Éditeur(s) : Elsevier Science Bv
Résumé : The breakup of Pangea and onset of growth of the Pacific plate led to several paleoenvironmental feedbacks, which radically affected paleoclimate and ocean chemistry during the Jurassic. Overall, this period was characterized by intense volcanic degassing from large igneous provinces and circum-Panthalassan arcs, new oceanic circulation patterns, and changes in heat and humidity transports affecting continental weathering. Few studies, however, have attempted to unravel the global interactions linking these processes over the long-term. In this paper, we address this question by documenting the global changes in continental drainage and surface oceanic circulation for the whole Jurassic period. For this purpose, we present 53 new neodymium isotope values (εNd(t)) measured on well-dated fossil fish teeth, ichthyosaur bones, phosphatized nodules, phosphatized ooids, and clastic sediments from Europe, western Russia, and North America. Combined with an extensive compilation of published εNd(t) data, our results show that the continental sources of Nd were very heterogeneous across the world. Volcanic inputs from a Jurassic equivalent of the modern Pacific Ring of Fire contributed to radiogenic εNd(t) values (− 4 ε-units) in the Panthalassa Ocean. For the Tethyan Ocean, the average surface seawater signal was less radiogenic in the equatorial region (− 6.3), and gradually lower toward the epicontinental peri-Tethyan (− 7.4), western Russian (− 7.4) and Euro-Boreal seas (− 8.6). Different Nd sources contributed to this disparity, with radiogenic Nd influxes from westward Panthalassan currents or juvenile volcanic arcs in open oceanic domains, and substantial unradiogenic inputs from old Laurasian and Gondwanan shields for the NW Tethyan platforms. Overall, the εNd(t) values of Euro-Boreal, peri-Tethyan, and western Russian waters varied quite similarly through time, in response to regional changes in oceanic circulation, paleoclimate, continental drainage, and volcanism. Three positive shifts in εNd(t) values occurred successively in these epicontinental seas during the Pliensbachian, in the Aalenian-Bathonian interval, and in the mid-Oxfordian. The first and third events are interpreted as regional incursions of warm surface radiogenic currents from low latitudes. The Aalenian-Bathonian shift seems linked to volcanic outbursts in the NW Tethys and/or circulation of deep currents resulting from extensional events in the Hispanic Corridor and reduced influences of boreal currents crossing the Viking Corridor. In contrast, the εNd(t) signals decreased and remained very low (< − 8) during the global warming events of the Toarcian and Late Oxfordian - Early Tithonian intervals. In these greenhouse contexts, a latitudinal expansion of humid belts could have extended the drainage pathways toward boreal Nd sources of Precambrian age and increased the supply of very unradiogenic crustal-derived inputs to seawater. Finally, a brief negative εNd(t) excursion recorded in parallel with regional drops in seawater temperature suggests that southward circulation of cold unradiogenic Arctic waters occurred in the NW Tethys in the Callovian - Early Oxfordian. All these results show that changes in surface oceanic circulation resulting from the Pangean breakup could have regionally impacted the evolution of seawater temperatures in the NW Tethys.
Gondwana Research (1342-937X) (Elsevier Science Bv), 2015-06 , Vol. 27 , N. 4 , P. 1599-1615

Droits : 2014 International Association for Gondwana Research. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00179/29015/27443.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.gr.2014.02.006
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00179/29015/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Association for the Advancement of Science
Résumé : International audience
Sediments cored along the southwestern Iberian margin during Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 339 provide constraints on Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) circulation patterns from the Pliocene epoch to the present day. After the Strait of Gibraltar opened (5.33 million years ago), a limited volume of MOW entered the Atlantic. Depositional hiatuses indicate erosion by bottom currents related to higher volumes of MOW circulating into the North Atlantic, beginning in the late Pliocene. The hiatuses coincide with regional tectonic events and changes in global thermohaline circulation (THC). This suggests that MOW influenced Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), THC, and climatic shifts by contributing a component of warm, saline water to northern latitudes while in turn being influenced by plate tectonics.
ISSN: 0036-8075

hal-01054316
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01054316
DOI : 10.1126/science.1251306

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : This study analyzes the records of several trace metals sensitive to redox conditions in continental shelf sediments off Concepcion, Chile (36 degrees S). The continental margin off Concepcion (36 S; 73 W) lies beneath an important upwelling center characterized by high primary production rates and, consequently, high fluxes of organic matter. In spring and summer, this material settles to the seafloor where it decays, producing periods of very low oxygen content in bottom waters (<1 mL L-1). In addition, an oxygen minimum zone develops at similar to 100-400 m water depth, where dissolved oxygen levels are <0.5 mL L-1. This situation changes during strong El Nino events, when dissolved oxygen at the bottom increases drastically (>1 mL L-1).;The goals of this study were to determine the input of trace metals to the sediment and to decipher how this information can be used to reveal variations in primary productivity or bottom oxygenation. Gravity cores collected at two stations - VG06-2 over the mid-shelf station (88 m water depth, upper boundary of the oxygen minimum zone) and VG06-3 over the outer shelf (120 m water depth, within the oxygen minimum zone) - were sampled for high resolution profiles (1 cm) of trace metals, biogenic opal, stable isotopes, and total organic carbon. The results suggest that the variability in the trace metal distribution on the continental shelf off Concepcion is determined by redox conditions and the organic carbon flux to the bottom. Some sections of the sediment cores from the outer shelf showed appreciable authigenic enrichment of U, Cd, and Mo (EF: 5-10, 2-5, and 10-16 respectively) along with heavier values of delta N-15, suggesting periods of suboxic conditions. During these periods, fluxes of organic material to the bottom were higher, as indicated by elevated TOC and opal contents. Alternating periods of higher and lower trace metal contents were not observed mid-shelf as they were on the outer shelf. Rather, the mid-shelf samples showed authigenic enrichment of U, Cd, and Mo (EF: 1-6, 4-5, and 10-20, respectively) throughout the core except in a 10-cm-thick gray layer. In general, authigenic enrichment of U. Mo, and Cd occurred at both sites, coincident with olive green layers in the cores. These layers were associated with periods of elevated primary productivity and suboxic conditions. Such periods did not seem to last as long as the oxygenated periods, which had higher inputs of refractive detrital material, coincident with the occurrence of distinct gray sediment layers.
ISSN: 0079-6611

hal-00682159
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00682159
DOI : 10.1016/j.pocean.2011.07.010

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The contourite depositional system (CDS) along the southwestern Iberian Margin (SIM), within the Gulf of Cadiz and offshore areas of western Portugal bear the unmistakable signal of Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) exiting the Strait of Gibraltar. This locality records key information concerning the effects of tectonic activity on margin sedimentation, the effects of MOW dynamics on Atlantic circulation, and how these factors may have influenced global climate. Over the last four decades, numerous studies have been conducted on the late Miocene, Pliocene and Quaternary sedimentary stacking pattern of Neogene basins along the SIM for both academic and resources exploration purposes. However, understanding of the region rests primarily on basic seismic stratigraphy calibrated with limited data from only a few exploration wells. The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 339 recently drilled five sites in the Gulf of Cadiz and two sites on the western Iberian margin. The integration of core and borehole data with other geophysical databases leads us to propose a new stratigraphic framework. Interpretation of IODP Exp. 339 data along with that from industry sources and onshore outcrop analysis helps refine our understanding of the SIM's sedimentary evolution.We identify significant changes in sedimentation style and dominant sedimentary processes, coupled with widespread depositional hiatuses along the SIM within the Cadiz, Sanlucar, Doñana, Algarve and Alentejo basins. Following the 4.5 Ma cessation of a previous phase of tectonic activity related to the Miocene–Pliocene boundary, tectonics continued to influence margin development, downslope sediment transport and CDS evolution. Sedimentary features indicate tectonic pulses of about 0.8–0.9 Ma duration with a pronounced overprint of ~ 2–2.5 Ma cycles. These more protracted cycles relate to the westward rollback of subducted lithosphere at the convergent Africa-Eurasia plate boundary as its previous NW–SE compressional regime shifted to a WNW–ESE direction. Two major compressional events affecting to the Neogene basins at 3.2–3 Ma and 2–2.3 Ma help constrain the three main stages of CDS evolution. The stages include: 1) the initial-drift stage (5.33–3.2 Ma) with a weak MOW, 2) a transitional-drift stage (3.2–2 Ma) and 3) a growth-drift stage (2 Ma-present time) with enhanced MOW circulation into the Atlantic and associated contourite development due to greater bottom-current velocity. Two minor Pleistocene discontinuities at 0.7–0.9 Ma and 0.3–0.6 Ma record the effects of renewed tectonic activity on basin evolution, appearing most prominently in the Doñana basin. Several discontinuities bounding major and minor units appear on seismic profiles. Quaternary records offer the clearest example of this, with major units of about 0.8–0.9 Ma and sub-units of 0.4–0.5 Ma. Sedimentation is controlled by a combination of tectonics, sediment supply, sea-level and climate. This research identifies time scales of tectonic controls on deep-marine sedimentation, specifically over periods of 2.5–> 0.4 Ma. Shorter-term climatic (orbital) mechanisms control sedimentation at time scales of ≤ 0.4 Ma. The role of bottom water circulation and associated processes in shaping the seafloor and controlling the sedimentary stacking pattern on continental margins has to be seriously reconsidered in future multidisciplinary studies. This is not only because of the common occurrence of sandy contourite deposits in deep water setting and their economic interest for hydrocarbon exploration, but principally because they archive the heartbeat of the interior Earth and therefore have important sedimentary and paleoceanographic implications.
ISSN: 0025-3227

hal-01356166
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01356166
DOI : 10.1016/j.margeo.2015.09.013

Éditeur(s) : Pergamon-elsevier Science Ltd
Résumé : We report rare earth element (REE) and neodymium (Nd) isotope data for the organic fraction of sediments collected from various depositional environments, i.e. rivers (n=25), estuaries (n=18), open-ocean settings (n=15), and cold seeps (n=12). Sedimentary Organic Matter (SOM) was extracted using a mixed hydrogen peroxide/nitric acid solution (20%-H2O2 – 0.02M-HNO3), after removal of carbonate and oxy-hydroxide phases with dilute hydrochloric acid (0.25M-HCl). A series of experimental tests indicate that extraction of sedimentary organic compounds using H202 may be complicated occasionally by partial dissolution of sulphide minerals and residual carbonates. However, this contamination is expected to be minor for REE because measured concentrations in H2O2 leachates are about two-orders of magnitude higher than in the above mentioned phases. The mean REE concentrations determined in the H2O2 leachates for samples from rivers, estuaries, coastal seas and open-ocean settings yield relatively similar levels, with ΣREE = 109 ± 86 ppm (mean ± s; n=58). The organic fractions leached from cold seep sediments display even higher concentration levels (285 ± 150 ppm; mean ± s; n=12). The H2O2 leachates for most sediments exhibit remarkably similar shale-normalized REE patterns, all characterized by a mid-REE enrichment compared to the other REE. This suggests that the distribution of REE in leached sedimentary organic phases is controlled primarily by biogeochemical processes, rather than by the composition of the source from which they derive (e.g. pore, river or sea- water). The Nd isotopic compositions for organic phases leached from river sediments are very similar to those for the corresponding detrital fractions. In contrast, the SOM extracted from marine sediments display εNd values that typically range between the εNd signatures for terrestrial organic matter (inferred from the analysis of the sedimentary detrital fractions) and marine organic matter (inferred from the analysis of local surface seawater). A notable exception is the case of organic matter (OM) fractions leached from cold seep sediment samples, which sometimes exhibit εNd values markedly different from both terrigenous and surface seawater signatures. This suggests that a significant fraction of organic compounds in these sediments may be derived from chemosynthetic processes, recycling pore water REE characterized by a distinct isotopic composition. Overall, our results confirm that organic matter probably plays an important role in the oceanic REE budget, through direct scavenging and remineralization within the water column. Both the high REE abundances and the shape of shale-normalized patterns for leached SOM also suggest that OM degradation in sub-surface marine sediments during early diagenesis could control, to a large extent, the distribution of REE in pore waters. Benthic fluxes of organic-bound REE could hence substantially contribute to the exchange processes between particulates and seawater that take place at ocean margins. Neodymium isotopes could provide useful information for tracing the origin (terrestrial versus marine) and geographical provenance of organic matter, with potential applications in paleoceanography. In particular, future studies should further investigate the potential of Nd isotopes in organic compounds preserved in sedimentary records for reconstructing past variations of surface ocean circulation.
Geochimica Et Cosmochimica Acta (0016-7037) (Pergamon-elsevier Science Ltd), 2014-09 , Vol. 140 , P. 177-198

Droits : 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00191/30250/28682.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.gca.2014.05.016
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00191/30250/

Éditeur(s) : Elsevier Science Bv
Résumé : The late Quaternary paleoceanography and paleoenvironment in the Okinawa Trough, East China Sea, have been well reconstructed over the last decade, while in contrast the provenance of terrigenous sediments that have accumulated there remains enigmatic. In this study, rare earth elements (REE) were used to investigate provenance changes in sediments from Core DGKS9604, taken from the middle Okinawa Trough. Discrimination plots based on REE fractionation parameters suggest that the cored sediments have variable provenances over the last 30 ka, with the lower part (ca. 31-8.2 ka) ultimately originating mostly from the Changjiang (Yangtze River) and the upper part (7.1-0 ka) primarily from Taiwan. During the Last Glacial Maximum and early deglacial period, sea level was low and the main stream of the Kuroshio Current was deflected to the east of the Ryukyu Islands. As a result the Changjiang-derived sediments might have dominated sedimentation of the middle Okinawa Trough. However, since about 7 ka the main stream of the Kuroshio Current strengthened in the area of the trough, as sea level approximated the modern position. This caused near-bottom transport of fine-grained sediments from the continental margin to the trough to become weak and instead, Taiwan-derived terrigenous sediments dominated in the middle trough. The changing provenances of terrigenous sediments into the middle Okinawa Trough are closely related to the evolution of oceanic circulation and sea level in the East China Sea. Two tephra layers in the core have distinct REE compositions and correlate well with two volcanic eruptions at 7.6 and 25.8 ka in southern Japan. (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier B.V.
Marine Geology (0025-3227) (Elsevier Science Bv), 2010-09 , Vol. 275 , N. 1-4 , P. 212-220

Droits : 2010 Published by Elsevier B.V.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00013/12459/9402.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.margeo.2010.06.002
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00013/12459/