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
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) : 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
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 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
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 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
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
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 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 America
Résumé : International audience
his study describes the structural setting, petrogenesis, and geochronology of a suite of acidic magmatic rocks that are intruded in the metamorphic core of the Tertiary ophiolitic suture zone of the Sabzevar Range, NE central Iran. These intrusive bodies show tabular geometries with solid-state fabrics documenting syntectonic emplacement during crustal shortening. In the total alkalis-silica (TAS) diagram, their compositions define a medium-K calc-alkaline suite, spanning from basaltic andesite to the dacite and rhyolite fields. They show characteristic low MgO (0.15–0.60 wt%) and Ni (<20 ppm), high Sr contents, a negligible Eu anomaly, and extremely fractionated rare earth element (REEs), with high La/Yb and Sr/Y (up to 900) ratios, but very low Yb and Y contents. They also show zircon Hf isotope compositions compatible with a mid-ocean-ridge basalt (MORB)–type oceanic crust. Inverse and forward thermobarometry constrains conditions of magma crystallization in the upper-pressure field of the amphibolite facies (ca. 1.2–1.5 GPa and 750 °C). Integrated U-Pb zircon and 40Ar/39Ar white mica and amphibole geochronology constrains the Sabzevar magmatism to the late Paleocene (at ca. 58 Ma). Genesis of the Sabzevar magmatic suite is interpreted in terms of prograde, wet amphibolite melting during oceanic subduction, within a pressure-temperature range between a plagioclase-out and a hornblende-out boundary. Magma differentiation and high-pressure amphibole fractionation of pristine slab melts are proposed as the dominant factors that imparted the adakite signature in the Sabzevar structural zone. Implications in terms of the regional tectonic scenario are discussed and framed within the advancing and retreating evolution of the Neotethyan subduction during the Mesozoic–Tertiary time span.
ISSN: 0016-7606

hal-01122824
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01122824
DOI : 10.1130/B30913.1

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
Résumé : Poster
The Lesser Caucasus in Armenia is an active volcanic and tectonic zone which resulted from the collision of the Arabian and the Eurasian plates since Neogene times. The During Quaternary, Lesser Caucasus was uplifted (0.3 mm/yr; Mitchell and Westaway, 1999) and experienced extensional tectonics times. Large lakes developed in graben structures. The diatomitic sequences of the Shamb paleo-lake (South Armenia) offer a rare opportunity to give new insights of Western Asia paleo-climate. Based on macroflora analysis, Bruch and Gabrielyan (2002) proposed a cooling and drying general climate trend through Pleistocene times in relation with a general uplift of the chain. Several questions have to be answer for this poorly investigated region. Did the climate record humid glacials and arid interglacials as suggested northward in Kazakhstan? What are the vegetation and climate responses to orbital parameters and to the monsoon? Moreover the lesser Caucasus is known as the entrance way used by the first hominids in Eurasia during Pleistocene time. How was the environment at this time? We present an integrated palynological, 40Ar/39Ar isotopic and magnetostratigraphic study for the most complete section (Joannin et al., in press). 40Ar/39Ar dating of two volcaniclastic layers provided ages of 1.24 ± 0.03 and 1.16 ± 0.02 Ma (2. Magnetostratigraphic data show that the entire Shamb section is of reversed polarity which correlates with part of the Matuyama period (1.785-1.070 Ma). Pollen assemblages and macroremains diversity revealed an alternation of glacial and interglacial phases that are compared with climate changes inferred from the global isotopic curve. The Shamb section ranges from approximately 1.300 to 1.080 Ma in age (marine isotopic stages 40 to 31). The vegetation of the Lesser Caucasus developed in a mosaic pattern in a Pleistocene continental, mostly arid climate, similar to the present-day climate. The vegetation changes record a dominant climate response to the obliquity orbital parameter. The influence of precession could not be established from the Shamb data. Pollen and macroflora both indicate that glacial periods were cold and dry and that interglacials were warm with local humidity. The early Pleistocene climatic model for Western Asia is thus similar to the climatic model for the Mediterranean area. Bruch, A., Gabrielyan, I.G., 2002. Quantitative data of the Neogene climatic development in Armenia and Nakhichevan. Acta Universitatis Carolinae – Geologica 46, 41–48. Joannin, S., Cornée, J.J., Münch, P., Fornari, M., Vasiliev, J., Krijgsman, W., Nahapetyan, S., Gabrielyan, Y., Ollivier, V., Roiron, P., Chataîgnier, C. In press. Early Pleistocene climatic cycles in continental deposits of the Lesser Caucasus of Armenia inferred from palynology, magnetostratigraphy, and 40Ar/39Ar dating. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. Mitchell, J., Westaway, R., 1999. Chronology of Neogene and Quaternary uplift and magmatism in the Caucasus: constraints from K-Ar dating of volcanism in Armenia. Tectonophysics 304, 157–186.
EGU Eurasian Climate and Tectonics
Vienne, Austria

hal-00481799
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00481799

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

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Alkali feldspar thermochronologic modeling with the 40Ar/39Ar method has generated marked advances in knowledge of the mechanisms for argon diffusion in feldspars. While the goal in many cases has been to extrapolate the observed and modeled argon behavior in feldspars to natural geological settings, scientific debate surrounding the true feasibility of such extrapolations and indeed, the validity of thermochronologic modeling in itself, have provided much impetus to improve laboratory techniques to test, and increase basic understanding of, argon diffusion. Two cornerstones for the debate over the feasibility of alkali feldspar thermochronology for modeling natural, geologic processes have been: 1. is volume diffusion the main mechanism for argon movement in feldspars? and 2. if volume diffusion is a viable mechanism, does argon then reside in discrete ‘domains' within the feldspar lattice? We describe a study of alkali feldspars from a profile through a well-controlled brittle fault zone in western Norway; the feldspars document argon loss during deformation and strongly suggest the existence of argon ‘domains' within the feldspars, at least during laboratory step heating. The progressive change in the character of argon diffusion is recognizable in the logr/ro diffusion data from the feldspars and is mimicked by physical changes observed optically in the feldspars through progressive degrees of brittle deformation. Modeling results indicate a reduction in size of the biggest domains and the appearance of smaller domains during the strongest stages of deformation. Whether or not this reveals the existence and the transformation of the domain structure in naturo is difficult to prove from our data alone, but interestingly, this behaviour corresponds directly to the physical (optical) appearance of more intense crack networks and subgrains in progressively more brecciated feldspars. Because the thermochronologic histories derived from modeling the feldspar data conform very well to the known tectonic history of the area, the feldspars appear to have successfully retained physical (optical and isotopic) records of episodic tectonic processes operating from ductile through lowtemperature brittle regimes in rocks with a Caledonian history overprinted by several later (younger) geologic events. However, because the ‘cold' brecciation is the last tectonothermal event recorded by these rocks, it is impossible to truly test for the existence of diffusion domains in naturo. Argon loss appears to have been effective only in the most highly brecciated (deformed) samples where the combination of the connected crack network, increased fluid flow and higher temperatures enhanced diffusion via fast diffusion pathways and thus, volume diffusion from the lattice. Only minor argon loss occurred in zones of lower brittle strain, although some development of cracks and brittle features is evident. Independent of the existence of diffusion domains, this study highlights the possible pitfalls when cooling histories are deduced from brecciated feldspars in which age and diffusion charateristics have been decoupled: while the geochronological memory has survived and is identical to that of nonbrecciated feldspars (suggesting no loss and minor effects of deformation), the diffusion characteristics have been completely transposed by brecciation and the appearance of new domains. Modeling feldspars with these latter characteristics would effectively utilise a new feldspar diffusion structure with an ‘old' (relict) age memory.
ISSN: 0016-7037

hal-00198283
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00198283
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00198283/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00198283/file/KsparBreccia_Arnaud_Eide_GCA_2000.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The morphogenetic evolution of the Lesser Caucasus has been strongly influenced by Plio-Quaternary volcanic and tectonic events and Pleistocene glaciations. Fluvio-lacustrine environments, indicated by diatomaceous deposits, prevailed in the Syunik region of southern Armenia during the Pliocene and Pleistocene. The Pleistocene diatomaceous deposits studied contain leaf impressions and pollen, allowing local palaeoclimatic reconstructions. The chronology of morphogenetic events has been determined by 17 radiometric dates (K/Ar, Ar/Ar, U/Th), palaeomagnetic investigations and is placed in a spatial context by a detailed geomorphological map and a 24-km geological transect of the Vorotan valley, the main area studied. Before 1.21 Ma, tectonic movements (antecedents of the lower part of the Vorotan valley) generated extensive lake formations with diatomaceous deposits. From 993 ka, volcanic eruptions produced lava flows that covered the fluvio-lacustrine accumulations. During Marine Isotopic Stages 12, 6 and 4, glaciers and fluvio-glacial deposits were probably present overall the principal uplands and valleys of southern Armenia. At 53.68 ka (MIS 3), 12.6 ka, 10.78 ka and 4.14 ka (MIS 1), the development of travertines on some slopes and in some valleys highlights temperate and humid climatic phases. Palaeobotanical studies of leaf and pollen floras show that the vegetation changed several times from forested to steppic phases in response to the climate oscillations of the Lower Pleistocene. This work proposes a first morphogenic and palaeoclimatic reconstruction from the lower Pleistocene to the Postglacial period, when the first settlements of the population in the Lesser Caucasus were influenced by tectono-volcanic events, lake level changes and glacialeinterglacial oscillations forced by the obliquity orbital parameter (41 ky cycles).
ISSN: 1040-6182

hal-00481939
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00481939
DOI : 10.1016/j.quaint.2010.02.008

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The Eastern Hoggar is by far the least well known part of the Tuareg Shield. It is composed, from west to east, of the Aouzegueur, Edembo and Djanet Terranes. The Djanet Terrane is the easternmost Hoggar terrane and comprises a greenschist-facies clastic sedimentary sequence, the Djanet Group, intruded by granitoids. Laser ablation (LA-) ICP-MS U-Pb zircon ages of detrital zircons from these sediments yield a large range of ages similar to ages known in Central and Western Hoggar; the youngest is 590 +/- 10 Ma (2 sigma), which is the maximum age of deposition of the Djanet Croup. The Djanet Group is intruded by the Djanet Batholith (571 +/- 16 Ma), by high-level subcircular plutons such as the Tin Bedjane Pluton (568 +/- 5 Ma) and finally by the felsic Tin Amali Dyke Swarm (558 +/- 5 Ma), all ages being SHRIMP U-Pb zircon. The deposition and metamorphism of the Djanet Group thus occurred between 590 Ma (the age of the youngest detrital zircons analyzed in the Djanet Group) and c. 570 Ma (the age of intrusive granitoids). Nd T-DM two-stage model ages (1.30-2.03 Ga), initial Sr-87/Sr-86 ratios (0.7035-0.7095) and epsilon(Nd) (-3 to -11) of the three intrusive suites, all being high-K calc-alkaline in composition, indicate mainly an old, Rb-depleted continental source. Migmatization in the adjacent Edembo Terrane is dated at 568 +/- 4 Ma (U-Pb zircon SHRIMP age), contemporaneous with the intrusion of the Djanet plutons. Rocks and events in the Edembo and Djanet Terranes are all intracontinental. We propose that the Djanet Terrane lies on the boundary of a craton located to the north-east, that we defined here as the Murzuq craton. The existence of the Murzuq craton is supported by sedimentary and geophysical data. We suggest that the deformation of Eastern Hoggar occurred 575-555 Ma, due to the indentation of the Murzuq craton and has no link with the older convergence with the West African craton as was the case for the central and western parts of the Tuareg Shield. This determines a late Ediacaran intracontinental Murzukian event that probably also occurred to the east in the Tibesti area.
ISSN: 0301-9268

hal-00512833
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00512833
DOI : 10.1016/j.precamres.2010.05.011