Éditeur(s) : Elsevier
Résumé : During the Fanindien 2006 cruise of R/V 'Beautemps-Beaupre', high resolution multibeam bathymetry, sub-bottom profiling and sediment coring was carried out along the East African margin, offshore Tanzania and Mozambique (Indian Ocean). The newly acquired data reveal the presence of a giant deep-sea valley (the Tanzania channel) that is more than 10 km wide at 4000 m water depth, along the continental rise. The valley remains similar to 70 m deep and 7 km wide at 800 km from the Tanzania coast. Morphological comparison with worldwide submarine channels show that the Tanzania channel is one of the largest known submarine valleys. This discovery brings new light on development of submarine valleys that drain sediments originated from the East African Rift System (EARS) highlands (i.e. the Tanzania channel and its neighbor Zambezi channel located similar to 1000 km southward). Both of the systems have a morphology markedly different to the classical sinuous, V-shaped channels located at similar latitudes (e.g. the Zaire or Amazon channels). Their submarine drainage system consists of a downslope converging tributary canyons joining a central trunk channel in the continental rise. The presence of such giant deep-sea drainage systems is probably linked to a strong structural control on the sediment pathway, associated to a massive sediment transfer towards the Indian Ocean in relation with the tectonic activity of the East African Rift System (i.e. the uplift periods trough mid-Miocene and Plio-Pleistocene times) and its interplay with the East African equatorial climate changes.
Marine Geology (0025-3227) (Elsevier), 2008-12 , Vol. 255 , N. 3-4 , P. 179-185

Droits : 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00324/43491/42958.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.margeo.2008.09.002
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00324/43491/

Éditeur(s) : Elsevier
Résumé : During the Fanindien 2006 cruise of R/V 'Beautemps-Beaupre', high resolution multibeam bathymetry, sub-bottom profiling and sediment coring was carried out along the East African margin, offshore Tanzania and Mozambique (Indian Ocean). The newly acquired data reveal the presence of a giant deep-sea valley (the Tanzania channel) that is more than 10 km wide at 4000 m water depth, along the continental rise. The valley remains similar to 70 m deep and 7 km wide at 800 km from the Tanzania coast. Morphological comparison with worldwide submarine channels show that the Tanzania channel is one of the largest known submarine valleys. This discovery brings new light on development of submarine valleys that drain sediments originated from the East African Rift System (EARS) highlands (i.e. the Tanzania channel and its neighbor Zambezi channel located similar to 1000 km southward). Both of the systems have a morphology markedly different to the classical sinuous, V-shaped channels located at similar latitudes (e.g. the Zaire or Amazon channels). Their submarine drainage system consists of a downslope converging tributary canyons joining a central trunk channel in the continental rise. The presence of such giant deep-sea drainage systems is probably linked to a strong structural control on the sediment pathway, associated to a massive sediment transfer towards the Indian Ocean in relation with the tectonic activity of the East African Rift System (i.e. the uplift periods trough mid-Miocene and Plio-Pleistocene times) and its interplay with the East African equatorial climate changes. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Marine Geology (0025-3227) (Elsevier), 2008-12 , Vol. 255 , N. 3-4 , P. 179-185

Droits : 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2008/publication-6855.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.margeo.2008.09.002

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Multiproxy analyses were performed on core MS27PT recovered in hemipelagic sediments deposited on the Nile margin in order to reconstruct Nile River palaeohydrological fluctuations during the last 100,000 years. The strontium and neodymium isotope composition of the terrigenous fraction and the major element distribution reveal large and abrupt changes in source, oscillating between a dominant aeolian Saharan contribution during arid periods and a dominant Nile River contribution during pluvial periods. Iron content shows a strong correlation with strontium and neodymium isotopes. This allows the use of a high-resolution continuous Fe record as a proxy of Blue Nile sediment input over the last 100,000 years. The detailed Fe record, with approximately 10 years resolution during pluvial periods, is consistent with subtropical African records of well-dated lake level fluctuations and thus constitutes a first continuous high resolution record of the East African monsoon regime intensity over Ethiopia.;The detailed Fe record shows the two main known pluvial periods attributed to strengthening of the African monsoon over Ethiopia, the Nabtian period from 14 to 8 ka cal BP and the Saharan period from 98 to 72 ka BR For the first time, the last glacial period (Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2,3 and 4) is documented with a continuous record showing large oscillations between high and low East African palaeo-monsoon regimes.;The end of the Nabtian period occurred at 8 ka in core MS27PT, i.e. much earlier than on the East Equatorial African region where it ended around 5.5 ka. We interpret this as evidence that the southward shift of the rain belt occurred 3000 years earlier over the Eastern Ethiopian Highland and propose that the gradual southward migration of the rain belt was associated with highly variable intensity and longer rainy seasons from 8 to 5 ka. During the last glacial period, two wet periods are present around 60-50 ka BP and 38-30 ka BP. These two humid periods are in phase with the rise of atmospheric CH4 concentrations suggesting that wetland tropical African area was one of the sources of the atmospheric CH4 during the MIS 3. During the Last Glacial Maximum and MIS 4, high Saharan aeolian influxes in phase with records of aeolian dust deposited in East Antarctica are documented. This study highlights the importance of reconstructions of monsoon rainfall fluctuation at high temporal resolution to better understand the link between low- and high-latitude climate variability at millennial timescales.
ISSN: 0277-3791

hal-00496481
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00496481
DOI : 10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.02.006

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The detailed morphology and internal structure of the Calabrian accretionary wedge and adjacent Eastern Sicily margin are imaged in unprecedented detail by a combined dataset of multi-beam bathymetry and high-resolution seismic profiles. The bathymetric data represent the results of 6 recent marine geophysical surveys since 2010 as well as a compilation of earlier surveys presented as a 2 arc-sec (60 m) grid. Several distinct morpho-tectonic provinces are identified including: the deeply incised Malta–Hyblean Escarpment, numerous submarine canyons, broad regions of relatively flat seafloor dominated by fields of sediment waves, the gently undulating anticlinal fold-and-thrust belts of the external Calabrian accretionary wedge and the adjacent portion of the Western Mediterranean Ridge. The Calabrian arc can be divided into 4 domains (from SE to NW): 1) the undeformed Ionian abyssal plain, 2) the external evaporitic wedge, 3) the internal clastic wedge, 4) the Calabrian backstop (Variscan crystalline basement). The Calabrian accretionary wedge can also be divided laterally into two major lobes, the NE- and the SW lobes, and two minor lobes. The kinematics of the limit between the two major lobes is investigated and shown to be sinistral in the external (evaporitic) wedge. A network of radial slip lines within the southernmost external wedge unequivocally demonstrate ongoing dextral displacement of a rigid indenter (representing the corner of the clastic wedge) into the evaporitic wedge thereby confirming the geodynamic model of an active lateral slab tear fault here off eastern Sicily. The slab tear produces a series of major sub-parallel dextral strike-slip faults offshore Mt. Etna and south of the Straits of Messina consistent with the relative motions between Calabria and the Peloritan domain (NE Sicily). Abundant strike-slip faulting, and wide-spread folding and thrusting observed throughout the entire accretionary wedge, indicate regional shortening between the Ionian abyssal plain (foreland) and the Calabrian–Peloritan backstop caused by active subduction.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-01523990
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01523990
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2016.12.020

Éditeur(s) : Elsevier
Résumé : High-resolution sedimentological and micropaleontological studies of several deep-sea cores retrieved from the levees of the Celtic and Armorican turbidite systems (Bay of Biscay - North Atlantic Ocean) allow the detection of the major oscillations of the British-Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS) and 'Fleuve Manche' palaeoriver discharges over the last 30,000 years, which were mainly triggered by climate changes. Between 30 and 20 cal ka, the turbiditic activity on the Celtic-Annorican margin was weak, contrasting with previous stratigraphic models which predicted a substantial increase of sediment supply during low sea-level stands. This low turbidite deposit frequency was most likely the result of a weak activity of the 'Fleuve Manche' palaeoriver and/or of a reduced seaward transfer of sediments from the shelf to the margin. However, two episodes of turbiditic activity increase were detected in the Celtic-Armorican margin, during Heinrich events (HE) 3 and 2. This strengthening of the turbiditic activity was triggered by the meltwater releases from European ice sheets and glaciers favouring the seaward transfer of subglacial material, at least via 'Fleuve Manche' palaeoriver. At around 20 cal ka, a significant increase of turbidite deposit frequency occurred as a response to the onset of the last deglaciation. The retreat of the European ice sheets and glaciers induced a substantial increase of the 'Fleuve Manche' palaeoriver discharges and seaward transfer of continentally-derived material into the Armorican turbidite system. The intensification of the turbiditic activity on the Celtic system was directly sustained by the widespread transport of subglacial sediments from the British-Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS) to the Celtic Sea via the Irish Sea Basin. A sudden reduction of turbiditic activity in the Armorican system, between ca. 19 and 18.3 cal ka, could have been triggered by the first well known abrupt sea-level rise ('meltwater pulse', at around 19 cal ka) favouring the trapping of sediment in the 'Fleuve Manche' palaeoriver valleys and the decrease of the seaward transfer of continentally-derived material. The maximum of turbiditic activity strengthening in the Celtic-Armorican margin, between ca. 18.3 and 17 cal ka, was induced by the decay of European ice sheets and glaciers producing the most extreme episode of the 'Fleuve Manche' palaeoriver runoff and a great seaward transfer of subglacial material into the Bay of Biscay, Between ca. 17.5 and 16 cal ka, the turbiditic activity significantly decreased in both Celtic and Armorican turbidite systems in response to a global re-advance of glaciers and ice sheets in Europe. The last episode of ice sheet retreat, between ca. 16 and 14 cal ka, is well expressed in the Celtic system by a new increase of the turbiditic activity. The major episode of sea-level rise at around 14 cal ka ('Meltwater Pulse 1A'), precluding the seaward transfer of sediments, induced the end of turbiditic activity in both the Celtic and the Armorican system. Although two main phases of global sea-level rise seem to have had an effect on the Celtic-Armorican margin, this work proposes the BUS retreat and associated riverine discharges as the main trigger mechanisms of the turbiditic activity in this region during the last 30,000 years.
Marine Geology (0025-3227) (Elsevier), 2008 , Vol. 247 , N. 1-2 , P. 84-103

Droits : 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2008/publication-3729.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.margeo.2007.08.006
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/3729/

Éditeur(s) : Elsevier
Résumé : During the SEDIFAN 1 cruise we surveyed the bathymetry and the acoustic properties of the surface sediment of the Celtic Deep Sea Fan. We also collected Kullenberg cores in order to study recent sedimentary processes. From the bathymetry survey it is relatively easy to recognize the main areas of modern fan. The upper fan included a large sedimentary ridge which constitutes the right levee of the prominent meandering Whittard valley. After its confluence with the Shamrock valley the course of the Whittard valley is abruptly deflected to the south. At a short distance to the south the valley divides into two upper-fan channels, the Celtic channel to the west being the deeper one. This point constitutes the centre of a radiating pattern which is developed on a 150 degrees quadrant and a radius of about 100 km. The acoustic imagery displays contrasted features, related to change in lithology within the first metre beneath the sea bottom and to the sea floor roughness. The Austell ridge exhibits a contrasted pattern of elongated areas with high and low acoustic backscattering levels. This pattern is related to the development of abyssal dunes, the amplitude of which is of metric order. Particularly remarkable is a lobe-shaped low back-scattering area in the western part of the middle fan, also noteworthy are a lineated facies to the west and a braided facies to the east of the fan. The laminated silty-clayey sequences deposited on the Whittard ridge and on the Trevelyan levee were deposited during the deglaciation. We interpret these as turbidity currents overflow deposits from the Whittard valley. At the end of isotopic stage 3 and during stage 2, the English Channel was a large plain flooded by the Channel River. During this period a broad delta developed at 100 m below the present-day depth and a wide spectrum of material was bound to be supplied to the deep sea and contributed particularly to the deposition of the Whittard ridge silty-clayey sequences. The stage 2 deposits are characterized by rhythmic levels enriched in monosulfides. These types of deposits are common in areas affected by fluvial discharges. Excluding the sedimentary ridge and the channel levees the surface deposits sampled with the Kullenberg corer are sandy. These sands are deposited in various contexts on the interfluve between the western and eastern channels and at channel mouths. They were emplaced during high sea level stands as a result of high energy gravity processes. The precise sources of these sands have not yet been identified, however benthic foraminifers from included ooze pebbles have living depths of between 500 and 1 000 m. The gravity processes which eroded this marry ooze may have been triggered on the upper slope. The Celtic shelf is presently a high energy platform where the conjunction of storms and spring tides call lead to enhanced sediment transport from near-shore to the deep sea. The relict or palimpsest deposits of the glacial delta also constitute a large reservoir of sandy material which can also be subject to reworking.
Le programme Enam 2 (European North Atlantic Margin) concerne l'étude des processus sédimentaires quaternaires du Spitzberg au golfe de Gascogne. Dans le cadre de ce programme, la reconnaissance de l'Éventail profond celtique était l'objectif de la campagne Sedifan 1 au cours de laquelle nous avons établi la morphologie de l'éventail et obtenu une image acoustique des fonds sédimentaires. La morphologie permet de mettre en évidence une organisation en éventail. On note aussi le développement remarquable d'une ride sédimentaire au niveau de l'éventail supérieur. Les sédiments prélevés révèlent la présence de dépôts sableux, témoins d'une activité récente qui pourrait être liée à l'importance de l'hydrodynamisme sur les Grands Bancs de la plate-forme celtique.
Oceanologica Acta (0399-1784) (Elsevier), 2000 , Vol. 23 , N. 1 , P. 109-116

Droits : 2000 Ifremer/CNRS/IRD/Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2000/publication-525.pdf
DOI:10.1016/S0399-1784(00)00116-X
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/525/