Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Orogenic wedges locally present chaotic tectonostratigraphic units that contain exotic blocks of various size, origin, age and lithology, embedded in a sedimentary matrix. The occurrence of ophiolitic blocks, sometimes huge, in such “mélanges” raises questions on (i) the mechanisms responsible for the incorporation of oceanic basement rocks into an accretionary wedge and (ii) the mechanisms allowing exhumation and redeposition of these exotic elements in “mélanges” during wedge growth.To address these questions, we present the results of a series of analogue experiments performed to characterize the processes and parameters responsible for accretion, exhumation and tectonosedimentary reworking of oceanic basement lithospheric fragments in an accretionary wedge.The experimental setup is designed to simulate the interaction between tectonics, erosion and sedimentation. Different configurations are applied to study the impact of various parameters, such as irregular oceanic floor due to structural inheritance, or the presence of layers with contrasted rheology that can affect deformation partitioning in the wedge (frontal accretion vs basal accretion) influencing its growth. Image correlation technique allows extracting instantaneous velocity field, and tracking of passive particles. By retrieving the particle paths determined from models, the pressure-temperature path of mélange units or elementary blocks can be discussed. The experimental results are then compared with observations from ophiolite-bearing mélanges in Taiwan (Lichi and Kenting mélanges) and Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material (RSCM) Thermometry data on rocks from the northern Apennines (Casanova mélange). A geological scenario is proposed following basic observations. The tectonic evolution of the retroside of doubly vergent accretionary wedges is mainly controlled by backthrusting and backfolding. The retro wedge is characterized by steep slopes that are prone to gravitational instabilities. It triggers submarine landslides inducing huge mass transfers. This erosion combined with backthrusting could favour exhumation of the ophiolitic fragments formerly accreted at the base of the wedge along the rough seafloor-sediments interface. Such an exhumed material can be reworked and deposited as debris- flows in proximal basins located at the foot of the retrowedge slope forming a tectono-sedimentary mélange. These syntectonic basins are continuously deformed and involved in prograding backthrusting-induced deformation.
ISSN: 0264-3707

hal-01395127
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01395127
DOI : 10.1016/j.jog.2016.05.008

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD AGU and the Geochemical Society
Résumé : International audience
A NE-SW magnetotelluric 110 km-long profile including 18 sites was acquired across the western Rif Cordillera along the Eurasian-African plate boundary, allowing to constrain its poorly known deep structure. It extends from the Internal Zones, close to the Alboran coast, crossing the External Zones and up to the Gharb foreland basin. The periods recorded range from 0.001 s to 1000 s. The combination of magnetotelluric data with available geological data provides new insight regarding the relationship between deep and shallow crustal structures of the Rif Cordillera. Analyses of structural dimensionality suggest a preferential NW-SE direction, and a 2D joint inversion was performed. A 3D inversion extending the 2D model along the strike confirmed the reliability of this approach. The magnetotelluric model shows a heterogeneous upper crust in agreement with the geological structures observed at surface. The Internal Zones correspond to resistive (metamorphic rocks) and conductive (peridotites) bodies, while the External Zones and the foreland basin are characterized by large conductive bodies of variable thickness. A crustal detachment level separating shallow geological units from a probable variscan basement was inferred. At depth, the most relevant feature consists of large resistive bodies with a shallow irregular top, located below the frontal part of the Rif. The outcrops of exotic metapelitic, granitic and gneissic blocks in the frontal part of the Cordillera suggest that these large resistive bodies may correspond to a gneissic or granitic basement surrounded by metapelitic rocks. Late contractive thrust and diapiric processes were responsible for their uplift and shallow emplacement. The Rif constitutes an active southwestward vergent orogenic wedge, oblique to the present-day NW-SE convergent Eurasian-African plate boundary.
ISSN: 1525-2027

hal-00670999
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00670999
DOI : 10.1029/2011GC003783

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The publication of Tong-Dzuy Thanh et al. calls for two remarks: The metamorphism in the "Kon Turn block" cannot be younger than Permian because the outcrop they describe is not metamorphic. Their very interesting discovery is a new piece of evidence for the exotic origin of the Dien Binh Series. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
ISSN: 0743-9547

hal-00411445
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00411445
DOI : 10.1016/j.jseaes.2007.09.002

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Absolute earthquake hypocenter locations have been determined in the area offshore eastern Taiwan, at the Southernmost Ryukyu subduction zone. Location process is run within a 3D velocity model by combining the Taiwanese and neighboring Japanese networks and using the 3D MAXI technique. The study focuses on the most active seismic cluster in the Taiwan region that occurs in the forearc domain offshore eastern Taiwan. Earthquakes distribute mainly along 2 active planes. The first one aligns along the subduction interface and the second one, shallower affects the overriding margin. Focal mechanisms within the shallow group indicate that nodal planes are either compatible with high-angle back-thrusts or low-angle thrusts. The active seismic deformation exclusively indicates reverse faulting revealing that the forearc basement undergoes trench-perpendicular strong compression. By integrating the seismological image into the regional context, we favor the hypothesis in which the dense seismicity occurring offshore marks the activity of en-échelon high-angle reverse faults accommodating the uplift of a broken piece of Ryukyu Arc basement, called Hoping Basement Rise. The uplift is inferred to be caused by the subduction of an oceanic relief, either exotic block, seamount or oceanic crust sliver. Our favored solution satisfies the narrowness of epicenter's cluster along the Hoping Canyon, and the observation of high-angle active faults on seismic lines crossing the area. Furthermore, this solution is compatible with the active uplift of the Hoping Rise demonstrated from morphological and sedimentological data. We do not exclude the branching of the high-angle reverse faults system onto a splay fault connected with the subduction interface but further investigations are needed to map precisely the 3D distribution of active faults that break the margin.
ISSN: 0040-1951

hal-00407726
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00407726
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2007.11.018