Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Seismological Society of America
Résumé : International audience
Abstract The continuous record of large surface-rupturing earthquakes along the Dead Sea fault brings unprecedented insights for paleoseismic and archaeoseismic research. In most recent studies, paleoseismic trenching documents the late Holocene faulting activity, while tectonic geomorphology addresses the long-term behavior (>10 ka), with a tendency to smooth the effect of individual earthquake rupture events (Mw >7). Here, we combine historical, archaeological, and paleoseismic investigations to build a consolidated catalog of destructive surface-rupturing earthquakes for the last 14 ka along the left-lateral Jordan Valley fault segment. The 120- km-long fault segment limited to the north and the south by major pull-apart basins (the Hula and the Dead Sea, respectively) is mapped in detail and shows five subsegments with narrow stepovers (width < 3 km). We conducted quantitative geomorphology along the fault, measured more than 20 offset drainages, excavated four trenches at two sites, and investigated archaeological sites with seismic damage in the Jordan Valley. Our results in paleoseismic trenching with 28 radiocarbon datings and the archaeoseismology at Tell Saydiyeh, supplemented with a rich historical seismic record, document 12 surface-rupturing events along the fault segment with a mean interval of ∼1160 yr and an average 5 mm=yr slip rate for the last 25 ka. The most complete part of the catalog indicates recurrence intervals that vary from 280 yr to 1500 yr, with a median value of 790 yr, and suggests an episodic behavior for the Jordan Valley fault. Our study allows a better constraint of the seismic cycle and related short-term variations (late Holocene) versus long-term behavior (Holocene and late Pleistocene) of a major continental transform fault.
ISSN: 0037-1106

hal-00747401
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00747401
DOI : 10.1785/0120100097

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD European Geosciences Union (EGU)
Résumé : International audience
Pollen and clay mineralogical analyses of a Holocene sequence from Sebkha Boujmel (southern Tunisia) traces the climatic and environmental dynamics in the lower arid bioclimatic zone over the last 8000 years. During the Mid- to Late Holocene transition, between 8 and 3 ka, a succession of five wet/dry oscillations is recorded. An intense arid event occurs between 5.7 and 4.6 ka. This episode marks the onset of a long-term aridification trend with a progressive retreat of Mediterranean woody xerophytic vegetation and of grass steppes. It ends with the establishment of pre-desert ecosystems around 3 ka. The millennial-scale climate change recorded in the data from Sebkha Boujmel is consistent with records from the south and east Mediterranean, as well as with climatic records from the desert region for the end of the African Humid Period (AHP). Eight centennial climatic events are recorded at Sebkha Boujmel and these are contemporary with those recorded in the Mediterranean and in the Sahara. They indicate a clear coupling between the southern Mediterranean and the Sahara before 3 ka. The event at 4.2 ka is not evidenced and the link between events recorded in Sebkha Boujmel and the North Atlantic Cooling events is clearer from 3 ka onwards. These variations indicate the importance of climatic determinism in the structuring of landscapes, with the establishment of the arid climatic conditions of the Late Holocene. It is only from 3 ka onwards that the dynamic of plant associations is modified by both human activity and climatic variability. The climatic episodes identified during the historic period indicate strong regionalisation related to the differential impact of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the Mediterranean Oscillation (MO) on the Mediterranean basin. The local human impact on regional ecosystems is recorded in the form of episodes of intensification of pastoral and/or agricultural activities. The development of olive production and of several taxa associated with agriculture attest to increasing sedentism among human populations during Classical Antiquity. The significant increase in Artemisia (wormwood) between 1.1 and 0.8 ka (850–1150 AD) is linked to intensive pastoral activity, associated with heightened interannual and/or seasonal climatic instability. A complete re-shaping of the landscape is recorded during the 20th century. The remarkable expansion of the olive tree, and the deterioration of regional ecosystems with the spread of desert species, is linked to recent local socio-economic changes in Tunisia.
ISSN: 1814-9324

hal-01319967
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01319967
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01319967/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01319967/file/cp-12-1339-2016.pdf
DOI : 10.5194/cp-12-1339-2016

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : The effects of climate change on extreme events are difficult to assess because extremes present large variability and consequently, it is difficult to identify significant trends in relation to the lack of instrumental long time series. Here we present a record of these extreme storm events in the French Mediterrannean coast over the past 7000 years based on a long sediment core from lagoonal environment in Gulf of Lions. Using a high resolution multiproxies approach on core associating grain size, faunal to reconstruct Mid to Late Holocene history of backbarrier deposits in relation to landfalling activity. Even if change in lagoon geomorphological setting over the Holocene does not allow to compare storm events in terms of intensity trough time, we have recorded six periods of increase in storm activity at 6200, 5500, 4400, 3200, 1500 yr cal B.P. and over the LIA (450 and 100 yr cal B.P.). These evidences of changes in coastal hydrodynamic, inversely correlated to periods of aridification in Western Mediterranean region, are in phase with those observed over the North Atlantic and correspond to Holocene cooling events. This increase in storm activity during Holocene cold events over Mediterranean region was probably due to thermal gradient increase leading to enhanced lower tropospheric baroclinicity over a large Central Atlantic-European domain. This study demonstrates that temperatures in North Atlantic region influence the severe storm activity and therefore the Mediterranean climate at Holocene timescale.
Les effets du changement climatique sur les événements extrêmes sont difficiles à estimer car ces phénomènes présentent une large variabilité, et par conséquent il est délicat d'identifier des tendances significatives compte tenu de l'absence de longues séries de données instrumentales. Dans cette étude, nous présentons un enregistrement de ces tempêtes extrêmes sur la côte Méditerranéenne française au cours des 7000 dernières années à partir de carottes sédimentaires prélevées dans un système lagunaire du Golfe du Lion. L'utilisation d'une approche multi-traceur à haute résolution avec des analyses granulométriques, faunistiques, géochimiques (XRF), en minéraux argileux associées à des données chronologiques de radiocarbone et de 210Pb, 137Cs ; nous a permis de reconstruire l'histoire, au cours de l'Holocène, des dépôts lagunaires en relation avec l'activité des tempêtes. Bien que les paramètres morphologiques de cet environnement lagunaire aient changé durant l'Holocène, ne permettant pas de comparer ces événements au cours du temps en terme d'intensité, nous enregistrons six périodes d'augmentation de l'activité des tempêtes datées à 6200, 5500, 4400, 3200, 1500 an cal B.P. et durant le Petit Age Glaciaire (de 450 à 100 an cal B.P.). Ces changements de l'activité hydrodynamique côtière, en antiphase avec les périodes d'aridifications en Méditerranée de l'Ouest, sont corrélées avec celles observées dans le bassin Nord Atlantique et correspondent aux événements de refroidissement Holocène. L'augmentation de l'activité des tempêtes dans la cette région de la Méditerranée durant les périodes froides, associée à une diminution des températures au pôle Nord, est probablement liée à l'augmentation du gradient thermique qui, par interaction barocline, favorise les cycles d'évolution des tempêtes dans toute l'Europe et la Méditerranée de l'Ouest. Cette étude démontre ainsi que la température dans la région Nord Atlantique influence l'activité des tempêtes extrêmes et donc du climat Méditerranéen à l'échelle de l'Holocène.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00437757

tel-00437757
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00437757
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00437757/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00437757/file/Sabatier_these.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD European Geosciences Union (EGU)
Résumé : International audience
Holocene climate fluctuations and human activity since the Neolithic have shaped present-day Mediter-ranean environments. Separating anthropogenic effects from climatic impacts to better understand Mediterranean pale-oenvironmental changes over the last millennia remains a challenging issue. High-resolution pollen analyses were un-dertaken on two cores from the Palavasian lagoon system (Hérault, southern France). These records allow reconstruction of vegetation dynamics over the last 4500 years. Results are compared with climatic, historical and archeological archives. A long-term aridification trend is highlighted during the late Holocene, and three superimposed arid events are recorded at 4600–4300, 2800–2400 and 1300–1100 cal BP. These periods of high-frequency climate variability coincide in time with the rapid climatic events observed in the Atlantic Ocean (Bond et al., 2001). From the Bronze Age (4000 cal BP) to the end of the Iron Age (around 2000 cal BP), the spread of sclerophyllous taxa and loss of forest cover result from anthropogenic impact. Classical Antiquity is characterized by a major reforestation event related to the concentration of rural activity and populations in coastal plains leading to forest recovery in the mountains. A major regional deforestation occurred at the beginning of the High Middle Ages. Around 1000 cal BP, forest cover is minimal while the cover of olive, chestnut and walnut expands in relation to increasing human influence. The present-day vegetation dominated by Mediterranean shrubland and pines has been in existence since the beginning of the 20th century.
ISSN: 1814-9324

hal-01447627
https://hal-univ-tlse2.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01447627
https://hal-univ-tlse2.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01447627/document
https://hal-univ-tlse2.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01447627/file/Azuara%20et%20al%202015_cor.pdf
DOI : 10.5194/cp-11-1769-2015

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
The Nile delta sedimentation constitutes a continuous high resolution (1.6 mm/year) record of Ethiopian African monsoon regime intensity. Multiproxy analyses performed on core MS27PT recovered in hemipelagic Nile sediment margin (<90 km outward of the Rosetta mouth of the Nile) allow the quantification of the Saharan aeolian dust and the Blue/White Nile River suspended matter frequency fluctuations during the last 21 cal. ka BP. The radiogenic Sr and Nd isotopes, clay mineralogy, bulk elemental composition and palynological analyses reveal large changes in source components, oscillating between a dominant aeolian Saharan contribution during the LGM and the Late Holocene (~4 to 2 cal. ka BP), a dominant Blue/Atbara Nile River contribution during the early Holocene (15 to 8.4 cal. ka BP) and a probable White Nile River contribution during the Middle Holocene (8.4 to 4 cal. ka BP). The following main features are highlighted: 1. The rapid shift from the LGM arid conditions to the African Humid Period (AHP) started at about 15 cal. ka BP. AHP extends until 8.4 cal. ka BP, and we suggest that the Ethiopian African Monsoon maximum between 12 and 8 cal. ka BP is responsible for a larger Blue/Atbara Nile sediment load and freshwater input into the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. 2. The transition between the AHP and the arid Late Holocene is gradual and occurs in two main phases between 8.4 and 6.5 cal. ka BP and 6.5 to 3.2 cal. ka BP. We suggest that the main rain belt shifted southward from 8.4 to ~4 cal. ka BP and was responsible for progressively reduced sediment load and freshwater input into the eastern Mediterranean Sea. 3. The aridification along the Nile catchments occurred from ~4 to 2 cal. ka BP. A dry period, which culminates at 3.2 cal. ka BP, and seems to coincide with a re-establishment of increased oceanic primary productivity in the western Mediterranean Sea. We postulate that the decrease in thermo-haline water Mediterranean circulation could be part of a response to huge volumes of fresh-water delivered principally by the Nile River from 12 to 8.4 cal. ka BP in the eastern Mediterranean. We propose that the large hydrological change in Ethiopian latitude could be a trigger for the 8.2 ka cooling event recorded in high latitude. Revel R., Colin C., Bernasconi S., Combourieu-Nebout N., Ducassou E., Grousset F.E., Rolland Y., Migeon S., Brunet P., Zhaa Y., Bosch D., Mascle J.,. "21,000 years of Ethiopian African moonsoon variability recorded in sediments of the western Nile deep sea fan", Regional Environmental Change,
ISSN: 1436-3798

hal-00836300
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00836300

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : The aim of this thesis is to analyze the variations in slip rates along strike-slip faults, in intracontinental domain, producing large earthquakes (M > 7.5). To illustrate these variations, this work has focused in two area located in the most tectonically active continental domains in the world: in the western part of Mongolia (Bogd and Bulnay faults) and in the northern part of Iran (Astaneh and Tabriz faults). Using morphotectonic and paleoseismological analyses, the kinematics, the slip rates and the recurrence times have been estimated and allow us to describe the characteristics of seismic cycle along these faults. In Mongolia, the slip rates are estimated at ~ 1,2 and ~ 2,6 mm/yr along the Bogd and the Bulnay faults, respectively, with no variations of geological slip rates over the late Pleistocene-Holocene period. These two faults present characteristic slips and similar recurrence times between large earthquakes. The paleoseismological investigations suggest that a cluster occurred 3000 years ago, similar to the seismic cluster recorded in Mongolia during the XX century. In Iran, the slip rate was estimated to 2 mm/yr along the Astaneh fault and the recurrence times are ranging from 1600 to 2200 years, associated with offsets comprised between 3 and 4,5 m. We have also estimated a slip rate of ~ 7 mm/yr along the Tabriz fault, in agreement with the present day rate estimated by GPS, suggesting no variations in the slip rate over the past 45 ka.
Ce travail de thèse a pour but d'analyser les variations de vitesses sur des grandes failles décrochantes en contexte intracontinental, capables de produire des séismes de très fortes magnitudes (M > 7.5). Afin d'illustrer ces variations d'activités, cette analyse a été effectuée sur deux zones d'études situées en domaine continental et sismiquement actives: la région ouest de la Mongolie (failles de Bogd et Bolnay) et le nord de l'Iran (failles d'Astaneh et de Tabriz). À partir d'une approche morphotectonique et paléosismologique, les cinématiques, les vitesses de failles et les intervalles de récurrence entre les séismes majeurs ont été estimés, permettant d'analyser les caractéristiques du cycle sismique sur chacune des failles. En Mongolie, les failles de Bogd et Bolnay présentent respectivement des vitesses de ~ 1,2 et 2,6 mm/an, qui semblent être constantes sur la période Pleistocène supérieur-Holocène. Ces deux failles présentent également des glissements caractéristiques et des intervalles de temps similaires entre les séismes majeurs. Les analyses paléosismologiques suggèrent qu'un essaim sismique comparable à celui enregistré au XXème siècle a eu lieu il y a environ 3000 ans. En Iran, une vitesse géologique de 2 mm/an a été estimée sur la faille d'Astaneh et les données paléosismologiques suggèrent des intervalles de récurrence de 1800 ans, associés à des déplacements en surface compris entre 3 et 4,5 m. Nous avons également estimé une vitesse de 7 mm/an sur la faille de Tabriz, en accord avec les données GPS, suggérant que la vitesse sur cette faille est constante depuis 45 ka.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00591794

tel-00591794
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00591794
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00591794/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00591794/file/these_rizza.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD European Geosciences Union (EGU)
Résumé : International audience
Storms and tsunamis, which may seriously endanger human society, are amongst the most devastating marine catastrophes that can occur in coastal areas. Many such events are known and have been reported for the Mediterranean, a region where high-frequency occurrences of these extreme events coincides with some of the most densely populated coastal areas in the world. In a sediment core from the Mar Menor (SE Spain), we discovered eight coarse-grained layers which document marine incursions during periods of intense storm activity or tsunami events. Based on radiocarbon dating, these extreme events occurred around 5250, 4000, 3600, 3010, 2300, 1350, 650, and 80 years cal BP. No comparable events have been observed during the 20th and 21st centuries. The results indicate little likelihood of a tsunami origin for these coarse-grained layers, although historical tsunami events are recorded in this region. These periods of surge events seem to coincide with the coldest periods in Europe during the late Holocene, suggesting a control by a climatic mechanism for periods of increased storm activity. Spectral analyses performed on the sand percentage revealed four major periodicities of 1228 ± 327, 732 ± 80, 562 ± 58, and 319 ± 16 years. Amongst the well-known proxies that have revealed a millennial-scale climate variability during the Holocene, the ice-rafted debris (IRD) indices in the North Atlantic developed by Bond et al. (1997, 2001) present a cyclicity of 1470 ± 500 years, which matches the 1228 ± 327-year periodicity evidenced in the Mar Menor, considering the respective uncertainties in the periodicities. Thus, an in-phase storm activity in the western Mediterranean is found with the coldest periods in Europe and with the North Atlantic thermohaline circulation. However, further investigations, such as additional coring and high-resolution coastal imagery, are needed to better constrain the main cause of these multiple events.
ISSN: 1814-9324

hal-01357199
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01357199
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01357199v2/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01357199/file/cp-12-1389-2016.pdf
DOI : 10.5194/cp-12-1389-2016

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Seismological Society of America
Résumé : With the assistance of the ASTER team (M. Arnold, G. Aumaître, D. Bourlès, and K. Keddadouche)
International audience
The Bulnay earthquake of 23 July 1905 (Mw 8.3–8.5), in north‐central Mongolia, is one of the world’s largest recorded intracontinental earthquakes and one of four great earthquakes that occurred in the region during the twentieth century. The 375 km long surface rupture of the left‐lateral, strike‐slip, N095°E‐trending Bulnay fault associated with this earthquake is remarkable for its pronounced expression across the landscape and for the size of features produced by previous earthquakes. Our field observations suggest that in many areas the width and geometry of the rupture zone is the result of repeated earthquakes; however, in those areas where it is possible to determine that the geomorphic features are the result of the 1905 surface rupture alone, the size of the features produced by this single earthquake are singular in comparison to most other historical strike‐slip surface ruptures worldwide. Along the 80 km stretch, between 97.18° E and 98.33° E, the fault zone is characterized by several meters width and the mean left‐lateral 1905 offset is 8.9±0.6  m with two measured cumulative offsets that are twice the 1905 slip. These observations suggest that the displacement produced during the penultimate event was similar to the 1905 slip. Morphotectonic analyses carried out at three sites along the eastern part of the Bulnay fault allow us to estimate a mean horizontal slip rate of 3.1±1.7  mm/yr over the Late Pleistocene–Holocene period. In parallel, paleoseismological investigations show evidence for two earthquakes prior to the 1905 event, with recurrence intervals of ∼2700–4000  yrs.
ISSN: 0037-1106

hal-01179837
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01179837
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01179837v2/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01179837/file/rizza2015.pdf
DOI : 10.1785/0120140119

Éditeur(s) : Elsevier
Résumé : Emplacement of post-glacial turbidites is commonly controlled by rapid changes in sea level or by seismicity. On the continental rise of the Gulf of Lions (Western Mediterranean), an aseismic area, we identified turbiditic beds deposited during the rising stage and highstand of sea level. Swath bathymetry, sediment cores, in situ Cone Penetrating Tests (CPTU), heavy mineral associations and radiocarbon dating determined the source, composition, distribution and age of the turbiditic beds. Turbidites are composed of homogeneous to positively graded silts to medium sand with quartz (up to 90%), shell debris and shelfal benthic faunas. Their distribution on the sea floor is very patchy and controlled by abundant inherited erosional bedforms. Their source is found in relict regressive sands at the outershelf. Their deposition occurred just after the onset of the post-glacial sea level rise and the concomitant sediment starvation of the Rhone deep sea turbiditic system until recently. Whilst canyons are fed with sand by strong seasonal hydro-sedimentary dynamics on the outershelf, the emplacement of post-glacial turbidites is not controlled by sea level changes but probably by the periodic flushing of the canyons. Our study revealed that this low energy aseismic margin undergoes significant transport of sand, down to the base of slope, during the sea-level rise and the Holocene highstand.
Marine Geology (0025-3227) (Elsevier), 2009-02 , Vol. 257 , N. 1-4 , P. 65-86

Droits : 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2009/publication-6316.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.margeo.2008.10.013
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/6316/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Société géologique de France
Résumé : International audience
The central part of the Gulf of Lions shoreline is characterized by many coastal wetlands that resulted from the interaction between a process of shoreline regularization by migrations of littoral barriers and a slow filling of the back-barrier areas by the riverine and marine inputs. Analyses of Late-Holocene deposits with a very high-resolution multi-proxy study of two sediment cores, allow us to reconstruct the evolution of this coastal system. Two main Holocene sediment units are identified overlying a Pliocene carbonate continental formation. The lower unit consists of sandy and pebbly marine sediments deposited around 7800 B.P., during the final stand of the last sea level rise. Just above, the upper unit displays lagoonal grey clay silts with shells and some intercalated layers of silty sands related to paleostorm events. The age model was established from radiocarbon dating, for the oldest part of the core. Over the last century, sedimentation rates were calculated using the CFCS Pb-210 model, together with Cs-137 data. Radiocarbon data show an increase in he accumulation rate from the base to the top of cores. Marine sand units related to the last transgressive deposit allow to refine the curve of Holocene post-glacial sea level rise. Sedimentological and faunal analyses associated with chronological data provide a means for reconstructing the Late-Holocene paleoenvironments along this part of the coast and suggest that the final closure of the coastal lagoon by the sandy barrier occurred at around 730 +/- 120 yr cal B.P. The beginning of this closure, together with the progradation of the coastal plain, could be responsible for the decline in economic activity of the Lattara harbour during the Roman period.
La partie centrale du littoral du golfe du Lion est caractérisée par de nombreuses lagunes qui résultent de l'interaction entre un processus de régularisation du trait de côte par migration de barrières littorales et d'un lent remplissage des zones situées en arrière des barrières par des apports continentaux et marins. Les analyses des dépôts tardi-holocènes avec une étude multi-traceurs à très haute résolution de deux carottes sédimentaires nous permettent de reconstruire l'évolution de ce système côtier. Deux unités sédimentaires holocènes sont identifiées recouvrant une formation pliocène carbonatée. L'unité inférieure est constituée de sables et de galets d'origine marine déposés vers 7800 B.P., durant les stades ultimes de la dernière remontée marine. Audessus, l'unité supérieure montre des dépôts d'argile et de silt gris coquilliers d'origine lagunaire, dans lesquels sont intercalés des niveaux de sable silteux révélant la présence d'événements de tempêtes. Le modèle d'âge est établi à partir de dates radiocarbones pour les parties les plus anciennes des archives sédimentaires, tandis que pour le dernier siècle, les taux de sédimentation sont calculés en utilisant le modèle CFCS pour le 210Pb, associé aux données de 137Cs. Les données 14C montrent une augmentation du taux d'accumulation depuis la base jusqu'en surface des carottes. Les unités de sables marins liées aux dépôts de la dernière transgression marine permettent de préciser la courbe post-glaciaire de remontée du niveau marin. Les analyses sédimentologiques et faunistiques associées aux données chronologiques fournissent une méthode permettant de reconstituer les paléoenvironnements littoraux tardi-holocènes dans la zone d'étude et suggèrent que la fermeture finale de ces lagunes par le cordon sableux survient autour de 730 ± 120 ans cal B.P. Le début de cette fermeture, associée à la une progradation deltaïque, pourrait être responsable du déclin des activités économiques du port de Lattara durant la période Romaine.
EISSN: 1777-5817

halshs-00740923
https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00740923
DOI : 10.2113/gssgfbull.181.1.27

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Reef positions record the interaction between eustasy and tectonics, and have been used worldwide to characterize vertical deformations of upper-plates at different time-scales and constrain the seismic behavior of megathrusts. Along the Lesser Antilles volcanic arc, high-resolution marine geophysical data were collected on the 2–20 km wide eastern Martinique reef platform to reconstruct its stratigraphic and morphologic history, and understand the influence of local normal faulting, volcanism and plate-scale subduction processes on Holocene and Late Pleistocene reef development. The subsiding Martinique platform's stratigraphy is composed of multiple superimposed sea-level highstand deposits separated by subaerial exposure surfaces of sea-level low stands. The carbonate platform consists of two laterally-extensive carbonate units (unit U2 overlying unit U3) that extend to the platform edge to a depth of − 95 m MSL (mean sea level), and form two morphologic terraces, M2 and M3 respectively. The landward portion of unit U2 is partially overlain between 0 and − 60 m MSL by the living reef tract U1. The current reef is composed of a landward fringing reef, a lagoon and a seaward barrier reef, the latter forming a double-bank barrier around the Caravelle Peninsula. In near-shore multi-channel seismic profiles, a distinct reflector at ~− 35 m MSL, probably a subaerial exposure surface E1, separates the reef sequence formed during the last transgression from a Pleistocene fossil reef tract forming unit U2. Offshore of Mount Pelée volcano (Late Pleistocene), the Holocene reef did not develop above unit U2, whose upper surface is incised by channels and apparent sinkholes. During the Holocene transgression, the possibility of excessive turbidity due to volcanic activity may have inhibited reef development in this area. The un-dated unit U2 probably developed 120–130 ka ago during the last interglacial (MIS 5.5) + 6 m MSL highstand as thick, extensive reefs deposited all along the Lesser Antilles arc. Due to subsidence, MIS 5.5 reefs are not represented by onshore facies, except along the southern Sainte Anne Peninsula where normal faulting and uplift balances island-scale subsidence. Based on unit U2's present elevation and assuming an MIS 5.5 age and + 6 m MSL sea level, Martinique has subsided at maximum 0.3 m/ky, likely due to subduction processes that question the coupling state of the megathrust.
ISSN: 0025-3227

hal-01307036
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01307036
DOI : 10.1016/j.margeo.2015.08.001

Éditeur(s) : Elsevier
Résumé : We report on a multidisciplinary study of cold seeps explored in the Central Nile deep-sea fan of the Egyptian margin. Our approach combines in situ seafloor observation, geophysics, sedimentological data, measurement of bottom-water methane anomalies, pore-water and sediment geochemistry, and Th-230/U dating of authigenic carbonates. Two areas were investigated, which correspond to different sedimentary provinces. The lower slope, at similar to 2100 m water depth, indicates deformation of sediments by gravitational processes, exhibiting slope-parallel elongated ridges and seafloor depressions. In contrast, the middle slope, at similar to 1650 m water depth, exhibits a series of debris-flow deposits not remobilized by post-depositional gravity processes. Significant differences exist between fluid-escape structures from the two studied areas. At the lower slope, methane anomalies were detected in bottom-waters above the depressions, whereas the adjacent ridges show a frequent coverage of fractured carbonate pavements associated with chemosynthetic vent communities. Carbonate U/Th age dates (similar to 8 kyr BP), pore-water sulphate and solid phase sediment data suggest that seepage activity at those carbonate ridges has decreased over the recent past. In contrast, large (similar to 1 km(2)) carbonate-paved areas were discovered in the middle slope, with U/Th isotope evidence for ongoing carbonate precipitation during the Late Holocene (since similar to 5 kyr BP at least). Our results suggest that fluid venting is closely related to sediment deformation in the Central Nile margin. It is proposed that slope instability leads to focused fluid flow in the lower slope and exposure of 'fossil' carbonate ridges, whereas pervasive diffuse flow prevails at the unfailed middle slope.
Marine Geology (0025-3227) (Elsevier), 2009-06 , Vol. 261 , N. 1-4 , P. 92-104

Droits : 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2009/publication-6586.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.margeo.2008.10.008
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/6586/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : Approximately 4 yr of campaign and continuous Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements across the Dead Sea fault system (DSFS) in Lebanon provide direct measurements of interseismic strain accumulation along a 200-km-long restraining bend in this continental transform fault. Late Cenozoic transpression within this restraining bend has maintained more than 3000 m of topography in the Mount Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon ranges. The GPS velocity field indicates 4-5 mm yr(-1) of relative plate motion is transferred through the restraining bend to the northern continuation of the DSFS in northwestern Syria. Near-field GPS velocities are generally parallel to the major, left-lateral strike-slip faults, suggesting that much of the expected convergence across the restraining bend is likely accommodated by different structures beyond the aperture of the GPS network (e.g. offshore Lebanon and, possibly, the Palmyride fold belt in SW Syria). Hence, these geodetic results suggest a partitioning of crustal deformation involving strike-slip displacements in the interior of the restraining bend, and crustal shortening in the outer part of the restraining bend. Within the uncertainties, the GPS-based rates of fault slip compare well with Holocene-averaged estimates of slip along the two principal strike-slip faults: the Yammouneh and Serghaya faults. Of these two faults, more slip occurs on the Yammouneh fault, which constitutes the primary plate boundary structure between the Arabia and Sinai plates. Hence, the Yammouneh fault is the structural linkage that transfers slip to the northern part of the transform in northwestern Syria. From the perspective of the regional earthquake hazard, the Yammouneh fault is presently locked and accumulating interseismic strain.
ISSN: 0956-540X

hal-00406620
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00406620
DOI : 10.1111/j.1365-246X.2006.03328.x

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Holocene Lake Mega-Chad (LMC) was the largest late Quaternary water-body in Africa. The development of this giant paleo-lake is related to a northward shift of the isohyetes interpreted as evidence for an enhanced Monsoon (African Humid Period). Numerous preserved coastal features have been described all around the LMC shore. Such features reveal the main paleo-hydrodynamical tendencies. In the context of a closed water-body like LMC, hydrodynamics are forced mainly by winds. We use a three-dimensional numerical model (SYMPHONIE) to simulate the mean hydrodynamics in LMC under both Harmattan-like (northeasterly trade winds) and Monsoon-like (southwesterly winds) forcings. The northern part of LMC displays coastal features, such as sand spits, that are consistent with the simulations forced by Harmattan-like winds. Geomorphic features related to Monsoon-driven hydrodynamics are not clearly expressed. They could have developed during the early stage of LMC but subsequently reworked. At the time of sand-spit building, Harmattan-like driven hydrodynamics prevailed and related coastal features were preferentially preserved in the sedimentary record.
ISSN: 0033-5894

hal-00475633
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00475633
DOI : 10.1016/j.yqres.2009.10.010

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Multi-proxy analysis of two marine sediment cores (MS27PT and MD04-2726) from the Nile continental slope provides evidence of changes in Nile sediment discharge related to changes in Ethiopian African Monsoon (EAM) precipitation, and allows us to reconstruct changes in Nile River runoff, vegetation and erosion in the Nile headwaters. Sediment element composition and neodymium isotopic composition reveal significant changes in clastic sediment provenance, with sources oscillating between a Saharan aeolian contribution during the Last Glacial Maximum/deglacial transition and during the Late Holocene, and a Blue/Atbara Nile fluvial contribution during the African Humid Period (AHP). This study provides a new understanding of past environmental changes. Between 14.6 and 14.13 ka there was a major input of sediments from the Ethiopian Highlands, consistent with a stronger EAM at that time. Climate in the Nile basin was wetter between 14.8 and 8.4 ka, with a corresponding increase in Blue Nile water and sediment discharge via the main Nile into the Eastern Mediterranean. The gradual climatic transition from the AHP to the present-day dry climate was reflected in a decrease in Blue Nile sediment deposition and flood discharge between 8.4 and 3.7 ka, with aridity at a maximum between 3.7 and 2.6 ka. The onset of drier conditions in the Blue Nile basin seems to have begun before the 8.2 ka cooling event in the North Atlantic. We speculate that the climatic change from the wet AHP to the dry late Holocene may have been a result of a break in the low latitude dynamic equilibrium between climate, vegetation and erosion, which may in turn have affected the climate in higher latitudes. Reduced Nile flow may also have had an impact on Levantine Intermediate Water originating in the Eastern Mediterranean through an increase in intermediate water formation.
ISSN: 0277-3791

hal-01277950
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01277950
DOI : 10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.10.030

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Société géologique de France
Résumé : A study combining very high resolution seismic and sediment core data has been carried out on the Thau lagoon (Mediterranean coast, microtidal setting, SE France) in order to understand more clearly the dynamics and Holocene chronology of its closure through the different stages of its filling. One main seismic unit (U2) has been defined into the infill, above the rocky basement (U0) and a composite unit U1, which is interpreted as remnants of Pleistocene fluvial terraces or/and to early marine Holocene deposits. Unit U2, that reaches locally 9 m in thickness, rests conformably on U1 in the central part of the lagoon and onlaps U0 or U1 close to the edge of the lagoon. It is divided in two sub-units, U2-1 and U2-2. U2-2 rests paraconformably on U2-1 in the central part of the lagoon where the infill is the thickest, while a marked erosional unconformity is observed between U2-1 and U2-2 on topographic highs of the basement and on the seaward edge of the lagoon. A total of seven elementary sequences have been observed in U2-1 and U2-2.;According to core data, U2 consists in a series of mud-dominated sequences, with shell fragments dispersed at the base. The vertical distribution of the fauna into U2-1 and U2-2 reveals a lagoonal environment. However in U2-1, marine species are more abundant in the south of the lagoon. C-14 AMS dating provides three ages: similar to 6000 cal yr B.P. in the lower part of U2-1 on CAL1, 5400 cal yr B.P. just above the boundary between U2-1 and U2-2 on CAL4, similar to 3000 cal yr B.P. in the middle of U2-2 on CAL4.;A scenario to explain the lagoon infill stratigraphy and geometry is proposed. The beginning of the lagoon infill occurred with the initiation of the barrier construction, as soon as the sea-level rise slowed down significantly, i.e. between 7000-6000 yr B.P. The sediment-fill began into the back-barrier system, with a high rate of sedimentation for U2-1, according to the radiocarbon data. At 5400 yr B.P., the barrier is assumed to be totally closed leading to the deposition of the fully lagoonal U2-2 succession. The unconformity between U2-1 and U2-2 is interpreted as the result of a rapid landward retreat of the barrier. This severe retreat could be related to climate forcing and/or brutal change in sediment discharge driven by the Rhone River, which is the main sediment source of the longshore drift. In this scenario, the last sub-unit, U2-2, represents most of the late Holocene infill. In this framework, the elementary sequences observed in U2-2 could be related to high frequency climate changes of about 1000-1500 years periodicity according to C-14 dates.
EISSN: 1777-5817

hal-00486386
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00486386
DOI : 10.2113/gssgfbull.181.2.197

Éditeur(s) : Elsevier
Résumé : In situ microbialites occurring in reef rocks dredged between 80 and 130 in water depth on the modern fore-reef slopes of Tahiti and the Marquesas islands yield ages ranging from 17,100 2900 to 4410 2250 years BP, suggesting that they played a prominent role during the last deglacial sea level rise. Microbialites developed in both shallow and deep water depositional environments where they characterize various zones of the reef tracts (reef crests, upper reef slopes, deep fore-reef slopes), reflecting contrasting scenarios of microbialite development involving ''reefal microbialites'' in shallow-water settings and ''slope microbialites'' that formed in environments deeper than 1020 in and extending down to more than 100 m. Reefal microbialites correspond to a late stage of encrustation of the dead parts of coral colonies, or more commonly, of related encrusting organisms (red algae and foraminifers), thus forming surface crusts. Slope microbialites generally form the ultimate stage of a biological succession indicating a deepening sequence, whereby shallow water corals and associated encrusting organisms are replaced by deeper water assemblages of red algae and foraminifers before microbialite growth. The precipitation of phosphatic-iron-manganese crusts and the deposition of planktonic micritic limestones on the microbialites characterize a deepening-upward sequence. The widespread development of microbialites in reef sequences from the Last Deglaciation characterizes a period of environmental degradation consequential oil the rapid sea-level rise and abrupt climatic changes of that time. The reported biological succession reflects changes in water quality, and especially an increase in nutrients. In shallow-water settings, increased alkalinity and nutrient availability in interstitial waters were related to surface fluxes and terrestrial groundwater seepage while slope environments were exposed to continuous upwelling of nutrient-rich deeper waters during the last deglacial sea level rise. The age differences between corals and overlying slope microbialites range from 1600 to 8400 years, based on high-precision U-series age measurements of both corals and microbialites, and indicates that a significant time (several thousand years) elapsed between the development of the coralgal frameworks and the growth of slope microbialite crusts. Microbialites cannot be considered as part of the drowning event some 14,000 years ago that resulted in the demise of reef frameworks in the 90-110 m present depth range, but are Substantially younger. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Sedimentary Geology (0037-0738) (Elsevier), 2006-03 , Vol. 185 , N. 3-4 , P. 277-295

Droits : 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2006/publication-4204.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.sedgeo.2005.12.018
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/4204/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : National audience
Mass balances are often used to calculate sediment fluxes in sedimentary basins and denudationrates in adjacent topographies on intermediate to long timescales (from a few tens ofthousand to a million years). In this study, we focus on simple Quaternary catchment–alluvial fansystems in the northern Tian Shan Range and its foreland basin to discuss some ideas about sedimentproduction, storage, release, and bypass in relatively short (100 km long) sediment routing systems.Based on a geometrical reconstruction of the fans, we estimated the volumes of sediments exportedout of the range and deposited in its alluvial piedmont during the Middle- Late Pleistocene andthe Holocene. This work shows that the two areas clearly present evidence of a temporary butsignificant storage of sediments during the Pleistocene. These sediments were then excavated anddelivered farther into the foreland basin during the Holocene. The difference between the volumesof materials released from the range and piedmont areas and the volume stored in thecontemporaneous fans downstream indicates that the latter did not trap the whole sediment loadtransported by the rivers. The alluvial fans were bypassed by 27 to 78% of this load toward thedownstream alluvial plain. It implies a major volumetric partitioning of the deposits between thefans and the alluvial plain, with a sedimentation rate about twenty times higher in the fans thanin the plain. However, this volumetric partitioning might only occur during periods with a veryspecific hydrological regime such as the Holocene deglaciation. Eventually, the peculiar sedimentstorage and release pattern within the range and piedmont areas during the Pleistocene and Holocenecomplicates the calculation of mean paleodenudation rates using either sediment budgets or in situproduced cosmogenic nuclides.
Association des Sédimentologistes Français. 15ème congrès français de sédimentologie
Chambéry, France

hal-01252100
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01252100

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
Mass balances are often used to calculate sediment fluxes in sedimentary basins and denudationrates in adjacent topographies on intermediate to long timescales (from a few tens ofthousand to a million years). In this study, we focus on simple Quaternary catchment–alluvialfan systems in the northern Tian Shan Range and its foreland basin to discuss some ideasabout sediment production, storage, release, and bypass in relatively short (100 km long) sedimentrouting systems. Based on a geometrical reconstruction of the fans, we estimated thevolumes of sediments exported out of the range and deposited in its alluvial piedmont duringthe Middle-Late Pleistocene and the Holocene. This work shows that the two areas clearlypresent evidence of a temporary but significant storage of sediments during the Pleistocene.These sediments were then excavated and delivered farther into the foreland basin during theHolocene. The difference between the volumes of materials released from the range and piedmontareas and the volume stored in the contemporaneous fans downstream indicates thatthe latter did not trap the whole sediment load transported by the rivers. The alluvial fans werebypassed by 27 to 78% of this load toward the downstream alluvial plain. It implies a majorvolumetric partitioning of the deposits between the fans and the alluvial plain, with a sedimentationrate about twenty times higher in the fans than in the plain. However, this volumetricpartitioning might only occur during periods with a very specific hydrological regime suchas the Holocene deglaciation. Eventually, the peculiar sediment storage and release patternwithin the range and piedmont areas during the Pleistocene and Holocene complicates thecalculation of mean paleodenudation rates using either sediment budgets or in situ producedcosmogenic nuclides.
Source to Sink: a long term perspective of sediment budgets and sources characterization, Abstracts
Rennes, France

insu-01406440
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01406440

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD SAGE Publications
Résumé : International audience
A multiproxy analysis of lacustrine sediments cored in Grand-Case Pond at Saint-Martin, north of the Lesser Antilles archipelago, reveals three distinct climatic periods for the last 3700 years. From 3700 to ~2500 yr cal. BP and from 1150 yr cal. BP to the present, carbonate mud deposition occurred in connection with pond lowstands. These periods were also punctuated by severe drought events, marked by gypsum laminae, and hurricane landfalls, leading to marine sand inputs into the pond. The intermediate time interval, from 2500 to 1150 yr cal. BP, is typified by black organic mud deposition, suggesting that hypoxic to anoxic conditions prevailed at the pond bottom. These were probably linked with a perennial pond highstand and reflect more uniform and wetter climatic conditions than today. The carbon isotopic composition of the ostracod Perissocytheridea bisulcata shows that the lowest δ13C values are recorded during the hypoxic periods, as a consequence of bacterial recycling of isotopically depleted organic matter. Such a climatic history agrees closely with that documented from other records in the Caribbean area, such as the Cariaco Basin, central coast of Belize or Barbados. By constrast, discrepancies seem to emerge from the comparison between hurricane activity recorded at Saint-Martin on the one hand and Vieques (Puerto Rico) on the other hand. We explain this apparent contradiction by a balance between two distinct storm paths in response to latitudinal shifts of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Stronger storm activity over the Gulf coast and the inner Caribbean Sea is favoured by a southern position of the ITCZ in connection with dry climatic conditions. Plausible links with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) are also suggested.
ISSN: 0959-6836

halshs-00758748
https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00758748
https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00758748/document
https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00758748/file/Malaize_et_al._2011_cor.pdf
DOI : 10.1177/0959683611400198