, pelagic organisms are the dominant fauna. This is corroborated by the overall dominance of the deep-water conodont genus Palmatolepis. Microfacies, conodont biofacies and foramini fera indicated a deepening trend from the Lower crepida to the Lower rhomboidea Zone, followed by a shallowing trend from the Upper rhomboidea to the praesulcata Zone. This sequence overall matches the sea level reference curve for Euramerica. The timing of maximum water depth at Buschteich, as well as the general sea-level reference record, differs from the Col des Tribes (Montagne Noire, France). Differential uplift or overprinting of the long-term eustatic changes may be the cause of the discrepancy in the local sea-level records.
ISSN: 0078-0421

hal-01623111
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01623111
DOI : 10.1127/nos/2016/0318

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Sedimentary rocks and detrital minerals sample large areas of the continental crust, and they are increasingly seen as a reliable archive for its global evolution. This study presents two approaches to model the growth of the continental crust through the sedimentary archive. The first builds on the variations in U-Pb, Hf and O isotopes in global databases of detrital zircons. We show that uncertainty in the Hf isotope composition of the mantle reservoir from which new crust separated, in the 176Lu/177Hf ratio of that new crust, and in the contribution in the databases of zircons that experienced ancient Pb loss(es), adds some uncertainty to the individual Hf model ages, but not to the overall shape of the calculated continental growth curves. The second approach is based on the variation of Nd isotopes in 645 worldwide fine-grained continental sedimentary rocks with different deposition ages, which requires a correction of the bias induced by preferential erosion of younger rocks through an erosion parameter referred to as K. This dimensionless parameter relates the proportions of younger to older source rocks in the sediment, to the proportions of younger to older source rocks present in the crust from which the sediment was derived. We suggest that a Hadean/Archaean value of K = 1 (i.e., no preferential erosion), and that post-Archaean values of K = 4–6, may be reasonable for the global Earth system. Models built on the detrital zircon and the fine-grained sediment records independently suggest that at least 65% of the present volume of continental crust was established by 3 Ga. The continental crust has been generated continuously, but with a marked decrease in the growth rate at ~ 3 Ga. The period from > 4 Ga to ~ 3 Ga is characterised by relatively high net rates of continental growth (2.9–3.4 km3 yr− 1 on average), which are similar to the rates at which new crust is generated (and destroyed) at the present time. Net growth rates are much lower since 3 Ga (0.6–0.9 km3 yr− 1 on average), which can be attributed to higher rates of destruction of continental crust. The change in slope in the continental growth curve at ~ 3 Ga is taken to indicate a global change in the way bulk crust was generated and preserved, and this change has been linked to the onset of subduction-driven plate tectonics. At least 100% of the present volume of the continental crust has been destroyed and recycled back into the mantle since ~ 3 Ga, and this time marks a transition in the average composition of new continental crust. Continental crust generated before 3 Ga was on average mafic, dense, relatively thin (< 20 km) and therefore different from the calc-alkaline andesitic crust that dominates the continental record today. Continental crust that formed after 3 Ga gradually became more intermediate in composition, buoyant and thicker. The increase in crustal thickness is accompanied by increasing rates of crustal reworking and increasing input of sediment to the ocean. These changes may have been accommodated by a change in lithospheric strength at around 3 Ga, as it became strong enough to support high-relief crust. This time period therefore indicates when significant volumes of continental crust started to become emergent and were available for erosion and weathering, thus impacting on the composition of the atmosphere and the oceans.
ISSN: 0037-0738

hal-01622696
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01622696
DOI : 10.1016/j.sedgeo.2017.06.001

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Kimberlites of the Udachnaya-East pipe (Siberia) include a uniquely dry and serpentine-free rock type with anomalously high contents of chlorine (Cl ≤ 6.1 wt%), alkalies (Na2O + K2O ≤ 10 wt%) and sulfur (S ≤ 0.50 wt%), referred to as a “salty” kimberlite. The straightforward interpretation is that the Na-, K-, Cl- and S-rich components originate directly from a carbonate-chloride kimberlitic magma that is anhydrous and alkali-rich. However, because brines and evaporites are present on the Siberian craton, previous studies proposed that the kimberlitic magma was contaminated by the assimilation of salt-rich crustal rocks. To clarify the origin of high Cl, alkalies and S in this unusual kimberlite, here we determine its sulfur speciation and isotopic composition and compare it to that of non-salty kimberlites and kimberlitic breccia from the same pipe, as well as potential contamination sources (hydrothermal sulfides and sulfates, country-rock sediment and brine collected in the area). The average δ34S of sulfides is − 1.4 ± 2.2‰ in the salty kimberlite, 2.1 ± 2.7‰ in the non-salty kimberlites and 14.2 ± 5.8‰ in the breccia. The average δ34S of sulfates in the salty kimberlites is 11.1 ± 1.8‰ and 27.3 ± 1.6‰ in the breccia. In contrast, the δ34S of potential contaminants range from 20 to 42‰ for hydrothermal sulfides, from 16 to 34‰ for hydrothermal sulfates, 34‰ for a country-rock sediment (Chukuck suite) and the regional brine aquifer. Our isotope analyses show that (1) in the salty kimberlites, neither sulfates nor sulfides can be simply explained by brine infiltration, hydrothermal alteration or the assimilation of known salt-rich country rocks and instead, we propose that they are late magmatic phases; (2) in the non-salty kimberlite and breccia, brine infiltration lead to sulfate reduction and the formation of secondary sulfides – this explains the removal of salts, alkali-carbonates and sulfates, as well as the minor olivine serpentinization; (3) hydrothermal sulfur was added to the kimberlitic breccia, but not to the massive kimberlites. In situ measurements of sulfides confirm this scenario, clearly showing the addition of two sulfide populations in the breccia (pyrite-pyrrhotites with average δ34S of 7.9 ± 3.4‰ and chalcopyrites with average δ34S of 38.0 ± 0.4‰) whereas the salty and non-salty kimberlites preserve a unique population of djerfisherites (Cl- and K-rich sulfides) with δ34S values within the mantle range. This study provides the first direct evidence of alkaline igneous rocks in which magmatic sulfate is more abundant than sulfide. Although sulfates have been rarely reported in mantle materials, sulfate-rich melts may be more common in the mantle than previously thought and could balance the sulfur isotope budget of Earth's mantle.
ISSN: 0009-2541

hal-01571982
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01571982
DOI : 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2016.10.037

Éditeur(s) : Elsevier
Résumé : The combined use of Lu-Hf and Sm-Nd isotope systems potentially offers a unique perspective for investigating continental erosion, but little is known about whether, and to what extent, the Hf-Nd isotope composition of sediments is related to silicate weathering intensity. In this study, Hf and Nd elemental and isotope data are reported for marine muds, leached Fe-oxide fractions and zircon-rich turbidite sands collected off the Congo River mouth, and from other parts of the SE Atlantic Ocean. All studied samples from the Congo fan (muds, Fe-hydroxides, sands) exhibit indistinguishable Nd isotopic composition (epsilon(Nd)similar to - 16), indicating that Fe-hydroxides leached from these sediments correspond to continental oxides precipitated within the Congo basin. In marked contrast, Hf isotope compositions for the same samples exhibit significant variations. Leached Fe-hydroxide fractions are characterized by epsilon(Hf) values (from -1.1 to +13) far more radiogenic than associated sediments (from -7.1 to -12.0) and turbidite sands (from -27.2 to -31.6). epsilon(Hf) values for Congo fan sediments correlate very well with Al/K (i.e. a well-known index for the intensity of chemical weathering in Central Africa). Taken together, these results indicate that (1) silicate weathering on continents leads to erosion products having very distinctive Hf isotope signatures, and (2) a direct relationship exists between epsilon(Hf) of secondary clay minerals and chemical weathering intensity. These results combined with data from the literature have global implications for understanding the Hf-Nd isotope variability in marine precipitates and sediments. Leached Fe-hydroxides from Congo fan sediments plot remarkably well on an extension of the 'seawater array' (i.e. the correlation defined by deep-sea Fe-Mn precipitates), providing additional support to the suggestion that the ocean Hf budget is dominated by continental inputs. Fine-grained sediments define a diffuse trend, between that for igneous rocks and the,seawater array', which we refer to as the 'zircon-free sediment array' (epsilon(Hf)=0-91 epsilon(Nd)+3.10). Finally, we show that the Hf-Nd arrays for seawater, unweathered igneous rocks, zircon-free and zircon-bearing sediments (epsilon(Hf)= 1.80 epsilon(Nd)+2.35) can all be reconciled, using Monte Carlo simulations, with a simple weathering model of the continental crust. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters (0012-821X) (Elsevier), 2009 , Vol. 277 , N. 3-4 , P. 318-326

Droits : 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2009/publication-6451.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.epsl.2008.10.028
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/6451/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : Vertical displacements on the SW-NE T (e) over capt fault (Eastern Pyrenees Axial Zone, France), which separates the Variscan Canigou-Caranca and Mont-Louis massifs, were constrained using a thermochronologic multi-method approach. Ar-40/Ar-39 data from the granitic Mont-Louis massif record its Variscan cooling history and reveal no ages younger than Early Cretaceous, while the Canigou-Caranca gneiss massif records systematically younger Ar-40/Ar-39 ages. These younger Ar-40/Ar-39 ages in the Canigou-Caranca gneiss massif are the result of partial to total rejuvenation of argon isotopic systems related to a thermal flow coeval with the Cretaceous HT-BP metamorphism in the North Pyrenean Zone. Only the deepest rocks from the Canigou-Caranca suffered this extensive Mid-Cretaceous thermal overprint probably due to differential burial around 4 km at that time. The post Mid-Cretaceous vertical displacements along the T (e) over capt fault are recorded by "low" temperature thermochronology using K-feldspar Ar-40/Ar-39, zircon and apatite fission track and (U-Th)/He datings. The Mont-Louis granite samples experienced a long period of protracted cooling reflecting a lack of thermo-tectonic activity in this area from Late Palaeozoic to Early Cenozoic, followed by cooling from 55-60 Ma to Late Eocene at a mean rate of 15-20 degrees C/Ma in the final stage. This cooling stage corresponds to T (e) over capt fault reactivation with a reversed component, promoting exhumation of the Mont-Louis roof zone contemporaneously with the south-vergent Pyrenean thrusting. In the Canigou-Caranca massif, the main cooling event occurred from 32 to 18 Ma at a maximum rate of 30 degrees C/Ma during Early Oligocene followed by a more moderate rate of 3 degrees C/Ma from Late Oligocene to Early Burdigalian, coeval with the normal reactivation of the T (e) over capt fault in brittle conditions that accommodated the final exhumation of the massif during the opening of the Gulf of Lion.
ISSN: 1437-3254

hal-00411442
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00411442
DOI : 10.1007/s00531-007-0179-x

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The Blake excursion was among the first recognized with directional and intensity behavior known mainly from marine sediment and Chinese loess. Age estimates for the directional shifts in sediments are poorly constrained to about 118−100 ka, i.e., at the marine isotope stage (MIS) 5e/5d boundary. Moreover, sediments at Lac du Bouchet maar, France and along the Portuguese margin reveal what may be a "post-Blake" excursion at about 105−95 ka. The excursional directions are associated with a prominent paleointensity minimum between about 125 and 95 ka in global stacked records. Lava flow recordings of the Blake excursion(s) have, however, been questionable because precise ages required for correlation with these sediment records are lacking. To establish new, independent records of the Blake excursion, and link these into a larger Quaternary GITS, we have undertaken 40Ar/39Ar incremental heating and unspiked K-Ar experiments on groundmass from the transitionally magnetized Inzolfato flow on Lipari Island. We also obtained 40Ar/39Ar incremental heating results for a lava flow on Amsterdam Island originally thought to record the Mono Lake excursion and from the transitionally magnetized El Calderon basalt flow, New Mexico that was K-Ar dated by Champion et al. (1988) at 128 ± 66 ka. Unspiked K-Ar ages of four samples from the Inzolfato flow are 102.5 ± 4.7, 101.3 ± 3.3, 97.1 ± 2.6, and 96.8 ± 3.1 ka and thus indistinguishable from one another. 40Ar/39Ar results are more complex, with three samples yielding discordant age spectra. Based on incremental heating data obtained in both the UW-Madison and Gif-sur-Yvette 40Ar/39Ar laboratories, a fourth sample yields six concordant age plateaus and a weighted mean age of 105.2 ± 1.4 ka that we take as the best estimate of time since the flow erupted. Five 40Ar/39Ar incremental heating experiments on the Amsterdam Island lava yield a plateau age of 120 ± 12 ka, whereas ages from two sites in the Calderon flow are 112 ± 23 and 101 ± 14 ka, together giving a weighted mean of 104 ± 12 ka. The age of 120 ± 12 ka from Amsterdam Island, though imprecise, correlates with the Blake excursion. In contrast, the 104-105 ka age obtained from both Lipari and New Mexico indicates that these lavas record a younger period of dynamo instability, most probably associated with the post-Blake excursion. These radioisotopic ages are consistent with the astronomical ages of two paleointensity minima in the PISO-1500 global stack. Our findings indicate that the Blake and post-Blake excursions are both global features of past geodynamo behavior and support the hypothesis that Brunhes chron excursions are temporally clustered into two groups of at least a half-dozen each spanning over 220 to 30 ka and 720 to 520 ka.
ISSN: 1871-1014

hal-01054336
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01054336
DOI : 10.1016/j.quageo.2012.12.005

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
We present in this study the first data on Ra isotopes, 222Rn, and 210Pb in waters from the Lez karst system, one of the main ground-water resources in the South of France. The low Ra isotope activities of the Lez system waters (from 0.35 to 3.45 mBq/L of 226Ra) were measured by gamma spectrometry using the method developed in our previous work. Our data reveal the coherent behavior of 226Ra in Lez spring waters, well correlated to other major and trace elements, like Cl, Na, K, Mg, Li, Rb and Ba. The (228Ra/226Ra) ratios are distinct between the Lez spring (0.60 to 0.72) and two neighboring springs (0.52 to 0.65), showing the spatial variability in karst systems. In spite of their small variations in the Lez spring, it was possible to trace different water components and mixing processes from Lower-Cretaceous, Upper-Jurassic and Middle Jurassic end-members, in agreement with previous studies based on major and trace elements. Data obtained on waters derived from the Upper-Jurassic karst reveal that their (228Ra/226Ra) ratios are not related to the Th/U ratio of the Jurassic limestone, but are rather influenced by the soil and alterite cover of the recharge area.222Rn activities in the Lez spring are relatively low (0.5 to 3.7 Bq/L) compared to other karst regions. The highest 222Rn activities are found in diluted waters following heavy rainfall episodes, suggesting a subsurface origin of Rn. Soil and alterite samples that have much higher 226Ra activities (from 51 to 130 Bq/kg), compared to those from the main aquifer rocks (from 2.9 to 16 Bq/kg), are probably the main source of Rn, rather than the rocks of the karst itself. The study of several flood episodes reveals the correlation between Rn peak-values or total activity discharged at the spring with cumulative rainfall. Finally, 222Rn dissolved in water decays to 210Pb, and our data show that constraints on transfer times of underground waters can potentially be obtained from their coupled measurement.
ISSN: 0009-2541

hal-01622749
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01622749
DOI : 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2017.06.022

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The Kekem shoshonitic gabbro-norite association is part of the high-K calc-alkaline (HKCA) post-collisional magmatism, a major feature of the Pan-African Belt in Cameroon. LA-ICP-MS U-Pb zircon analyses provide an age of 576 ± 4 Ma for the Kekem complex. This age is interpreted as dating the emplacement of the massif during the waning stage of the Pan-African orogeny. The latter is related to dextral movements along the Central Cameroon Shear Zone (CCSZ). The REE patterns display enriched LREE (LaN/YbN = 14.2-23.5) while HREE present a nearly flat profile (DyN/YbN = 1.3-1.7), and the La/Sm and Sm/Yb ratios led to propose that the Kekem gabbro-norites have been derived from the partial melting of a garnet-spinel lherzolite mantle source. The negative Nb-Ta and Ti anomalies and the positive Pb anomalies indicate that this mantle source was modified by contribution of a subduction-related material. The low Ce/Pb (2.6-10.4) and Th/Yb ratios associated to high Ba/La ratios, indicate that source enrichment could be related to slab derived fluids. As a whole, the Kekem geochemical features suggest that primary gabbro-noritic magmas derived from a subduction-modified mantle source (metasomatised lithospheric mantle). Moderately high 86Sr/87Sr initial ratios (0.7068-0.7082), low εNd (−5 to −9) and old Nd TDM model ages (1.6-1.8 Ga) are interpreted to result from contamination of Neoproterozoic mantle by the Paleoproterozoic crust. The ca. 576 Ma movements along the CCSZ are related to a Neoproterozoic metacratonization of the northern margin of the Congo craton during the Pan-African orogeny. This metacratonization led to vertical planar lithospheric delamination along lithospheric transcurrent faults, asthenospheric uprise and partial melting of the Paleoproterozoic lithospheric mantle.
ISSN: 0899-5362

hal-00903665
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00903665
DOI : 10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2013.03.010

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
We present a chronological (K-Ar), petrologic and geochemical study (major and trace elements, Sr-Nd isotopes) of Middle Miocene (ca. 16-14 Ma) calc-alkaline rocks (basalts to andesites) extruded in the present-day back-arc region of Central Patagonia (Zeballos Volcanic Sequence (ZVS), 47 S). This magmatism started shortly after mafic plutonism ceased in the arc region (ca. 16 Ma, 200 km west), and ended ca. 2 My before the onset of voluminous slab tear-related back-arc alkaline basaltic magmatism (ca. 12 to Pliocene). The studied calc-alkaline rocks have a typical subduction-related signature (high LILE/HFSE ratios, depletion in Nb, Ta and Ti; Ba/La >20; Ta/Hf <1.5; (Sr-87/Sr-86)(o)=0.70366-0.70402, epsilon(Nd)=+0.1-+3.8). Major and trace elements contents are consistent with their evolution by closed system fractional crystallization of a presumed parental liquid similar in composition to the most basic rock of the suite. Moreover, a strong subducted sediment imprint is recognized (increasing Th/HFSE and decreasing Ce/Pb during differentiation). However, these rocks show striking similarities with volcanic complexes emplaced above areas where a gently dipping slab occurs (high K contents; similar LREE/HREE, Nb/Zr, Ba/Nb; Th/Hf; Th/Ta, Ta/Hf<0.3), particularly the present-day Andean flat-slab region and the Neuquen Basin during the Late Miocene. A comprehensive tectono-magmatic model is here presented to explain the generation and extrusion of these calc-alkaline magmas during the Middle Miocene. The development of a transient low-angle subduction and the resulting eastward migration of the volcanic front are then proposed. Mixing between stored remnants of calc-alkaline magmatism and later primitive alkaline melts is envisioned as the most likely process accounting for the transitional signature (i.e., intermediate between calc-alkaline and alkaline, La/Nb >I; TiO2 <2 wt%) of some basalts extruded synchronously with genuine alkaline lavas in the Neogene Patagonian Plateau Lavas province.
Volcanismo calcoalcalino durante el Mioceno Medio en Patogonia Central (47°S): petrogenesis e implicaciones en la dinamica de placas. En este trabajo se presenta un estudio cronologico (K-Ar), petrologico y geoquimico (elementos mayores y trazas, isotopos de Sr-Nd) de rocas calcoalcalinas (basaltos a andesitas) del Mioceno Medio (16-14 Ma) que ocurren en una posicion de trasarco en Patagonia Central (47°S; Secuencia Volcanica Zeballos, SVZ). Este magmatismo comenzo poco despees de que el plutonismo mafico cesara en la region bajo el arco (ca. 16 Ma, 200 km al oeste), y termino ca. 2 My antes del comienzo de un voluminoso evento magmatico basaltico alcalino desarrollado en el trasarco, relacionado con ventanas astenosfericas, que continuo hasta el Pleistoceno. Las rocas calcoalcalinas estudiadas tienen una quimica tipicamente relacionada con procesos de subduccion (altas razones LILE/HFSE, empobrecimientos en Nb, Ta y Ti; Ba/La>20; Ta/Hf l,5; (87Sr/86Sr)0=0,70366-0,70402, End~O,1±3,8); y sus contenidos de elementos mayores y trazas son consistentes con una evolucion por cristalizacion fraccionada, en un sistema cerrado, desde un liquido parental de composicion similar a la de la roca mas basica del conjunto analizado. Se reconoce, ademas, la influencia de sedimentos subductados en la composicion de estos magmas (aumento de la razon Tb/HFSE y disminucion de la razon Ce/Pb durante la diferenciacion). Sin embargo, estas rocas muestran importantes similitudes composicionales con las de complejos volcanicos emplazados sobre areas donde ocurre subduccion de bajo angulo (altos contenidos de K, similares razones LREF/HREE, Nb/Zr, Ba/Nb; TblHf; TblTa, Ta/Hf O,3), particularmente rocas de la actual region de subduccion plana en Chile central-Argentina y de la cuenca de Neuquen durante el Mioceno Superior. Se propone aqui un modelo tectono-magmatico que explica la generacion y extension de magmas calcoalcalinos en una posicion de trasarco durante el Mioceno Medio en Patagonia mediante el desarrollo de un fenomeno transiente de subduccion de bajo angulo y el consiguiente desplazamiento hacia el este del frente volcanico. Ademas, la mezcla entre remanentes de este magmatismo calcoalcalino almacenados en la corteza y fundidos alcalinos posteriores, provenientes de la astenosfera, se presenta como el proceso responsable de la generacion de la signatura transicional (i.e., intermedia entre calcoalcalina y alcalina, La/Nb>1; TiO2 2 wt%) reconocida en algunos basaltos que ocurren contemporaneamente con otros puramente alcalinos en la provincia de las Lavas Neogenas de Plateau de la Patagonia.
ANDEAN GEOLOGY

insu-00561888
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00561888
DOI : 10.5027/andgeo2010-678

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Spinel lherzolite xenoliths from Mont Briancon, French Massif Central, retain evidence for multiple episodes of melt depletion and melt/fluid infiltration (metasomatism). Evidence for primary melt depletion is still preserved in the co-variation of bulk-rock major elements (MgO 38.7-46.1 wt.%; CaO 0.9-3.6 wt.%), and many samples yield unradiogenic bulk-rock Os isotope ratios (Os-187/Os-188 = 0.11541-0.12626). However, many individual xenoliths contain interstitial glasses and melt inclusions that are not in equilibrium with the major primary minerals. Incompatible trace element mass balance calculations demonstrate that metasomatic components comprise a significant proportion of the bulk-rock budget for these elements in some rocks, ranging to as much as 25%, of Nd and 40% of Sr Critically, for Re-Os geochronology, melt/fluid infiltration is accompanied by the mobilisation of Sulfide. Consequently, bulk-rock isotope measurements, whether using lithophile (e.g. Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd) or siderophile (Re-Os) based isotope systems, may only yield a perturbed and/or homogenised average of these multiple events.;Osmium mass balance calculations demonstrate that bulk-rock Os in peridotite is dominated by contributions from two populations of sulfide grain: (i) interstitial, metasomatic Sulfide with low [Os] and radiogenic Os-187/Os-188, and (ii) primary sulfides with high [Os] and unradiogenic Os-187/Os-188, which have been preserved within host silicate grains and shielded from interaction with transient melts and fluid. The latter can account for >97% of bulk-rock Os and preserve geochronological information of the melt from which they originally precipitated as an immiscible liquid. The Re-depletion model ages of individual primary sulfide grains preserve evidence for melt depletion beneath the Massif Central from at least 1.8 Gyr ago despite the more recent metasomatic event(s). (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
ISSN: 0016-7037

hal-00454537
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00454537
DOI : 10.1016/j.gca.2009.09.031

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Volumetrically minor microsyenites, alkali microgranite and related trachytic dykes intrude early Pliocene OIB-like alkali basaltic and basanitic flows of the Meseta del Lago Buenos Aires in Central Patagonia (47 degrees S-71 degrees 30'W), and occur together with scarce trachytic lava flows. Whole-rock K-Ar ages between 3.98 and 3.08 Ma indicate that the emplacement of these felsic rocks occurred more or less synchronously with that of the post-plateau basaltic sequence that they intrude, during a bimodal mafic-felsic magmatic episode devoid of intermediate compositions. Chemically, these rocks have A(1)-type granitoid affinities and are characterized by high silica and alkali contents (60-68 wt.% SiO2; 8.7-10.8 wt.% Na2O+K2O), major and trace elements patterns evidencing evolution by low-pressure fractional crystallization, and Sr and Nd isotopic signatures similar to those of coeval basalts ((Sr-87/Sr-86)o=0.70488-0.70571; (Nd-143/Nd-144)(o)=0.512603-0.512645). Nevertheless, some of them have the most radiogenic Sr values ever reported for a magmatic rock in the Meseta and even in the whole Neogene Patagonian Plateau Lavas province ((Sr-17/Sr-86)(o)= 0.70556-0.70571; (Nd-143/Nd-144)(o)=0.512603-0.512608). In addition, very high contents of strongly incompatible elements in the most evolved rocks, together with Sr isotopic ratios higher than those of coeval basalts, suggest the occurrence of open-system magmatic processes. Continuous fractional crystallization from a primitive basaltic source, similar to post-plateau coeval basalts, towards alkali granites combined with small rates of assimilation of host Jurassic tuffs (AFC) in a shallow magmatic reservoir, best explains the geochemical and petrographic features of the felsic rocks. Therefore, A(1)-type magmatic rocks can be generated by open-system crystallization of deep asthenospheric melts in back-are tectonic settings. In Central Patagonia, these similar to 3-4 Ma old alkaline intrusions occur aligned along a similar to N160-170 trending lineament, the Zeballos Fault Zone, stacking the morphotectonic front of one segment of the Patagonian Cordillera. Intrusion along this fault zone
ISSN: 0024-4937

hal-00412030
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00412030
DOI : 10.1016/j.lithos.2007.07.002

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The crust of the Paleoproterozoic West African Craton in northern Ghana is dominantly made of Tonalite-Trondhjemite-Granodiorite (TTG) suites, low-K to high-K calc-alkaline granites, with minor LILE-enriched diorites, and chemically related lavas. Results of zircon U-Pb dating indicate that all these different rock types were formed together over a prolonged period of ca. 100 Ma, between 2.21 and 2.11 Ga. Zircon Hf isotope compositions of five samples are supra-chondritic (εHft from +1 to +6) indicating that the granitoids derive from the reworking of juvenile crustal components as old as 2.60 Ga. Geochemical data show that the TTGs were derived from the reworking of a low-K mafic crust, while biotite granites formed by the reworking of older felsic crustal rocks, and diorites derived from the melting of LILE-enriched mantle sources.The combined datasets support a three-step model for the formation of the crust of the West African craton in northern Ghana: (1) a juvenile, mafic proto-crust was extracted from the depleted mantle between 2.60 and 2.30 Ga, in an oceanic environment remote from any pre-existing continental nucleus; (2) the mafic proto-crust was reworked in several primitive magmatic arcs or in accreted oceanic plateaux. Crustal reworking initially produced minor felsic magmatism between 2.35 and 2.21 Ga, followed by the 2.21–2.15 Ga emplacement of low- to medium-P TTG and K-rich calc-alkaline granitoid suites, and was coeval with the formation of an enriched mantle source. (3) Various proto-continental terranes collided during the Eburnean orogeny between 2.14 and 2.11 Ga, triggering intense reworking of the composite crust and mantle reservoirs formed in the previous two steps, i.e. remnants of the juvenile mafic crust, older TTGs and biotite granites, and previously enriched mantle sources. The emplacement of high-P TTGs, granites and LILE-enriched diorites resulted from lower crustal heating in response to the delamination of the lower crust and lithospheric mantle. The Eburnean collision therefore marks the final stages of a 200–500 Ma long period of juvenile continental crust formation and stabilisation. The datasets further reveal that the Paleoproterozoic West African Craton comprises a minimum of two distinct crustal blocks, with north-western Ghana lying at their interface.
ISSN: 0301-9268

hal-01467999
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01467999
DOI : 10.1016/j.precamres.2016.10.011

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Intraplate deformation is most often linked to major stress applied on plate margins. When such intraplate events are accompanied by magmatism, the use of several dating methods integrated within a multidisciplinary approach can bring constraints on the age, nature and source mobilized for generating the magma and in turn on the nature of the intraplate deformation. This study focuses on the large gabbro Arrikine sill (35 km in extension) emplaced within the Silurian sediments of the western margin of the Murzuq cratonic basin in southeastern Algeria. Its emplacement is dated during the early Devonian (415-400 Ma) through the determination of a reliable paleomagnetic pole by comparison with the Gondwana Apparent Polar Wander Path (APWP). This age can be correlated with deep phreatic eruptions before Pragian time thought to be at the origin of sand injections and associated circular structures in Algeria and Libya. For the sill, the K–Ar age of 325.6 ± 7.7 Ma is related to a K-rich aplitic phase that has K-enriched by more than 20% the Devonian gabbro. Laser-ICP-MS U–Pb method dates only inherited zircons mostly at c. 2030 Ma with additional ages at c. 2700 Ma and younger ones in the 766-598 Ma age range. The Arrikine sill is a high-Ti alkaline gabbro having the geochemical composition of a hawaiite akin to several intraplate continental and oceanic provinces, including the contemporaneous Aïr ring complexes province in Niger, but also to the Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii. This peculiar composition akin to that of the contemporaneous Aïr province is in agreement with a lower Devonian age for the Arrikine sill.The lower Devonian Arrikine sill emplacement is related to a “Caledonian” transtensive reactivation of the western metacratonic boundary of the Murzuq craton. This event also generated in the Saharan platform the so-called “Caledonian unconformity” of regional extension, the Aïr ring complexes and magmatic rocks that produced sand injections. It could be related to rifting of the Hun terranes that occurred at the plate margin to the north (Stampfli and Borel, 2002, Blackey, 2008 and references therein). The mid-Carboniferous (c. 326 Ma) reactivation corresponds to Variscan compression on NW Africa generating aplitic fluids, but also to the major “Hercynian unconformity” of regional extension. The generation of the Arrikine magma is attributed to partial melting through adiabatic pressure release of uprising asthenosphere along tectonically reactivated mega-shear zones, here bordering the relictual Murzuq craton enclosed in the Saharan metacraton.
ISSN: 0899-5362

hal-01306637
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01306637
DOI : 10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2015.11.019

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Mantle noble gases record important and ancient isotopic heterogeneities, which fundamentally influence our understanding of mantle geodynamics, yet these heterogeneities are difficult to fully interpret without understanding the basic mechanisms of noble gas storage and transport in mantle minerals. A series of annealing experiments that mimic mantle conditions (i.e. sub-solidus with natural, polycrystalline, texturally equilibrated olivines at low noble gas partial pressures) show that intergranular interfaces (grain boundaries) are major hosts for noble gases in the mantle, and that interfaces can dramatically fractionate noble gases from their radio-parents (U + Th and K). Therefore, noble gas isotopic heterogeneities in the mantle could result from grain size variations. Fine-grained lithologies (mylonites and ultramylonites, for example) with more grain boundaries will have lower U/3He ratios (compared to a coarse grained equivalent), which, over time, will preserve higher 3He/4He ratios. As predicted by theory of points defect diffusivity, these results show that noble gas diffusion along interfaces is different from those in the grain lattice itself at low temperatures. However, for grain size relevant of the Earth's mantle, the resulting effective correlated activation energies (Ea)(Ea) and pre-exponential factors (Do/a2)(Do/a2) produce similar diffusivities at mantle temperatures for interface- and lattice-hosted helium. Therefore, grain boundaries do not significantly affect helium transport at mantle conditions and length scales.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-01236013
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01236013
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2015.08.024

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Geological Society of London
Résumé : Permo-Triassic rift basins offer important hydrocarbon targets along the Atlantic margins. Their fill is dominated by continental red beds, comprising braided fluvial, alluvial fan, aeolian, floodplain and lacustrine facies. These relatively lightly explored basins span both the Atlantic and Tethyan domains and developed above a complex basement with inherited structural fabrics. Sparse data in offshore regions constrain understanding of depositional geometries and sedimentary architecture, further impeded by their deep burial beneath younger strata, combined with the effects of later deformation during continental breakup. This paper provides results from a multidisciplinary analysis of basins along the Atlantic margin. Regional seismic and well data, combined with geochemical provenance analysis from the European North Atlantic margins, are integrated with detailed outcrop studies in Morocco and Nova Scotia. The research provides new insights into regional basin tectonostratigraphic evolution, sediment fill, and reservoir distribution, architecture and quality at a range of scales. Regional seismic profiles, supported by key well data, indicate the presence of post-orogenic collapse basins, focused narrow rifts and low-magnitude multiple extensional depocentres. Significantly, Permo-Triassic basin geometries are different and more varied than the overlying Jurassic and younger basins. Provenance analysis using Pb isotopic composition of detrital K-feldspar yields new and robust controls on the sediment dispersal patterns of Triassic sandstones in the NE Atlantic margin. The evolving sedimentary architecture is characterized by detailed sedimentological studies of key outcrops of age equivalent Permian-Triassic rifts in Morocco and Nova Scotia. The interplay of tectonics and climate is observed to influence sedimentation, which has significant implications for reservoir distribution in analogue basins. New digital outcrop techniques are providing improved reservoir models, and identification of key marker horizons and sequence boundaries offers a potential subsurface correlation tool. Future work will address source and seal distribution within the potentially petroliferous basins.
Petroleum Geology: From Mature Basins to New Frontiers Proceedings of the 7th Petroleum Geology Conf

hal-00590618
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00590618