Éditeur(s) : Yale University
Résumé : Sea-surface temperature images of the coastal upwelling regions off Northwest Africa show that the core of upwelling is sometimes located far from the coast. This has been documented in three regions that share a common feature, namely a wide and shallow continental shelf. This upwelling feature plays a key role in the ecology of the Canary Current System. It creates an innerfront which provides retention for biological material, e.g. fish eggs and larvae, in the highly productive nearshore environment. An analytical model has been developed based on a two dimensional extension of Ekman's solution. The linear and steady response of a homogeneous ocean forced by an upwelling-favorable wind provides a mechanism for the upwelling separation from the coast. The merging of the surface and bottom Ekman layers induces a very weak cross-shore circulation and a "kinematic barrier" for the Ekman transport divergence. In the case of an alongshore wind, the barrier is located near the isobath h ≈ 0.4D, where D is the thickness of Ekman layers. This yields an upwelling cell which is essentially concentrated in the region 0.5D < h < 1.25D, with upwelling occurring preferentially near the isobath h ≈ 0.6D. It turns out that the cross-shore width of upwelling scales with D/S, the ratio of Ekman depth to bottom topographic slope. The application of this solution to real bathymetric profiles rationalizes, not only the offshore upwelling observations in Northwest Africa, but also the influence of topography on the cross-shelf structure of a wind-driven coastal upwelling. The model also quantifies the effect of the cross-shore wind component showing how it drives the nearshore pressure gradient adjustment and how it affects the upwelling. A linear numerical experiment reproduces the theoretical steady solution, thereby allowing investigation of the transient regime. Relaxation of the hypothesis in the numerical model validates the linear assumption of the theory and then allows investigation of the sensitivity to friction parameterizations and the influence of stratification. The latter leads to an "oscillation" of the upwelling cell with seaward migration driven by outcropping and homogeneization of the water column, and, coastal incursion driven by a "boundary layers splitting" process caused by shoreward advection of the isopycnal dome and stratification of the inner shelf.
Journal of Marine Research (Yale University), 2008-09 , Vol. 66 , N. 5 , P. 589-616

Droits : 2008 Yale University
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2008/publication-6334.pdf
DOI:10.1357/002224008787536790
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/6334/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The Longmen Shan range is one of the major topographic and structural features of the easternmargin of the Tibetan Plateau. With an impressive topographic gradient and low convergence rates across the range this region has raised important questions concerning the dynamics of plateaumargin settings, such as the long-term mechanisms of topographic evolution. The investigation of the distribution in space and time of denudation can provide critical insight into such dynamics and shed light on still unresolved controversies. For that purpose, we present a new dataset that documents the intensity and distribution of denudation processes across this plateaumargin through field survey of fluvial incision markers, quantitative geomorphology and cosmogenic nuclide derived basin-wide erosion rates. Erosion is < 0.5 mm/year in the frontal region of the Longmen Shan and between 0.5 and 1 mm/year further west, with a gradual decrease when reaching the northern headwaters of the Min Jiang watershed, adjacent to the beginning of the Tibetan Plateau. The spatialdistribution of denudation inferred from the various methods we use suggests that most of the differential uplift in the Central Longmen Shan is accommodated by the Beichuan Fault and frontal structures located in the foothills. The denudation pattern seems also to reflect the large-scale propagation of erosion from the Sichuan Basin toward the Plateau. This suggests that the Longmen Shan range is submitted to the combined influences of slow thrusting activity on the frontal structures and progressive westward regressiveerosion as a probable response to a pulse of uplift of the Tibetan PlateauEasternmargin, that started 10 Ma ago.
ISSN: 0040-1951

hal-01564192
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01564192
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2009.10.026

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
Estimating how topography is maintained provides insights into the different factors responsible for surface deformations and their relative roles. Here, we develop a new and simple approach to assess the degree of isostatic compensation of continental topography at regional scale from GOCE gravity gradients. We calculate the ratio between the radial gradient observed by GOCE and that calculated from topography only. From analytical and statistical formulations, simple relationships between this ratio and the degree of compensation are obtained under the Airy–Heiskanen isostasy hypothesis. Then, a value of degree of compensation at each point of study area can be easily deduced. We apply our method to the Alaska-Canada Cordillera and validate our results by comparison with a standard isostatic gravity anomaly model and additional geophysical information for this area. Both our GOCE-based results and the isostatic anomaly show that Airy–Heiskanen isostasy prevails for the Yukon Plateau whereas additional mechanisms are required to support topography below the Northwest Territories Craton and the Yakutat collision zone.
ISSN: 0956-540X

hal-01467540
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01467540
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01467540/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01467540/file/cadioGJI2016.pdf
DOI : 10.1093/gji/ggw281

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : International audience
The way faults control upward fluid flow in nonmagmatic hydrothermal systems in extensional context is still unclear. In the Eastern Pyrénées, an alignment of twenty-nine hot springs (29 ∘ C to 73 ∘ C), along the normal Têt fault, offers the opportunity to study this process. Using an integrated multiscale geological approach including mapping, remote sensing, and macro-and microscopic analyses of fault zones, we show that emergence is always located in crystalline rocks at gneiss-metasediments contacts, mostly in the Têt fault footwall. The hot springs distribution is related to high topographic reliefs, which are associated with fault throw and segmentation. In more detail, emergence localizes either (1) in brittle fault damage zones at the intersection between the Têt fault and subsidiary faults or (2) in ductile faults where dissolution cavities are observed along foliations, allowing juxtaposition of metasediments. Using these observations and 2D simple numerical simulation, we propose a hydrogeological model of upward hydrothermal flow. Meteoric fluids, infiltrated at high elevation in the fault footwall relief, get warmer at depth because of the geothermal gradient. Topography-related hydraulic gradient and buoyancy forces cause hot fluid rise along permeability anisotropies associated with lithological juxtapositions, fracture, and fault zone compositions.
ISSN: 1468-8115

hal-01582968
https://hal-brgm.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01582968
https://hal-brgm.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01582968/document
https://hal-brgm.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01582968/file/Taillefer_et_al_Geofluids_2017.pdf
DOI : 10.1155/2017/8190109

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé :  
1. Relationships between tropical rain forest biomass and environmental factors have been determined at regional scales, e.g. the Amazon Basin, but the reasons for the high variability in forest biomass at local scales are poorly understood. Interactions between topography, soil properties, tree growth and mortality rates, and treefalls are a likely reason for this variability. 2. We used repeated measurements of permanent plots in lowland rain forest in French Guiana to evaluate these relationships. The plots sampled topographic gradients from hilltops to slopes to bottomlands, with accompanying variation in soil waterlogging along these gradients. Biomass was calculated for >175 tree species in the plots, along with biomass productivity and recruitment rates. Mortality was determined as standing dead and treefalls. 3. Treefall rates were twice as high in bottomlands as on hilltops, and tree recruitment rates, radial growth rates and the abundance of light-demanding tree species were also higher. 4. In the bottomlands, the mean wood density was 10% lower than on hilltops, the basal area 29% lower and the height:diameter ratio of trees was lower, collectively resulting in a total woody biomass that was 43% lower in bottomlands than on hilltops. 5. Biomass productivity was 9% lower in bottomlands than on hilltops, even though soil Olsen P concentrations were higher in bottomlands. 6. Synthesis. Along a topographic gradient from hilltops to bottomlands there were higher rates of treefall, which decreased the stand basal area and favoured lower allocation to height growth and recruitment of light-demanding species with low wood density. The resultant large variation in tree biomass along the gradient shows the importance of determining site characteristics and including these characteristics when scaling up biomass estimates from stand to local or regional scales.
ISSN: 0022-0477

hal-01032100
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032100

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier Masson
Résumé :  
Modeling soil water availability for tropical trees is a prerequisite to predicting the future impact of climate change on tropical forests. In this paper we develop a discrete-time deterministic water balance model adapted to tropical rainforest climates, and we validate it on a large dataset that includes micrometeorological and soil parameters along a topographic gradient in a lowland forest of French Guiana. The model computes daily water fluxes (rainfall interception, drainage, tree transpiration and soil plus understorey evapotranspiration) and soil water content using three input variables: daily precipitation, potential evapotranspiration and solar radiation. A novel statistical approach is employed that uses Time Domain Reflectometer (TDR) soil moisture data to estimate water content at permanent wilting point and at field capacity, and root distribution. Inaccuracy of the TDR probes and other sources of uncertainty are taken into account by model calibration through a Bayesian framework. Model daily output includes relative extractable water, REW, i.e. the daily available water standardized by potential available water. The model succeeds in capturing temporal variations in REW regardless of topographic context. The low Root Mean Square Error of Predictions suggests that the model captures the most important drivers of soil water dynamics, i.e. water refilling and root water extraction. Our model thus provides a useful tool to explore the response of tropical forests to climate scenarios of changing rainfall regime and intensity.
ISSN: 0168-1923

hal-01032181
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032181
DOI : 10.1016/j.agrformet.2011.04.012

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : In habitat mosaics, plant populations face environmental heterogeneity over short geographical distances. Such steep environmental gradients can induce ecological divergence. Lowland rainforests of the Guiana Shield are characterized by sharp, short-distance environmental variations related to topography and soil characteristics (from waterlogged bottomlands on hydromorphic soils to well-drained terra firme on ferralitic soils). Continuous plant populations distributed along such gradients are an interesting system to study intrapopulation divergence at highly local scales. This study tested (1) whether conspecific populations growing in different habitats diverge at functional traits, and (2) whether they diverge in the same way as congeneric species having different habitat preferences. Phenotypic differentiation was studied within continuous populations occupying different habitats for two congeneric, sympatric, and ecologically divergent tree species (Eperua falcata and E. grandiflora, Fabaceae). Over 3000 seeds collected from three habitats were germinated and grown in a common garden experiment, and 23 morphological, biomass, resource allocation and physiological traits were measured. In both species, seedling populations native of different habitats displayed phenotypic divergence for several traits (including seedling growth, biomass allocation, leaf chemistry, photosynthesis and carbon isotope composition). This may occur through heritable genetic variation or other maternally inherited effects. For a sub-set of traits, the intraspecific divergence associated with environmental variation coincided with interspecific divergence. The results indicate that mother trees from different habitats transmit divergent trait values to their progeny, and suggest that local environmental variation selects for different trait optima even at a very local spatial scale. Traits for which differentiation within species follows the same pattern as differentiation between species indicate that the same ecological processes underlie intra- and interspecific variation.
ISSN: 0305-7364

hal-01032430
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032430
DOI : 10.1093/aob/mct176

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
S U M M A R Y Over the last decade, thermomechanical models have revealed the control of both tectonics and erosion on the morphology of continental plateaus margins. However, unravelling the specific effects of these two coupled processes has been difficult in practice. Here, to assess the control of erosion, we investigate the dynamics of the eastern and the northern borders of the Tibetan Plateau, which are characterized by a low convergence rate and a steep topographic escarpment adjacent to the Sichuan and Tarim basins, respectively. Thermomechanical modelling of continental lithosphere coupled with fluvial denudation reveals that important crustal deformation with large-scale horizontal displacements can occur, without any convergence, as a response to mass transfer due to gravitational collapse and to erosional unloading. These processes are sensitive to crustal structure, geothermal gradient as well as surface erosion. At a timescale of several million years, our results suggest that this denudation-triggered deformation exerts a primary control on the evolution of those plateau margins by counterbalancing the mass removal due to erosion and stabilizing the topographic escarpment. This finding supports a possible explanation for the morphology of the Longmen Shan, eastern Tibet, in which the paradoxical combination of persistent high-topographic gradients close to the foreland and low convergence rates can be related to the influence of erosion on deformation patterns.
ISSN: 0956-540X

hal-01577060
https://hal-amu.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01577060
https://hal-amu.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01577060/document
https://hal-amu.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01577060/file/godard2009erosional.pdf
DOI : 10.1111/j.1365-246X.2009.04324.x

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Nature Publishing Group
Résumé : International audience
Temperature and fluid pressure conditions control rock deformation and mineralization on geological faults, and hence the distribution of earthquakes1. Typical intraplate continental crust has hydrostatic fluid pressure and a near-surface thermal gradient of 31 ± 15 degrees Celsius per kilometre2, 3. At temperatures above 300–450 degrees Celsius, usually found at depths greater than 10–15 kilometres, the intra-crystalline plasticity of quartz and feldspar relieves stress by aseismic creep and earthquakes are infrequent. Hydrothermal conditions control the stability of mineral phases and hence frictional–mechanical processes associated with earthquake rupture cycles, but there are few temperature and fluid pressure data from active plate-bounding faults. Here we report results from a borehole drilled into the upper part of the Alpine Fault, which is late in its cycle of stress accumulation and expected to rupture in a magnitude 8 earthquake in the coming decades4, 5. The borehole (depth 893 metres) revealed a pore fluid pressure gradient exceeding 9 ± 1 per cent above hydrostatic levels and an average geothermal gradient of 125 ± 55 degrees Celsius per kilometre within the hanging wall of the fault. These extreme hydrothermal conditions result from rapid fault movement, which transports rock and heat from depth, and topographically driven fluid movement that concentrates heat into valleys. Shear heating may occur within the fault but is not required to explain our observations. Our data and models show that highly anomalous fluid pressure and temperature gradients in the upper part of the seismogenic zone can be created by positive feedbacks between processes of fault slip, rock fracturing and alteration, and landscape development at plate-bounding faults.
ISSN: 0028-0836

hal-01685757
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01685757
DOI : 10.1038/nature22355

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Public Library of Science
Résumé : We examined tree-soil habitat associations in lowland forest communities at Paracou, French Guiana. We analyzed a large dataset assembling six permanent plots totaling 37.5 ha, in which extensive LIDAR-derived topographical data and soil chemical and physical data have been integrated with precise botanical determinations. Map of relative elevation from the nearest stream summarized both soil fertility and hydromorphic characteristics, with seasonally inundated bottomlands having higher soil phosphate content and base saturation, and plateaus having higher soil carbon, nitrogen and aluminum contents. We employed a statistical test of correlations between tree species density and environmental maps, by generating Monte Carlo simulations of random raster images that preserve autocorrelation of the original maps. Nearly three fourths of the 94 taxa with at least one stem per ha showed a significant correlation between tree density and relative elevation, revealing contrasted species-habitat associations in term of abundance, with seasonally inundated bottomlands (24.5% of species) and well-drained plateaus (48.9% of species). We also observed species preferences for environments with or without steep slopes (13.8% and 10.6%, respectively). We observed that closely-related species were frequently associated with different soil habitats in this region (70% of the 14 genera with congeneric species that have a significant association test) suggesting species-habitat associations have arisen multiple times in this tree community. We also tested if species with similar habitat preferences shared functional strategies. We found that seasonally inundated forest specialists tended to have smaller stature (maximum diameter) than species found on plateaus. Our results underline the importance of tree-soil habitat associations in structuring diverse communities at fine spatial scales and suggest that additional studies are needed to disentangle community assembly mechanisms related to dispersal limitation, biotic interactions and environmental filtering from species-habitat associations. Moreover, they provide a framework to generalize across tropical forest sites.
ISSN: 1932-6203

hal-01260289
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01260289
PRODINRA : 342930
DOI : 10.1371/journal.pone.0141488

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
The Black Curassow (Crax alector) is a large game bird with Vulnerable conservation status found in north-centralSouth America. We examined its distributional pattern across French Guiana using a large number of environmentaldescriptors at 3 scales of analysis: landscape, forest type, and microhabitat. We used a hierarchical model withtemporary emigration and imperfect detection for data collected by standard distance sampling methods at 35study sites. At the landscape scale, Black Curassow density decreased with hunting pressure and increased withsteeper slopes in both hunted and unhunted areas. Topography appeared to be a good proxy for Black Curassowecological requirements and probably reflected habitat quality. At the forest scale, population density wasnegatively correlated with the abundance of palms and Mimosoideae and positively correlated with the abundanceof Lauraceae. Botanical families did not directly influence Black Curassow distribution, but rather determined spatialpatterns by being markers of a particular forest type. At the microhabitat scale, Black Curassows used hilltops morefrequently than other parts of the local topographical gradient. Our multiscale analysis shows that this species’distribution can be explained by biotic or abiotic conditions, regardless of the scale. For conservation, werecommend maintaining connectivity between Black Curassow populations separated by hunted areas. Ourpredicted densities could be used to adapt hunting quotas across French Guiana’s forests. We show that combiningfield and remote sensing data helps to understand the ecological processes responsible for Black Curassow habitatrelationships.
The Condor Ornithological Applications

hal-01455653
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01455653
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01455653/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01455653/file/condor-15-28.1.pdf
DOI : 10.1650/CONDOR-15-28.1

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
The way faults control upward fluid flow in extensive hydrothermal systems without an abnormal heat source such as volcanic or plutonic activity is still unclear. In the Eastern Pyrénées, an alignment of 29 hot springs (from 29 • C to 73 • C) along the Têt normal Fault offers the opportunity to study this process. Using an integrated multi-scale geological approach including mapping, remote sensing, macro and microscopic analyses of fault zones, we show that hot springs locate close to high topographic reliefs related to fault throw and segmentation. Emergences are always in crystalline rocks at gneiss-metasediments contacts, mostly in the Têt Fault footwall. In more details, they localize either (1) in brittle fault damage zones at the intersection between the Têt Fault and subsidiary faults, and (2) into hercynian ductile faults where dissolution cavities run along shear zones. Using these observations and 2D preliminary numerical simulations, we propose a hydrogeological model of upward hydrothermal flow. Meteoric fluids infiltrate at high altitude in the fault footwall relief where they acquire temperature because of the geothermal gradient. Hydraulic gradient and buoyancy forces allow them to upflow along fault-related permeability anisotropies. The identification and prioritization of the features controlling this kind of system have important implications for geothermal exploration and for the understanding of fluid-flow into the brittle Earth's crust in general.
EGU 2017
Vienne, Austria

hal-01491096
https://hal-brgm.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01491096
https://hal-brgm.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01491096/document
https://hal-brgm.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01491096/file/EGU2017-Taillefer-etal_4996.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : Geomorphic landscape features have been suggested as indicators of forest diversity. However, their explanatory power has not yet been explicitly tested at a regional scale in tropical rainforest. We used forest inventories conducted according to a stratified sampling design (3,132 plots in 111 transects at 33 sites) and holistic multi-scale geomorphological mapping derived from a Shuttle Radar Topography Mission digital elevation model to describe and explain spatial patterns in floristic composition across French Guiana (80,000 km2). We measured and identified 123,906 trees with DBH C20 cm and used constrained and unconstrained ordinations to analyze variations in the abundance of 221 taxa and 51 families. Variance partitioning and variograms were used to detect spatial patterns in species composition, compare the explanatory power of spatial and environmentalfactors, and select the variables that best explain forest composition. Strong floristic patterns corresponded to a major latitudinal gradient and significant sub-regional floristic structure. Geomorphological landscapes shaped by historic climate fluctuations and major geological events successfully captured these patterns and explained the variation in abundance of 80 taxa, corresponding to 65 % of the inventoried trees. Our findings suggest that long-term forest dynamics are under substantial ‘‘geomorphographic control’’. A geomorphological perspective on landscapes that incorporates current and past environmental filters and historical biogeographical processes could thus be used more systematically in tropical regions for regional planning and forest conservation
ISSN: 0960-3115

hal-01204224
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01204224
DOI : 10.1007/s10531-014-0854-8
PRODINRA : 295767

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley-Blackwell
Résumé : International audience
We explore the tectono-magmatic processes in the western West Philippine Basin, Philippine Sea Plate, using bathymetric data acquired in 2003 and 2004. The northwestern part of the basin formed through a series of northwestward propagating rifts. We identify at least five sequences of propagating rifts, probably triggered by mantle flow away from the mantle thermal anomaly that is responsible for the origin of the Benham and Urdenata plateaus. Gravitational forces caused by along-axis topographic gradient and a ∼30° ridge reorientation appear to also be driving the rift propagations. The along-axis mantle flow appears to be reduced and deflected along the Luzon-Okinawa fracture zone, because the spreading system remained stable west of this major fault zone. North-east of the Benham plateau, a left-lateral fracture zone has turned into a NE–SW-trending spreading axis. As a result, a microplate developed at the triple junction.
ISSN: 0954-4879

insu-00304360
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00304360
DOI : 10.1111/j.1365-3121.2008.00824.x