Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : This thesis compiles two distinct studies that both document the control of microstructures on rock seismic properties. The first part deals with the development of crystallographic preferred orientations (CPO) in the uppermost mantle associated with melt/fluid-rock interactions, recorded in peridotites xenoliths from the Japan sea back-arc basin. The microstructural and geochemical characteristics of the studied samples reveal that active spreading is associated to uppermost mantle deformation similar to that observed in the Oman ophiolite. At the onset of back-arc spreading, there are no strong interactions between melt percolation and deformation in comparison to continental rift zones, probably due to the relatively small size and short duration of the spreading event. The second part presents a unique database of plagioclase CPO from variously deformed mafic rocks. CPO are grouped in three main types; their characteristics as a function of deformation regime (magmatic or crystal-plastic) are outlined and discussed. Calculated seismic properties of gabbroic rocks show that anisotropy tends to increase as a function of fabric strength, although it is generally weak, due to the competing effect of olivine/clinopyroxene and plagioclase.
Cette thèse regroupe deux études distinctes, qui documentent le contrôle des microstructures sur les propriétés sismiques des roches. La première partie traite du développement des orientations préférentielles cristallographiques (OPC) dans le manteau supérieur, associé aux interactions liquide/magma-roche, enregistré dans des xénolites de péridotites du bassin d'arrière-arc de la mer du Japon. Les caractéristiques microstucturales et géochimiques des échantillons étudiés montrent que l'ouverture arrière-arc active est associée à une déformation du manteau supérieure similaire à celle observée dans l'ophiolite d'Oman. L'initiation de l'extension d'arrière-arc n'est pas associée à de fortes interactions entre percolation magmatique et déformation, en comparaison avec les zones de rifting continentales, probablement en raison des taille et durée relativement petites de l'épisode d'ouverture. La seconde partie présente une base de données unique d'OPC de plagioclase de roches mafiques plus ou moins déformées. Les OPC sont classées en 3 types principaux; leurs caractéristiques en fonction du régime de déformation (magmatique ou plastique) sont présentées et discutées. Les propriétés sismiques calculées des roches gabbroiques montrent que l'anisotropie tend à croitre avec l'intensité des fabriques, bien qu'elle soit généralement faible, en raison des effets opposés des olivines/clinopyroxènes et du plagioclase.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00795505

tel-00795505
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00795505
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00795505/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00795505/file/Satsukawa_thesis_UM2.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD AGU and the Geochemical Society
Résumé : International audience
1] Recent statistical analysis by Lallemand et al. (2008) of subduction zone parameters revealed that the back-arc deformation mode depends on the combination between the subducting (nu(sub)) and upper (nu(up)) plate velocities. No significant strain is recorded in the arc area if plate kinematics verifies nu(up) = 0.5 vsub - 2.3 (cm/a) in the HS3 reference frame. Arc spreading ( shortening) occurs if nu(up) is greater ( lower) than the preceding relationship. We test this statistical law with numerical models of subduction, by applying constant plate velocities far away from the subduction zone. The subducting lithosphere is free to deform at all depths. We quantify the force applied on the two converging plates to sustain constant surface velocities. The simulated rheology combined viscous (non-Newtonian) and brittle behaviors, and depends on water content. The influence of subduction rate vs is first studied for a fixed upper plate. After 950 km of convergence ( steady state slab pull), the transition from extensional to compressive stresses in the upper plate occurs for vs similar to 1.4 cm/a. The effect of upper plate velocity is then tested at constant subduction rate. Upper plate retreat ( advance) with respect to the trench increases extension ( compression) in the arc lithosphere and increases ( decreases) the subducting plate dip. Our modeling confirms the statistical kinematic relationship between vsub and nu(up) that describes the transition from extensional to compressive stresses in the arc lithosphere, even if the modeled law is shifted toward higher rates of upper plate retreat, using our set of physical parameters ( e. g., 100 km thick subducting oceanic plate) and short- term simulations. Our results make valid the choice of the HS3 reference frame for assessing plate velocity influence on arc tectonic regime. The subduction model suggests that friction along the interplate contact and the mantle Stokes reaction could be the two main forces competing against slab pull for upper mantle subductions. Besides, our simulations show that the arc deformation mode is strongly time dependent.
ISSN: 1525-2027

hal-00412328
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00412328
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00412328/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00412328/file/arcayG32008.pdf
DOI : 10.1029/2007GC001875

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : We present whole-rock major- and trace-element and Nd–Sr–Pb radiogenic isotope data for Cretaceous igneous suites from eastern Cuba. These rocks are related to the Greater Antilles paleo-island arc magmatism and have three different igneous styles. Group 1 consists of tholeiitic basalts and rare basaltic andesites that have normal mid-ocean ridge basalt (N-MORB)-like compositions similar to those found in back-arc basin basalts (TiO2 = 1·2–2·9 wt%; La/Yb(N) = 0·7–0·9, Th/Nb = 0·06–0·08, and initial 208Pb/ 204Pb = 37·65–37·74). Group 2 comprises basaltic and rare basaltic andesitic subvolcanic dykes with major- and trace-element and isotopic compositions similar to those of island arc tholeiites (TiO2 = 0·7–1·4 wt%; La/Yb(N) = 0·6–0·9, Th/Nb = 0·06–0·68, and initial 208Pb/ 204Pb = 37·74–38·25). Group 3 is composed of low-Ti (TiO2 = 0·3–0·9 wt%) calcalkaline igneous rocks that have an unambiguous subduction-related character (La/Yb(N) = 1·1–5·0, Th/Nb = 0·35–1·55, and initial 208Pb/ 204Pb = 37·94–38·39). The parental magmas of the three groups formed by variable melting degrees (< 5–25%) of spinel lherzolite, with more depleted mantle sources for Groups 2 and 3 than Group 1. The trace-element and radiogenic isotope compositions of primitive Group 3 samples are strongly bimodal. One subgroup of samples is characterized by low Ta/Yb (0·02–0·03) and Th/La (0·10–0·13), slightly subchondritic Nb/Ta (13·3–17·3), and relatively high initial 206Pb/204Pb (18·57–18·62) and {varepsilon}Nd (7·6–9·4). The remaining primitive Group 3 samples have higher Ta/Yb (0·06–0·11) and Th/La (0·24–0·32), and highly subchondritic Nb/Ta (7·6–9·1), coupled with lower initial 206Pb/204Pb (18·24–18·29) and {varepsilon}Nd (3·4–5·5). These signatures were induced by two distinct slab components that mainly reflect the contributions of Cretaceous Atlantic marine and North American continental sediments, respectively. Nb/Ta in the first subgroup was influenced by melting of rutile-bearing subducted crust, whereas in the second it was inherited from recycled continental sediments. The involvement of Atlantic and North American sediments in Cuban Cretaceous magmatism indicates that the Proto-Caribbean (North American-Proto Atlantic) lithosphere subducted beneath the Greater Antilles arc during the Late Cretaceous (pre-Campanian), consistent with geotectonic models involving onset of SW-dipping subduction beneath the Greater Antilles paleo-arc during the Aptian. The variable mantle source depletion and magnitude of the subduction component probably reflect different settings across the arc, from the arc front to a back-arc spreading ridge.
ISSN: 0022-3530

hal-00406373
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00406373
DOI : 10.1093/petrology/egm040

Éditeur(s) : American Geophysical Union
Résumé : We present four companion digital models of the age, age uncertainty, spreading rates, and spreading asymmetries of the world's ocean basins as geographic and Mercator grids with 2 arc min resolution. The grids include data from all the major ocean basins as well as detailed reconstructions of back-arc basins. The age, spreading rate, and asymmetry at each grid node are determined by linear interpolation between adjacent seafloor isochrons in the direction of spreading. Ages for ocean floor between the oldest identified magnetic anomalies and continental crust are interpolated by geological estimates of the ages of passive continental margin segments. The age uncertainties for grid cells coinciding with marine magnetic anomaly identifications, observed or rotated to their conjugate ridge flanks, are based on the difference between gridded age and observed age. The uncertainties are also a function of the distance of a given grid cell to the nearest age observation and the proximity to fracture zones or other age discontinuities. Asymmetries in crustal accretion appear to be frequently related to asthenospheric flow from mantle plumes to spreading ridges, resulting in ridge jumps toward hot spots. We also use the new age grid to compute global residual basement depth grids from the difference between observed oceanic basement depth and predicted depth using three alternative age-depth relationships. The new set of grids helps to investigate prominent negative depth anomalies, which may be alternatively related to subducted slab material descending in the mantle or to asthenospheric flow. A combination of our digital grids and the associated relative and absolute plate motion model with seismic tomography and mantle convection model outputs represents a valuable set of tools to investigate geodynamic problems.
Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems - G3 (1525-2027) (American Geophysical Union), 2008-04 , Vol. 9 , P. NIL_18-NIL_36

Droits : 2008 American Geophysical Union
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2008/publication-3900.pdf
DOI:10.1029/2007GC001743
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/3900/

Éditeur(s) : Amer Geophysical Union
Résumé : A tectonic model of the evolution of the northern half of the South Fiji Basin, including the Minerva Triple Junction and Cook Fracture Zone, is developed from regional gravity, multibeam bathymetry, and a new interpretation of magnetic anomalies pinned to radiometric dates of oceanic crust in the basin. The geometry and age of a portion of the Minerva Triple Junction and the Cook-Minerva spreading center (the connection from the triple junction to the Cook Fracture Zone, which accommodated coeval opening of the Norfolk Basin), are resolved with multibeam bathymetry and magnetics. The South Fiji Basin opened from about 34 to 15 Ma in an anticlockwise sweep about an Euler pole located at the northern end of the present Lau Ridge. This rotation and a rigidly straight southeastward motion of the Three Kings Ridge were accommodated by the configuration of the triple junction changing from ridge-fault-fault to ridge-ridge-fault to ridge-ridge-ridge. During this evolution the southeastern arm of the system, the Julia Fracture Zone, underwent several transformations and the Cook-Minerva spreading center experienced repeated ridge jumps. The kinematics of the northern South Fiji Basin dictate, to a large extent, the evolution of the southern South Fiji Basin and the Norfolk Basin. This in turn leads to the interpretation of a complex trench-trench-double transform fault framework at the northern New Zealand margin, which explains most aspects of the geology, structure, and arc volcanic history of the margin and provides a radical new setting for the origin of the Northland Allochthon.
Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems (1525-2027) (Amer Geophysical Union), 2011-02 , Vol. 12 , N. Q02004 , P. 1-20

Droits : 2011 American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00030/14112/11362.pdf
DOI:10.1029/2010GC003291
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00030/14112/

Éditeur(s) : American Geophysical Union
Résumé : We use seismic reflection and rock sample data to propose that the first-order physiography of New Caledonia Trough and Norfolk Ridge formed in Eocene and Oligocene time and was associated with the onset of subduction and back-arc spreading at the Australia-Pacific plate boundary. Our tectonic model involves an initial Cretaceous rift that is strongly modified by Cenozoic subduction initiation. Hence, we are able to explain (1) complex sedimentary basins of inferred Mesozoic age; (2) a prominent unconformity and onlap surface of middle Eocene to early Miocene age at the base of flat-lying sediments beneath the axis of New Caledonia Trough; (3) gently dipping, variable thickness, and locally deformed Late Cretaceous strata along the margins of the trough; (4) platform morphology and unconformities on either side of the trough that indicate a phase of late Eocene to early Miocene uplift to near sea level, followed by rapid Oligocene and Miocene subsidence of similar to 1100-1800 m; and (5) seismic reflection facies tied to boreholes that suggest absolute tectonic subsidence at the southern end of New Caledonia Trough by 1800-2200 m since Eocene time. The Cenozoic part of the model involves delamination and subduction initiation followed by rapid foundering and rollback of the slab. This created a deep (>2 km) enclosed oceanic trough, similar to 2000 km long and 200-300 km across, in Eocene and Oligocene time as the lower crust detached, with simultaneous uplift and local land development along basin flanks. Disruption of Late Cretaceous and Paleogene strata was minimal during this Cenozoic phase and involved only subtle tilting and local reverse faulting or folding. Basin formation was possible through the action of at least one detachment fault that allowed the lower crust to either be subducted into the mantle or exhumed eastward into Norfolk Basin. We suggest that delamination of the lithosphere, with possible mixing of the lower crust back into the mantle, is more widespread than previously thought and may be commonly associated with subduction initiation, such as Cenozoic events in the Mediterranean and western Pacific.
Tectonics (0278-7407) (American Geophysical Union), 2010-03 , Vol. 29 , N. TC2004 , P. 1-16

Droits : Copyright 2010 by the American Geophysical Union.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00001/11271/9283.pdf
DOI:10.1029/2009TC002476
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00001/11271/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union
Résumé : International audience
[1] Based on geological and geophysical data collected from the West Philippine Basin and its boundaries, we propose a comprehensive Cenozoic history of the basin. Our model shows that it is a back arc basin that developed between two opposed subduction zones. Rifting started around 55 Ma and spreading ended at 33/30 Ma. The initial spreading axis was parallel to the paleo-Philippine Arc but became inactive when a new spreading ridge propagated from the eastern part of the basin, reaching the former one at an R-R-R triple junction. Spreading occurred mainly from this second axis, with a quasi-continuous counterclockwise rotation of the spreading direction. The Gagua and Palau-Kyushu ridges acted as transform margins accommodating the opening. Arc volcanism occurred along the Palau-Kyushu Ridge (eastern margin) during the whole opening of the basin, whereas the paleo-Philippine Arc decreased its activity between 43 and 36 Ma. The western margin underwent a compressive event in late Eocene-early Oligocene time, leading to the rising of the Gagua Ridge and to a short subduction episode along Eastern Luzon. In the western part of the basin, the spreading system was highly disorganized due to the presence of a mantle plume. Overlapping spreading centers and ridge jumps occurred toward the hot region and a microplate developed. Shortly after the end of the spreading, a late stage of amagmatic extension occurred between 30 and 26 Ma in the central part of the basin, being responsible for the deep rift valley that cut across the older spreading fabric. Citation: Deschamps, A., and S. Lallemand, The West Philippine Basin: An Eocene to early Oligocene back arc basin opened between two opposed subduction zones,
ISSN: 2169-9313

hal-01261388
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01261388
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01261388/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01261388/file/DeschampsJGR2002.pdf
DOI : 10.1029/2001JB001706

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The Tyrrhenian Sea is usually interpreted to be a Neogene back-arc basin that opened by continental rifting and oceanic spreading caused by the eastward migration of the Apennine subduction system during Miocene and Pliocene times. Rifting of the southern Tyrrhenian Sea started first along the Eastern Sardinian margin during the middle to late Miocene times, including the Messinian. The "METYSS" project aims at better constraining the relationships between crustal tectonics, salt tectonics and sedimentation from Messinian times to present-day. The "METYSS 1" cruise (2009) allowed to acquire about 1200 km of HR seismic-reflection profiles along the Eastern Sardinian margin, Western Tyrrhenian Sea. This data set clearly illustrates that this area has been highly dissected during the rifting stage by N-S trending normal faults delineating ridges and basins, as previously described. The Messinian seismic markers (UU and MU) locally display fan-shaped stratal geometries, but the mechanism responsible for such geometries, salt tectonics or rifting, has yet to be carefully deciphered. We also mapped the spatial distribution of the mobile salt. The highly variable thickness of the small confined salt basins may be related to the initial pre-Messinian basin geometry, to the fact that salt deposition was syn-rift or to salt movement. Southeastward, salt tectonics is vigorous in unconfined basins and appears to have started early during the UU deposition. More surprisingly, our data demonstrate that some of the major faults have been significantly reactivated during the post-rift period, up to late Quaternary time, as shown by bathymetric scarps and associated debris flows. Moreover, some of this post-rift deformation can be evidenced within the Plio-Quaternary sequence by a regional unconformity. The post-Miocene deformation style varies greatly between different areas of the margin, and can also be strongly influenced by the presence or absence of mobile Messinian salt.
ISSN: 0040-1951

hal-00996665
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00996665
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2013.12.015

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The Chile Triple junction is a natural laboratory to study the interactions between magmatism and tectonics during the subduction of an active spreading ridge beneath a continent. The MLBA plateau (Meseta del Lago Buenos Aires) is one of the Neogene alkali basaltic plateaus located in the back-arc region of the Andean Cordillera at the latitude of the current Chile Triple junction. The genesis of MLBA can be related with successive opening of slabs windows beneath Patagonia: within the subducting Nazca Plate itself and between the Nazca and Antarctic plates. Detailed Ar-40/Ar-39 dating and geochemical analysis of bimodal magmatism from the western flank of the MLBA show major changes in the back-arc magmatism. which occurred between 14.5 Ma and 12.5 Ma with the transition from calc-alkaline lavas (Cerro Plomo) to alkaline lavas (MLBA) in relation with slab window opening. In a second step, at 4-3 Ma, alkaline felsic intrusions were emplaced in the western flank of the MLBA coevally with the MLBA basalts with which they are genetically related. These late OIB-like alkaline to transitional basalts were generated by partial melting of the subslab asthenosphere of the subducting Nazca plate during the opening of the South Chile spreading ridge-related slab window. These basalts differentiated with small amounts of assimilation in shallow magma chambers emplaced along transtensional to extensional zones. The close association of bimodal magmatism with extensional tectonic features in the western MLBA is a strong support to the model of Patagonian collapse event proposed to have taken place between 5 and 3 Ma as a consequence of the presence of the asthenospheric window (SCR-1 segment of South Chile Ridge) below the MLBA area.
ISSN: 0377-0273

hal-00475648
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00475648
DOI : 10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2009.11.022

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : This historical perspective provides an overall view of the main steps that led to the acceptance of the concept of mantle exhumation accompanying lithosphere stretching and extreme crustal thinning. We first remember that the presence of exposures of mantle rocks along oceanic spreading ridges was early reported in the 60's due to the results of sediment cores and dredge hauls collected along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. In the meantime, detailed analysis of the relationships between oceanic sediments of Late Jurassic age and their primary basement in the Apennine ophiolites led many authors to point to the importance of exhumation of mantle rocks on ancient seafloors. By contrast to the thick sections of classical ophiolites (e.g. Oman), the Alpine-Corsican-Appennine ophiolites are characterized by a relatively small amount of mafic rocks (gabbros and basalts), by the absence of any sheeted dyke complex and by the frequent occurrence of oceanic sediments stratigraphically overlying mantle-derived peridotites and associated gabbroic intrusions. They display some of the characteristics of slow-spreading ridge systems, but, due to their highly tectonized character, they have been interpreted successively either as remnants of oceanic fracture zones of normal ocean or as remnants of very-poorly organized, abnormal oceanic basement. This review shows how the concept of mantle exhumation has been elaborated more or less in the same period both by marine geoscientists and by geologists conducting investigations in ophiolitic units of the Alps-Apennines mountain belt. Dredging and diving results from the Gorringe Bank, the Iberia margin, the Thyrrenian Sea and the Central Atlantic in the 1980's and 1990's provided additional proofs that the mantle is currently exhumed in various oceanic environments, including distal continental margins, back-arc basins and slow-spreading ridges of wide oceans. It is shown finally how renewed cross-information from mountain belts and the oceans, multiplying the examples of sedimentary reworking of mantle material, help better constrain the mechanisms of mantle exhumation. This mechanism progressively appeared as a fundamental step during the processes of extension of both continental and oceanic lithospheres in numerous geological situations worldwide.
Bollettino della Società Geologica Italiana

hal-00475653
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00475653
DOI : 10.3301/IJG.2009.128.2.279

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The Gibraltar arc, spans a complex portion of the Africa-Eurasia plate boundary marked by slow oblique convergence and intermediate and deep focus seismicity. The seemingly contradictory observations of a young extensional marine basin surrounded by an arcuate fold-and-thrust belt, have led to competing geodynamic models (delamination and subduction). Geophysical data acquired in the past decade provide a test for these models and support a narrow east-dipping, subduction zone. Seismic refraction studies indicate oceanic crust below the western Gulf of Cadiz. Tomography of the upper mantle reveals a steep, east-dipping high P-wave velocity body, beneath Gibraltar. The anisotropic mantle fabric from SKS splitting shows arc-parallel "fast directions", consistent with toroidal flow around a narrow, westward retreating subducting slab. The accompanying WSW advance of the Rif-Betic mountain belt has constructed a thick pile of deformed sediments, an accretionary wedge, characterized by west-vergent thrust anticlines. Bathymetric swath‐mapping images an asymmetric embayment at the deformation front where a 2 km high basement ridge has collided. Subduction has slowed significantly since 5 Ma, but deformation of recent sediments and abundant mud volcanoes suggest ongoing activity in the accretionary wedge. Three possible origins for this deformation are discussed; gravitational spreading, overall NW-SE convergence between Africa and Iberia and finally a WSW tectonic push from slow, but ongoing roll-back subduction. In the absence of arc volcanism and shallow dipping thrust type earthquakes, evidence in favor of present-day subduction can only be indirect and remains the object of debate. Continued activity of the subduction offers a possible explanation for great (M > 8.5) earthquakes known to affect the area, like the famous 1755 Great Lisbon earthquake. Recent GPS studies show SW motion of stations in N Morocco at velocities of 3-6 mm/yr indicating the presence of an independent block, a "Rif-Betic-Alboran" microplate, situated between Iberia and Africa.
ISSN: 0040-1951

insu-00769762
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00769762
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2012.08.038

Éditeur(s) : Amer Geophysical Union
Résumé : The origin of the Algerian margin remains one of the key questions still discussed in the Western Mediterranean sea, due to the imprecise nature and kinematics of the associated basin during the Neogene. For the first time, the deep structure of the Maghrebian margin was explored during the SPIRAL seismic survey. In this work, we present a N-S transect off Tipaza (west of Algiers), a place where the margin broadens due to a topographic high (Khayr-al-Din Bank). New deep penetration seismic profiles allow us to image the sedimentary sequence in the Algerian basin and the crustal structure at the continent-ocean boundary. Modeling of the wide-angle data shows thinning of the basement, from more than 15km in the continental upper margin to only 5–6km of oceanic-type basement in the Algerian basin, and reveals a very narrow or absent transitional zone. Analysis of the deep structure of the margin indicates features inherited from its complex evolution: (1) an oceanic-type crust in the deep basin, (2) similarities with margins formed in a transform-type setting, (3) a progressive deepening of the whole sedimentary cover, and the thickening of the Plio-Quaternary sediments at the margin foot, coeval with (4) a downward flexure of the basement in the basin. These features argue for a multiphased evolution of the margin, including (1) an early stage of rifting and/or spreading, (2) a late transcurrent episode related to the westward migration of the Alboran domain, and (3) a diffuse Plio-Quaternary compressional reactivation of the margin.
Journal Of Geophysical Research-solid Earth (0148-0027) (Amer Geophysical Union), 2013-08 , Vol. 118 , N. 8 , P. 3899-3916

Droits : 2013. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00152/26333/24412.pdf
DOI:10.1002/jgrb.50318
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00152/26333/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The identification of a large OIB-type volcanic sequence on top of an obducted nappe in the Lesser Caucaus of Armenia helps us explain the obduction processes in the Caucasus region that are related to dramatic change in the global tectonics of the Tethyan region in the late Lower Cretaceous. The ophiolitic nappe preserves three distinct magmatic series, obducted in a single tectonic slice over the South Armenian Block during the Coniacian-Santonian (88-83 Ma), the same time as the Oman ophiolite. Similar geological, petrological, geochemical and age features for various Armenian ophiolitic massifs (Sevan, Stepanavan, and Vedi) argue for the presence of a single large obducted ophiolite unit. The ophiolite, shows evidence for a slow-spreading oceanic environment in Lower to Middle Jurassic. Serpentinites, gabbros and plagiogranites were exhumed by normal faults, and covered by radiolarites. Few pillow-lava flows have infilled the rift grabens. The ophiolite lavas have hybrid geochemical composition intermediate between Arc and MORB signatures: (La/Yb)(N) = 0.6-0.9: (Nb/Th)(N) = 0.17-0.57; (Nd-143/Nd-144)(i) = 0.51273-0.51291; (Sr-87/Sr-86)(i) = 0.70370-0.70565; (Pb-207/Pb-204)(i) = 15.4587-15.5411; (Pb-208/Pb-204)(i) = 37.4053-38.2336; (Pb-206/Pb-204)(i) = 17.9195-18.4594. These compositions suggest they were probably formed in a back-arc basin by melting of a shallow asthenosphere source contaminated by a deeper mantle source modified by subducted slab-derived products. Sr-87/Sr-86 ratios and petrological evidence show that these lavas have been intensely altered by mid-oceanic hydrothermalism as well as by serpentinites, which are interpreted as exhumed mantle peridotites. The gabbros have almost the same geochemical composition as related pillow-lavas: (La/Yb)(N) = 0.2-2.3; (Nb/Th)(N) = 0.1-2.8; (Nd-143/Nd-144)(i) = 0.51264-0.51276: (Sr-87/Sr-86)(i) = 0.70386-0.70557; (Pb-207/Pb-204)(i) = 15.4888-15.5391; (Pb-208/Pb-204)(i) = 37.2729-37.8713; (Pb-206/Pb-204)(i) = 17.6296-17.9683. Plagiogranites show major and trace element features similar to other Neo-Tethyan plagiogranites (La/Yb)(N) = 1.10-7.92; (Nb/Th)(N) = 0.10-0.94; but display a less radiogenic Nd isotopic composition than basalts [(Nd-143/Nd-144)(i) = 0.51263] and more radiogenic (Sr-87/Sr-86)(i) ratios. This oceanic crust sequence is covered by variable thicknesses of unaltered pillowed OIB alkaline lavas emplaced in marine conditions. Ar-40/Ar-39 dating of a single-grain amphibole phenocryst provides a Lower Cretaceous age of 117.3 +/- 0.9 Ma, which confirms a distinct formation age of the OIB lavas. The geochemical composition of these alkaline lavas is similar to plateau-lavas [(La/Yb)(N) = 6-14; (Nb/Th)(N) = 0.23-0.76; (Nd-143/Nd-144)(i) = 0.51262-0.51271; (Sr-87/Sr-86)(i) = 0.70338-0.70551; (Pb-207/Pb-204)(i) = 15.5439-15.6158; (Pb-208/Pb-204)(i) = 38.3724-39.3623; (Pb-206/Pb-204)(i) = 18.4024-19.6744].;They have significantly more radiogenic lead isotopic compositions than phiolitic rocks, and fit the geochemical compositions of hot-spot derived lavas mixed with various proportions of oceanic mantle. In addition, this oceanic + plateau sequence is covered by Upper Cretaceous calc-alkaline lavas: (La/Yb)(N) = 2.07-2.31; (Nb/Th)(N) = 0.08-0.15; (Nd-144/Nd-143)(i) = 0.51271-0.51282; (Sr-117/Sr-116)(i) = 0.70452-0.70478), which were likely formed in a supra-subduction zone environment. During the late Lower to early Upper Cretaceous period, hot-spot related magmatism related to plateau events may have led to significant crustal thickening in various zones of the Middle-eastern Neotethys. These processes have likely hindered subduction of some of the hot and thickened oceanic crust segments, and allowed them to be obducted over small continental blocks such as the South Armenian Block.
ISSN: 0024-4937

hal-00443855
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00443855
DOI : 10.1016/j.lithos.2009.02.006

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD AGU and the Geochemical Society
Résumé : International audience
[1] Statistical analysis of modern oceanic subduction zone parameters, such as the age of a downgoing plate or the absolute plate motions, is performed in order to investigate which parameter controls the dip of a slab and, conversely, what the influence of slab geometry is on upper plate behavior. For that purpose, parameters have been determined from global databases along 159 transects from all subduction zones that are not perturbed by nearby collision or ridge/plateau/seamount subduction. On the basis of tomographic images, slabs that penetrate through, or lie on, the 670 km discontinuity are also identified. The results of the statistical analysis are as follows: (1) Back-arc stress correlates with slab dip, i.e., back-arc spreading is observed for deep dips (deeper than 125 km) larger than 50°, whereas back-arc shortening occurs only for deep dips less than 30°. (2) Slab dip correlates with absolute motion of the overriding plate. The correlation is even better when the slab lies on, or even more penetrates through, the 670 km discontinuity. (3) Slabs dip more steeply, by about 20° on average, beneath oceanic overriding plates than beneath continental ones. (4) Slabs dip more steeply on average by about 10° near edges. (5) Slab dip does not correlate with the magnitude of slab pull, the age of subducting lithosphere at the trench, the thermal regime of the subducting lithosphere, the convergence rate, or the subduction polarity (east versus west). The present study provides evidence that the upper plate absolute motion plays an important role on slab dip, as well as on upper plate strain. Retreating overriding plates are often oceanic ones and thus may partially explain the steeper slab dips beneath oceanic upper plates. One can infer that low slab dips correlate well with compression in continental advancing upper plates, whereas steep dips are often associated with extension in oceanic retreating upper plates. Excess weight of old slabs is often counterbalanced by other forces, probably asthenospheric in origin, such as lateral mantle flow near slab edges or anchor forces, to determine slab dip. Components: 12,676 words, 13 figures, 1 table.
ISSN: 1525-2027

hal-01261567
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01261567
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01261567/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01261567/file/lallemandG32005.pdf
DOI : 10.1029/2005GC000917

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : The Tyrrhenian Sea is usually interpreted to be a Neogene back-arc basin that opened by continental rifting and oceanic spreading caused by the eastward migration of the Apennine subduction system from Tortonian to Pliocene times. Rifting of the Tyrrhenian Sea started first along the Eastern Sardinian margin during the Tortonian-Messinian times. The " METYSS " project aims at better constraining the relations between crustal tectonics, salt tectonics and sedimentation from Messinian times to present-day. The " METYSS 1 " cruise (2009, R/V "Téthys II"-INSU) allowed us to obtain about 1200 km of high-resolution seismic reflection profiles along the SE Corsican margin, and along the upper and middle parts of the Eastern Sardinian margin, Western Tyrrhenian. This new dataset clearly illustrates that this area has been highly dissected during the rifting stage by N-S trending normal faults delineating ridges and basins, as previously described. The Messinian seismic markers (UU and MU) locally display fan-shaped stratal geometries, but the mechanism responsible for such geometries, i.e., salt tectonics or rifting, has yet to be carefully deciphered. We also mapped the spatial distribution of the mobile salt (MU). The highly variable thickness of the confined salt basins may be related to the initial pre-Messinian basin geometry or to the fact that sediment deposition was syn-rift. Southeastward, salt tectonics appears highly vigorous. More surprisingly, our data demonstrate that some of the major faults have been significantly reactivated during the post-rift period, up to late Quaternary time. Such recent fault activity has been recorded by bathymetric scarps and associated footwall debris flows. Moreover, some of this post-rift deformation can be evidenced within the Plio-Quaternary sequence by a regional unconformity. The post-Miocene deformation style varies greatly between different areas of the margin, and can also be strongly influenced by the presence or absence of mobile Messinian evaporites (MU).
13ème Congrès Français de Sédimentologie
Dijon, France

hal-00657310
https://hal-brgm.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00657310

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
The « METYSS » cruise was carried out in June 2009 onboard the R/V « Téthys II » along the eastern Sardinian and south-eastern Corsican margins, western Tyrrhenian Sea, in order to better constrain the potential links between deformation related to either crustal tectonics or salt tectonics and sediment accumulation, especially during the Messinian and Plio-Quaternary times. We acquired 15 high-resolution seismic reflection profiles (about 1200 km in cumulative length) along the south-eastern Corsican margin, immediately north of the Bonifacio Strait and along the upper and middle parts of the eastern Sardinian margin, from the continental slope to the Cornaglia Terrace. The Tyrrhenian Sea is considered as a Neogene back-arc basin that opened during continental rifting and oceanic spreading related to the eastward migration of the Apennine subduction system from Tortonian to Pliocene times (Jolivet et al., 2006). Rifting of the Tyrrhenian Sea started first along the Eastern Sardinian margin during the Tortonian-Messinian times and therefore the series of that age should be considered as syn-rift sediments (Sartori et al., 2004). The « METYSS » seismic profiles clearly illustrate that this part of the Tyrrhenian was highly segmented during the rifting stage by N-S trending normal faults delineating ridges (e.g., Baronie Ridge) and basins (e.g., Sardinian Basin and Cornaglia Terrace), as previously described for example by Thommeret (1999) and Sartori et al. (2004). The Messinian sedimentary units and especially the « Upper Unit » (UU, Lofi et al., this congress, corresponding to the « Upper Evaporites » in the previous literature) are, without any doubt, of syn-rift age, as they display a fan-shaped stratal geometry. The Mobile Unit (MU, Lofi et al., this congress), i.e. the Messinian halite, is clearly imaged in the study area and its spatial repartition can be outlined. The highly-variable thickness of the confined salt basins could be due to the initial basin geometry (i.e. before the Messinian salinity Crisis) or to the syn-rift character of the deposition. Southeastward of the study area, in the vicinity of the Cornaglia Seamount, salt tectonics appears surprisingly vigorous. More surprisingly, several normal faults seem to have remained active in recent times, if not even at present time. Fault slip has been recorded by bathymetric scarps and associated footwall debris flows interfingered within the Plio-Quaternary sequence, even though the eastern Sardinian margin is usually considered to be passive now. Moreover, some amount of tectonic inversion is visible on some normal faults that show contractional or transpressional components of late slip. In addition, this “post-rift” deformation can be illustrated within the Plio-Quaternary sequence by a regional unconformity. Consequently, numerous mass-transport deposits and channel-levees systems observed in the Plio-Quaternary cover could be partly controlled by tectonic activity. These very preliminary results require further investigations in order to better decipher the role of crustal tectonics and salt tectonics, salt-related structures being very efficient markers to discriminate between the respective contribution of gravity-driven, salt tectonics and deep-seated, crustal tectonics (Gaullier et al., 2010). Finally, we aim to precisely determine the relative vertical movements (tilting, subsidence, magmatism. . . ) and geodynamical history of the different segments of the area since 6 Ma.
Geophysical Research Abstracts
Vienne, Austria

hal-00537828
https://hal-brgm.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00537828
https://hal-brgm.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00537828/document
https://hal-brgm.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00537828/file/EGU2010-15469_ref6821.pdf