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
Résumé : Today, one of the main challenges in the oil industry is the exploitation of new resources in naturally fractured reservoirs often located in structurally complex areas such as plate boundaries, mountain ranges or near salt structures. While numerical models of rock deformation based on continuum mechanics are becoming industry standard in providing efficient means for modelling natural fractures in reservoirs, the knowledge of past perturbed stress fields, which is referred as the type (normal, wrench or reverse), orientation and magnitude of the regional or local tectonic stresses that needs to be applied as boundary condition in numerical simulations, is often unknown or approximated.The essence of this thesis is to improve the recovery of the paleostress field needed to constrain numerical simulations. I first described and discuss through a comprehensive mechanically-based multi-parametric study how far we can rely on the commonly used paleostress inversion methods based on fault slip data and the Wallace and Bott assumptions. I then compared this method with a new generation technique based on geomechanics using field observations. Since slip markers on faults are hardly observed in core or image log, I used observed natural fracture data as main drivers for the inversion of the paleostress using geomechanically-based method. I demonstrated, through various outcrop and subsurface examples, how this can efficiently be done. Finally, I aimed at addressing the problem of polyphase fracture data sets with unknown mechanical type (joints, faults, stylolites ...) and expanded the mechanical stress inversion to the separation of tectonic phases.
Aujourd'hui, l'un des principaux défis dans l'industrie pétrolière est l'exploitation de nouvelles ressources dans les réservoirs naturellement fracturés souvent situés dans des zones structurellement complexes tels que les frontières de plaques, les chaînes de montagnes ou les structures de proches des dômes de sel. Alors que les modèles numériques de déformation des roches basée sur la mécanique des milieux continus fournissant des moyens efficaces pour la modélisation de fractures naturelles dans les réservoirs, sont devenus la norme dans l'industrie, les paléo-contraintes régionales ou locales appliquées comme condition aux limites dans les simulations numériques, définies par le régime (normal, décrochant ou inverse), l'orientation, et la magnitude des contraintes tectoniques, sont souvent inconnues ou approximées.L'essence de cette thèse est d'améliorer la prédiction du champ de paléo-contrainte nécessaire pour contraindre les simulations numériques. J’ai décrit dans un premier temps à travers une étude comparative multi-paramétrique complète basée sur la mécanique, dans quelle mesure nous pouvions compter sur les méthodes d'inversion des paléo-contraintes basées sur les hypothèses de Wallace et Bott et les données de glissement sur les failles. J’ai ensuite comparé ces méthodes avec une technique d’inversion de nouvelle génération basée sur la géomécanique en utilisant les observations de terrain. Puisque les marqueurs de glissement sur les failles sont rarement observés le long du forage, j’ai utilisé l’inversion géomécanique des contraintes pour les données de fractures naturelles observées. J’ai alors démontré, l’efficacité de cette technique à travers divers exemples d'affleurements et de subsurface. Enfin, j’ai proposé une solution afin de résoudre le problème des données de fractures polyphasées à type cinématique inconnu (joints, failles, stylolites ...) et étendu l’inversion de contrainte basée sur la géomécanique à la séparation des phases tectoniques.
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01324110

tel-01324110
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01324110
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01324110/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01324110/file/theselejri.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : The present study addresses the question of increasing need in water supply. One line of research consists in investigating karst aquifers that represent significant water supplies for the areas around the Mediterranean. This work aims at developing a methodology of predictive evaluation of karst distribution and karst thickness within the carbonate massifs. It is based on the study of the Tethysian carbonate platform from the area of Montpellier, South of France. This area underwent a polyphased, complex, tectonic evolution, involving successive karst forming events. The approach is based on the relationships between eustacy and geodynamics, on one hand, and base-level variation recorded within palaeokarsts, on the other hand. Sedimentary fill of palaeokarsts allows to identify distinct karstification phases and sometimes to date them. It is a marker of base-level variations, which we attempt to quantify, that is responsible for karst formation and karst filling and sealing. For three palaeokarsts of regional extent, we analyze : karst sedimentary-fill, the distribution along upstream-downstream profile, the vertical extension of palaeokarsts, indicative of the base-level lowering. - The " Bauxite palaeokarst " results from the two-stage evolution of the " Isthme Durancien " : i) Bauxitic weathering of the Neocomian cover over the southern Massif Central , related to an inversion during Barremian ; ii) ≥1600 m uplift and exhumation during Aptian-Albian, inducing erosion of alterites, upstream, and deposition of detrital bauxites, downstream. - The " Early Paleocene palaeokarsts with marine sedimentary-fill " indicate base level variations of more than 350m in the upstream area. It is suggested here that such base-level variations, exceeding eustacy and recorded in tabular undeformed series, result from desiccation-flooding events in an endoreic silled basin. - The " Miocene palaeokarst with Cevennes-sourced sediment-fill " records a Serravalian-Tortonian base-level drop, depicted by canyon incision in the hinterland of the Gulf of Lion Margin. Uplift values of ≥ 400m upstream, about 250m in an intermediate area and 10's of m downstream, are measured. The present 3D geometry and distribution of carbonate massifs (exposed and covered) are modeled in the study area, from the Cevennes to the Mediterranean. The 3D geological model integrates seismic reflection, borehole and gravimetric data. Tectonic restoration of a N-S section, extracted from the 3D model, allows to reconstruct paleo-base-levels with respect with the carbonate massifs, at different stages of deformation and successive phases of karstification. The 3D paleo-flows through carbonates across the study area, are thus constrained, especially during the Messinian desiccation stage. Application of the results to hydrogeology leads to the following : - Uplift of upstream hinterland (Cretaceous, Miocene) produces large amplitude karsts, but they do not make significant reservoirs. - Karstification responsible for the development of important and deep karst reservoirs is related to desiccation of endoreic basins (early Paleocene and Messinian). - Theses two events have produced two main deep karst reservoirs, with a gravimetric signature : (1) Upstream of Montpellier Thrust, between Pic St Loup, Les Matelles Fault and Hérault Basin, a deep karsts developed over 900m thickness in the Malm limestone, during Paleocene. (2) Downstream (south) of Montpellier Thrust, the coastal karsts extend offshore over more than 10km, they are sealed by a thick Miocene to Quaternary cover, and they result from the Messinian event.
Cette étude s'inscrit dans un contexte de demande croissante en ressources en eau, conduisant à mieux contraindre et estimer la distribution des aquifères karstifiés qui représentent une ressource importante, notamment sur le pourtour méditerranéen. Le but de ce travail est d'élaborer une méthode prédictive de la distribution de la karstification et de l'épaisseur de massifs carbonatés karstifiés, notamment pour les karsts profonds. La méthodologie est développée à partir de l'étude des karsts de la plateforme carbonatée téthysienne du Languedoc montpelliérain; région qui a subi une histoire tectonique complexe et polyphasée, entrainant des phases de karstification successives. Elle est basée sur la compréhension des relations entre eustatisme, géodynamique et niveau de base, enregistrées par les paléokarsts de la région. Le remplissage sédimentaire des paléokarsts permet d'identifier les épisodes de karstification et de les dater ; c'est un marqueur des variations -que l'on cherche à quantifier- du niveau de base local responsable de la formation et du comblement des karsts. On analyse 3 paléokarsts d'extension régionale dont on peut étudier : le remplissage karstique, la distribution le long de profils amont-aval et l'extension verticale indicatrice de l'amplitude de l'abaissement du niveau de base dont il est issu. On en déduit les causes géodynamiques à l'origine de leur formation: - Le " paléokarst des bauxites " à remplissage caractéristique, résulte de l'évolution en 2 phases de " l'Isthme Durancien " : altération bauxitique de la couverture néocomienne sur le sud du Massif Central, liée à une inversion au Barrémien, suivi d'une surrection ≥ 1600m à l'Aptien-Albien, causant l'érosion des altérites en amont et le dépôt des bauxites détritiques en aval. - Le " paléokarst à remplissage marin paléocène inférieur " indique des variations du niveau de base local ≥350m dans la zone amont sud-cévenole. On propose que ces variations de niveau de base d'amplitude très supérieures aux variations eustatiques et dans une zone faiblement déformée, résultent d'assèchements et d'ennoiements d'un bassin endoréique à seuil. - Le " paléokarst à remplissage détritique d'origine cévenole ", enregistre la chute du niveau de base au Serravalien-Tortonien, qui se traduit par l'incision de canyons dans l'arrière-pays de la marge du Golfe du Lion. On détermine une surrection de plus de 400 mètres à l'amont, près de 250m dans les blocs faillés intermédiaires et quelques dizaines de mètres dans la zone avale. En parallèle, on établit la géométrie et la distribution actuelles des massifs carbonatés dans la zone d'étude (y compris sous couverture), en construisant un modèle géologique 3D, des Cévennes à la Méditerranée. On intègre les données de sismique réflexion, de forages et les données gravimétriques. La restauration tectonique séquentielle d'une coupe Nord-Sud extraite du modèle géologique permet d'appréhender la position des paléo-niveaux de base par rapport aux massifs carbonatés, pour chaque époque de karstification. On déduit l'organisation 3D des paléo-écoulements à travers la géométrie complexe des massifs carbonatés languedociens, notamment pendant l'évènement messinien. En terme d'évaluation de la ressource en eau, on déduit que: - Les surrections de l'arrière-pays (Crétacé " moyen ", Miocène) produisent des karsts de grande amplitude, mais ne constituent pas de réservoirs significatifs. - La karstification à l'origine de réservoirs exploitables importants et profonds est créée par l'assèchement de bassins endoréiques, qui ont affecté la région au Paléocène inférieur et au Messinien . - Ces deux évènements sont à l'origine de deux principaux réservoirs karstiques profonds qui ont une signature gravimétrique : (1) En amont du chevauchement de Montpellier, entre le Pic Saint Loup, la faille des Matelles et le bassin de l'Hérault, le karst profond se développe sur une épaisseur atteignant 900m, et est attribuée à l'événement du Paléocène. (2) Au Sud du chevauchement de Montpellier les karsts côtiers s'étendent jusqu'à plus de 10 km au large, scellés par une épaisse couverture Miocène et Plio-Quaternaire, et résultent de l'événement Messinien.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00936257

tel-00936257
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00936257
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00936257/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00936257/file/thA_se_husson_couleurs.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
While vertical motion induced by long-term geological loads is often used to estimate the flexural rigidity of the lithosphere, we intend to evaluate the shear rigidity of the lithosphere using horizontal motion. Our approach considers that the rigidity of the lithosphere may be defined as its resistance to horizontal tectonic lateral forces. In this case, a spatial distribution of an effective shear rigidity can be estimated from the analysis of the interseismic velocity fields. We consider the Western United States zone where weakly strained areas (e.g., the Sierra Nevada) are connected with areas of large strain rate (e.g. San Andreas Fault system). By inverting interseismic strain distribution measured by geodetic methods, we infer the effective shear rigidity of the lithosphere. The forward problem is defined using the equations of linear elasticity. The inversion relies on the minimization of the sum of a quadratic measure of the differences between measured and modelled velocity fields. The functional also includes regularization terms for the parameters of the model. The gradient of the functional with respect to the minimization parameters is computed using an adjoint formulation. This permits the treatment of large dimensional minimization problems. Finally, a measure of the uncertainty of our inversion is illustrated through the covariance matrix of the parameters at the optimum. The optimization chart is validated on two synthetic velocity distributions. Then, the effective shear rigidity variations of the Western United States are estimated using the CMM3 interseismic velocities. The inversion displays low effective rigidities along the San Andreas Fault system, the Mojave Desert and in the Eastern California Shear Zone, while rigid areas are found in the Sierra Nevada and in the South Basin and Range. Finally, we discuss the differences between our strain rate and rigidity maps with previously published results for the Western United States.
ISSN: 0040-1951

Droits : http://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/licences/copyright/
hal-01505024
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01505024
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01505024/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01505024/file/Paper_tectophysics.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2017.03.015

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The origin of plate tectonics is one of the most fundamental issues in earth and planetary sciences. Laboratory experiments indicate that the viscosity of silicate rocks is so strongly temperature-dependent that the entire surface of the Earth should be one immobile rigid plate. The rheology of oceanic lithosphere is, however, still poorly understood, and there exist few constraints on the temperature dependency of viscosity on the field scale. Here we report a new kind of observational constraint based on the geoid along oceanic fracture zones. We identify a large number of conspicuous small-scale geoid anomalies, which cannot be explained by the standard evolution model of oceanic lithosphere, and estimate their source density perturbations using a new Bayesian inversion method. Our results suggest that they are caused most likely by small-scale convection involving temperature perturbations of ∼300 K±100 K∼300 K±100 K. Such thermal contrast requires the activation energy of mantle viscosity to be as low as View the MathML source100±50 kJmol−1 in case of diffusion creep, and View the MathML source225±112 kJmol−1 in case of dislocation creep, substantially reducing the thickness of the stiffest part of oceanic lithosphere. Oceanic lithosphere may thus be broken and bent much more easily than previously thought, facilitating the operation of plate tectonics.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-01467827
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01467827
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2016.05.027

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : In Taiwan , the subduction of the Chinese continental margin under the Luzon arc results in the progressive growth of an active orogenic wedge. It is one of the best places to study the complex relationships that occurs between the tectonic processes controlling deformation (plate rheology and kinematics, metamorphism and magmatism) and surface processes (erosion and sedimentation). In order to study the kinematics of the present day convergence of Philippine Sea plate to the Asian continent around Taiwan, we perform 2D and 3D sandbox modeling and we analyzed the models with PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) software. In 2D experiments, a model Coulomb wedge is submitted to erosion and sedimentation under topography and flux steady state conditions. The 3D experiments are mainly used to study the escape tectonics occurring in the middle west and southwest Taiwan. A wedge shaped indenter and a basement relief were used to simulate the mechanical plate boundary between Philippine Sea plate and Eurasia plate and the basement topography to the west of Taiwan respectively. We examine the exhumation patterns, the mode of fault propagation and displacement patterns by strain partitioning of vertical vs. horizontal displacement and convergent parallel vs. orogen parallel components. The preliminary conclusions are: 1. The interactions between tectonics, erosion and sedimentation control geometry and kinematics of the doubly vergent transpressional orogen. 2. Exhumation processes are controlled by the balance between erosion, frontal accretion and underplating in different structural domains of the wedge. 3. Retrowedge erosion favorites backfolding and backthrusting, induces flower structures and fan shaped cleavage distribution. 4. Sedimentation promotes underplating and out-of sequences thrusting. 5. Continental subduction or subduction of topographic highs will enhance underthrusting/underplating, thick-skin tectonics and inversion of sedimentary basin.
Bolletino di Geofisica teorica ed applicata

hal-00411133
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00411133

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Geological Society of London
Résumé : International audience
In Eastern China, the North China Block (NCB) has experienced a complex tectonic evolution during Late Palaeozoic to Mesozoic times. The unconformable sedimentary cover, which ranges in age from Neoproterozoic to Permian, underwent two tectonic episodes in Early Triassic and Cretaceous times. An early north–south compressional phase, D1, characterized by north-verging recumbent folds with east–west-trending axes and top-to-the-north ductile shear zones can be observed in a gabbroic pluton and the Neoproterozoic sedimentary host rocks. The available radiometric ages allow us to interpret this event as an Early Triassic back-thrusting related to the final stage of the collision between the North China and South China Blocks. During the LateMesozoic, an extensional event characterized by (1) half-grabens filled by continental terrigeneous red beds and lava flows, (2) low-angle detachment faults, (3) synkinematic granitic plutons, and (4) metamorphic core complexes is widespread in the Eastern Liaoning Peninsula. This extensional D2 event can be subdivided into a ductile deformation and a brittle deformation, corresponding to different expressions of crustal deformation. In every area studied in the Eastern Liaoning Peninsula, the ductile D2 deformation is characterized by a NW–SE-trending stretching lineation with a top-to-the-NWsense of shear.Mica and amphibole fromthe metamorphic country rocks, granodioritic or monzogranitic plutons and their mylonitized margins yield 40Ar/39Ar ages ranging from 130 to 120 Ma. These dates support fast cooling and exhumation rates coeval with the extensional tectonics. The brittle D2 deformation is responsible for the formation of high-angle normal faults marked by low-temperature cataclasites bounding half-grabens. During the Mesozoic, the tectonic regime of Eastern China experienced a significant inversion from compression to extension. The Eastern Liaoning Peninsula massif provides an example of this geodynamic transition.
ISSN: 2041-4927

hal-00134055
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00134055
DOI : 10.1144/SP280.7

Résumé : L’arc des Petites Antilles résulte de la lente subduction vers l'Ouest des plaques Nord et Sud-Américaines sous la plaque Caraïbes (2cm/an). A la latitude de l’archipel guadeloupéen et à ~150 km à l’Ouest du front de déformation, le bassin d'avant-arc de Marie-Galante forme un bassin perché, incliné vers la fosse et limité vers l’Est par un haut-fond, l’Eperon Karukéra. À cette latitude, le bassin de Marie-Galante domine le prisme d’accrétion de la Barbade et fait face à la ride de Tiburon qui balaye la zone du Nord au Sud depuis la fin du Miocène supérieur. Le remplissage sédimentaire du Bassin de Marie-Galante montre des déformations actives au moins depuis ~30 millions d’années. L’objectif du travail est de reconstituer l’évolution tectono-sédimentaire de ce bassin pour apporter de nouvelles contraintes sur la compréhension globale de la zone de subduction frontale des Petites Antilles. Ce travail s'appuie sur les données de bathymétrie multifaisceaux et de sismique réflexion multi-traces haute résolution acquises lors des campagnes du programme KaShallow. Cette base de données, complétée de profils sismiques plus basse résolution de campagnes antérieures, permet d’avoir une couverture pseudo 3D et à quatre échelles de résolution de l'ensemble du bassin. Un échantillonnage par ROV et carottage ciblé a fourni 40 prélèvements dans les principales unités sismiques. Les analyses pétrologiques et les datations biostratigraphiques autorisent des reconstitutions paléo-environnementales depuis le Paléogène supérieur jusqu’à Actuel. L’interprétation sismique multi-échelle montre un bassin sédimentaire atteignant ~4,5s temps double (~4500 à 5625 m) sur un substratum magmatique pré-structuré. Ce bassin est composé de 5 grands ensembles sédimentaires (E-1, E1, E2, E3 et E4) subdivisés en 13 unités limitées par 14 surfaces de discontinuités. L’organisation séquentielle des unités sismiques permet de mettre en évidence 10 séquences de dépôts de troisièmes ordres (S-1 à S9). Le calage biostratigraphique de l’ensemble des séquences permet de proposer une évolution tectono-sédimentaire du bassin de l’Éocène à l’Actuel. Ainsi, nous distinguons quatre systèmes de failles normales associées à trois phases d’extensions qui contrôlent l’évolution architecturale et sédimentaire du bassin. 1/ Un système N050±10°E hérité, actif dès le Paléogène supérieur, qui contrôle le basculement général du bassin vers le SSE. Il est responsable de la formation de l'escarpement de Désirade d’environ 4500 m de dénivelé. Cette première extension est interprétée comme résultant de la fragmentation de l'avant-arc en réponse à l'augmentation du rayon de courbure de la zone de subduction. 2/ Un système N130°-N150°E, structurant à l’échelle de l’Éperon Karukéra, qui contrôle la sédimentation dès le Miocène inférieur et marque une première phase d'extension transverse à l’arc. 3/ Un système N160°-N180°E qui segmente le Bassin de Marie-Galante en un sous-bassin à l'Ouest et l'Éperon Karukéra à l'Est. Cette seconde extension, globalement perpendiculaire à la marge, s'accompagne d’une subsidence et d'une inversion de la polarité du bassin en réponse à son basculement vers la fosse qui débute au cours du Miocène moyen et se poursuit actuellement à l'Est du bassin. Cette évolution à long terme de l'avant-arc, concomitante avec le recul de l'arc volcanique vers l’Ouest, est considérée comme résultant d’une érosion basale de la plaque supérieure. 4/ Un système N090±10°E plus tardif est localisé au centre du bassin et qui contrôle le développement de plates-formes carbonatées néritiques sur certaines têtes de blocs, comme par exemple à Marie-Galante. Cette dernière extension, parallèle à l’arc, se manifeste dans le bassin à partir du Pliocène inférieur. Elle se superpose au régime d'extension perpendiculaire à l'avant-arc et est interprétée comme l'accommodation du partitionnement de la déformation en réponse à l’obliquité croissante du front subduction vers le Nord.
The Lesser Antilles result of the slow westward subduction of the North and South American plate under the Caribbean plate (2 cm / year). At the latitude of the Guadeloupe archipelago and ~ 150 km to the west of the deformation front, the fore-arc basin of Marie-Galante forms a perched basin tilted to the pit and limited to the East by a shoal, the Spur Karukéra. At this latitude, Marie-Galante basin dominates the accretionary prism of Barbados and faces wrinkle Tiburon sweeping the area from North to South from the late Miocene. The sedimentary fill Basin Marie-Galante shows active deformation since at least ~ 30 million years. The aim of the work is to reconstruct the tectono-sedimentary evolution of the basin to provide new constraints on the overall understanding of the frontal subduction zone Lesser Antilles. This work relies on multibeam bathymetry data and high-resolution seismic reflection multi-traces acquired during campaigns KaShallow program. This database, supplemented by lower resolution of previous campaigns seismic profiles, provides a pseudo-3D coverage and four scales of resolution of the entire basin. ROV sampling and targeted core provided 40 samples in the main seismic units. Petrological analysis and biostratigraphic dating allow paleoenvironmental reconstructions from the upper Paleogene up Actuel. Seismic interpretation multiscale shows a sedimentary basin reaching ~ 4,5s double (~ 4500-5625 m) on a substrate pre-structured magma. This basin consists of 5 main sedimentary units (E-1, E1, E2, E3 and E4) divided into 13 units bounded by discontinuities 14 surfaces. The sequential organization of seismic units allows to highlight sequences 10 deposits of third order (S-1 to S9). The biostratigraphic calibration of all sequences able to offer a tectono-sedimentary evolution of the Eocene basin to Present. Thus, we distinguish four normal fault systems associated with three phases of extensions that control the architectural and sedimentary evolution of the basin. 1 / A system N050 ± 10 ° E inherited assets from the upper Paleogene, which controls the overall pelvic tilt towards the SSE. He is responsible for the formation of the escarpment Désirade about 4500 m elevation. The first extension is interpreted as resulting from the fragmentation of the fore-arc in response to the increase in the radius of curvature of subduction. 2 / A system N130 ° -N150 ° E, structuring across the Spur Karukéra, which controls sediment from the Miocene and marks the first phase of transverse extension arc. 3 / A system N160 ° E ° -N180 which segments Basin Marie-Galante in a sub-basin to the west and the Spur Karukéra in the East. This second extension, generally perpendicular to the margin, is accompanied by subsidence and reversing the polarity of the basin in response to his switch to the pit, beginning during the Middle Miocene and is ongoing in the East the basin. This long-term evolution of the forearc, concurrent with the decline in volcanic arc to the west, is considered as resulting from a basal erosion of the top plate. 4 / A system N090 ± 10 ° later E is located in the center of the basin and controlling the development of neritic carbonate platforms on certain blocks heads, such as Marie-Galante. This latest extension, parallel to the arc occurs in the basin from the lower Pliocene. It is superimposed on the expansion plan perpendicular to the fore-arc and is interpreted as the accommodation of the partitioning of deformation in response to the increasing obliquity front subduction north.

http://www.theses.fr/2014AGUY0799/document

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : National audience
La Zone Nord-Pyrénéenne (ZNP) résulte de l’inversion debassins albo-cénomaniens ouverts entre les plaques Europe etIbérie. Le manteau subcontinental a été exhumé dans le fond decertains de ces bassins et la couverture sédimentaire mésozoïquepré-rift, désolidarisée du soubassement paléozoïque, est venue localementen contact tectonique avec les péridotites. Ceci faitde la ZNP un analogue pour l’étude des marges continentalespassives à manteau exhumé. L’extension crustale s’est produiteen régime thermique chaud comme le montre le métamorphismecrétacé des sédiments pré-rift. Les Chaînons Béarnais (PyrénéesOccidentales) représentent un témoin peu inversé de ce type demarge chaude et sont donc propices à l’étude des modalités del’amincissement crustal dans un tel système. Les analyses detempératures par spectrométrie Raman réalisées sur la couverturesédimentaire aux abords du manteau (Saraillé, Urdach, Turon dela Técouère), montrent que la totalité du système a été soumis àdes températures maximales variant de 253C à 482C. Le contacttectonique majeur entre les sédiments pré-rift décollés et lemanteau est une zone d’intense circulation de fluides avec formationde roches métasomatiques à talc+chlorite+pyrite dans lesconditions du faciès schistes verts. La géochimie isotopique (O, C,Sr) et les inclusions fluides triphasées montrent une circulation desaumures chaudes (~200C), à travers toute la couverture sédimentairedans les derniers stades de l’exhumation du manteau.Nous montrons pour la première fois que pendant l’exhumationdes péridotites : (1) les sédiments pré-rift ont subi un amincissementsyn-métamorphique avec génèse d’une foliation S0/S1 et,(2) le socle paléozoïque a été réduit à de fines lentilles tectoniquesdéformées ductilement et restées adhérentes au manteau. Ainsi, larhéologie de la croûte supérieure durant l’amincissement est contrôléeen grande partie par la présence d’une couverture sédimentairepré- et syn-rift épaisse décollée jouant le rôle d’un couverclethermique efficace. Ces nouvelles données mettent en avant le caractèrede marge passive distale chaude de la ZNP. Cela constitueun élément important pour la compréhension des mécanismes del’amincissement crustal en contexte d’exhumation du manteau etses conséquences comme héritage structural lors de l’inversion tectoniquedes bassins.
RST 2016, livre des résumés
Caen, France

insu-01387892
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01387892

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : The spreading ridge subduction is an unavoidable process during the subduction-related belt elovution. The aim of this thesis concerns the evolution of the Central Patagonian Cordillera, at the latitude of the Chile triple junction, in relation with the Chile spreading ridge subduction inducing the opening of a slab-window beneath the South American plate. By a morphologic, and a structural analysis, coupled with the analysis of satelittes and topographic images, we show the influence of the slab-window development at 3 Ma on the morphostructural evolution of the Central Patagonia. During the Pliocene, the Central Patagonian Cordillera experiences a major extensional phase inducing the formation of transverse and internal depressions. Negative tectonic inversion, responsible to the rift-type topography, induces the inversion of the morphotectonic front and the disruption of the volcano-sedimentary piedmont with the rest of the Cordillera at 3 Ma. Radial extensional regime is characterized by a magnitude comprises between 800 m and 3500 meters and vertical movements are localized along polyphazed faults. We suggest that the Plio-Quaternary morphostructural evolution is related to the opening of the slab-window at 3 Ma beneath the Central Patagonia. The upwelling of asthenospheric hot mantle through the slab window induces the regional collapse of the Central Patagonian Cordillera.
La subduction d'une dorsale active sous un continent est un processus inévitable dans l'évolution des chaînes de subduction. Le travail de cette thèse concerne l'évolution de la Cordillère de Patagonie Centrale, à la latitude du point triple du Chili, en relation avec la subduction de la dorsale active du Chili induisant le développement d'une fenêtre asthénosphérique sous la plaque sudaméricaine. A l'aide d'une approche morphologique, structurale, couplée à l'analyse d'images satellites et topographiques, nous montrons l'influence de la fenêtre asthénosphérique depuis 3 Ma sur l'évolution morphostructurale de la Patagonie Centrale. Au cours du Pliocène, la Cordillère de Patagonie Centrale est marquée par une phase d'extension majeure induisant la formation de dépressions transverses et internes à la chaîne. L'inversion négative du relief responsable de la topographie générale de type rift induit l'inversion du front morphotectonique et la déconnexion du piedmont volcano-sédimentaire du reste de la Cordillère à partir de 3 Ma. L'extension radiale dont l'amplitude est comprise entre 800 mètres et 3500 mètres, se localise dans la plupart des cas au niveau de failles polyphasées. L'évolution morphostructurale plioquaternaire proposée est directement reliée à l'ouverture de la fenêtre asthénosphérique à 3 Ma sous la Patagonie et à la remontée de matériel asthénosphérique chaud induisant la collapse régionale de la Cordillère de Patagonie Centrale.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00557618

tel-00557618
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00557618
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00557618/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00557618/file/scalabrinothese.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Résumé : International audience
This paper presents a new balanced structural cross-section of the Jaca thrust-sheet-top basin of the southern Pyrenees combined with paleo-thermometry and apatite fission track (AFT) thermochronology data. The cross-section, based on field data and interpretation of industrial seismic reflection profiles, allows refinement of previous interpretations of the south-directed thrust system, involving the identification of new thrust faults, and of the kinematic relationships between basement and cover thrusts from the middle Eocene to the early Miocene. AFT analysis shows a southward decrease in the level of fission track resetting, from totally reset Paleozoic rocks and lower Eocene turbidites (indicative of heating to Tmax > ~120 °C), to partially reset middle Eocene turbidites and no/very weak resetting in the upper Eocene-lower Oligocene molasse (Tmax < ~60 °C). AFT results indicate a late Oligocene-early Miocene cooling event throughout the Axial Zone and Jaca Basin. Paleo-maximum temperatures determined by vitrinite reflectance measurements and Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material reach up to ~240 °C at the base of the turbidite succession. Inverse modelling of AFT and vitrinite reflectance data with the QTQt software for key samples show compatibility between vitrinite-derived Tmax and the AFT reset level for most of the samples. However, they also suggest that the highest temperatures determined in the lowermost turbidites correspond to a thermal anomaly rather than burial heating, possibly due to fluid circulation during thrust activity. From these results, we propose a new sequential restoration of the south Pyrenean thrust system propagation and related basin evolution.
ISSN: 0278-7407

insu-01312746
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01312746
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01312746/document
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01312746/file/Labaume_et_al-2016-Tectonics.pdf
DOI : 10.1002/2016TC004192

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
Our knowledge and understanding of the 3-D lithospheric structure of the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau is still challenging although numerous geophysical studies have been performed in the region. The GOCE satellite mission has the ambitious goal of mapping Earth's gravity field with unprecedented precision (i.e. an accuracy of 1-2 mGal for a spatial resolution of 100 km) to observe the lithosphere and upper-mantle structure. Consequently, it gives new insights in the lithospheric structure beneath the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau. Indeed, the GOCE gravity data now allow us to develop a new strategy for joint gravimetry-seismology inversion. Combined with teleseismic data over a large region in a joint inversion scheme, they will lead to lithospheric velocity-density models constrained in two complementary ways. We apply this joint inversion scheme to the Hi-CLIMB (Himalayan-Tibetan Continental Lithosphere during Mountain Building) seismological network which was deployed in South Tibet and the Himalayas for a 3-yr period. The large size of the network, the high quality of the seismological data and the new GOCE gravity data set allow us to image the entire lithosphere of this active area in an innovative way. We image 3-D low velocity and density structures in the middle crust that fit the location of discontinuous low S-velocity zones revealed by receiver functions in previous geophysical studies. In the deeper parts of our velocity model we image a positive anomaly interpreted to be the heterogenous Indian lithosphere vertically descending beneath the centre of the Tibetan Plateau.
ISSN: 0956-540X

hal-00858024
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00858024
DOI : 10.1093/gji/ggs110

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The Parentis and Arzacq-Mauleon basins located in front of the V-shaped oceanic propagator in the Bay of Biscay present evidence for extreme crustal thinning. In this paper we investigate the 3D structure of these rift basins, based on field observations and the interpretation of seismic data. We compare these results with those obtained from two different and independent inversion methods: first a 3D gravity inversion and second the standard Euler deconvolution.;For the Mauleon Basin our results show that the positive gravimetric anomaly identified above its southern margin is the consequence of two shallower high density bodies that are separated by the Pamplona fault and a deeper high density body. The high density bodies can be explained by the presence of mid-crustal and mantle rocks that were exhumed or uplifted at shallower depth during Early Cretaceous rifting before they were reworked and integrated to the Pyrenean chain during compression phase. Also, during this reactivation phase, some slices of the exhumed mid-crustal and mantle rocks were sheared off and were integrated in the present-day thrust belt in the Mauleon basin. For the Parentis Basin we can demonstrate, based on seismic data and gravimetric inversion methods, a decrease in extension from west to east, which is compatible with the V-shape geometry of the overall basin. Along strike, a change in the fault geometry from downward concave top-basement detachment faults to upward concave high-angle faults can be observed eastwards, i.e. towards the termination of the basin. A key structure, controlling the evolution of the Parentis Basin, is the east-west trending Ibis fault. We interpret this fault to have initially formed as a strike slip fault before it was reactivated during later crustal thinning. At present, it forms the limit between an upper plate sag basin to the north and a lower plate sag basin, floored at least locally by a top-basement detachment faults to the south. The strong asymmetry of the basin is supported by the shape of the basin and the results of standard Euler deconvolution.
ISSN: 0040-1951

hal-00523444
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00523444
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2010.04.023

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP): Policy P - Oxford Open Option A Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
The Pyrenean mountain range is a slowly deforming belt with continuous and moderate seismic activity. To quantify its deformation field, we present the velocity field estimated from a GPS survey of the Pyrenees spanning 18 yr. The PotSis and ResPyr networks, including a total of 85 GPS sites, were installed and first measured in 1992 and 1995–1997, respectively, and remeasured in 2008 and 2010. We obtain a deformation field with velocities less than 1 mm yr−1 across the range. The estimated velocities for individual stations do not differ significantly from zero with 95 per cent confidence. Even so, we estimate a maximum extensional horizontal strain rate of 2.0 ± 1.7 nanostrain per year in a N–S direction in the western part of the range. We do not interpret the vertical displacements due to their large uncertainties. In order to compare the horizontal strain rates with the seismic activity, we analyse a set of 194 focal mechanisms using three methods: (i) the ‘r’ factor relating their P and T axes, (ii) the stress tensors obtained by fault slip inversion and (iii) the strain-rate tensors. Stress and strain-rate tensors are estimated for: (i) the whole data set, (ii) the eastern and western parts of the range separately, and (iii) eight zones, which are defined based on the seismicity and the tectonic patterns of the Pyrenees. Each of these analyses reveals a lateral variation of the deformation style from compression and extension in the east to extension and strike-slip in the west of the range. Although the horizontal components of the strain-rate tensors estimated from the seismic data are slightly smaller in magnitude than those computed from the GPS velocity field, they are consistent within the 2σ uncertainties. Furthermore, the orientations of their principal axes agree with the mapped active faults.
ISSN: 0956-540X

hal-01171752
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01171752
DOI : 10.1093/gji/ggv052

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : The mantle deformation processes that control the thinning and break-up of continental lithosphere remain poorly understood. Our knowledge is restricted to either lithospheric scale thermo-mechanical models --that use experimentally derived flow laws--, geophysical imaging and/or rare xenoliths from active continental rifts, such as the East African Rift System. The originality of this work relies on the study of the two largest outcrops of diamond facies subcontinental lithospheric mantle in the world: the Beni Bousera and Ronda peridotite massifs in N Morocco and S Spain, respectively. The structures and petrologic and metamorphic zoning preserved in these massifs --implying a polybaric and polythermal evolution-- provides a unique opportunity to investigate the thermo-mechanical evolution of thick subcontinental lithospheric mantle in extensional settings. In this thesis we studied the deformation mechanisms in both peridotites and pyroxenites to constrain the modes of exhumation of subcontinental lithospheric mantle from garnet-, to spinel-, and finally, to plagioclase lherzolite facies conditions. We combined field mapping of tectonometamorphic domains and structural mapping of ductile structures, microstructural analysis, crystal preferred orientations (CPO) measurements and conventional thermobarometric calculations and thermodynamic modeling (Perple_X) to unravel the pressure and temperature conditions of deformation. We showed that exhumation from garnet- to spinel lherzolite facies conditions was accommodated by fast shearing --in thermal disequilibrium--along a lithospheric scale transtensional shear zone. In this context, the petrological zoning and the large temperature gradient (ca. 100ºC/km) preserved in the Beni Bousera massif represent the mechanical juxtaposition of progressively deeper and hotter lithospheric levels at depths of ca. 60 km in the latest Oligocene (ca. 25 Ma). Final exhumation from spinel- to plagioclase facies lherzolite and emplacement into the crust is best recorded in the Ronda massif where it occurred by inversion and lithospheric scale folding of the highly attenuated continental lithosphere in a back-arc region, probably in relation with southward slab rollback and subsequent collision with the palaeo-Maghrebien passive margin in the early Miocene (21-23 Ma).
Les processus de déformation contrôlant l'amincissement de la lithosphère continentale sont encore mal contraints. Nos connaissances sont principalement basées sur la modélisation thermomécanique d'extension à l'échelle de la lithosphère--utilisant des lois rhéologiques derivées expérimentalement, l'imagerie géophysique et l'analyse de xénolithes provenant de rift continentaux actifs à ce jour, tels que le Rift Est-Africain. L'originalité de ce travail reside dans l'étude des deux plus grands massifs de péridotites sous-continentales ayant enregistrées des conditions primaires du facies à diamant: les massifs de Beni Bousera au nord du Maroc et de Ronda au sud de l'Espagne, respectivement. Les structures et la zonation petrologique et métamorphique --impliquant une évolution polybarique et polythermique-- préservéees dans ces massifs offrent une opportunité unique pour étudier l'évolution thermo-mécanique du manteau sous-continental dans un contexte extensif. Dans ce travail, nous avons étudié les mécanismes de déformation des péridotites et des pyroxénites afin de contraindre les modes d'exhumation du manteau lithosphérique sous-continental, depuis des conditions du facies des lherzolites à grenat, jusqu'au facies à spinelle et enfin à plagioclase. Nous avons combiné la cartographie des faciès tectono-métamorphiques et des structures ductiles de déformation, l'analyse des microstructures, la mesure d'orientations préférentielles de réseau (OPR), et la géothermobarométrie conventionelle couplée à la modélisation thermodynamique (PerpleX) afin de contraindre les conditions de pression et température de la déformation. Nous avons montré que l'exhumation précoce du facies à grenat au facies à spinelle était accomodée par une faille transtensive affectant le manteau lithosphérique. Dans ce contexte, la zonation tectono-métamorphique et le gradient thermique important (ca. 100ºC/km) préservés à Beni Bousera résultent de la juxtaposition mécanique de domaines lithosphériques initialement équilibrés à différentes pressions et températures, fossilisée à une profondeur de ca. 60 km durant l'Oligocène supérieur (ca. 25 Ma). L'exhumation finale du facies de lherzolite à spinelle au facies à plagioclase et l'emplacement final dans la croûte, mieux enregistrés dans Ronda, se sont produits par inversion et plissement de la section lithosphérique fortement amincie dans un contexte arrière-arc, probablement lors du retrait vers le sud de la lithosphère subduite et la collision de l'arc avec les paléo-marges maghrébines au Miocène inférieur (21-23 Ma).
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00767700

tel-00767700
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00767700
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00767700/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00767700/file/THESE_Frets.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley-Blackwell
Résumé : International audience
This study examines the response of the Central Patagonian Cordillera to the subduction of the active South Chile Ridge and the development of the asthenospheric slab window beneath Patagonia since the Pliocene. We investigated the eastern part of the Cordillera where the glacio-volcanic piedmont is topographically inverted. Glacial morphology and associated deposits capping the top of these piedmonts reveal that during the Pliocene (after 3 Ma), glaciers were flowing to the east over a regional surface connecting the western Cordillera and the palaeo-piedmont. N160-trending normal faulting along the western edge of the inverted plateau disrupted the geomorphic surface after 3 Ma. At a regional scale, extensional tectonics is responsible for a relief inversion with a minimum value of 800 m. The timing of extensional tectonics is contemporaneous with the subduction of the spreading axis and the development of the slab window beneath Central Patagonia.
ISSN: 0954-4879

hal-00595547
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00595547
DOI : 10.1111/j.1365-3121.2010.00981.x

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley-Blackwell
Résumé : International audience
The Alboran Domain, situated at the western end of the Mediterranean subductionsystem, is characterized by the Ronda Peridotites, one of the world largest exposures of subcontinental mantle. Using U-Pb (LA-ICP-MS) and Ar-Ar dating, we precisely dated twotectonic events associated with the Tertiary exhumation of the Ronda Peridotites. First,shearing along the Crust-Mantle Extensional Shear Zone caused, at ca. 22.5 Ma, mantleexhumation, local partial melting in the deep crust and coeval cooling in the upper crust.Second, the Ronda Peridotites Thrust triggered the final crustal emplacement of theperidotites onto the continental crust at ca. 21 Ma, as testified by granitic intrusions in thethrust hanging-wall. The tectonic evolution of the western Alboran Domain is thereforecharacterized by a fast switch from a continental lithosphere extension in a backarc setting,with sub-continental mantle exhumation, to a rift inversion by thrusting driven by shorteningof the subduction upper plate
ISSN: 0954-4879

insu-01441962
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01441962
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01441962/document
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01441962/file/Frasca-TerraNova-2017.pdf
DOI : 10.1111/ter.12255

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Wallace (1951) and Bott (1959) were the first to introduce the idea that the slip on each fault surface has the same direction and sense as the maximum shear stress resolved on that surface. However, this simplified hypothesis is questionable since fault mechanical interactions may induce slip reorientations. Earlier numerical geomechanical models confirmed that the slickenlines (slip vectors) are not necessarily parallel to the maximum resolved shear stress but are consistent with local stress perturbations. This leads us to ask as to what extent the Wallace and Bott simplifications are reliable as a basis hypothesis for stress inversion from fault slip data. Here, a geomechanical multi-parametric study using a 3D boundary element method, covering (i) fault geometries such as intersected faults or corrugated fault surfaces, (ii) the full range of Andersonian state of stress, (iii) fault friction, (iv) fault fluid pressure, (v) half space effect and (vi), rock properties, is performed in order to understand the effect of each parameter on the misfit angle between geomechanical slip vectors and the resolved shear stresses. It is shown that significant misfit angles can be found under specific configurations invalidating the Wallace and Bott assumptions, even though fault friction tends to minimize the misfit. We therefore conclude that in such cases, stress inversions based on fault slip data should be interpreted with care.
ISSN: 0040-1951

hal-01218418
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01218418
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2015.06.030

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
We review the evolution of concepts on and methods of estimating the state of stress from fault movements. Theories of failure in isotropic materials suggested a simple geometrical construction of optimal principal stress directions from a fault plane and its associated slip. These optimal directions align shear stress and slip directions and maximize the difference between shear stress and frictional resistance on the fault plane. Optimal stress directions for calcite twinning are obtained by a similar construction, with the difference that they maximize shear stress. Force representation of seismic sources independently introduced pressure, P, and tension, T, axes at positions that also maximize shear stress on both nodal planes. Frictional slip theory and the constraint that slip and shear stress directions be parallel allowed to address reactivation of pre-existing faults. This suggested that stress could also be inverted from reactivated fault and slip data or earthquake focal mechanisms. Early methods relied on geometrical constructions as a substitute for calculations, whereas later methods relied on software as these calculations became tractable with the help of computers. Similar methods were developed for the inversion of stress from crystal twin gliding with non-optimal geometry, with a different criterion that relies on a threshold of the component of shear stress along the gliding line. Even though these methods seek a common stress tensor compatible with fault and slip data, their main use is to separate polyphase data into homogeneous subsets and help deciphering complex tectonic histories. Fault and slip data can also be analyzed to constrain the strain rather than the stress tensor. In most cases this involves a summation and yields an average strain for the considered rock volume. Stress inversion thus appears better suited for differentiating heterogeneous data whereas strain analysis appears better suited for homogenizing them.
ISSN: 0040-1951

hal-00759043
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00759043
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2012.02.009

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
Metamorphic soles correspond to m to 500m thick tectonic slices welded beneath most of the large-scale ophiolites.They typically show a steep inverted metamorphic structure where the pressure and temperature conditions ofcrystallization increase upward (from 500100ºC at 0.50.2 GPa to 800100ºC at 1.00.2 GPa), with isogradssubparallel to the contact with the overlying ophiolitic peridotite. The proportion of mafic rocks in metamorphicsoles also increases from the bottom (meta-sediments rich) to the top (approaching the ophiolite peridotites). Thesesoles are interpreted as the result of heat transfer from the incipient mantle wedge toward the nascent slab (associatedwith large-scale fluid transfer and possible shear heating) during the first My of intra-oceanic subduction(as indicated by radiometric ages). Metamorphic soles provide therefore major constraints on early subductiondynamics (i.e. thermal structure, fluid migration and rheology along the nascent slab interface).We present a detailed structural and petrological study of the metamorphic sole from 4 major cross-sections alongthe Oman ophiolite. We show precise pressure–temperature estimates obtained by pseudosection modelling andEBSD measurements performed on both the garnet-bearing and garnet-free high-grade sole. Results allow quantificationof the micro-scale deformation and highlight differences in pressure–temperature–deformation conditionsbetween the 4 different locations, showing that the inverted metamorphic gradient through the sole is not continuousin all locations.Based on these new constraints, we suggest a new tectonic–petrological model for the formation of metamorphicsoles below ophiolites. This model involves the stacking of several homogeneous slivers of oceanic crust leadingto the present-day structure of the sole. In this view, these thrusts are the result of rheological contrasts between thesole and the peridotite as the plate interface progressively cools down. These slivers later underwent several stagesof retrogression (partly mediated by ascending fluids from the slab) from amphibolite- to prehnite/pumpellite-faciesconditions.
Geophysical Research Abstracts
Vienne, Austria

insu-01309369
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01309369