Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : SUBSURF
International audience
Similarity of form between subaerial and submarine landscapes affected by erosion could suggest similarities in the process of erosion, such as by runoff and sedimentary flows, respectively. On the other hand, if aspects of form vary, its characteristics may be used to identify the environmental origin of erosion. Towards these goals, this contribution addresses the morphology of submarine volcanoes (seamounts) with widely differing histories of erosion. One set from the Pacific Ocean never exposed above sea level includes Cretaceous-age seamounts near Hawai'i (including Apu'upu'u Seamount), two seamounts of < 3 Ma in age near a mid-ocean ridge and the 11-4 Ma Jasper Seamount. These seamounts are all isolated from continents and hence from any erosion associated with mass wasting of unstable terrigenous deposits. In such isolated submarine environments, surfaces erode slowly from in situ weathering, mass wasting and scouring by sedimentary flows initiated by slope failure in pelagic or bedrock materials. The Pacific seamounts are compared with Valencia Seamount in the western Mediterranean, exposed subaerially for 100-400 k.y. during the Messinian Salinity Crisis before 5 Ma. Multibeam and deeply towed sidescan sonar data of Valencia Seamount reveal features typical of subaerial erosion of volcanic islands, such as canyons and relatively uneroded sectors (planezes) between them. Using a simple topographical reconstruction, the apparent erosion depth typically reaches 100 m within canyons and up to 180 m in places. Whereas the younger Pacific seamounts do not show these erosional features, the much older Cretaceous seamounts do have channels, which in one example suggests up to 200 m of incision. Both Valencia and Apu'upu'u seamounts have channel longitudinal profiles that are steep and typically linear to concave upwards. The erosion depth of Apu'upu'u Seamount is significant, despite the seamount's persistent submarine environment, because of its greater age, steeper flanks and greater contributing areas to channels compared with Valencia Seamount. These results illustrate that the channel morphology resulting from submarine erosion can become similar to that produced by subaerial erosion given sufficient time.
ISSN: 0950-091X

hal-00411425
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00411425
DOI : 10.1111/j.1365-2117.2008.00355.x

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

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

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
We use velocities from 65 continuous stations and 31 survey-mode GPS sites as well as kinematic modeling to investigate present day deformation along the Africa-Iberia plate boundary zone in the western Mediterranean region. The GPS velocity field shows southwestward motion of the central part of the Rif Mountains in northern Morocco with respect to Africa varying between 3.5 and 4.0 mm/yr, consistent with prior published results. Stations in the southwestern part of the Betic Mountains of southern Spain move west-southwest with respect to Eurasia (similar to 2-3 mm/yr). The western component of Betics motion is consistent with partial transfer of Nubia-Eurasia plate motion into the southern Betics. The southward component of Betics motion with respect to Iberia is kinematically consistent with south to southwest motion of the Rif Mountains with respect to Africa. We use block modeling, constrained by mapped surface faults and seismicity to estimate the geometry and rates of strain accumulation on plate boundary structures. Our preferred plate boundary geometry includes one block between Iberia and Africa including the SW Betics, Alboran Sea, and central Rif. This geometry provides a good fit to the observed motions, suggesting a wide transpressive boundary in the westernmost Mediterranean, with deformation mainly accommodated by the Gloria-Azores fault system to the West and the Rif-Tell lineament to the East. Block boundaries encompass aspects of earlier interpretations suggesting three main deformation styles: (i) extension along the NE-SW trending Trans-Alboran shear zone, (ii) dextral strike-slip in the Betics corresponding to a well defined E-W seismic lineament, and (iii) right lateral strike-slip motion extending West to the Azores and right-lateral motion with compression extending East along the Algerian Tell. We interpret differential motion in the Rif-Alboran-Betic system to be driven both by surface processes related the Africa-Eurasia oblique convergence and sub-crustal dynamic processes associated with the long history of subduction of the Neotethys ocean lithosphere. The dextral slip identified in the Betic Mountains in Southern Spain may be related to the offshore fault that produced the Great 1755 Lisbon Earthquake, and as such may represent a significant seismic hazard for the West Mediterranean region.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-00618337
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00618337
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2011.05.048

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : Integrating ecological connectivity into marine ecosystem management and planning is important, especially in a global context of severe fish stocks depletion and growing habitat degradation. Environmental tools such as Marine Protected Areas have been proposed to protect biodiversity, restore damaged ecosystems, sustain fisheries, and rebuild overexploited stocks. The effectiveness of marine protected areas depends in part on the maintenance of connectivity between marine populations, linked by ecological processes such as larval dispersal. In this thesis, we applied a biophysical model driven by ocean currents derived from satellite altimetry to evaluate connectivity between Western Indian Ocean reefs and across the current MPA system in the Mediterranean Sea. We applied different methods of analysis such as graph-theoretic and clustering. In the Western Indian Ocean, marine connectivity analyses show that the number of connections between reefs increases with fish pelagic larval duration. It also highlights a low connectivity across the region and a high interconnectivity within several regions (Mozambique Channel, Mascarene archipelago). In the Mediterranean Sea, connectance is globally low at the regional scale. This connectance is more important in Western than Eastern Mediterranean. Moreover, the marine connectivity analyses revealed high domestic connectivity rates. Depending on the study area, priority reefs or sites for MPA implementation are proposed. Finally, implications for transboundary marine policies and regional cooperation are discussed.
Intégrer les connaissances sur la connectivité écologique dans la gestion des écosystèmes marins est essentiel, surtout dans un contexte d'appauvrissement des ressources marines et de dégradation des habitats côtiers à l'échelle mondiale. Des outils environnementaux, tels que les Aires Marines Protégées ont été mises en œuvre pour protéger la biodiversité, restaurer les écosystèmes endommagés, soutenir les pêcheries et reconstituer les stocks surexploités. Leur efficacité dépend en partie du maintien de la connectivité entre les populations marines, assurée à travers divers processus écologiques dont la dispersion larvaire. Dans le cadre de ce travail de thèse, un modèle biophysique intégrant des données de courants, issues de mesures d'altimétrie par satellite, a été utilisé pour évaluer la connectivité entre les récifs de l'océan Indien d'une part, et à travers le réseau d'AMP de Méditerranée d'autre part. Différentes méthodes d'analyse ont été utilisées, telles que la théorie des graphes et le clustering. Dans l'océan Indien occidental, l'analyse des connectivités marines montre que le nombre de connexions entre les récifs augmente avec la durée de vie larvaire des poissons. Elle met également en évidence une faible connectivité à l'échelle de la région, mais une forte inter-connectivité au sein de plusieurs sous-régions (Canal du Mozambique, Mascareignes). En Méditerranée, la connectance est globalement faible à l'échelle régionale, bien que plus importante dans le bassin occidental que le bassin oriental. L'analyse des connectivités marines montre également un taux de connectivité élevé à l'échelle d'un même pays. Selon le cas d'étude, une liste de récifs ou de sites prioritaires dans la mise en œuvre des AMP a été proposée. Enfin, les implications de ces résultats en termes de politiques transfrontalières et de coopération régionale sont discutées.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01269631

NNT : 2015LARE0003
tel-01269631
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01269631
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01269631/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01269631/file/2015lare0003_ECrochelet.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
This study provides new Ar-40/Ar-39 geochronological constraints on the age of the Alpine tectonics in the Aspromonte Massif (southern part of the Calabrian-Peloritan belt). This massif exposes the upper units of the Calabride Complex which originated from the European continental margin. The Calabride Complex was incorporated in the Alpine orogenic wedge and then integrated into the Apennines and Maghrebides fold- and-thrust belts. Throughout the Calabride Complex there is evidence for a two stage tectonic history, which remains however rather poorly dated: Alpine nappe stacking is followed by extensional reworking along the former thrust contacts or along new detachment surfaces. Our new ages suggest that exhumation of the uppermost units, which accompanied nappe stacking, probably started at 45 Ma and that the deepest units were almost completely exhumed at 33 Ma. This kinematics probably corresponds to syn-orogenic extension while the end of exhumation is clearly related to the extensional tectonics dated at 28.6 Ma along detachment structures.;Our geochronological data reveal a very short lag time between accretional and extensional processes in this part of the Mediterranean Alpine orogenic belt. The direction of extension, when the units are restored to their initial position (i.e. before the opening of the Western Mediterranean basins and the bending of the arc) is NNE-SSW. Such a direction does not fit with the eastward slab-retreat model generally put forward to explain extension in the Western Mediterranean. In contrast, we provide evidence for roughly N-S middle Oligocene extension in the accretionary prism, not previously described in this part of the Mediterranean domain.
ISSN: 0024-4937

hal-00475649
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00475649
DOI : 10.1016/j.lithos.2009.10.011

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
A laser ablation ICP-MS U-Pb age of 17.84 +/- 0.12 Ma (late Burdigalian) was obtained from monazites separated from a leucocratic diatexite collected in close proximity to a small peridotite massif incorporated into the lower crustal sequence of the Edough Massif (north-eastern Algeria), a southern segment of the peri-Mediterranean Alpine Belt. Monazites extracted from a neighbouring deformed leucogranite intruding early Paleozoic phyllites yield a consistent age of 17.4 +/- 1.3 Ma. Zircons occurring in the same leucogranite, with magmatic characteristics, have an age of 308 +/- 7 Ma interpreted as dating magmatic crystallisation of the leucogranite and reflecting partial melting during the Hercynian orogeny. Low Th/U domains (Th/U<0.10) from the same grains substantiate recrystallisation during a younger metamorphic event whose upper age limit is 286 +/- 11 Ma. These results emphasize the polycyclic evolution of basement rocks preserved in the crystalline units of the western Mediterranean and indicate that part of their metamorphic features were inherited from older, Hercynian, events. Taken together with published Ar-Ar dates, the late Burdigalian age of monazites indicates a rapid cooling rate of c. 370 degrees C/Ma and is regarded as closely approximating the emplacement of the peridotites into the Hercynian basement. The monazite ages are significantly younger than those recorded for orogenic peridotites from the Betic-Rif oroctine and for the timing of lithospheric extension forming the Alboran sea. It is also younger than rifting and back-arc extension opening the Liguro-Provencal basin. The late Burdigalian age is interpreted as dating the incipient rifting event that opened the Algerian basin, which is consequently not a continuation of the Liguro-Provencal basin. At the scale of the western Mediterranean, these observations concur with current models supporting slab roll-back and an eastwards migration of extension in the western Mediterranean, but suggest that the Algerian basin opened as a result of torsion and stretching of the Thethyan slab due to its steepening under the Alboran microplate.
ISSN: 0009-2541

hal-00424511
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00424511
DOI : 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2008.11.016

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Big storm events represent a major risk for populations and infrastructures settled on coastal lowlands. In the Western Mediterranean, where human societies colonized and occupied the coastal areas since the Ancient times, the variability of storm activity for the past three millennia was investigated with a multi-proxy sedimentological and geochemical study from a lagoonal sequence. Mappings of the geochemistry and magnetic susceptibility of detrital sources in the watershed of the lagoon and from the coastal barriers were undertaken in order to track the terrestrial or coastal/marine origin of sediments deposited into the lagoon. The multi-proxy analysis shows that coarser material, low magnetic susceptibility, and high strontium content characterize the sedimentological signature of the paleostorm levels identified in the lagoonal sequence. A comparison with North Atlantic and Western Mediterranean paleoclimate proxies shows that the phases of high storm activity occurred during cold periods, suggesting a climatically-controlled mechanism for the occurrence of these storm periods. Besides, an in-phase storm activity pattern is found between the Western Mediterranean and Northern Europe. Spectral analyses performed on the Sr content revealed a new 270-year solar-driven pattern of storm cyclicity. For the last 3000 years, this 270-year cycle defines a succession of ten major storm periods (SP) with a mean duration of 96 ± 54 yr. Periods of higher storm activity are recorded from >680 to 560 cal yr BC (SP10, end of the Iron Age Cold Period), from 140 to 820 cal yr AD (SP7 to SP5) with a climax of storminess between 400 and 800 cal yr AD (Dark Ages Cold Period), and from 1230 to >1800 cal yr AD (SP3 to SP1, Little Ice Age). Periods of low storm activity occurred from 560 cal yr BC to 140 cal yr AD (SP9 and SP8, Roman Warm Period) and from 820 to 1230 cal yr AD (SP4, Medieval Warm Period).
ISSN: 0277-3791

hal-01277796
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01277796
DOI : 10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.10.009

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : The Neogene geodynamics evolution of the south-Alboran realm in western Mediterranean has been clarified, based on sedimentological and chronostratigraphical studies. This work focuses on three main themes of research, the first is to establish the moments for the opening and closing of the North Rifian Corridor by studying two Neogene basins of the southern edge of the Alboran sea. The second, aims to understand the behavior of these two basins face a major event in the history of the Mediterranean: The Messinian Salinity Crisis. Finally, the third theme aims to understand the modalities Post-MSC reflooding in the southern part of the Alboran realm.The late Miocene evolution of the North Rifian Corridor is clarified on the basis of chronostratigraphic studies of the Neogene Boudinar and Arbaa Taourirt basins (northeastern Morocco). The marine sediments deposited in the Boudinar basin between the early Tortonian and the late early Messinian (10 Ma to 6.1 Ma) and in the late Tortonian-earliest Messinian interval in the Arbaa Taourirt basin. Palaeoenvironmental data record a major drowning in association with extensive tectonics in the Boudinar basin during the early Messinian at ~7.2 Ma. At the same time, prograding conglomerates and sandstones developed over the late Tortonian marls in the Arbaa Taourirt basin. During the late-early Messinian, a shallowing trend occurred in the Boudinar basin. Thus, the North Rifian Corridor opened at ~7.2 Ma ensuring Atlantic-Mediterranean connections, then was progressively restricted during the late-early Messinian and totally closed at ~6.1 Ma. New sedimentological and paleontological studies of the late Messinian-early Pliocene deposits in the Boudinar basin provide new information on the Messinian Salinity Crisis (« MSC ») and the Zanclean reflooding in the Alboran sea. The Messinian erosional surface « MES » is of late Messinian age and was emplaced in subaerial settings. It is polygenic, its original geometry is locally preserved and was re-shaped by the Pliocene transgressive surface. Above the « MES », the Boudinar basin infill is characterized by a wide variety of facies from continental settings to lower offshore conditions. Two major sets are recognized: a latest Messinian-Zanclean set that constitutes a transgressive-regressive megasequence interrupted at the top by a tectonic unconformity, and an Plio-Quaternary regressive set. During the late Messinian Zanclean interval, four successive depositional models were documented. They record major changes in palaeoflow and paleogeography related to base-level fluctuations. No Gilbert-type delta has ben identified at Boudinar. the beginning of base-level rise is marked by normal regressions and by the formation of several lacs and fan-delta complexes on the margins of the basin in the late Messinian and befor the marine reefloding in the early Zanclean. The marine reflooding of the basin appears later, with a transgressive surface of ravinment and a thick package of transgressive deposits. These transgressive deposits onlap over all previous deposits. The major part of the basin infill did not issue from an inner landward position (south of the basin) but from the northwestern side of the basin, i.e. near the Mediterranean. Sediments were subsequently reworked by storms and transported by longshore-drift towards the south. a maximum flooding surface is found several tens of metres above the « MES ». This fiding is consistent with a progressive and not a catastrophic early Zanclean flooding of the westernMediterranean after the Mediterranean base-level fall.
Sur la base d’études sédimentologiques et chronostratigraphiques dans les bassins de Boudinar et d’Arbaa Taourirt (Rif oriental, Maroc), l’évolution géodynamique néogène du domaine sud-Alboran en Méditerranée occidentale a été clarifiée. Ce travail est axé sur trois grandes thématiques de recherche. La première vise à l’établissement d’un cadre chronostratigraphique pour l’ouverture et la fermeture du Couloir Nord Rifain, par l’étude de deux bassins nèogènes de la bordure sud de la mer d’Alboran. La deuxième, vise à comprendre le comportement de ces deux bassins face à un événement majeur de l’histoire de la Mediterranée : la Crise de salinité messinienne. Finalement, la troisième vise à comprendre les modalités de remise en eau de la Méditerranée après la Crise : le reenoiement pliocène. L'évolution du Couloir Nord Rifain au Miocène supérieur est clarifiée sur la base des études chronostratigraphiques des bassins néogènes de Boudinar et d'Arbaa Taourirt (Maroc Nord oriental). Les sédiments marins miocènes se sont déposés entre le Tortonien inférieur et le Messinien inférieur (10 à 6.1 Ma) dans le bassin de Boudinar et entre le Tortonien supérieur et le Messinien inférieur dans le bassin d'Arbaa Taourirt. Les données paléoenvironnementales enregistrent un ennoyage important du bassin de Boudinar en relation avec une tectonique extensive pendant le Messinien inférieur (~7.2 Ma). En même temps, des conglomérats et de grès progradants se sont développés au-dessus des marnes tortoniennes dans le bassin d’Arbaa Taourirt. Le bassin de Boudinar a subi un désapprofondissement au Messinien inférieur. Ces résultats indiquent que le Couloir Nord Rifain s’est ouvert à ~7.2 Ma assurant les communications entre l’Atlantique et la Méditerranée, puis a subi une restriction progressive pendant le Messinien inférieur avant d’être totalement fermé à ~6.1 Ma.De nouvelles études sédimentologiques et paléontologiques des dépôts Messinien supérieur-Pliocène inférieur dans le bassin de Boudinar fournissent des informations sur la Crise de salinité messinienne (« MSC ») et le réennoiement zancléen dans la Mer d'Alboran. L’un des marqueurs majeurs de la Crise est identifié : la surface d’érosion messinienne « MES ». Elle est d'âge Messinien supérieur et a été mise en place dans des conditions subaériennes. Sa géométrie originale n’est préservée que localement et a été remodelée par la surface transgressive du Pliocène inférieur. Au dessus de la « MES » le remplissage sédimentaire du bassin de Boudinar est caractérisé par une grande variété de faciès allant des conditions de dépôts continentales jusqu’à des conditions d’offshore inférieur. Deux ensembles majeurs sont reconnus : un ensemble messinien terminal-zancléen qui constitue une mégaséquence transgressive-regressive, interrompue au sommet par une discordance tectonique, et un ensemble plio-quaternaire regressif. Durant l’intervalle Messinien terminal-Zancléen, quatre modèles de dépôts successifs ont été documentés enregistrant des changements majeurs de paléocourants et de paléogéographies, liés aux fluctuations de niveau de base. Nous n’avons pas identifié de Gilbert delta à Boudinar. La remontée du niveau de base est marquée par une régression normale et par le développement des lacs et de complexes de fan-deltas sur les marges du bassin pendant le Messinien supérieur, avant l’inondation marine au Zancléen basal. Le réennoiement marin du bassin apparait plus tard avec une surface de transgression ravinante et par d’épais dépôts transgressifs, en onlap sur tous les dépôts précédents. La majeure partie du remplissage sédimentaire du bassin n’est pas reçue des reliefs de la bordure sud du bassin, mais du côté Nord-Ouset au bord de la Méditerranée. Les sédiments sont alors remaniés par les tempêtes et transportés vers le sud par la dérive littorale. Une surface d’inondation maximale a été identifiée à plusieurs dizaines de mètres au-dessus de la « MES ». Ceci suggère un ennoiement progressif et non catastrophique, après la chute du niveau de base méditerranéen.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01473572

Droits : http://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/licences/copyright/
tel-01473572
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01473572
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01473572/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01473572/file/Th%C3%A8se-achalhi.pdf

Éditeur(s) : Amer Geophysical Union
Résumé : The Algerian margin has originated from the opening of the Algerian basin about 25-30 Ma ago. The central margin provides evidence for large-scale normal faults of Oligo-Miocene age, whereas transcurrent tectonics characterizes the western margin. A set of NW-SE oriented dextral transform faults was active during basin opening and divided the 600 km long central margin into segments of similar to 120-150 km. The upper Miocene, Plio-Quaternary, and present-day tectonic setting is, however, compressional and supports the occurrence of a margin inversion, a process still poorly documented worldwide. We show that the central Algerian margin represents a rare example of inverted margin, where the process of subduction inception is particularly well expressed and helps understand how extensional and transtensive structures are involved in margin shortening. Using multibeam bathymetry and multichannel seismic reflection sections from the MAR-ADJA 2003 and 2005 cruises, we evidence Pliocene-Pleistocene shortening with contrasting styles along the margin between west (Khayr Al Din bank) and east (Boumerdes-Dellys margin) of Algiers. Pre-Miocene structures such as basement highs and transform faults appear to control changes of the deformation pattern along this part of the margin, resulting in different widths, geometries, and relative positions of folds and faults. Plio-Quaternary and active blind thrust faults do not reuse Oligo-Miocene normal and transform faults during inversion, but instead grow within the continental margin (as testified for instance by the 21 May 2003 M-w 6.8 Boumerdes-Zemmouri earthquake), at the foot of the continental slope and at the northern sides of basement highs interpreted as stretched continental blocks of the rifted margin. The inherited structures of the margin appear, therefore, to determine this deformation pattern and ultimately the earthquake and tsunami sizes offshore. The complex geometry of the fault system along the Algerian margin suggests a process of initiation of subduction in its central and eastern parts.
Tectonics (0278-7407) (Amer Geophysical Union), 2010-03 , Vol. 29 , N. TC2008 , P. 1-22

Droits : 2010 American Geophysical Union
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00008/11883/9286.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00008/11883/9287.pdf
DOI:10.1029/2009TC002547
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00008/11883/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD European Geosciences Union (EGU) European Geosciences Union
Résumé : The Moroccan Mediterranean coast is located in one of the area's most vulnerable to extreme weather events or tsunami hazards. The objective of this research is to reconstruct the historical extreme submersion-event record using sea-induced deposits preserved in coastal lagoon. The Nador lagoon is the largest Moroccan lagoon (115 km2). It is located along the western Mediterranean, which has a high cyclogenetic character and is exposed to tsunamis from the Alboran Sea. The sandy barrier which separates the lagoon from the Mediterranean Sea is marked by much overwash, which indicate how intensely it has been exposed to the adverse sea events through history. Using the UWITEC© gravity coring platform, an undisturbed MC4.5 core (1.15 m long) was successfully sampled in the studied lagoon. To identify extreme sea events, a multi-proxy approach was applied combining sedimentological and geochemical data. Three paleoevents were identified; all of them are concentrated over the last 500 years, and the most recent event corresponds to the 1889 storm. For the others deposits, it is difficult to determine exactly their origin; however, the high frequency of storm events over the relevant period and the absence of historical tsunamis evidence is more in favor of the meteorological origin.
ISSN: 1561-8633

hal-01146451
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01146451
DOI : 10.5194/nhess-15-203-2015

Éditeur(s) : Université de la Réunion
Résumé : The green turtle (Chelonia mydas) is an emblematic species of marine life. However, nowadays it is subject to many threats (poaching, by-catch). Even if there is deep growing measures for its protection, the green turtle still is an endangered species and it is listed in Appendix I of Washington Convention (CITES). In order to elaborate efficient conservation and management plans, perfect knowledge of green turtle biology, but also of its population structure and their characteristics, are needed. In this thesis, we have assessed genetic structure of green turtle populations in the South-Western Indian Ocean by using genetic tools. In all, 1551 tissue samples have been collected from our study zone and from our control site French Polynesia (37 samples). All kinds if individuals were sampled (except males in reproductive phase) from 15 sampling sites including nesting, foraging, and immature development site. We used both control region of mitochondrial DNA and 6 microsatellite loci to better infer maternal and paternal lineages. We identified 29 haplotypes in the South-Western Indian Ocean. They are distributed in 3 independent and highly divergent clades, including one composed with haplotypes from Atlantic Ocean. For 7 of these haplotypes, it was the first time they were detected in the study zone. Fifteen haplotypes were previously undescribed, distributed in all the 3 clades. These new haplotypes seem to be specific to the South-Western Indian Ocean, which is then an original zone. Besides, we found a high allelic richness. These results show the South-western Indian Ocean is rich and very diversified. This region plays an important role in the global diversity of the species. The South-Western Indian Ocean is one of the two contact zones presently known between the two metapopulations of green turtles (Atlantic-Mediterranean and Indo-Pacific). This contact induces a genetic cline based on CM8 (Atlantic) and C3 (Indo-Pacific) haplotype frequencies. Analysis of the microsatellite differentiation between individuals provides evidence of genetic exchanges between the two metapopulations in the region. The South-Western Indian Ocean participates to green turtle global genetic mixing. Studying the influence of several intrinsic and extrinsic factors on population structuring provides useful information for management plan elaboration. We found no significant difference between genetic structures of foraging females and males, contrary to immature turtles which seem to be organised in 'regional pools'. This organisation could be due to both immature natal homing and influence of oceanic currents. High mitochondrial differentiation of nesting females and low global microsatellite differentiation of our samples indicate male-mediated gene flow among populations of the study zone. The genetic composition of a sampling site presents no significant variation along the year, even if we could notice some trends. Nevertheless, it can be significantly different from a year to an other one. This may result from alternation of distinct populations on the same site. We noticed different evolution in 10 or 20 years of the genetic composition depending on the sampling site. Geographic distance seems not to have significant influence on population structuring concerning microsatellite markers. Nesting females of Saziley Beach (Mayotte Island, Comoros Archipelago) present genetic divergence from females nesting in the two other sampled beaches of this island. The observed population structure shows no contradiction with the organisation of oceanic currents in the South-Western Indian Ocean. Comparing the results from the two genetic markers used, we identified 8 genetic differentiated clusters of turtles in the study zone and at least 6 distinct populations. These clusters constitute 8 potential management units (MUs) which could serve as basis in the elaboration of conservation and management plans.
La tortue verte (Chelonia mydas) constitue l'un des espèces emblématiques de la vie marine, pourtant de nombreuses menaces pèsent de nos jours encore sur sa survie (braconnage, captures accidentelles). Ainsi, malgré l'essor de mesures de protection menées à travers pour sa sauvegarde, la tortue verte constitue une espèce 'en danger d'extinction' et figure dans l'Annexe I de la Convention de Washington (CITES). Afin d'élaborer des plans de gestion et de conservation qui soient efficaces, il est important d'avoir une parfaite connaissance de la biologie de la tortue verte, mais aussi de la structure de ses populations et de leurs caractéristiques. C'est dans ce cadre que s'inscrit la présente étude. L'objectif de cette étude était d'acquérir des connaissances sur la structure des populations de tortues vertes dans le sud-ouest de l'océan Indien grâce à l'utilisation de l'outil génétique. Au total, 1551 échantillons de tissu ont été collectés dans la zone d'étude et dans notre site témoin la Polynésie française (37 échantillons). Toutes les catégories d'individus ont été échantillonnées (excepté les mâles en phase de reproduction) et les 15 sites d'échantillonnage comprennent à la fois des sites de ponte, d'alimentation et de développement pour les immatures. Deux types de marqueurs ont été utilisés : la région contrôle de l'ADN mitochondrial et 6 loci microsatellites, afin d'appréhender au mieux l'apport des lignées maternelles et paternelles. Nous avons pu mettre en évidence la présence dans le sud-ouest de l'océan Indien de 29 haplotypes distincts, appartenant à trois clades fortement divergents dont l'un constitué d'haplotypes originaires de l'océan Atlantique. Parmi ces haplotypes, 7 ont été détectés pour la première fois dans la zone d'étude, et 15 autres n'ont jamais été précédemment décrits chez cette espèce. Ils sont présents dans chacun des 3 clades d'haplotypes. Ces nouveaux haplotypes semblent spécifiques à la région, et en font une zone originale. On observe par ailleurs une grande richesse allélique dans les effectifs analysés. Ces résultats montrent que le sud-ouest de l'océan Indien est une zone riche et très diversifiée. Cette région joue un rôle important dans la diversité génétique globale de l'espèce. Le sud-ouest de l'océan Indien constitue l'une des deux seules zones connues à l'heure actuelle de contact entre les deux métapopulations de tortues vertes (Atlantique-Méditerranée et Indo-Pacifique). Ce contact a entraîné la formation d'un cline génétique portant principalement sur les fréquences relatives des haplotypes CM8 (Atlantique) et C3 (Indo-Pacifique). Les résultats obtenus lors de l'analyse microsatellite de la différenciation entre les individus originaires des deux métapopulations montrent que le sud-ouest de l'océan Indien constitue une zone d'échanges génétiques entre les deux métapopulations, participant au brasage génétique de l'espèce. L'étude de facteurs, intrinsèques et extrinsèques, pouvant influencer la structuration des populations apportent de nombreuses informations qui pourraient s'avérer utiles lors de l'élaboration de plans de gestion. La structure des femelles et des mâles en alimentation ne diffère pas, contrairement à celle des immatures qui semble s'organiser en 'pools régionaux' qui seraient le fruit de l'interaction d'un comportement de philopatrie et d'une influence des courants océaniques. La forte différenciation mitochondriale des femelles en ponte et la très faible différenciation microsatellite observée à l'échelle de la région, indiquent l'existence de flux de gènes via les mâles. La composition génétique d'un site ne varie pas de manière significative au cours de l'année. Par contre, elle peut varier d'une année à l'autre, signifiant l'alternance dans certains sites de ponte de plusieurs populations distinctes. L'évolution de la composition génétique d'un groupe, au cours de 10 ou 20 ans, diffère selon le site considéré. La distance ne semble pas influencer de manière significative la structuration des populations au niveau microsatellite. Les femelles en ponte sur la plage de Saziley (Mayotte) diffèrent génétiquement de celles pondant sur les deux autres plages de l'île. La structure observée des populations est en accord avec l'organisation des courants océanique dans la région. La confrontation des résultats obtenus à partir des deux marqueurs génétiques utilisés, permet la détermination de 8 ensembles génétiquement différenciés dans la zone d'étude et l'identification d'au moins 6 populations distinctes. Ces ensembles constituent autant d'unités de gestion (MUs) potentielles qui pourront servir de base à l'élaboration de plans de gestion et de conservation.

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2007/these-3532.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/3532/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Geological Society of America
Résumé : International audience
We present the results of dynamic modeling of the western Mediterranean that accounts for observed global positioning system (GPS) surface deformation of the Alboran Sea and surrounding Rif and Betic Mountains as the result of the combined effects of relative motion of the Eurasian and Nubian plates, low strength in the Alboran Sea region and sub-lithospheric processes occurring beneath the External Rif domain. Assuming that the lithosphere behaves elastically over the short time period of the GPS observations, an elastic plate model is considered in our study, including an area of weak lithosphere (factor of 10) centered on the Alboran Sea and in which lateral boundary conditions consist of the Nubia-Eurasia oblique convergence. Sub-crustal processes are modeled by application of a horizontal traction on a small area (patch) at the base of the elastic plate. Our modeling studies demonstrate the need for sub-crustal or sub-lithospheric, southwestward-directed forcing to account for observed southwestward motion of the Rif and Betic domains. Based on the location, orientation, and small area of the traction patch, we hypothesize that forcing is associated with delamination and rollback of the subducted African continental lithospheric mantle beneath the External Rif zone, due to the pull of the oceanic part of the Western Mediterranean slab, a dynamic process that may be similar to that where the over-riding plate is driven toward the subduction zone during slab rollback.
ISSN: 0091-7613

hal-00524546
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00524546
DOI : 10.1130/G30963.1

Éditeur(s) : Cushman Foundation for Foraminiferal Research
Résumé : Large populations of the living benthic foraminifera Quinqueloculina carinatastriata (Wiesner, 1923) are reported for the first time from intertidal mudflats of the French Atlantic coast (Marennes-Oléron Bay and Ile de Ré). Maximum abundance of living specimens was recorded in early autumn. The species was previously described from the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian Seas (central Mediterranean Sea) and reported from the Eastern Mediterranean and Red Seas, as well as tropical and subtropical regions. A survey of available literature to trace records of the species in muddy shallow habitats along the western coasts of Europe and Africa reveals that the species is unrecorded from the Western Mediterranean Sea and is unknown in the eastern Atlantic Ocean from the Ivory Coast to Denmark, including the British Isles. This supports the hypothesis that the species has been accidentally introduced outside its natural range as a probable result of mariculture trade and/or shipping activities. This is the first report of a successful introduction of a non-indigenous benthic foraminifera to the Atlantic coast of Europe.
The Journal of Foraminiferal Research (0096-1191) (Cushman Foundation for Foraminiferal Research), 2007-07 , Vol. 37 , N. 3 , P. 204-212

Droits : Cushman Foundation for Foraminiferal Research
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2007/publication-2587.pdf
DOI:10.2113/gsjfr.37.3.204
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/2587/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Inter-Research
Résumé : International audience
Ecological connectivity is important for effective marine planning and biodiversity conservation. Our aim was to identify factors important in influencing variation in benthic community structure on shallow rocky reefs in 2 regions of the Mediterranean Sea with contrasting oceanographic regimes. We assessed beta (β) diversity at 146 sites in the littoral and shallow sub-littoral from the Adriatic/Ionian Seas (eastern region) and Ligurian/Tyrrhenian Seas (western region) using a null modelling approach to account for variation in species richness. The distance decay relationship between species turnover within each region and geographic distance by sea was determined using generalised linear models. Mantel tests were used to examine correlations between β diversity and connectivity by ocean currents, estimated from Lagrangian dispersal simulations. Variation in β diversity between sites was partitioned according to environmental and spatial components using a distance-based redundancy approach. Species turnover along a gradient of geographic distance was greater by a factor of 3 to 5 in the western region than the eastern region, suggesting lower con-nectivity between sites. β diversity was correlated with connectivity by ocean currents at both depths in the eastern region but not in the western region. The influence of spatial and environmental predictors of β diversity varied considerably between regions, but was similar between depths. Our results highlight the interaction of oceanographic, spatial and environmental processes influencing benthic marine β diversity. Persistent currents in the eastern region may be responsible for lower observed β diversity compared to the western region, where patterns of water circulation are more variable.
Marine Ecology Progress Series

Droits : http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
hal-01357935
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01357935
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01357935/document
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01357935/file/m553p001.pdf
DOI : 10.3354/meps11783

Éditeur(s) : Copernicus Gesellschaft Mbh
Résumé : The Mediterranean Sea is one of the most oligotrophic marine areas on earth where nitrogen fixation has formally believed to play an important role in carbon and nitrogen fluxes. Although this view is under debate, the diazotrophs responsible for this activity have still not been investigated in the open sea. In this study, we characterised the surface distribution and species richness of unicellular and filamentous diazotrophs across the Mediterranean Sea by combining microscopic counts with size fractionated in situ hybridization (TSA-FISH), and 16S rDNA and nifH genes phylogenies. These genetic analyses were possible owing to the development of a new PCR protocol adapted to scarce microorganisms that can detect as few as 1 cell ml(-1) in cultures. Low concentrations of diazotrophic cyanobacteria were detected and this community was dominated at 99.9% by picoplankton hybridized to the Nitro821 probe, specific for unicellular diazotrophic cyanobacteria (UCYN). Among filamentous cyanobacteria only 0.02 filament ml(-1) of Richelia were detected in the eastern basin, while small (0.7-1.5 mu m) and large (2.5-3.2 mu m) Nitro821-targeted cells were recovered at all stations with a mean concentration of 3.5 cell ml(-1). The affiliation of the small Nitro821-targeted cells to UCYN-A was confirmed by 16S and nifH phylogenies in the western Mediterranean Sea. In the central and the eastern Mediterranean Sea no 16S rDNA and nifH sequence from UCYN was obtained as cells concentration were close to, or below PCR detection limit. Bradyrhizobium sequences dominated nifH clone libraries from picoplanktonic size fractions. A few sequences of gamma-proteobacteria were also detected in the central Mediterranean Sea. While low phosphate and iron concentrations could explain the absence of Trichodesmium sp., the factors that prevent the development of UCYN-B and C remain unknown. We also propose that the dominating picoplankters probably developed specific strategies, such as associations with protists or particles, and/or photosynthetic activity, to acquire carbon for sustaining diazotrophy.
Biogeosciences (1726-4170) (Copernicus Gesellschaft Mbh), 2011 , Vol. 8 , N. 3 , P. 827-840

Droits : Author(s) 2011. CC Attribution 3.0 License.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00133/24392/22416.pdf
DOI:10.5194/bg-8-827-2011
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00133/24392/

Éditeur(s) : Ecole nationale supérieure agronomique de Rennes
Résumé : Describe and gain understanding on fluctuations in animal population over time and space is a central goal of population ecology. This is also crucial to ensure the sustainable management of exploited resources, particularly those with complex population dynamics such as the bluefin tuna. The goal of this work is to collect bluefin tuna catches from the ancestral Mediterranean and Atlantic trap fisheries to (i) characterise long-term fluctuations in bluefin tuna population migrating in the Mediterranean, (ii) analyse their causes et (iii) assess their implications for fisheries management. The bluefin tuna main biological and ecological characteristics are first detailed. Then, the first part presents the trap fishery, and the process of collect and validation of the historical catches. This leads to develop a data base of 54 time-series more than 20 years long, the longest ones spanning about four centuries. Mean historical catches were around 15 000 tons/year ([7 000;25 000]). Time-series are analysed in a second part. Temporal variability of trap catches may be decomposed in three components: 100-year-long periodic fluctuations, 20-year cycles and inter-annual variations. These medium- to long-term fluctuations, representing more than 50% of the variability in the time-series, were synchronous all around the western Mediterranean and adjacent North Atlantic. In contrast, short-term variability was synchronous at a local scale only. It is argued that long-term fluctuations in trap catches could be considered as a proxy for those in abundance, and a synthetic time-series is computed to depict them. Biological and ecological processes that could cause such long-term fluctuations are discussed in a third part. We tested whether long-term fluctuations in Atlantic bluefin tuna might be related to large-scale environmental changes, using long time-series of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), the Length of the Day index (LOD, a proxy of the atmospheric circulation index ACI) and the temperature. Spectral analyses of trap catches, LOD and temperature displayed similar spectra with peak at low frequency, whereas those of the NAO exhibited a broad band spectrum. Regression analyses and tests of correlation did not reveal any clear relationship between trap catches on the one hand and NAO and LOD on the other hand. In contrast, long-term fluctuations in trap catches appear to be negatively and significantly related to long-term trends in temperature. Underlying processes that could explain such a relationship are discussed, with special focus on changes in migration patterns. Finally, implications of such fluctuations in term of fisheries management are discussed in a fourth part. A simulation framework, in which a simulated population dynamics model is coupled with a VPA, is built to test the pertinence of the diagnostic of stock assessment according to different scenarios on fluctuations origins and population status. In the hypothesis of fluctuations linked to variations in the recruitment, VPA appears able to reconstruct the fluctuations but the predictions may be biased if natural fluctuations are not taking into account. In the hypothesis of fluctuations linked to changes in migration pattern, VPA is not able to reconstruct the population dynamics. In a precautionary approach, quotas which follow may be unsuitable in the best case, at worst dangerous if they are defined in comparison with a reference point. The concept of cible reference points, fixe and unique over time, appears not relevant for bluefin tuna; estimate trajectory reference pertinent may prove to be more pertinent.
Décrire et comprendre les fluctuations spatio-temporelles des espèces animales constituent les enjeux majeurs de l'écologie. La question est également cruciale pour réussir la gestion durable des ressources exploitées, en particulier celle du thon rouge, grand pélagique migrateur à la dynamique complexe. L'objectif de ce travail est de collecter les captures historiques de thon rouge par les madragues méditerranéennes et proche atlantiques pour (i) caractériser les fluctuations à long terme de la population migrante en Méditerranée, (ii) étudier leur déterminisme et (iii) évaluer leurs implications en terme de gestion des pêcheries. Après avoir décrit les principales caractéristiques biologiques et écologiques du thon rouge, la première partie présente la pêcherie à la madrague, puis le processus de collecte et de validation des données historiques de captures. Ce dernier conduit à la mise en place d'une base de données de 54 séries de plus de 20 ans, dont les plus longues s'étendent sur près de 4 siècles. Les productions historiques sont estimées à environ 15 000 tonnes/an ([7 000;25 000]). Les séries historiques de captures sont analysées dans la seconde partie. Leur variabilité temporelle peut être décomposée en trois composantes : de larges cycles pseudo-séculaires, des variations périodiques d'une vingtaine d'années et des fluctuations inter-annuelles. Les fluctuations à moyen et long terme, expliquant plus de la moitié de la variance des séries, sont synchrones à l'échelle du bassin méditerranéen occidental et du proche Atlantique. La variabilité inter-annuelle, en revanche, n'est synchrone qu'à une échelle locale. On montre finalement que les fluctuations à long terme des captures peuvent être considérées comme de bons indices des tendances des abondances de la population de thons rouges migrants en Méditerranée. Une série synthétique est construite pour les décrire. Les processus biologiques et écologiques susceptibles d'être à l'origine de ces fluctuations sont discutés dans la troisième partie. L'hypothèse d'un forçage environnemental à grande échelle est testée en utilisant des indices à long terme de l'Oscillation Nord Atlantique (NAO), de la longueur du jour (LOD, un indicateur de l'indice de circulation atmosphérique ACI) et de la température. Les analyses spectrales sur les séries de captures, du LOD et des températures révèlent des spectres similaires, avec un pic sur les basses fréquences, alors que celles sur le NAO conduisent à une large bande spectrale. Les régressions et les tests de corrélations ne montrent aucune relation significative entre les captures par les madragues et le NAO et le LOD. En revanche, les fluctuations à long terme des captures apparaissent significativement et négativement corrélées avec les fluctuations à long terme des températures. Les processus sous-jacents susceptibles d'expliquer une telle relation, en particulier des changements migratoires, sont discutés. Finalement, les implications des fluctuations pour la gestion de la pêcherie sont discutées dans une quatrième partie. Un cadre de simulation, couplant un modèle de dynamique de population à une VPA, est élaboré pour tester la pertinence des diagnostics d'évaluation de stock selon différents scénarios d'origine des fluctuations et d'état de la population. Dans l'hypothèse de fluctuations liées à des variations du recrutement, la VPA apparaît capable de reconstruire les fluctuations mais les prédictions sont biaisées lorsqu'il n'est pas tenu compte des fluctuations naturelles du stock. Dans l'hypothèse de fluctuations liées à des changements migratoires, la VPA est alors incapable de reproduire la dynamique de la population. Dans une approche de précaution, les quotas qui en découlent peuvent se révéler au mieux inappropriés, au pire dangereux s'ils sont définis par rapport à un point de référence. Ce concept de point cible, fixe et unique dans le temps, apparaît inapproprié pour le thon rouge ; estimer des "trajectoires de référence" serait sans doute plus pertinent.

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2003/these-65.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/65/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
We present a new set of brittle microtectonic measurements carried out in the Pliocene and Quaternary rocks outcropping in several key sectors of the western Betic and Rif orogen, the so-called Gibraltar orogenic arc. This data set, along with available earthquake focal mechanisms and borehole breakouts, allowed us to compile the Pliocene and Quaternary stress map of this area. This map provides new constraints for tectonic models and the present-day tectonic activity of the proposed active eastward subduction of oceanic lithosphere beneath the Gibraltar Arc and roll-back. The horizontal maximum compressive stress (S-Hmax) is NW-SE in the Betic Orogen and N-S/NNW-SSE in the southern Rif Cordillera. There is a significant consistency between S-Hmax and the displacement field deduced from GPS measurements with respect to the African plate: both appear to reflect the NW-SE convergence between the African and the European plates that is perturbed in the Rif. We propose that part of the eastern Rif behaves as a quasi-rigid block welded to the stable African plate. This block is bounded by important faults that localized most of the deformation disturbing the stress and surface displacement field. Pliocene to Quaternary N-S to NW-SE Africa-Europe plate convergence seem to be associated to the reorganization of the remnant Early Miocene subduction system in a continental-continental collision framework. Three-dimensional reconstruction of available seismic tomography plotted against the intermediate seismicity shows that only part of the old subduction system, whose orientation ranges from N20 degrees E to N100 degrees E, remains active: the portion ranging from N30 degrees E to N40 degrees E, orthogonal to the regional convergence. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
ISSN: 0264-3707

hal-00671033
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00671033
DOI : 10.1016/j.jog.2010.12.003

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

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

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
In the southeastern corner of the Tyrrhenian basin, in the central Mediterranean Sea, a tight alignment of earthquakes along a well-defined Benioff zone marks one of the narrowest active trenches worldwide, where one of the last fragment of the former Tethys ocean is consumed. Seismic tomography furnishes snapshot images of the present-day position of this slab, and seismic anisotropy allows to reconstruct the past kinematics of the subduction process. Using seismic anisotropy fast directions as a proxy for the present and past mantle flow, we look backward for the seismic traces of the slab motion through the western-central Mediterranean mantle, from the starting locus of subduction toward its present day position. The result of combining independent data sets provides a coherent pattern of anisotropy that illustrates an example of slab rollback from its initiation point to its present-day position.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-01389115
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01389115
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01389115/document
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01389115/file/Lucente_medit_EPSL2006_hal.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2005.10.041

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Taylor & Francis
Résumé : New structural data and P-T estimates of syn-deformational assemblages within the Beni Bousera peridotites and their crustal envelope are used to explain their Alpine exhumation. The Beni Bousera peridotites occur as thin sheets within high grade crustal units of the lower Sebtides (inner Rif, Morocco) and are composed of weakly deformed spinel lherzolite in the core of the massif and garnet-spinel mylonite at the rim. The main foliation trajectories in both the peridotites and overlying crustal units show systematic rotation towards their mutual contact, indicating a kilometer-scale top to the NW shearing with a dextral component along this crust/mantle contact. Widespread top to the NW shear criteria within the crustal units overlying the peridotite support this feature. Available ages constrain the development of the main foliation in both the peridotites and crustal rocks between 25 and 20 Ma. New P-T data from the peridotites show that deformation occurs during decompression from approximate to 22 kbar, 1050 degrees C to approximate to 9-15 kbar, 800 degrees C. As a consequence, exhumation of the Beni Bousera peridotites takes place during the Oligo-Miocene lithosphere thinning in the footwall of a lithospheric extensional shear zone. The exceptional preservation of garnet within the mylonitic peridotites results from rapid cooling of the border of the massif due to the juxtaposition with colder crustal rocks along this shear zone. Uplifting of the hot mantle rocks simultaneously induces high temperature metamorphism in the overlying crustal units. These new findings allow us to reconstruct the deformation history of the Beni Bousera region and the Alboran domain in the framework of the western Mediterranean geodynamics during the last 40 Myrs.. (C) 2011 Lavoisier SAS. All rights reserved
ISSN: 0985-3111

hal-00767654
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00767654
DOI : 10.3166/ga.24.49-60