Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Ocean Drilling Programm
Résumé : This paper provides a summary of postcruise scientific results from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 209 available to date, building upon shipboard observations and syntheses summarized in the Leg 209 Initial Results volume. During Leg 209, 19 holes were drilled at 8 sites along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge from 14°43´ to 15°44´N, mainly in residual mantle peridotite intruded by gabbroic rocks, in order to understand the tectonic and structural processes responsible for formation of oceanic lithosphere with abundant residual peridotite exposed on the seafloor coupled with a relatively low proportion of volcanic rocks. Based on proportions of recovered lithologies, the entire area may be underlain by mantle peridotite with ~20%–40% gabbroic intrusions and impregnations. Impregnated peridotites with olivine + two pyroxenes + plagioclase + spinel that apparently formed in equilibrium probably record crystallization from primitive mid-ocean-ridge basalt at pressures of 0.5–0.6 GPa. Metamorphic equilibria record isobaric cooling to ~1100°C at this pressure. Thus, the conductively cooled thermal boundary layer beneath the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in this region is >15 km thick. Combined crystallization and reaction with residual peridotite formed a series of impregnated peridotites recording increasing Na content at nearly constant Mg#; this process could explain some of the variation in fractionation-corrected Na (e.g., Na = 8.0) observed in mid-ocean-ridge basalts. Clinopyroxene textures and compositions record such impregnation processes, and they are particularly well documented for Site 1274. Other Leg 209 gabbroic rocks formed from extensive crystallization of highly evolved melts, indicating that a substantial proportion of melt entering the thermal boundary layer crystallizes entirely beneath the seafloor, with no volcanic equivalent. Alteration of peridotites occurred over a range of temperatures and is the result of three distinct processes: rock-dominated serpentinization with formation of brucite in olivine-rich lithologies, fluid-dominated serpentinization with formation of magnetite and no brucite, and fluid-dominated talc alteration with addition of SiO2 as well as H2O and oxygen. The latter two processes also exhibit detectable trace element metasomatism that is distinct in its character from the igneous impregnation described in the previous paragraph. Microstructures show that most residual peridotites were not ductilely deformed at temperatures less than ~1200°C. Structural and paleomagnetic data require tectonic rotations of relatively undeformed blocks; some rotations probably exceeded 60° around nearly horizontal axes parallel to the rift axis. Rotations occurred along several generations of high-temperature mylonitic shear zones extending deeper than 15 km depth and numerous faults at lower temperature. Early formed shear zones and faults were passively rotated around later features; such a process could have produced low-angle fault surfaces without slip on low-angle faults. This region provides end-member examples of processes that are common at many or most slow-spreading ridges. Osmium isotope ratios indicate an ancient history of depletion for residual peridotites from the 14°–16°N region along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Though depleted Os isotope ratios in peridotite have been reported elsewhere along the global ridge system, the values from this region are among the most depleted. In general, Os isotope ratios from mid-ocean-ridge basalts are systematically more radiogenic than Os isotope ratios from ridge peridotite samples, suggesting a polygenetic heterogeneous source for mid-ocean-ridge basalts. Geochemical studies of zircons from Leg 209 gabbroic rocks and impregnated peridotites, together with other ridge and arc-related zircons, indicate that ridge zircons have systematically lower fractionation-corrected U and Th concentrations compared to arc zircons. This observation provides a tool for interpreting the tectonic provenance of ancient detrital zircons and indicates an arclike provenance for Hadean detrital zircons. Geobiological studies and aerobiological studies were also undertaken during Leg 209. The geobiological work found no measurable microbial enhancement of olivine dissolution rate, possibly because the samples from Leg 209 were sterile. The aerobiological study determined that dust from North Africa, collected from the derrick of the JOIDES Resolution during Leg 209, contains a variety of abundant microorganisms.
Proceedings ODP, scientific results, 209

hal-00407966
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00407966
DOI : 10.2973/odp.proc.sr.209.001.2007

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
IODP Site U1309 was drilled at Atlantis Massif, an oceanic core complex, at 30 degrees N on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR). We present the results of a bulk rock geochemical study (major and trace elements) carried out on 228 samples representative of the different lithologies sampled at this location. Over 96% of Hole U1309D is made up of gabbroic rocks. Diabases and basalts cross-cut the upper part of the section; they have depleted MORB compositions similar to basalts sampled at MAR 30 degrees N. Relics of mantle were recovered at shallow depth. Mantle peridotites show petrographic and geochemical evidence of extensive melt-rock interactions. Gabbroic rocks comprise: olivine-rich troctolites (>70% modal olivine) and troctolites having high Mg# (82-89), high Ni (up to 2300 ppm) and depleted trace element compositions (Yb 0.06-0.8 ppm); olivine gabbros and gabbros (including gabbronorites) with Mg# of 60-86 and low trace element contents (Yb 0.125-2.5 ppm); and oxide gabbros and leucocratic dykes with low Mg# (<50), low Ni (similar to 65 ppm) and high trace element contents (Yb up to 26 ppm). Troctolites and gabbros are amongst the most primitive and depleted oceanic gabbroic rocks. The main geochemical characteristics of Site U1309 gabbroic rocks are consistent with a formation as a cumulate sequence after a common parental MORB melt, although (lack of systematic) downhole variations indicate that the gabbroic series were built by multiple magma injections. In detail, textural and geochemical variations in olivine-rich troctolites and gabbronorites suggest chemical interaction (assimilation?) between the parental melt and the intruded lithosphere. Site U1309 gabbroic rocks do not represent the complementary magmatic product of 30 degrees N volcanics, although they sample the same mantle source. The bulk trace element composition of Site U1309 gabbroic rocks is similar to primitive MORB melt compositions; this implies that there was no large scale removal of melts from this gabbro section. The occurrence of such a large magmatic sequence implies that a high magmatic activity is associated with the formation of Atlantis Massif. Our results suggest that almost all melts feeding this magmatic system stays trapped into the intruded lithosphere.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-00413562
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00413562
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2008.12.034

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP): Policy B - Oxford Open Option A Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
Peridotites exhumed in the footwall of axial detachment faults at slow-spreading ridges are highly serpentinized. Most mid-ocean ridge detachment settings are magmatically active and hydrous fluid circulation in and near the fault has been shown to be influenced by the presence of melt or magmatic lithologies. Our working area along the Southwest Indian Ridge (62–65°E) is nearly amagmatic and represents an end-member to study the hydrous alteration of exhumed peridotites without these magmatic influences. We use an integrated petrological approach combining microstructural, mineralogical and chemical observations to unravel the sequence of serpentinization in 272 dredged samples of variably serpentinized peridotites and to document the circulation of serpentinizing fluids in and near the exhumation faults. We find that serpentine recrystallization and veins overprint the initial serpentinite mesh texture in ∼25% of the samples. Oxygen isotope data suggest that this sequence developed at relatively high temperatures (271–336°C) and under increasing fluid–rock ratios, from near stoichiometry for mesh texture formation to >10 during recrystallization. Increasing fluid supersaturation relative to serpentine favors the replacement of mesh texture lizardite by chrysotile and polygonal or polyhedral serpentine. We attribute local recrystallization into antigorite to moderate Si-metasomatism, possibly following pyroxene serpentinization. We do not observe the more pronounced Si-metasomatism leading to talc replacing serpentine that is reported for the more magmatically active Mid-Atlantic Ridge detachment settings and is attributed to prior leaching of magmatic rocks. Scales of preferential fluid pathways in our samples evolved from pervasive and close-spaced (<500 µm) microfractures during the formation of the initial serpentine mesh texture, to centimeter-thick planar domains of enhanced fluid flux, spaced at ∼10 cm intervals and probably grouped in corridors that may be up to ∼100 m across. Serpentine minerals are enriched in some fluid-mobile elements (Cl, B, U) relative to the peridotite protolith, and several elements (Al, Fe, Si, Cu, As, Sb, REE) are redistributed at the millimeter to decimeter scale. Serpentinizing fluids were seawater-derived, probably mildly alkaline (small to no europium anomalies), reducing and H2-enriched (formation of magnetite). These fluids may have been similar to, though warmer than, those venting at the ultramafic-hosted Lost City hydrothermal fluid (30°N, Mid-Atlantic Ridge).
ISSN: 0022-3530

hal-01174047
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01174047
DOI : 10.1093/petrology/egv014

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Integrated Ocean Drilling Program
Résumé : In this report we present the results of laboratory measurements carried out to explore the electrical properties of gabbroic and troctolitic samples from Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Hole U1309D in the Atlantis Massif, an oceanic core complex located at 30°N on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Oceanic core complexes are presumably localized in portions of heterogeneous oceanic crust that are relatively rich in igneous rocks and are the locus of significant hydrothermal activity. Electrical properties of igneous rocks are used to discuss the rocks' porosity structure as a function of mineralogy, alteration processes, and deformation. Electrical properties of the gabbroic suites sampled during IODP Expedition 304/305 can contribute to the understanding of these processes in the Atlantis Massif. We present the full suite of electrical data together with density and porosity measurements on the same suite of samples.
ISSN: 1930-1014

hal-00464179
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00464179
DOI : 10.2204/iodp.proc.304305.204.2009

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD AGU and the Geochemical Society
Résumé : International audience
Rainbow is a dome-shaped massif at the 36°14′N nontransform offset along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It hosts three ultramafic-hosted hydrothermal sites: Rainbow is active and high temperature; Clamstone and Ghost City are fossil and low temperature. The MoMARDREAM cruises (2007, 2008) presented here provided extensive rock sampling throughout the massif that constrains the geological setting of hydrothermal activity. The lithology is heterogeneous with abundant serpentinites surrounding gabbros, troctolites, chromitites, plagiogranites, and basalts. We propose that a W dipping detachment fault, now inactive, uplifted the massif and exhumed these deep-seated rocks. Present-day deformation is accommodated by SSW-NNE faults and fissures, consistent with oblique teleseismic focal mechanisms and stress rotation across the discontinuity. Faults localize fluid flow and control the location of fossil and active hydrothermal fields that appear to be ephemeral and lacking in spatiotemporal progression. Markers of high-temperature hydrothermal activity (∼350°C) are restricted to some samples from the active field while a more diffuse, lower temperature hydrothermal activity (<220°C) is inferred at various locations through anomalously high As, Sb, and Pb contents, attributed to element incorporation in serpentines or microscale-sulfide precipitation. Petrographic and geochemical analyses show that the dominant basement alteration is pervasive peridotite serpentinization at ∼160–260°C, attributed to fluids chemically similar to those venting at Rainbow, and controlled by concomitant alteration of mafic-ultramafic units at depth. Rainbow provides a model for fluid circulation, possibly applicable to hydrothermalism at oceanic detachments elsewhere, where both low-temperature serpentinization and magmatic-driven high-temperature outflow develop contemporaneously, channeled by faults in the footwall and not along the detachment fault.
ISSN: 1525-2027

hal-01115281
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01115281
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01115281/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01115281/file/Andreani_et_al-2014-Geochemistry%2C_Geophysics%2C_Geosystems.pdf
DOI : 10.1002/2014GC005269

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : We present whole-rock major- and trace-element and Nd–Sr–Pb radiogenic isotope data for Cretaceous igneous suites from eastern Cuba. These rocks are related to the Greater Antilles paleo-island arc magmatism and have three different igneous styles. Group 1 consists of tholeiitic basalts and rare basaltic andesites that have normal mid-ocean ridge basalt (N-MORB)-like compositions similar to those found in back-arc basin basalts (TiO2 = 1·2–2·9 wt%; La/Yb(N) = 0·7–0·9, Th/Nb = 0·06–0·08, and initial 208Pb/ 204Pb = 37·65–37·74). Group 2 comprises basaltic and rare basaltic andesitic subvolcanic dykes with major- and trace-element and isotopic compositions similar to those of island arc tholeiites (TiO2 = 0·7–1·4 wt%; La/Yb(N) = 0·6–0·9, Th/Nb = 0·06–0·68, and initial 208Pb/ 204Pb = 37·74–38·25). Group 3 is composed of low-Ti (TiO2 = 0·3–0·9 wt%) calcalkaline igneous rocks that have an unambiguous subduction-related character (La/Yb(N) = 1·1–5·0, Th/Nb = 0·35–1·55, and initial 208Pb/ 204Pb = 37·94–38·39). The parental magmas of the three groups formed by variable melting degrees (< 5–25%) of spinel lherzolite, with more depleted mantle sources for Groups 2 and 3 than Group 1. The trace-element and radiogenic isotope compositions of primitive Group 3 samples are strongly bimodal. One subgroup of samples is characterized by low Ta/Yb (0·02–0·03) and Th/La (0·10–0·13), slightly subchondritic Nb/Ta (13·3–17·3), and relatively high initial 206Pb/204Pb (18·57–18·62) and {varepsilon}Nd (7·6–9·4). The remaining primitive Group 3 samples have higher Ta/Yb (0·06–0·11) and Th/La (0·24–0·32), and highly subchondritic Nb/Ta (7·6–9·1), coupled with lower initial 206Pb/204Pb (18·24–18·29) and {varepsilon}Nd (3·4–5·5). These signatures were induced by two distinct slab components that mainly reflect the contributions of Cretaceous Atlantic marine and North American continental sediments, respectively. Nb/Ta in the first subgroup was influenced by melting of rutile-bearing subducted crust, whereas in the second it was inherited from recycled continental sediments. The involvement of Atlantic and North American sediments in Cuban Cretaceous magmatism indicates that the Proto-Caribbean (North American-Proto Atlantic) lithosphere subducted beneath the Greater Antilles arc during the Late Cretaceous (pre-Campanian), consistent with geotectonic models involving onset of SW-dipping subduction beneath the Greater Antilles paleo-arc during the Aptian. The variable mantle source depletion and magnitude of the subduction component probably reflect different settings across the arc, from the arc front to a back-arc spreading ridge.
ISSN: 0022-3530

hal-00406373
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00406373
DOI : 10.1093/petrology/egm040

Éditeur(s) : Station Biologique de Roscoff
Résumé : The hydrothermal vent shrimp genus Mirocaris is reviewed. Morphological comparison between the two nominal species in the genus, M. fortunata and M. keldyshi, was made based on the re-examination of the holotype and paratypes of Mirocarisfortunata and the paratypes of M. keldyshi. Samples newly collected from various sites on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge were also examined. The validity of the genus Mirocaris has been confirmed. However, our study has revealed that the supposed morphological characters distinguishing M. fortunata and M. keldyshi do not provide significant taxonomic differences and further comparison failed to detect morphological differences between the two taxa. Thus M. keldyshi is synonymized with M. fortunata, and so there is only one single species in the genus Mirocaris. This supports the suggestion by Shank et al. (1999), based on a molecular study, that the two taxa might be conspecific. A redescription of M. fortunata is provided to better establish the morphology of the species. The clarification led us to improve the morphological descriptions of the caridean species associated with vent or seep environments and to reassess the relationships among Mirocaris and the other shrimp taxa in the superfamily Bresilioidea. The generic diagnosis of Mirocaris is emended. Because a number of presumably apomorphic characters are shared by Mirocaris and other alvinocaridid genera, the genus Mirocaris is now assigned to the family Alvinocarididae. The family Mirocarididae is synonymized with the Alvinocarididae and the diagnosis of this family is emended.
Révision du genre Mirocaris, crevette des sources hydrothermales océaniques, redescription de M. fortunata et réexamen du statut de la famille des Alvinocarididae. Le genre Mirocaris, créé pour des crevettes hydrothermales, est révisé. Une étude morphologique comparative des deux espèces Mirocaris fortunata et M. keldyshi, basée sur le réexamen des holo-types et paratypes et sur l'étude de nombreux échantillons provenant de divers sites hydrothermaux de la dorsale médio-atlantique, a été effectuée. La validité du genre Mirocaris est confirmée. Il apparaît que les caractères qui distinguent M. keldyshi et M.fortunata ne sont pas des critères taxonomiques suffisants et une étude morphologique plus poussée n'a pas révélé de différences morphologiques entre les deux taxa. Ceci est en accord avec l'interprétation de Shank et al. (1999) qui, à la suite d'une étude moléculaire, suggèrent la synonymie des deux espèces. Une redescription détaillée de M. fortunata est donnée et les relations entre Mirocaris et les autres genres de la superfamille des Bresilioidea sont discutées. La diagnose générique de Mirocaris est modifiée. Comme plusieurs caractères apomorphes sont partagés par Mirocaris et les autres genres de la famille des Alvinocarididae, le genre Mirocaris est maintenant affecté à cette famille. La famille des Mirocarididae est mise en synonymie avec celle des Alvinocarididae dont la diagnose est modifiée.
CBM - Cahiers de Biologie Marine (0007-9723) (Station Biologique de Roscoff), 2003-03 , Vol. 44 , N. 2 , P. 199-215

Droits : 2003 Station Biologique de Roscoff
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2003/publication-883.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/883/

Éditeur(s) : Elsevier
Résumé : High P-wave velocities (7.1-7.8 km/s) lower crustal bodies (LCBs) imaged along volcanic margins are commonly interpreted as plume and break-up-related thick mafic underplating. This interpretation is partly challenged in this paper based on new seismic observations and modelling of the outer Voring Basin (Norway). An exceptional strong amplitude reflection, the T Reflection, is particularly well defined below the North Gjallar Ridge (NGR) between 7 and 8 s TWT. The T Reflection is located near the volcanic lava flows emplaced during the NE Atlantic breakup (similar to 55-54 Ma ago) and coincides with the top of the LCB, forming a mid-crustal dome. Based on structural and temporal relationships, we show that the dome clearly influences the structural development of the NGR and predates the continental breakup at least by 10-15 Ma. Using a thermo-kinematical model, we tried also to investigate and quantify the relationships between the extension, LCB and the magmatic production. Modelling suggests that significant Paleocene-Early Eocene magmatism can be produced without any temperature anomaly in the mantle if differential stretching occurs during the break-up initiation. The conclusion of 2D thermo-kinematical parametric analysis is that the magmatic model predicts, either little extension (beta < 2) with no melting or high extension (beta > 5) with significant melting along the outer Voring Basin. We suggest that the continental part of the LCB could not necessarily be breakup-related and so magmatic, as has often been stated previously. It is concluded here that the continental part of the LCB observed beneath the outer Voring Basin may be partly (or fully) attributed to inherited, high-pressure granulite/eclogite lower crustal rocks. The real amount of mafic material emplaced along the outer Voring Basin could be 20-40% less than thought.
Tectonophysics (0040-1951) (Elsevier), 2006 , Vol. 412 , N. 3-4 , P. 255-278

Droits : 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2006/publication-1042.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.tecto.2005.10.038
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/1042/

Éditeur(s) : Copernicus Gesellschaft Mbh
Résumé : Deep-sea bivalves found at hydrothermal vents, cold seeps and organic falls are sustained by chemosynthetic bacteria which ensure part or all of their carbon nutrition. These symbioses are of prime importance for the functioning of the ecosystems. Similar symbioses occur in other bivalve species living in shallow and coastal reduced habitats worldwide. In recent years, several deep-sea species have been investigated from continental margins around Europe, West Africa, East America, the Gulf of Mexico, and from hydrothermal vents on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. In parallel, numerous more easily accessible shallow marine species were studied. We here provide a summary of the current knowledge available on chemosymbiotic bivalves in the area ranging west-to-east from the Gulf of Mexico to Marmara Sea, and north-to-south from the Arctic to the Gulf of Guinea. Characteristics of symbioses in 51 species from the area are summarized for each of the five bivalve families documented to harbor chemosynthetic symbionts (Mytilidae, Vesicomyidae, Solemyidae, Thyasiridae and Lucinidae), and compared among families with special emphasis on ecology, life cycle, and connectivity. Chemosynthetic symbioses are a major adaptation to ecosystems and habitats exposed to reducing conditions, yet relatively little is known regarding their diversity and functioning apart from a few "model species" on which effort has focused over the last 30 yr. In the context of increasing concern about biodiversity and ecosystems, and increasing anthropogenic pressure on Oceans, we advocate for a better assessment of bivalve symbioses diversity in order to evaluate the capacities of these remarkable ecological and evolutionary units to withstand environmental change
Biogeosciences (1726-4170) (Copernicus Gesellschaft Mbh), 2013 , Vol. 10 , N. 5 , P. 3241-3267

Droits : Author(s) 2012. CC Attribution 3.0 License.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00133/24417/22431.pdf
DOI:10.5194/bg-10-3241-2013
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00133/24417/

Éditeur(s) : Public Library Science
Résumé : Like hydrothermal vents along oceanic ridges, cold seeps are patchy and isolated ecosystems along continental margins, extending from bathyal to abyssal depths. The Atlantic Equatorial Belt (AEB), from the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of Guinea, was one focus of the Census of Marine Life ChEss (Chemosynthetic Ecosystems) program to study biogeography of seep and vent fauna. We present a review and analysis of collections from five seep regions along the AEB: the Gulf of Mexico where extensive faunal sampling has been conducted from 400 to 3300m, the Barbados accretionary prism, the Blake ridge diapir, and in the Eastern Atlantic from the Congo and Gabon margins and the recently explored Nigeria margin. Of the 72 taxa identified at the species level, a total of 9 species or species complexes are identified as amphi-Atlantic. Similarity analyses based on both Bray Curtis and Hellinger distances among 9 faunal collections, and principal component analysis based on presence/absence of megafauna species at these sites, suggest that within the AEB seep megafauna community structure is influenced primarily by depth rather than by geographic distance. Depth segregation is observed between 1000 and 2000m, with the middle slope sites either grouped with those deeper than 2000m or with the shallower sites. The highest level of community similarity was found between the seeps of the Florida escarpment and Congo margin. In the western Atlantic, the highest degree of similarity is observed between the shallowest sites of the Barbados prism and of the Louisiana slope. The high number of amphi-atlantic cold-seep species that do not cluster according to biogeographic regions, and the importance of depth in structuring AEB cold-seep communities are the major conclusions of this study. The hydrothermal vent sites along the Mid Atlantic Ridge (MAR) did not appear as "stepping stones" for dispersal of the AEB seep fauna, however, the south MAR and off axis regions should be further explored to more fully test this hypothesis.
Plos One (1932-6203) (Public Library Science), 2010-08 , Vol. 5 , N. 8 , P. 1-11

Droits : © 2010 Olu et al.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00011/12207/8975.pdf
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0011967
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00011/12207/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : This historical perspective provides an overall view of the main steps that led to the acceptance of the concept of mantle exhumation accompanying lithosphere stretching and extreme crustal thinning. We first remember that the presence of exposures of mantle rocks along oceanic spreading ridges was early reported in the 60's due to the results of sediment cores and dredge hauls collected along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. In the meantime, detailed analysis of the relationships between oceanic sediments of Late Jurassic age and their primary basement in the Apennine ophiolites led many authors to point to the importance of exhumation of mantle rocks on ancient seafloors. By contrast to the thick sections of classical ophiolites (e.g. Oman), the Alpine-Corsican-Appennine ophiolites are characterized by a relatively small amount of mafic rocks (gabbros and basalts), by the absence of any sheeted dyke complex and by the frequent occurrence of oceanic sediments stratigraphically overlying mantle-derived peridotites and associated gabbroic intrusions. They display some of the characteristics of slow-spreading ridge systems, but, due to their highly tectonized character, they have been interpreted successively either as remnants of oceanic fracture zones of normal ocean or as remnants of very-poorly organized, abnormal oceanic basement. This review shows how the concept of mantle exhumation has been elaborated more or less in the same period both by marine geoscientists and by geologists conducting investigations in ophiolitic units of the Alps-Apennines mountain belt. Dredging and diving results from the Gorringe Bank, the Iberia margin, the Thyrrenian Sea and the Central Atlantic in the 1980's and 1990's provided additional proofs that the mantle is currently exhumed in various oceanic environments, including distal continental margins, back-arc basins and slow-spreading ridges of wide oceans. It is shown finally how renewed cross-information from mountain belts and the oceans, multiplying the examples of sedimentary reworking of mantle material, help better constrain the mechanisms of mantle exhumation. This mechanism progressively appeared as a fundamental step during the processes of extension of both continental and oceanic lithospheres in numerous geological situations worldwide.
Bollettino della Società Geologica Italiana

hal-00475653
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00475653
DOI : 10.3301/IJG.2009.128.2.279

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : ODP Leg 209 Site 1274 mantle peridotites are highly refractory in terms of lack of residual clinopyroxene, olivine Mg# (up to 0.92) and spinel Cr# (∼0.5), suggesting high degree of partial melting (>20%). Detailed studies of their microstructures show that they have extensively reacted with a pervading intergranular melt prior to cooling in the lithosphere, leading to crystallization of olivine, clinopyroxene and spinel at the expense of orthopyroxene. The least reacted harzburgites are too rich in orthopyroxene to be simple residues of low-pressure (spinel field) partial melting. Cu-rich sulfides that precipitated with the clinopyroxenes indicate that the intergranular melt was generated by no more than 12% melting of a MORB mantle or by more extensive melting of a clinopyroxene-rich lithology. Rare olivine-rich lherzolitic domains, characterized by relics of coarse clinopyroxenes intergrown with magmatic sulfides, support the second interpretation. Further, coarse and intergranular clinopyroxenes are highly depleted in REE, Zr and Ti. A two-stage partial melting/melt–rock reaction history is proposed, in which initial mantle underwent depletion and refertilization after an earlier high pressure (garnet field) melting event before upwelling and remelting beneath the present-day ridge. The ultra-depleted compositions were acquired through melt re-equilibration with residual harzburgites. Electronic supplementary material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at ;; and is accessible for authorized users
ISSN: 0010-7999

hal-00404655
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00404655
DOI : 10.1007/s00410-006-0148-6

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
IODP Hole U1309D (Atlantis Massif, Mid-Atlantic Ridge 30 degrees N) is the second deepest hole drilled into slow spread gabbroic lithosphere. It comprises 5.4% of olivine-rich troctolites (->70% olivine), possibly the most primitive gabbroic rocks ever drilled at mid-ocean ridges. We present the result of an in situ trace element study carried out on a series of olivine-rich troctolites, and neighbouring troctolites and gabbros, from olivine-rich intervals in Hole U1309D. Olivine-rich troctolites display poilkilitic textures; coarse-grained subhedral to medium-grained rounded olivine crystals are included into large undeformed clinopyroxene and plagioclase poikiloblasts. In contrast, gabbros and troctolites have irregularly seriate textures, with highly variable grain sizes, and locally poikilitic clinopyroxene oikocrysts in troctolites. Clinopyroxene is high Mg# augite (Mg# 87 in olivine-rich troctolites to 82 in gabbros), and plagioclase has anorthite contents ranging from 77 in olivine-rich troctolites to 68 in gabbros. Olivine has high forsterite contents (82-88 in olivine-rich troctolites, to 78-83 in gabbros) and is in Mg-Fe equilibrium with clinopyroxene. Clinopyroxene cores and plagioclase are depleted in trace elements (e.g., Yb-cpx similar to 5-11 x Chondrite), they are in equilibrium with the same MORB-type melt in all studied rock-types. These compositions are not consistent with the progressively more trace element enriched (evolved) compositions expected from olivine rich primitive products to gabbros in a MORB cumulate sequence. They indicate that clinopyroxene and plagioclase crystallized concurrently, after melts having the same trace element composition, consistent with crystallization in an open system with a buffered magma composition. The slight trace element enrichments and lower Cr contents observed in clinopyroxene rims and interstitial grains results from crystallization of late-stage differentiated melts, probably indicating the closure of the magmatic system. In contrast to clinopyroxene and plagioclase, olivine is not in equilibrium with MORB, but with a highly fractionated depleted melt, similar to that in equilibrium with refractory oceanic peridotites, thus possibly indicating a mantle origin. In addition, textural relationships suggest that olivine was in part assimilated by the basaltic melts after which clinopyroxene and plagioclase crystallized (impregnation). These observations suggest a complex crystallization history in an open system involving impregnation by MORB-type melt(s) of an olivine-rich rock or mush. The documented magmatic processes suggest that olivine-rich troctolites were formed in a zone with large magmatic transfer and accumulation, similar to the mantle-crust transition zone documented in ophiolites and at fast spreading ridges.
ISSN: 0009-2541

hal-00420916
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00420916
DOI : 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2009.02.013

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD AGU and the Geochemical Society
Résumé : International audience
Hydrothermal circulation at ultramafic-hosted sites supports a large variety of high-and low-temperature hydrothermal vents and associated ecosystems. The discovery of abundant fossil vesicomyid and thyasirid shell accumulations at the ridge crest, approximately 2.5 km east of the active Rainbow vent field on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR, 36 degrees 13'N), increased our knowledge regarding the diversity of vent communities at slow spreading ridges. Bivalve molluscs of the family Vesicomyidae were represented by the genus Phreagena. Here we present the first record of this genus in the Atlantic Ocean. This second vesicomyid species known from the MAR, Phreagena sp., was found to be associated with a Thyasira species that is affiliated with T. southwardae (at the Logatchev vent field on the MAR) and with T. vulcolutre (in the Gulf of Cadiz). These two clams have close relationships with seep taxa along the continental margin, and were likely associated with sedimented vent fields. delta O-18 and delta C-13 analyses of the shells suggested that the burrowing bivalve Thyasira could incorporate isotopically light carbon, derived from the oxidation of methane in the sediment, while the signature of Phreagena sp. shells denoted a different carbonate source. C-14 dating of the shells denoted that the hydrothermal activity in the Rainbow area began at least similar to 25.5 kyr BP, which is similar to the model of the hydrothermal vent field distribution that was proposed for the Logatchev hydrothermal site. The results provide new insight regarding the diversity of chemosynthetic fauna on the MAR over geologic time. Ultramafic-hosted, on-axis sedimented vent fields extend the range of habitats for chemosynthetic communities, underlying the need to further explore the geology of these types of environments on slow-spreading ridges and to determine their role in the ecology of deep-sea vent communities.
ISSN: 1525-2027

hal-00523467
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00523467
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00523467/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00523467/file/G3-Lartaud-_-al.pdf
DOI : 10.1029/2010GC003079

Éditeur(s) : Amer Geophysical Union
Résumé : Recent ROV dives and high-resolution bathymetric data acquired over the Ashadze fields on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (13 degrees N) allow us to derive constraints on the regional and local geological setting of ultramafic-hosted hydrothermal fields. The active vent fields of Ashadze hydrothermal fields are located in the western axial valley wall, downslope from the termination of a prominent corrugated surface and in a transitional domain with respect to ridge segmentation. The study of the shipboard and ROV bathymetry shows that decameter (100 m by 60 m) to kilometer-scaled rockslides shape the axial valley wall slopes in this region. The Ashadze 1 vent field occurs on a coherent granular landslide rock mass that is elongated in an E-W direction. The Ashadze 1 vent field comprises hundreds of active and inactive sulfide chimneys. The Ashadze 2 vent field is located in a NNE-trending linear depression which separates outcrops of gabbros and serpentinized peridotites. Active black smokers in the Ashadze 2 field are located on ultramafic substratum in a 40-m diameter crater, 5-m deep. This crater recalls similar structures described at some vents of the Logatchev hydrothermal field (Mid-Atlantic Ridge 15 degrees N). We discuss the mode of formation for these craters, as well as that for a breadcrust-like array of radial fissures identified at Ashadze 1. We propose that hydrothermalism at Ashadze can be an explosive phenomena associated with geyser-like explosions. Our study also constrains the geological and geophysical context of the ultramafic-hosted Ashadze hydrothermal system that may use the oceanic detachment fault as a preferred permeability conduit.
Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems (1525-2027) (Amer Geophysical Union), 2012-11 , Vol. 13 , N. 1 , P. Q0AG14

Droits : 2012. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00111/22223/19895.pdf
DOI:10.1029/2012GC004433
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00111/22223/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : IODP Hole U1309D (IODP Exp. 304-305, 30°N) and ODP Site 1275 (ODP Lag 209, 15°45?N) sampled two oceanic core complexes, at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The recovered rocks are mostly gabbroic with some very primitive and olivine rich (Ol>70%). In Hole U1309D, trace element compositions of clinopyroxene and plagioclase poikiloblasts from olivine-rich rocks ndicate that they crystallized from the same melt in all lithologies. Olivine trace element compositions are in disequilibrium with the two other minerals. Olivine crystallographic preferred orientations are weak, with a relatively strong uncommon [001] concentration but consistent with deformation by dislocation creep with activation of the high temperature (010) [100] slip system, commonly described in asthenospheric mantle. The joint study of geochemical processes and microstructures in these rocks suggest a complex crystallization history in an open system with percolation of large volume of MORBtype melt and interaction with the depleted shallow mantle. Olivine-rich rocks are interpreted as the ultimate residue of these melt-mantle reaction processes. At Site 1275, the formation of the more evolved rocks of the gabbroic series is not related to the impregnation event creating olivine-rich rocks.
These rocks represent late magmatic injections, which are completely crystallized at depth as intrusivegabbroic bodies. The results presented in this thesis are consistent with the formation of oceanic core complexes associated with relatively strong magmatic activity, and with the crystallization of most of melt in the lithosphere without basaltic counterpart erupted on the seafloor.
Le puits IODP U1309D (Exp. IODP 304-305, 30°N) et le Site ODP 1275 (Leg ODP 209, 15°45'N) ont permis d'échantillonner deux core complexes océaniques de la dorsale Médio-Atlantique. Les roches récupérées sont principalement gabbroïques dont certaines très primitives et riches en olivine (ol >70%). Dans le puits U1309D, les compositions en éléments en trace des poeciloblastes de clinopyroxène et de plagioclase des roches riches en olivine indiquent qu'ils précipitent depuis le même magma dans toutes les lithologies. La composition en éléments en trace des olivines est en déséquilibre avec ces deux minéraux. Les fabriques cristallographiques de l'olivine sont faibles avec une concentration sur [001] inhabituelle, néanmoins compatibles avec une déformation plastique de haute température, avec l'activation du système de glissement (010) [100] communément décrit dans le manteau asthénosphérique. L'étude conjointe des caractéristiques géochimiques et microstructurales de ces roches met en lumière une histoire complexe de cristallisation dans un système ouvert où de larges volumes de magma de type MORB ont percolé et interagi avec le manteau appauvri superficiel. Ces roches riches en olivine représenteraient le résidu ultime de ces réactions liquide-manteau. Au site 1275, la formation des roches les plus évoluées de la série n'apparaît pas liée à l'événement d'imprégnation formant les roches riches en olivine. Ces roches correspondent à des injections tardives de magma qui ont entièrement cristallisé en profondeur sous forme de plutons intrusifs. Les résultats présentés dans ce mémoire sont compatibles avec une formation des core complexes océaniques associée à une activité magmatique relativement importante, et à une cristallisation complète de tout ou partie de ces magmas dans la lithosphère sans contre-partie volcanique en surface.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00354807

tel-00354807
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00354807
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00354807/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00354807/file/these_MD.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley-Blackwell
Résumé : International audience
Serpentinization of the oceanic lithosphere contributes significantly to the geochemical cycle from spreading ridges to subduction zones. In situ trace element analysis of oceanic serpentinites from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the Greater Antilles (Cuba, Dominican Republic) shows that all serpentine minerals are enriched in fluid-mobile elements (FME: As, Sb, B, Li, Cs, Pb, U, Ba, Sr). We observe no loss of these elements from abyssal to subduction environments during prograde metamorphism. Moreover, the transition from lizardite/chrysotile to antigorite during subduction is marked by a strong over-enrichment in As and Sb in antigorite, indicating late contamination by a sedimentary source. This suggests that a second stage of serpentinization occurs in the earlier stages of subduction, when newly formed or reactivated normal faults ease fluid penetration, and/or in the subduction channel. Our study shows that, from spreading ridges to forearc environments, serpentines act as sponges for FME. We posit that, until ultimate antigorite breakdown, serpentinites efficiently transport significant amounts of FME down to great depths in the mantle.
ISSN: 0954-4879

insu-00603792
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00603792
DOI : 10.1111/j.1365-3121.2011.00995.x

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
During ODP Leg 209, a magma-starved area of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) was drilled in the vicinity of the Fifteen-Twenty Fracture Zone (FZ) that offsets one of the slowest portions of the spreading ridge. We present here the results of a bulk rock multi-elemental study of 27 peridotites drilled at Sites 1272 and 1274 (to the south and the north of the FZ, respectively). The peridotites comprise mainly of harzburgites with minor dunites. Clinopyroxene (Cpx), which is interstitial and interpreted as secondary, is observed in Site 1274 peridotites. Sites 1272 and 1274 peridotites have low Al2O3 contents (<= 1 anhydrous wt.%), high Mg# (>91.5), and bulk rock trace elements compositions mostly below 0.1 x primitive mantle (PM). These peridotites, and in particular Site 1272 peridotites, represent the most depleted peridotites yet sampled at a slow spreading ridge. Their compositions indicate high degrees of partial melting and melt extraction. A single open-system melting event (melting plus percolation of melts produced within upwelling mantle) can explain their highly depleted yet linear chondrite-normalized REE patterns, characterized by a steady depletion from HREE to LREE. Late melt-rock reactions and precipitation of Cpx explains the slightly less depleted compositions of Site 1274 peridotites. Hence, the differences in composition between Sites 1272 and 1274 peridotites do not provide evidence for regional variations in the degrees of partial melting from the south to the north of the FZ. The occurrence of highly refractory peridotites in the Fifteen-Twenty area suggests we sampled a more actively convecting mantle than generally supposed below slow spreading centers.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-00412001
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00412001
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2007.11.058

Éditeur(s) : American Geophysical Union
Résumé : We present new high-resolution bathymetry and backscatter data acquired in 2006 with the ROV Victor 6000 over the Lucky Strike hydrothermal field, Mid-Atlantic Ridge. As long-term monitoring of the Lucky Strike area (MoMAR project) is being implemented, these new high-resolution data offer an unprecedented view of the distribution of hydrothermal edifices, eruptive facies, and small-scale tectonic features in the Lucky Strike vent field. We show that vents located in the NW and NE correspond with wide expanses of lumpy seafloor which we interpret as primarily made of broken chimneys and sulfide edifices. They are found above scarps with relief > 50 m or on associated mass wasting deposits. By contrast, the SE and SW vents correspond with small expanses of lumpy seafloor and are located near smaller scarps which we interpret as more recent faults. Hydrothermal edifices in the SW venting area appear very recent, postdating the emplacement and faulting of the most recent lava. We propose that this difference in the age of hydrothermal edifices does not mean that hydrothermal venting itself is more recent in the southern part of the Lucky Strike field because preexisting sulfide deposits there may have been buried by recent volcanic deposits. Instead, the older edifices in the northern part of the hydrothermal field may have been allowed more time to grow because they are set above the level of recent lava flows. The formation of a lava lake is the most recent eruptive event detected at Lucky Strike. Lava drainback is evidenced by benches and lava pillars, suggesting a close connection with an underlying magma reservoir, which probably corresponds to the melt body imaged by Singh et al. (2006). We have found no evidence that this lake was active for months to decades, as lava lakes at terrestrial volcanoes. It may instead have formed as a lava pond, with successive lava flows covering the eruptive vents, as proposed for similar features at the EPR. The horizontal surface of the lake is deformed only near its southwestern shore, along a NNE-trending set of faults and fissures, which appear to control the distribution of hydrothermal chimneys.
Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems (1525-2027) (American Geophysical Union), 2009-02 , Vol. 10 , N. 2 , P. 1-18

Droits : 2009 American Geophysical Union
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2009/publication-6161.pdf
DOI:10.1029/2008GC002171
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/6161/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD AGU and the Geochemical Society
Résumé : International audience
The 1415 m deep IODP Hole U1309D (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 30 degrees N) is the second deepest hole drilled into slow spreading oceanic lithosphere. The recovered section comprises essentially gabbroic rocks, with a large range of compositions. The most primitive end-members of the gabbroic sequence, herein referred to as olivine-rich troctolites (ol > similar to 70%), have textures and geochemical compositions intermediate between that of mantle peridotites and primitive cumulates, indicative of melt impregnation processes. We carried out a detailed microstructural study to further characterize the petrogenetic processes leading to their formation, as well as discuss their mode of emplacement and relationship with neighboring mantle lithosphere. In olivine-rich troctolites, olivines range from coarse-grained subhedral crystals, commonly containing well-developed subgrains, to medium-grained rounded crystals with fewer or no substructures. They are embedded in large, undeformed pyroxene and plagioclase poikiloblasts. Olivine substructures reveal dislocation creep that is consistent with activation of the main high-temperature slip systems, dominantly (010)[100]. Olivine crystallographic preferred orientation is very weak but generally shows a relatively stronger, uncommon [001] concentration. These unusual olivine fabrics are interpreted as resulting from melt impregnation of a previously deformed olivine matrix: the solid olivine framework is disrupted by olivine corrosion along grain and subgrain boundaries, and the high-temperature plastic fabric is modified in a liquid-dominated regime. Based on mineral composition and fabrics and in comparison with what is observed in impregnated mantle rocks elsewhere, we posit that olivine represents relicts of mantle peridotites disaggregated by large melt influx, although the mantle origin of olivine is not unequivocally demonstrated yet. Whatever the initial lithology, impregnation by large volumes of melt has strongly modified the original composition and microstructure. If the mantle origin hypothesis is correct, the original olivine fabric could have been efficiently weakened by dunitization prior to disruption of the olivine framework by melt impregnation. Incorporation, at the base of the lithosphere, of small slivers of impregnated dunite into gabbroic sections, trapped between successive igneous units, may be a common mechanism of lower crustal accretion at slow spreading ridges. Extensive melt-rock interaction processes are expected to contribute significantly to the final chemical composition of erupted lavas.
ISSN: 1525-2027

hal-00496391
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00496391
DOI : 10.1029/2009GC002995