Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD AGU and the Geochemical Society
Résumé : International audience
Microbathymetry data, in situ observations, and sampling along the 13°20′N and 13°20′N oceanic core complexes (OCCs) reveal mechanisms of detachment fault denudation at the seafloor, links between tectonic extension and mass wasting, and expose the nature of corrugations, ubiquitous at OCCs. In the initial stages of detachment faulting and high-angle fault, scarps show extensive mass wasting that reduces their slope. Flexural rotation further lowers scarp slope, hinders mass wasting, resulting in morphologically complex chaotic terrain between the breakaway and the denuded corrugated surface. Extension and drag along the fault plane uplifts a wedge of hangingwall material (apron). The detachment surface emerges along a continuous moat that sheds rocks and covers it with unconsolidated rubble, while local slumping emplaces rubble ridges overlying corrugations. The detachment fault zone is a set of anostomosed slip planes, elongated in the along-extension direction. Slip planes bind fault rock bodies defining the corrugations observed in microbathymetry and sonar. Fault planes with extension-parallel stria are exposed along corrugation flanks, where the rubble cover is shed. Detachment fault rocks are primarily basalt fault breccia at 13°20′N OCC, and gabbro and peridotite at 13°30′N, demonstrating that brittle strain localization in shallow lithosphere form corrugations, regardless of lithologies in the detachment zone. Finally, faulting and volcanism dismember the 13°30′N OCC, with widespread present and past hydrothermal activity (Semenov fields), while the Irinovskoe hydrothermal field at the 13°20′N core complex suggests a magmatic source within the footwall. These results confirm the ubiquitous relationship between hydrothermal activity and oceanic detachment formation and evolution.
ISSN: 1525-2027

hal-01571973
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01571973
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01571973v2/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01571973/file/Escart-n_et_al-2017-Geochemistry%2C_Geophysics%2C_Geosystems.pdf
DOI : 10.1002/2016GC006775

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

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

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Geological Society
Résumé : Gem opals from Wegel Tena, Wollo Province, Ethiopia, occur in Oligocene rhyolitic ignimbrites. They display a unique geochemistry, with some samples yielding the highest Ba concentrations ever recorded. They are generally much richer in chemical impurities than opals from other localities. For example, the sum Al+Fe or the sum Na+Mg+Ca+K+Ba are often higher. These geochemical features make them easy to distinguish from other opals worldwide. We observed strong geochemical variations and some good positive correlations in our samples, such as Al+Fe vs. Na+Mg+Ca+K+Ba, Al vs Ca, or Ba vs Ca. This shows that the crystallography of opal has controlled, at least in part, the incorporation of chemical impurities, although opal is not well-crystallized. In addition, the multimodal distributions of several chemical impurities (e.g. U vs Sr, Al vs Ca, Ba vs Ca, etc.) suggest at least two origins of silica: weathering of feldspars and weathering of volcanic glass. In addition, opals from Wegel Tena contain numerous well-preserved microscopic plant fossils. Moreover, their host rock exhibits features typical of pedogenesis (abundant clays, desiccation cracks, and grain size sorting). We propose that the opals at Wegel Tena formed during the Oligocene period when volcanic emissions stopped for a time long enough to allow weathering of ingimbrites and therefore liberation of silica. This accompanied the formation of soil and development of plant life, and some plants were trapped in opal.
ISSN: 1467-7873

hal-00767555
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00767555
DOI : 10.1144/1467-7873/10-MINDEP-058

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
ISSN: 0264-3707

hal-00680683
https://hal-brgm.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00680683
DOI : 10.1016/j.jog.2011.11.010

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
3D seismic data located in the Gjallar Ridge (Vøring Basin, offshore Norway) reveals a closely-spaced polygonal fault system affecting more than 800 m of homogeneous mud-dominated Quaternary and Tertiary sequences. As some faults reach the modern seafloor, they represent an active polygonal fault system at present day. Even if the processes remain unclear and are still under debate, it is generally agreed that the initiation of polygonal faults is the result of shallow burial dewatering of fine-grained unconsolidated sediments by volumetric compaction. 3D seismic data are commonly interpreted by propagating horizons automatically and by picking faults manually. However, in the case of polygonal fault intervals, this approach is time consuming due to the huge number of faults and because automatic propagation can be misleading. In this study, we applied a new technique of 3D seismic interpretation based on a sequential stratigraphy analysis, using the new PaleoScan© software (Eliis Company). It allowed us to build a 3D geological model computing more than 300 horizons within the faulted intervals. We then used the coherency attribute, depicting anomalies in the shape of seismic waveform like faults, in order to constrain a possible link between fault distribution and stratigraphic levels. Our approach allows fault throws to be calculated in milliseconds on any polygonal fault plane. The result shows that fault segments have been reactivated by dip-linkage. Distribution of faults depends on mechanical units, intervals characterized by different petrophysical properties, which are independent from lithological and diagenetic changes. According to these results, we propose a model showing the evolution of polygonal fault intervals in which faulting stages are separated by a quiescence phase during burial. A first tier of polygonal faults is initiated at a specific depth, according to the Cam-clay model. Then, following a period of quiescence during which mud-rich sediments continued to accumulate, new fault segments are initiated above the first mechanical unit and within this undeformed interval. New nucleated faults then connect downward to pre-existing underlying polygonal fault system, thus progressively increasing the thickness of the faulted interval.
ISSN: 0025-3227

hal-00772470
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00772470
DOI : 10.1016/j.margeo.2012.07.016

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
Middle to Late Triassic lavas were sampled within three tectonostratigraphic groups of the Hawasina Nappes in the Oman Mountains. They are predominantly alkali basalts and trachybasalts, associated with minor sub-alkaline basalts, trachyandesites, trachytes and rhyolites. Their major, trace elements and Nd-Pb isotopic compositions are very similar to those of the Permian plume-related high-Ti basalts which also occur in the Hawasina Nappes. The Triassic lavas derive from low-degree melting of an enriched OIB-type mantle source, characterized by εNdi = 0.3-5.3 and (206Pb/204Pb)i = 16.96-19.31 (for t = 230 My). With time, melting depths decreased from the garnet + spinel to the spinel lherzolite facies and the degree of melting increased. The oldest are distinguished from the others by unradiogenic Nd and Pb signatures, with εNdi = − 4.5 to − 1.2 and (206Pb/204Pb)i = 16.35-17.08, which we attribute to their contamination by Arabo-Nubian lower crust. The lavas likely derived from the Oman lithospheric mantle, the original DMM-HIMU signature of which was overprinted during its pervasive metasomatism by the Permian plume-related melts. We suggest that these lavas were emplaced during post-breakup decompression-triggered melting in the Middle Triassic during global kinematic reorganization of the Tethyan realm.
ISSN: 0024-4937

insu-00559080
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00559080
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00559080/document
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00559080/file/FC_TriasOman.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.lithos.2010.12.006

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The platinum-group element (PGE) systematics of continental mantle peridotites show large variability, reflecting petrogenetic processing of the upper mantle during partial melting and melt/fluid percolation inside the lithosphere. By removing Pd-Cu-Ni rich sulfides, partial melting events that have stabilized the sub-continental mantle lithosphere fractionated PPGEs (Palladium-group PGE; Pt, Pd) relative to IPGEs (Iridium-group PGE; Os, Ir, Ru, Rh). Residual base-metal sulfides (BMS) survive as enclosed IPGE-enriched Monosulfide Solid Solutions (Mss), which otherwise decompose into Ru-Os-Ir-rich refractory platinum-group minerals (PGMs) once the partial melts become S-undersaturated. The small-scale heterogeneous distribution of these microphases may cause extreme nugget effects, as seen in the huge variations in absolute PGE concentrations documented in cratonic peridotites. Magmas fluxing through the lithospheric mantle may change the initial PGE budgets inherited from the melting events, resulting in the great diversity of PGE systematics seen in peridotites from the sub-continental lithosphere. For instance, melt-rock reactions at increasing melt/rock ratios operate as open-system melting processes removing residual BMS/PGMs. Highly percolated peridotites are characterized by extreme PGE depletion, coupled with PGE patterns and Os-isotope compositions that gradually evolve toward that of the percolating melt. Reactions at decreasing melt-rock ratios (usually referred to as "mantle metasomatism") precipitate PPGE-enriched BMS that yield suprachondritic Pd/Ir and occasionally affect Pt/Ir and Rh/Ir ratios as well. Moreover, volatile-rich, small volume melts fractionate Os relative to Ir and S relative to Se, thereby producing rocks with supra-chondritic Os/Ir and S/Se coupled with supra-chondritic Pd/Ir and Pt/Ir. Major magmatic inputs at the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary may rejuvenate the PGE systematics of the depleted mantle. Integrated studies of "refertilized" peridotites with worldwide provenance provide evidence for mixing between old PGM-rich harzburgitic protoliths and newly-precipitated BMS. Long-lived PGMs carry the Os-isotope compositions of ancient melt‐depletion events into seemingly undepleted fertile lherzolites. Another diagnostic feature of major refertilization processes is the increasing modal abundance of Pt-Pd-Te-Bi or Pt-As-S microphases. Due to regional-scale refertilization processes, sizeable (> 100 km) domains of the upper lithospheric mantle are now significantly enriched in Pd, Au, Cu, Se, and other incompatible chalcophile elements that are of considerable importance in PGE-ore forming events.
ISSN: 0024-4937

hal-00828626
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00828626
DOI : 10.1016/j.lithos.2012.08.017

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Deep-seated gravitational spreading (DSGS) affects the slopes of formerly glaciated mountain ridges. On Mars, DSGS has played a key role in shaping the landforms of the giant Valles Marineris troughs. Though less spectacular, DSGS is common in terrestrial orogens, where understanding its mechanics is critical in the light of the ongoing climate change because it is a potential source of catastrophic landslides in deglaciated valleys. We conducted parametric numerical studies in order to identify important factors responsible for DSGS initiation. DSGS models are computed using an elastoviscoplastic finite element code. Using ADELI's software, we reproduce topographic ridge spreading under the effect of valley unloading. Two types of spreading topographic ridges are investigated, homogeneous or with horizontal rheological layering. We find that gravitational instabilities are enhanced by high slopes, which increase gravitational stress, and low friction and cohesion, which decrease yield stress. In the unlayered ridge, instability is triggered by glacial unloading with plastic strain concentration inside the ridge and at the base of the high slopes. Vertical fractures develop in the upper part of the slope, potentially leading to fault scarps. Ridge homogeneity promotes a deformation mode controlled by uphill-facing normal faulting and basal bulging. In the second case, the ridge encompasses horizontal geological discontinuities that induce rock mass anisotropy. Discontinuity located at the base of the slope accumulates plastic strain, leading to the formation of a sliding plane evolving into a landslide. The presence of a weak layer at ridge base therefore promotes another slope deformation mode ending up with catastrophic failure. Mechanical conditions and slope height being equal, these conclusions can probably be extrapolated to Earth. Compared with Mars, DSGS on Earth is inhibited because terrestrial topographic gradients are lower than in Valles Marineris, an effect counterbalanced by increased gravitational stress, where the intensity of deformation is enhanced because of the Earth gravity potential.
ISSN: 0169-555X

hal-01420007
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01420007
DOI : 10.1016/j.geomorph.2016.06.011

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
Properly assessing the extent and magnitude of fault ruptures associated with large earthquakes is critical for understanding fault behavior and associated hazard. Submarine faults can trigger tsunamis, whose characteristics are defined by the geometry of seafloor displacement, studied primarily through indirect observations (e.g., seismic event parameters, seismic profiles, shipboard bathymetry, coring) rather than direct ones. Using deep-sea vehicles, we identify for the first time a marker of coseismic slip on a submarine fault plane along the Roseau Fault (Lesser Antilles), and measure its vertical displacement of ∼0.9 m in situ. We also map recent fissuring and faulting of sediments on the hangingwall, along ∼3 km of rupture in close proximity to the fault's base, and document the reactivation of erosion and sedimentation within and downslope of the scarp. These deformation structures were caused by the 2004 M w 6.3 Les Saintes earthquake, which triggered a subsequent tsunami. Their characterization informs estimates of earthquake recurrence on this fault and provides new constraints on the geometry of fault rupture, which is both shorter and displays locally larger coseismic displacements than available model predictions that lack field constraints. This methodology of detailed field observations coupled with near-bottom geophysical surveying can be readily applied to numerous submarine fault systems, and should prove useful in evaluating seismic and tsunamigenic hazard in all geodynamic contexts.
ISSN: 0012-821X

insu-01557932
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01557932
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01557932/document
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01557932/file/EPSL-2006-escartin.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2016.06.024

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Résumé : International audience
The Amalaoulaou Neoproterozoic island-arc massif belongs to the Gourma belt in Mali. The metagabbros and pyroxenites forming the main body of this arc root show the pervasive development of garnet. In the pyroxenites, the latter has grown by reaction between pyroxene and spinel during isobaric cooling. By contrast, in the metagabbros, garnet textures and relations to felsic veins exclude an origin through solid-state reactions only. It is proposed that garnet has grown following dehydration and localized melting of amphibole-bearing gabbros at the base of the arc. The plagioclase-saturated melts represented by anorthositic veins in the metagabbros and by trondhjemites in the upper part of the massif provide evidence for melting in the deep arc crust, which locally generated high-density garnet clinopyroxene rutile residues. Garnet growth and melting began around 850 degrees C at 10 kbar and the tonalitic melts were most probably generated around 1050 degrees C at P >= 10 kbar. This HT granulitic imprint can be related to arc maturation, leading to a P-T increase in the deep arc root and dehydration and/or dehydration-melting of amphibole-bearing gabbros. Observation of such features in the root of this Neoproterozoic island arc has important consequences, as it provides a link to models concerning the early generation of continental crust.
ISSN: 0016-7568

hal-00420960
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00420960
DOI : 10.1017/S0016756808005499

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
An exploration 3D seismic data set from the Gjallar Ridge off mid-Norway images a giant fluid seep structure 3 × 5 km wide, which connects to late Palaeocene magmatic sills at depth. Two of the pipes that have developed as hydrothermal vents reach all the way to the modern seafloor implying that they either were active much longer than the original hydrothermal activity or have been reactivated. We combine detailed seismic analysis of the northern pipe and sandbox modeling to constrain pipe initiation and propagation. Although both the seismic data and the sandbox models suggest that fluids at depth are focused through a vertical conduit, sandbox models show that fluids ascend and reach a critical depth migration where focused migration abruptly transforms into distributed fluid flow through unconsolidated sediments. This indicates that at this level the sediments are intensely deformed during pipe propagation, creating a V-shaped structure, i.e. an inverted cone at depth and a positive relief anomaly, 5 to 10 m high, at the seafloor, which is clearly identified on 3D seismic data. Comparison of the geometries observed in sandbox modeling with the seismically observed geometries of the Giant Gjallar Vent suggests that the Giant Gjallar Vent may be a proto-fluid seep at an early stage of its development, preceding the future collapse of the structure forming a seafloor depression. Our results imply that the Gjallar Giant Vent can be used as a window into the geological processes active in the deep parts of the Vøring Basin.
ISSN: 0025-3227

hal-00772465
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00772465
DOI : 10.1016/j.margeo.2012.08.010

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The Chile Triple junction is a natural laboratory to study the interactions between magmatism and tectonics during the subduction of an active spreading ridge beneath a continent. The MLBA plateau (Meseta del Lago Buenos Aires) is one of the Neogene alkali basaltic plateaus located in the back-arc region of the Andean Cordillera at the latitude of the current Chile Triple junction. The genesis of MLBA can be related with successive opening of slabs windows beneath Patagonia: within the subducting Nazca Plate itself and between the Nazca and Antarctic plates. Detailed Ar-40/Ar-39 dating and geochemical analysis of bimodal magmatism from the western flank of the MLBA show major changes in the back-arc magmatism. which occurred between 14.5 Ma and 12.5 Ma with the transition from calc-alkaline lavas (Cerro Plomo) to alkaline lavas (MLBA) in relation with slab window opening. In a second step, at 4-3 Ma, alkaline felsic intrusions were emplaced in the western flank of the MLBA coevally with the MLBA basalts with which they are genetically related. These late OIB-like alkaline to transitional basalts were generated by partial melting of the subslab asthenosphere of the subducting Nazca plate during the opening of the South Chile spreading ridge-related slab window. These basalts differentiated with small amounts of assimilation in shallow magma chambers emplaced along transtensional to extensional zones. The close association of bimodal magmatism with extensional tectonic features in the western MLBA is a strong support to the model of Patagonian collapse event proposed to have taken place between 5 and 3 Ma as a consequence of the presence of the asthenospheric window (SCR-1 segment of South Chile Ridge) below the MLBA area.
ISSN: 0377-0273

hal-00475648
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00475648
DOI : 10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2009.11.022

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
We present a new interpretation of anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) fabrics in basaltic lava flows based on the detailed study of magnetic mineralogy and silicate crystallographic fabric of a Quaternary lava flow from the French Massif Central (La Palisse). We consider the model of AMS fabric imbrication between magnetic foliation and flow surface, as initially proposed for dykes. At the two sampling sites, the concordance between the flow direction deduced from the AMS foliation and that deduced from field observations indicates that the imbrication model could apply to the lava flows. However, the flow senses inferred fromAMSare systematically opposed between the two sampling sites suggesting permutations between K1 and K3 AMS axes, a configuration referred to as inverse fabric. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) measurements show strong lattice-preferred orientations (LPO) for plagioclase, especially the (010) plagioclase plane, which tends to be parallel to the flow. Clinopyroxene LPO remains less marked than plagioclase LPO, whereas titanomagnetite does not display a significant LPO. Comparison between magnetic and crystallographic fabrics suggests that the AMS fabric of the lava flow results from the distribution of titanomagnetite grains, which is in turn controlled by the fabric of the silicate framework. Magnetic hysteresis parameters and anisotropy of remanent magnetization (ARM) measurements exclude a significant contribution from single-domain grains, often called upon to explain inverse magnetic fabrics. The origin of the observed inverse magnetic fabric may relate to the dip of the palaeosurface, which is the only remarkable difference between the two sampling sites. AMS appears as a good tool to determine the direction of basaltic lava flows and coupling with local crystallographic fabric data provides a valuable control of relationships between magnetic fabrics and flow and thus contributes to better constrain the AMS signature of lava flows.
ISSN: 0956-540X

hal-00903561
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00903561
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00903561/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00903561/file/TB-GJI-193-2-Orig.pdf
DOI : 10.1093/gji/ggs115

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Large sand intrusions often exhibit conical morphologies analogous to magmatic intrusions such as saucer-shaped or cup-shaped sills. Whereas some physical processes may be similar, we show with scaled experiments that the formation of conical sand intrusions may be favoured by the pore-pressure gradients prevailing in the host rock before sand injection. Our experiments involve injecting air into a permeable and cohesive analogue material to produce hydraulic fractures while controlling the pore pressure field. We control the state of overpressure in the overburden by applying homogeneous basal pore pressure, and then adding a second local pore pressure field by injecting air via a central injector to initiate hydraulic fractures near the injection point. In experiments involving small vertical effective stresses (small overburden, or high pore fluid overpressure), the fracturing pressure (lambda(fract)) is supralithostatic and two dipping fractures are initiated at the injection point forming a conical structure. From theoretical considerations, we predict that high values of lambda(fract), are due to strong cohesion or high pore fluid overpressure distributed in the overburden. Such conditions are favoured by the pore pressure/stress coupling induced by both pore pressure fields. The dips of cones can be accounted for elastic-stress rotation occurring around the source. Contrary to magmatic chamber models, the aqueous fluid overpressure developed in a parent sandbody (and prevailing before the formation of injectites) may diffuse into the surrounding overburden, thus favouring stress rotation and the formation of inclined sheets far from the parent source. For experiments involving higher vertical effective stresses (thick overburden or low pore fluid overpressure), the fracturing pressure is lower than the lithostatic stress, and a single fracture is opened in mode I which then grows vertically. At a critical depth, the fracture separates into two dilatant branches forming a flat cone. We make use of a P.I.V. (Particle Imaging Velocimetiy) technique to analyse plastic deformation, showing that these inclined fractures are opened in mixed modes. Close to the surface, they change into steep shear bands where fluids can infiltrate. The final morphology of the fracture network is very similar to the common tripartite architecture of various injection complexes, indicating that different mechanisms may be involved in the formation of dykes. Feeder dykes under the sill zones may open as tensile fractures, while overlying dykes may be guided by the deformation induced by the growth of sills. These deformation conditions may also favour the formation of fluid escape structures and pockmarks. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-00745640
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00745640
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2011.10.029