Éditeur(s) : Elsevier Science Bv
Résumé : The modern Rhone delta in the Gulf of Lions (NW Mediterranean) is a typical wave-dominated delta that developed after the stabilization of relative sea level following the last deglacial sea-level rise. Similar to most other deltas worldwide, it displays several stacked parasequences and lobes that reflect the complex interaction between accommodation, sediment supply and autogenic processes on the architecture of a wave-dominated delta. The interpretation of a large set of newly acquired very high-resolution seismic and sedimentological data, well constrained by 14C dates, provides a refined three-dimensional image of the detailed architecture (seismic bounding surfaces, sedimentary facies) of the Rhone subaqueous delta, and allows us to propose a scenario for delta evolution during the last deglaciation and Holocene. The subaqueous delta consists of “parasequence-like” depositional wedges, a few meters to 20–30 m in thickness. These wedges first back-stepped inland toward the NW in response to combined global sea-level rise and overall westward oceanic circulation, at a time when sediment supply could not keep pace with rapid absolute (eustatic) sea-level rise. At the the Younger Dryas-Preboreal transition, more rapid sea-level rise led to the formation of a major flooding surface (equivalent to a wave ravinement surface). After stabilization of global sea level in the mid-Holocene, accommodation became the leading factor controlling delta architecture. An eastward shift of depocenters occurred, probably favoured by higher subsidence rate within the thick Messinian Rhone valley fill. The transition between transgressive (backstepping geometry) and regressive (prograding geometry) (para)sequences resulted in creation of a Maximum Flooding Surface (MFS) that differs from a “classical” MFS described in the literature. It consists of a coarse-grained interval incorporating reworked shoreface material within a silty clay matrix. This distinct lithofacies results from condensation/erosion, which appears as an important process even within supply-dominated deltaic systems, due to avulsion of distributaries. The age of the MFS varies along-strike between ca. 7.8-5.6 kyr cal. BP in relation to the position of depocenters and climatically-controlled sediment supply. The last rapid climate change of the Holocene, the Little Ice Age (1250–1850 AD), had a distinct stratigraphic influence on the architecture and lithofacies of the Rhone subaqueous delta through the progradation of two deltaic lobes. In response to changes in sediment supply linked to rapid climate changes (and to anthropic factors), the Rhone delta evolved from wave-dominated to fluvial dominated, and then wave dominated again.
Sedimentary Geology (0037-0738) (Elsevier Science Bv), 2014-05 , Vol. 305 , P. 35-53

Droits : 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00179/29017/27445.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.sedgeo.2014.02.004
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00179/29017/

Éditeur(s) : Elsevier
Résumé : The study, which is based on repetitive bathymetric surveys, assesses changes and effects of one of the most important floods recorded in the Rhone Delta area: bottom morphology and sediment distribution in the Rhone outlet after the December 2003 flood are discussed by comparison between Digital Terrain maps (DTMs) of November 2003 and January 2004. The post-flood morphology shows that the whole of the system is active, mainly in the east. The channel of the Rhbne has been hollowed out on the left bank by more than 5 m, the eastern coast of the mouth has retreated 400 m, the mouth-bar has prograded 200 m and the slope of the delta front has increased by 0.19. The overlay of pre- and post-flood DTMs makes it possible to estimate the total volume deposited in the [0 to -20 m] zone as +7.8 X 10(6) m(3) (i.e. 0.88 m(3) m(-2)), which corresponds to 4 X 10(6) t of sediment. These values are compared with the average annual volume of 0.47 X 10(6) m(3) yr(-1) of sediment deposited in this zone between 1995 and 2003, as well as the average sediment load estimated at the Arles station (50 km upstream) for this flood event (3.1 x 10(6) t to 5.3 x 10(6) t). The acquisition of bathymetric measurements immediately before and after a major flood allows more than a simple morphological description; in addition, an analysis of the solid load transfer processes towards the prodelta is achievable. Three mechanisms are highlighted. Most of the material eroded in the channel and supplied to the delta front corresponds to fine sediment that drape homogeneously over the pre-flood morphology of the delta front. The transit of the coarsest sediment (primarily sand) is slowed down in the channel of the Rh6ne: this sediment builds up in relatively small areas, leading to the formation of gullies on the prodelta slope. The gullies have fixed positions and disappear gradually towards the west, following the progressive migration of the active band towards the east. These old features are not reactivated by floods occurring after their formation. During the flood, only a small volume of coarse sediment bypasses through the gullies, and the fine deposits are remobilised rapidly or compacted. Flood input concerns essentially the delta front, which traps 90% of the fluvial solid discharge between 0 and 20 m depth. The coarse prodelta supply is then due mainly to mass movements of unconsolidated material deposited beforehand on the top of the delta front. Consequently, the main nourishment of the prodelta does not occur directly during and/or immediately after a flood event, but is delayed by sediment being temporarily trapped on the delta front.
Marine Geology (0025-3227) (Elsevier), 2006-12 , Vol. 234 , N. 1-4 , P. 159-177

Droits : 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2006/publication-2304.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.margeo.2006.09.025
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/2304/

Éditeur(s) : Université de Bretagne Occidentatle
Résumé : This memoir is focused on the comparaison of sediment transfer from the continent to the basin within two different systems: (1) an open slope system and (2) an adjacent deep-sea fan system. This work is essentially based on the interpretation of seismic data acquired during several cruises off the present Rhône Delta.
Ce travail de recherche est consacré à l'étude comparée, par l'intermédiaire des dépôts et des structures sédimentaires, du transfert de matière du continent vers le bassin dans (1) un système de pente continentale ouverte et (2) dans un système adjacent constitué d'un canyon et d'un éventail sous-marin profond. Le travail est essentiellement basé sur l'interprétation de données sismiques haute résolution et 3.5 kHz acquises au cours de plusieurs campagnes au large du Delta du Rhône.

Droits : UBO
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00034/14537/11818.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00034/14537/

Éditeur(s) : Gauthier-Villars
Résumé : The analysis of humic compounds by elemental analysis, PY-GC-MS and HPLC techniques permitted determination of the origin of organic inputs, essentially terrestrial, and the effects of environmental conditions in the deposits along a north-south transect through the Rhone delta, from the river mouth to the open sea. In the prodelta the sedimentation of fine particles enriches the sediments in organic matter. The humic compound contents were relatively low in sediments, perhaps due to a rapid burying of organic matter which leads to anoxic conditions. In sediments fulvic acids are more abundant than humic acids. Elemental analysis indicated that fulvic acids were enriched in hydrogen and nitrogen as compared to humic acids. Furthermore, H/C and N/C ratios increased in the fulvic and humic acids towards the open sea, related to a more marine character. Pyrolysis analysis showed some differences between the chemical composition of fulvic acids which correspond to low molecular weights enriched in carbohydrates, and that of humic acids, high molecular weight compounds which are enriched in phenols and aromatic hydrocarbons. The pyrolysis-derived phenols were abundant near the river mouth, decreasing towards the open sea as nitrogen-containing-compounds increased. Near the river mouth, the abundance of phenolic aldehydes demonstrated by HPLC emphasized the existence of fresh organic matter. On the other hand, off the mouth, an increase in phenolic acids could indicate a more degraded organic material. The fractionation of humic acids in various classes of molecular weight species using ultrafiltration (Amicon membranes) and their analysis showed that, close to the river mouth, the large proportion of the high molecular weight humic compounds observed was enriched in phenols and carbohydrates, probably inherited from the terrestrial ligno-cellulosic complex. This process seemed to be superimposed on the increase of molecular weights which is usually observed as the environment becomes purely marine. These humic compounds would derived either from organic matter from terrestrial soils swept along by the river flow, after deposition on its bed or, more probably, from high molecular weight compounds which, associated with the mineral phase, flocculated when reaching the fluvio-marine front. Generally, the low molecular weight fractions were enriched in hydrogen and nitrogen. Near the river mouth, nitrogen-containing compounds were concentrated in the low molecular weight classes which correspond to organic molecules regarded as humic precursors. Off the mouth, they were incorporated into the high molecular weight complexes, certainly of marine origin.
Oceanologica Acta (0399-1784) (Gauthier-Villars), 1992 , Vol. 15 , N. 1 , P. 61-74

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00101/21187/18804.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00101/21187/

Éditeur(s) : Elsevier
Résumé : Sediment cores acquired in 2004 off the Rhone prodelta show consistent anomalous methane concentrations of up to 87,440 ppm. Methane compositional and isotopic data support a biogenic origin, although there are a few sites that show strongly depleted delta C-13 values (-53%o PDB) suggesting a mixed source for the gas (biogenic and thermogenic). Anomalous methane concentrations (samples with more than 90 ppm) are discussed and integrated with organic carbon data, sedimentary rates and ADCP profiles. Highest gas concentrations were found directly off the river mouth (20-40 m water depth) and where the IFREMER models point to the thickest accumulation (> 2 m) in response to the Rhone flood event. In areas unaffected by the high flux of organic matter and rapid/thick flood deposition, or in between flood events, the conditions for methanogenesis and gas accumulation have not been met; in these areas, the physical and biological reworking of the surficial sediment may effectively oxidize and mineralize organic matter and limit bacterial methanogenesis in the sub-surface. We propose that in the Rhone prodelta flood deposits deliver significant amounts of terrigenous organic matter that can be rapidly buried, effectively removing this organic matter from aerobic oxidation and biological uptake and leading to the potential for methanogenesis with burial.
Marine Geology (0025-3227) (Elsevier), 2006-12 , Vol. 234 , N. 1-4 , P. 215-231

Droits : 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2006/publication-2396.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.margeo.2006.09.005
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/2396/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The Maguelone shore extends along the northern coast of the Gulf of Lions, west of the Rhone Delta and east of high-gradient coastal streams that have provided most of the clastic sediments to the Gulf of Lions margin since the early Miocene. This 10 km-wide area is constituted by a small coastal watershed (15 km long) in low-lying carbonate hills, a kilometre-wide marsh, a sandy beach barrier and a shoreface experiencing local low sedimentation rates. This onshore-offshore transition zone is a key area to understand the relationships between erosion, by-pass, deposition and preservation processes. Unlike the neighbouring Rhone deposits that display numerous thick deltaic sequences related to a continuous sediment flux, the Maguelone shore exhibits peculiar sedimentary bodies. The analysis of about 250 km of new VHR seismic profiles acquired over the study area, 9 short cores and outcrops data allowed us to determine the three-dimensional high-resolution geometry of the coastal system tracts from Quaternary to present-day. This revealed dominant denudation processes in the Upstream catchments associated with the formation of incised valleys during Quaternary lowstands. In addition, this study investigates the erosion and deposition mechanisms controlled by littoral hydrodynamics that have been taken place on this shore since the last transgression. In particular, metre-high and hundreds of metre-long sandy bodies constructed by alongshore hydrodynamics were identified and their effect on the morphodynamics of the whole littoral system is discussed. The Maguelone shore can be used as an experimental study for onshore/offshore dynamics under the influence of microtidal wave/current hydrodynamics and very low river-derived sediment flux during a eustatic cycle. Geometry of system tracts across flood plain to shoreface is usually considered to be controlled by relative sea-level changes, and is successfully analysed with 2D sequence stratigraphy cross-shore models. It is observed that in areas like the Maguelone shore, traditional sequence stratigraphy methods might not be fully relevant and need to integrate alongshore hydrodynamical processes.
ISSN: 0025-3227

hal-00421060
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00421060
DOI : 10.1016/j.margeo.2009.06.008

Éditeur(s) : Amer Soc Limnology Oceanography
Résumé : A new benthic station equipped with oxygen microelectrodes and environmental sensors was developed by Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de L’Environnement (LSCE) and Division Technique of the Institut National des Sciences de L’Univers (DT-INSU) to perform in situ time series monitoring of sediment oxygen demand, linked to the mineralization of organic matter. The time series typically cover periods of 2-3 months, with a base frequency of 1 set of oxygen profiles per day. The profiling head assessed the lateral heterogeneity of the sediment oxygen demand at the beginning of the time series over a 0.8-m long rectangle to discriminate spatial and temporal variability. A continuous recalibration is performed using a moored oxygen optode anchored to the benthic station together with a set of environmental sensors. These sensors (turbidity, temperature, salinity, and oxygen) can trigger a high-frequency profiling mode to investigate the fate of particulate organic matter delivered during floods, resuspension, and deposition events. Deployments of the benthic station were performed in the Rhone River subaqueous delta (Mediterranean Sea). We show that “stable” periods (when neither floods nor storms occur) were characterized by a stable oxygen demand. In the case of resuspension events, an increase of the sediment oxygen demand by a factor of 2-3 with a relaxation time of 1 day was observed, indicating that the new benthic station can adequately capture the impact of resuspension events on the oxygen demand in deltaic sediments.
Limnology And Oceanography-methods (1541-5856) (Amer Soc Limnology Oceanography), 2014-11 , Vol. 12 , P. 729-741

Droits : 2014, by the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, Inc.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00230/34126/32597.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00230/34126/36349.pdf
DOI:10.4319/lom.2014.12.729
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00230/34126/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Société géologique de France
Résumé : The Maguelone shore extends along the northern coast of the Gulf of Lions margin, West of the Rhone delta and East of some high gradient coastal streams that have been providing most of the elastic sediments to the Gulf of Lions margin since the early Miocene. This 10 km wide area comprises an onshore small coastal watershed (15 km long) in low-lying carbonate hills, kilometer wide marshes, sandy beach and shoreface featuring local low sedimentation. Deposit architecture in such a coastal zone records dynamics of incised valley fill under the influence of rivers and wave/current hydrodynamics in a microtidal environment during an eustatic cycle.;A detailed analysis of about 250 km of very high resolution seismic profiles, tens of cores and outcrops data revealed the evolution of the Maguelone coastal system from Late-Quaternary to present-day. It highlighted also dominant denudation processes in the upstream catchments associated to the formation of incised valley seaward during Quaternary. Combination of this inherited morphology together with hydrodynamics controlled the lagoonal environment evolution since the last transgression. In particular, the Maguelone shore is characterized by the formation of built-over-rias lagoonal systems and records an evolution from partially protected lagoon to isolated lagoon environment. These two stages of lagoon evolution correspond to distinct deposit environments. Correlation of fauna contents with deposit geometry improves lagoonal environment models.
EISSN: 1777-5817

hal-00486370
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00486370
DOI : 10.2113/gssgfbull.181.2.211