Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Laboratory models have been conducted to improve our understanding of the role that the resistance of the slab to bending and its coupling to the ambient mantle play in subduction dynamics over geological time scales. Our models are set up with a viscous plate of silicone (lithosphere) subducting under negative buoyancy in a viscous layer of glucose syrup (mantle). For our study, the lithosphere/upper mantle viscosity contrast has been systematically varied, from similar to 10 to similar to 10(5) in order to explore the parameter space between weak and strong slab dynamics. We found that subduction is characterized by a retreating mode for viscosity ratios > 10(4), by the coexistence of a retreating mode and an advancing mode for viscosity ratios between similar to 10(4) and similar to 10(2), and quasi-stationary, Rayleigh-Taylor like behaviour for ratios < 10(2). By combining our experimental results and kinematic data from current subduction zones in four reference frames which differ in the amount of net rotation, we infer that a lithosphere/upper mantle viscosity contrast of 150-500 is necessary to obtain realistic trench/subducting plate velocity ratios as well as the variability of subduction styles observed in nature.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-00412008
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00412008
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2008.04.006

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 AGU and the Geochemical Society
Résumé : International audience
We herein focus on understanding what controls the detachment and migration of oceanic crustal slices along subduction zones. We provide evidence for the coeval Middle to Late Cretaceous exhumation of oceanic blueschists in the same Neotethyan subduction zone, across more than 3000 km, from depths around 30-40 km, over a short time interval (similar to 25 Ma) compared to the duration of subduction (>100 Ma). We stress the importance of such a geodynamic process and suggest that this exhumation was promoted by a regional-scale change in the long-term interplate mechanical coupling. On the basis of geological and geophysical evidence, we propose that the upward migration of oceanic fragments in subduction zones is normally inhibited and only occurs discontinuously, as the subduction channel opens up in response to a major change in plate geodynamics, slab geometry and dynamics, mantle wedge and slab hydration, or a combination of these.
ISSN: 1525-2027

hal-00420898
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00420898
DOI : 10.1029/2009GC002428

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer
Résumé : Subduction is a major process that plays a first-order role in the dynamics of the Earth. The sinking of cold lithosphere into the mantle is thought by many authors to be the most important source of energy for plates driving forces. It also deeply modifies the thermal and chemical structure of the mantle, producing arc volcanism and is responsible for the release of most of the seismic energy on Earth. There has been considerable achievements done during the past decades regarding the complex interactions between the various processes acting in subduction zones. This volume contains a collection of contributions that were presented in June 2007 in Montpellier (France) during a conference that gave a state of the art panorama and discussed the perspectives about "Subduction Zone Geodynamics". The papers included in this special volume offer a unique multidisciplinary picture of the recent research on subduction zones geodynamics. They are organized into five main topics: Subduction zone geodynamics, Seismic tomography and anisotropy, Great subduction zone earthquakes, Seismogenic zone characterization, Continental and ridge subduction processes. Each of the 13 papers collected in the present volume is primarily concerned with one of these topics. However, it is important to highlight that papers always treat more than one topic so that all are related lighting on different aspects of the complex and fascinating subduction zones geodynamics.
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00808864

ISBN : 978-3-540-87974
hal-00808864
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00808864

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
Convergent plate margins typically experience a transition from subduction to collision dynamics as massive continental blocks enter the subduction channel. Studies of high-pressure rocks indicate that tectonic fragments are rapidly exhumed from eclogite facies to mid-crustal levels, but the details of such dynamics are controversial. To understand the dynamics of a subduction channel we report the results of a petrochronological study from the central Sesia Zone, a key element of the internal Western Alps. This comprises two polymetamorphic basement complexes (Eclogitic Micaschist Complex and Gneiss Minuti Complex) and a thin, dismembered cover sequence (Scalaro Unit) associated with pre-Alpine metagabbros and metasediments (Bonze Unit). Structurally controlled samples from three of these units (Eclogitic Micaschist Complex and Scalaro-Bonze Units) yield unequivocal petrological and geochronological evidence of two distinct high-pressure stages. Ages (U-Th-Pb) of growth zones in accessory allanite and zircon, combined with inclusion and textural relationships, can be tied to the multi-stage evolution of single samples. Two independent tectono-metamorphic 'slices' showing a coherent metamorphic evolution during a given time interval have been recognized: the Fondo slice (which includes Scalaro and Bonze rocks) and the Druer slice (belonging to the Eclogitic Micaschist Complex). The new data indicate separate stages of deformation at eclogite-facies conditions for each recognized independent kilometer-sized tectono-metamorphic slice, between ∼85 and 60 Ma, with evidence of intermittent decompression (ΔP ∼ 0*5 GPa) within only the Fondo slice. The evolution path of the Druer slice indicates a different P-T-time evolution with prolonged eclogite-facies metamorphism between ∼85 and 75 Ma. Our approach, combining structural, petrological and geochronological techniques, yields field-based constraints on the duration and rates of dynamics within a subduction channel.
ISSN: 0022-3530

hal-01054335
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01054335
DOI : 10.1093/petrology/egu029

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Past studies have shown that high coastal uplift rates are restricted to active areas, especially in a subduction context. The origin of coastal uplift in subduction zones, however, has not yet been globally investigated. Quaternary shorelines correlated to the last interglacial maximum (MIS 5e) were defined as a global tectonic benchmark (Pedoja et al. (2011)). In order to investigate the relationships between the vertical motion and the subduction dynamic parameters, we cross-linked this coastal uplift database with the "geodynamical" databases from Heuret (2005), Conrad and Husson (2009) and Müller et al. (2008). Our statistical study shows that: [1] the most intuitive parameters one can think responsible for coastal uplift (e.g., subduction obliquity, trench motion, oceanic crust age, interplate friction and force, convergence variation, dynamic topography, overriding and subducted plate velocity) are not related with the uplift (and its magnitude); [2] the only intuitive parameter is the distance to the trench which shows in specific areas a decrease from the trench up to a distance of ~300 km; [3] the slab dip (especially the deep slab dip), the position along the trench and the overriding plate tectonic regime are correlated with the coastal uplift, probably reflecting transient changes in subduction parameters. Finally we conclude that the first order parameter explaining coastal uplift is small-scale heterogeneities of the subducting plate, as for instance subducting aseismic ridges. The influence of large-scale geodynamic setting of subduction zones is secondary.
ISSN: 0264-3707

hal-00968538
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00968538
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00968538/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00968538/file/henryterraces_v2.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.jog.2014.04.001

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

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

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
As subducting plates reach the base of the upper mantle, some appear to flatten and stagnate, while others seemingly go through unimpeded. This variable resistance to slab sinking has been proposed to affect long-term thermal and chemical mantle circulation. A review of observational constraints and dynamic models highlights that neither the increase in viscosity between upper and lower mantle (likely by a factor 20–50) nor the coincident endothermic phase transition in the main mantle silicates (with a likely Clapeyron slope of –1 to –2 MPa/K) suffice to stagnate slabs. However, together the two provide enough resistance to temporarily stagnate subducting plates, if they subduct accompanied by significant trench retreat. Older, stronger plates are more capable of inducing trench retreat, explaining why backarc spreading and flat slabs tend to be associated with old-plate subduction. Slab viscosities that are ∼2 orders of magnitude higher than background mantle (effective yield stresses of 100–300 MPa) lead to similar styles of deformation as those revealed by seismic tomography and slab earthquakes. None of the current transition-zone slabs seem to have stagnated there more than 60 m.y. Since modeled slab destabilization takes more than 100 m.y., lower-mantle entry is apparently usually triggered (e.g., by changes in plate buoyancy). Many of the complex morphologies of lower-mantle slabs can be the result of sinking and subsequent deformation of originally stagnated slabs, which can retain flat morphologies in the top of the lower mantle, fold as they sink deeper, and eventually form bulky shapes in the deep mantle.
ISSN: 1553-040X

hal-01571965
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01571965
DOI : 10.1130/GES01476.1

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The present study aims at better deciphering the different mechanisms involved in the functioning of the subduction interplate. A 2D thermo-mechanical model is used to simulate a subduction channel, made of oceanic crust, free to evolve. Convergence at constant rate is imposed under a 100 km thick upper plate. Pseudo-brittle and non-Newtonian behaviours are modelled. The influence of the subduction channel strength, parameterized by the difference in activation energy between crust and mantle () is investigated to examine in detail the variations in depth of the subduction plane down-dip extent, . First, simulations show that numerical resolution may be responsible for an artificial and significant shallowing of if the weak crustal layer is not correctly resolved. Second, if the age of the subducting plate is 100 Myr, subduction occurs for any . The stiffer the crust is, that is, the lower is, the shallower is (60 km depth if kJ/mol) and the hotter the fore-arc base is. Conversely, imposing a very weak subduction channel ( J/mol) leads there to an extreme mantle wedge cooling and inhibits mantle melting in wet conditions. Partial kinematic coupling at the fore-arc base occurs if kJ/mol. If the incoming plate is 20 Myr old, subduction can occur under the conditions that the crust is either stiff and denser than the mantle, or weak and buoyant. In the latter condition, cold crust plumes rise from the subduction channel and ascend through the upper lithosphere, triggering (1) partial kinematic coupling under the fore-arc, (2) fore-arc lithosphere cooling, and (3) partial or complete hindrance of wet mantle melting. then ranges from 50 to more than 250 km depth and is time-dependent if crust plumes form. Finally, subduction plane dynamics is intimately linked to the regime of subduction-induced corner flow. Two different intervals of are underlined: 80–120 kJ/mol to reproduce the range of slab surface temperature inferred from geothermometry, and 10–40 kJ/mol to reproduce the shallow hot mantle wedge core inferred from conditions of last equilibration of near-primary arc magmas and seismic tomographies. Therefore, an extra process controlling mantle wedge dynamics is needed to satisfy simultaneously the aforementioned observations. A mantle viscosity reduction, by a factor 4–20, caused by metasomatism in the mantle wedge is proposed. From these results, I conclude that the subduction channel down-dip extent, , should depend on the subduction setting, to be consistent with the observed variability of sub-arc depths of the subducting plate surface.
ISSN: 0031-9201

hal-01623155
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01623155
DOI : 10.1016/j.pepi.2017.05.008

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Subduction processes play a major role in plate tectonics and the subsequent geological evolution of Earth. This special issue focuses on ongoing research in subduction dynamics to a large extent (oceanic subduction, continental subduction, obduction…) for both past and active subduction zones and into mountain building processes and the early evolution of orogens. It puts together various approaches combining geophysics (imaging of subduction zones), petrology/geochemistry (metamorphic analysis of HP-UHP rocks, fluid geochemistry and magmatic signal, geochronology), seismology and geodesy (present-day evolution of subduction zones, active tectonics), structural geology (structure and evolution of mountain belts), and numerical modelling to provide a full spectrum of tools that can be used to constrain the nature and evolution of subduction processes and orogeny. Studies presented in this special issue range from the long-term (orogenic cycle) to short-term (seismic cycle).
ISSN: 0264-3707

insu-01287985
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01287985
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01287985/document
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01287985/file/rolland-2016.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.jog.2016.03.006

Éditeur(s) : Université Européenne de Bretagne
Résumé : The southwest Pacific results from the fragmentation of Gondwanaland since the Cretaceous time. The purpose of the current PhD work is to deepen our understanding of the history of the New Caledonia and Fairway basins, located west of New Caledonia, in order to better constrain the geodynamical evolution of the SW Pacific from Cretaceous to Oligocene. The analysis of new geophysical data has led to distinguish 3 main phases of this fragmentation: 1 Mid Cretaceous formation of the Fairway-Aotea Basin in a continental intra-arc position. The formation of this basin reflects the initial stage of continental fragmentation of the Eastern Gondwana margin. The causes of this fragmentation are to be searched for in a major change of the dynamics of the peri-Pacific subduction zone. 2 Latest late Eocene local deformation of the Northern NCB, synchronously with the New Caledonian obduction. We suggest that as the ophiolitic nappe was being obducted onto New Caledonia, the NC Basin subsided under the effect of the loading and underthrusted to accommodate the compressional deformation as a foreland flexural basin. 3 Regional Eocene Oligocene subsidence of the structures linking NC to New Zealand. The morphostructural style of this deformation leads us to suggest that detachment of the lower crust is the cause of subsidence. We therefore propose a model in which the renewal of the Australia-Pacific convergent plate boundary around 45 Ma would have driven the lithosphere to thicken, leading to a root instability and to its detachment in the mantle. These new results have regional petroleum implications, which are discussed in the PhD.
Le Sud-Ouest Pacifique est le résultat de la fragmentation de la marge Est du Gondwana depuis le Crétacé. L'objet du présent travail de thèse est d'approfondir la connaissance des bassins de Nouvelle-Calédonie et de Fairway, situés à l'Ouest de la NC, afin de préciser l'évolution géodynamique du SO Pacifique du Crétacé à l'Oligocène. L'analyse de nouvelles données géophysiques a permis de dégager 3 étapes de cette fragmentation: 1 Formation du Bassin de Fairway-Aotea au Crétacé moyen en position intra-arc continental. La formation de ce bassin reflète les prémices de la déchirure continentale de la marge Est Gondwanienne dont la cause est à rechercher dans un changement de la dynamique de la subduction. 2 Déformation locale de la partie Nord du BNC à l'Eocène terminal synchrone à l'obduction Néo Calédonienne. Nous proposons ainsi un modèle selon lequel le BNC aurait subsidé et réagi comme un bassin flexural d'avant-pays suivant un processus de sous-charriage, au fur et à mesure que la nappe progressait sur le bâti Calédonien. 3 Subsidence Eocène Oligocène régionale affectant les structures reliant la Nouvelle-Zélande à la NC. Les traits morphostructuraux de cette déformation nous permettent d'émettre l'hypothèse que l'ablation d'une partie de la croûte inférieure de ce système serait responsable de la subsidence. Nous proposons ainsi un modèle dans lequel la reprise de la convergence vers 45 Ma entre les plaques Australienne et Pacifique aurait entraîné un épaississement crustal de l'ensemble aboutissant à une instabilité gravitaire de sa racine et provoquant son détachement dans le manteau. Ces nouveaux résultats ont des implications pour le potentiel pétrolier régional.

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2009/these-6520.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2009/sup-6520.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/6520/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
We discuss mantle structure and dynamics under the Gibraltar arc. For that region, a large variety of geodynamic models has been proposed, and there was, up to recently, no consensus on which of these models is the best one to describe the geodynamic situation of the region. The key to distinguishing the different models probably lies in the upper mantle, and we propose two specially adapted seismological techniques that help to distinguish each of the two models that are more frequently invoked. These are, on one hand, the subduction-rollback (SR) model, and on the other, continental delamination or convective removal (CDCR). The first technique that we use is based on observations of dispersed P-wavetrains that are expected for certain ray directions. Observations made on the Gibraltar arc suggest the presence of subducted oceanic lithosphere under the Alboran Sea. The second technique is based on shear-wave splitting of SKS phases, and it allows us to look for the radially-oriented flow that must be present in the mantle beneath the Alboran Sea, for a CDCR mechanism. There are however no indications of any radial flow up to this point. Both approaches therefore suggest that subduction-rollback is the best model to explain the complex geodynamic situation under the region.
ISSN: 0040-1951

hal-01388041
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01388041
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01388041/document
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01388041/file/Bokelmann_Gibraltar_Tphy2011_hal.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2010.08.004

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 American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Résumé : International audience
New estimates of trench migration rates allow us to address the dynamics of trench migration and back-arc strain. We show that trench migration is primarily controlled by the subducting plate velocity V-sub, which largely depends on its age at the trench. Using the hot and weak arc to back-arc region as a strain sensor, we define neutral arcs characterized by the absence of significant strain, meaning places where the forces (slab pull, bending, and anchoring) almost balance along the interface between the plates. We show that neutral subduction zones satisfy the kinematic relation between trench and subducting plate absolute motions: V-t = 0.5V(sub) - 2.3 (in cm a(-1)) in the HS3 reference frame. Deformation occurs when the velocity combination deviates from kinematic equilibrium. Balancing the torque components of the forces acting at the trench indicates that stiff (old) subducting plates facilitate trench advance by resisting bending.
ISSN: 0278-7407

hal-00411731
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00411731
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00411731/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00411731/file/Lallemand2008-Tectonics.pdf
DOI : 10.1029/2007TC002212

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer-Verlag
Résumé : The seismology is the most effective method to explore the Structure of subduction zones to great depth. The distinguishing feature of the mantle in the subduction regions is the presence of hydrated phases, which transport water into the Earth's interior and release it with dramatic local consequences, triggering earthquakes and melting. The seismological detection of these hydrous phases and geo-dynamic interpretation of flow in the hydrous mantle depend on knowledge of the anisotropic elastic properties and the characteristics of the wave propagation in anisotropic media. In this paper we briefly recall the distinguishing features of anisotropic wave propagation and the observable parameters. We suggest the Vp/Vs ratio is a physically sound parameter than can be observed by seismology in anisotropic regions of the Earth, whereas the Poisson's ratio, which is often quoted, is not directly observable and does not correspond to the characteristics of wave propagation in an anisotropic or isotropic medium. We report for the first time the ratios of Vp/Vs1 and Vp/Vs2, where Vs1 is the fastest and Vs2 slowest S-wave velocities of an anisotropic media. We present the current knowledge of the anisotropic seismic properties of hydrous minerals in the upper mantle, transition zone, and lower mantle that are stable along low temperature geotherms associated with subduction, and identify which minerals are likely to influence seismological observations because they have very high volume fractions, or very high anisotropies, or both of these.;In the upper mantle antigorite and talc are exceptionally anisotropic (Vp 71% Vs 68% and Vp 65%, Vs 68%, respectively) and chlorite is also very anisotropic for S-waves (Vp 35%, Vs 76%). Comparatively less anisotropic are hornblende (Vp 27%, Vs 31%), used as proxy for tremolite in subduction zones, and clinohumite (21.8%, Vs 15.9%). Brucite at 4 GPa (Vp 26.5%, Vs 30.9%) and the dense hydrogen magnesium silicate (DHMS) phase A at 9GPa (Vp 9.3%, Vs 17.6%) are the only hydrous minerals stable in the upper mantle that have had their elastic properties measured at in situ mantle pressures. Except for the phase A, all these minerals are more anisotropic than olivine for at least one parameter (Vp, Vs, Vp/Vs1, or Vp/Vs2). In the transition zone the major phases hydrous wadsleyite and ringwoodite C have moderate to weak anisotropies (Vp 16.3%, Vs 16.5%, and Vp 1.9%, Vs 4.4%, respectively). The DHMS Superhydrous B has a moderate anisotropy (Vp 6.9%, Vs 11.6%). At greater depth the DHMS phase D Lit 24 GPa (Vp 10.8%, Vs 18.0%) is the only hydrous phase that can transport hydrogen from the transition zone into the lower mantle. The phase D is more anisotropic for S than P waves like many of the hydrous phases. From these data it is clear that hydrous phases are in general very anisotropic. However, pressure can play a strong role in reducing anisotropy. It is the case for brucite and talc, in which increasing pressure from ambient to 4 GPa reduces the anisotropy by about 50% for both P and S waves. In contrast, the anisotropy of the DHMS phase A does not change significantly with pressure.;Our picture of the seismic anisotropy of hydrated minerals remains incomplete; the elastic properties of many have not been measured even at ambient conditions (e.g., 10 angstrom phase and phase E) or not measured in their true elastic symmetry (e.g., clinochlore). The majority of hydrous minerals have not been measured at high pressure. and none related to hydrated mantle have been measured at elevated temperature. We have shown in the few cases where hydrous minerals have been measured as a function of pressure, that this variable has an important effect oil the velocity distribution and in most cases reduces the degree of anisotropy, hence we Would expect seismic anisotropy to play a key role in the determination of the shallow structure of subduction zones in the upper mantle.
Subduction zone geodynamics

hal-00420893
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00420893

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
Understanding subduction rheology in both space and time has been a challenge since the advent of plate tectonics. We herein focus on "subduction infancy", that is the first ~1-5 My immediately following subduction nucleation, when a newly born slab penetrates into the upper plate mantle and heats up. The only remnants of this critical yet elusive geodynamic step are thin metamorphic soles, commonly found beneath pristine, 100-1000 km long portions of oceanic lithosphere emplaced on continents (i.e., ophiolites).Through the (i) worldwide compilation of pressure-temperature conditions of metamorphic sole formation augmented by pseudosection thermodynamic modeling, (ii) calculations of the viscosity of materials along the plate interface and (iii) generic numerical thermal models, we provide a conceptual model of dynamic plate interface processes during subduction infancy (and initiation s.l.).We show in particular how major rheological switches across the subduction interface control slab penetration, and the formation of metamorphic soles. Due to the downward progression of hydration and weakening of the mantle wedge with cooling, the lower plate (basalt, sediment) and the upper plate (mantle wedge) rheologies equalize and switch over a restricted temperature-time-depth interval (e.g., at ~800°C and ~1 GPa, during 0.1-2 My, for high-temperature metamorphic sole formation). These switches result in episodes of maximum interplate mechanical coupling, thereby slicing the top of the slab and welding pieces (basalt, sediment) to the base of the mantle wedge. Similar mechanical processes likely apply for the later, deeper accretion and exhumation of high-temperature oceanic eclogites in serpentinite mélanges, or for the accretion of larger tectonic slices.This model provides constraints on the effective rheologies of the crust and mantle and general understanding, at both rock and plate scale, for accretion processes and early slab dynamics.
AGU Fall Meeting 2015
San Francisco, United States

insu-01242103
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01242103

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

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

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Imaging deep active volcanic areas remains a challenge in our understanding of their activity and evolution, especially in subduction zones. Study of magnetic anomalies is appropriate to access such dynamics in depth. The magnetic anomaly pattern of the Lesser Antilles Arc (LAA) subduction is studied through Curie Point Depth (CPD), interpreted as the depth of the 580 °C isotherm, and developed to better assess the deep thermal structure of the arc. The depth of the estimated CPD exhibits a complex topography. Keeping in mind the overall uncertainty associated with this method, a main doming is evidenced below the Guadeloupe archipelago. Its apex is shifted towards the ancient arc, suggesting a very hot state of the fore-arc/arc domain. To better understand the LAA thermal state, we perform 2D thermo-mechanical simulations of the subduction zone. Recalling that magnetite is a serpentinization by-product, we simulate water transfer triggered by slab dehydration to test the assumption of fore-arc serpentinization suggested by the positive magnetic anomaly in the vicinity of the Guadeloupe archipelago. In this area, the subduction-induced arc lithosphere hydration and related weakening trigger a fast heating of the upper plate by basal convective removal. This process of fast arc lithosphere thinning may apply where simultaneously the volcanic arc is split in two and normal convergence is high enough. As serpentinization strongly decreases P-wave velocity, we propose a new interpretation of a published seismic profile below Guadeloupe. The seismic layer previously interpreted as the arc lower crust may rather be a layer of serpentinized mantle, as supported by spatial correlations between gravimetric and magnetic anomalies. Consequently, at the scale of Guadeloupe Island, the fore-arc Moho would be shallower than initially assumed, with a dome shape more consistent with both the extensive deformation active since the Oligocene in the inner fore-arc and the CPD doming.
ISSN: 0040-1951

Droits : http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/
insu-01505300
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01505300
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01505300/document
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01505300/file/Gailler-2017.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2017.03.014

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : Volatile-rich, silica-undersaturated alkaline lavas record the important role of fluids during fluid-rock and magma-rock interactions in the mantle, which are key processes to understand the dynamics of the convective mantle and lithosphere-asthenosphere interactions in intracontinental settings. The aim of this thesis is to bring new constraints on the genesis of alkaline magmas by characterizing the crystallization conditions, the source and the partial melting processes taking part in the genesis of olivine nephelinites, pyroxene nephelinites and basanites from the Jbel Saghro volcanic field in the Moroccan Anti Atlas.The petrological and geochemical study of rocks and minerals coupled with the analysis of fluid inclusions constrains the pre-eruptive conditions of Saghro nephelinites to 1.7–2.2 GPa and ~1350 °C. Minerals show that nephelinitic magmas are rich in volatile elements (Cl, F, S), and fluid inclusions indicate that magmas were saturated with a CO2-rich fluid at pressures > 590 MPa. The various mineralogical assemblages and the presence of peridotite xenoliths suggest a rapid ascent for olivine nephelinites and more complex processes at depth for pyroxene nephelinites.Fractional crystallization and partial melting modelling of Saghro mafic lavas indicate that they are low-degree melts (0.6–2.5 %) of an amphibole-bearing carbonated peridotite enriched in incompatible elements, at the garnet-spinel transition (~80–85 km). Saghro nephelinites display a temporal evolution with a slight increase of the degree of melting and a decrease of the amount of residual amphibole from the oldest (olivine nephelinites, 9.6 Ma) to the most recent (pyroxene nephelinites, 2.9 Ma). Basanites form a system that is independent from nephelinites and are slightly higher-degree melts. Important variations in their chemical composition suggest variable amounts of fractional crystallization during ascent.The peculiar characteristics of Saghro nephelinites and basanites (enrichment in incompatible elements, negative anomalies in K, Zr, Hf and Ti, high Ca/Al and Zr/Hf ratios) indicate that their source was affected by carbonatitic metasomatism. The influence of this metasomatism is stronger for pyroxene nephelinites than for olivine nephelinites. These results suggest fluid-rock interactions beneath the Northwest African Craton, leading to the formation of a metasomatized mantle by CO2-rich carbonatitic components at the lithosphere-asthenosphere transition. The origin of the metasomatism inducing source enrichment and the formation of amphibole veins could be attributed to the melting of relict subducted oceanic lithosphere. The relatively low melting temperatures (< 1350 °C) suggest the absence of a thermal anomaly beneath the Jbel Saghro, and thus support a lithosphere delamination model as precursor of Saghro volca0,3nism. However, the increasing degree of partial melting over time, also observed in the Middle Atlas, together with the isotopic and geochemical similarities with Canary Islands alkaline lavas does not allow us to discard the influence of a deviation of the Canary mantle plume beneath northwest Africa.
Les laves alcalines sous-saturées riches en éléments volatils sont les marqueurs du rôle important des fluides dans le manteau et des interactions fluide-roche et magma-roche, processus clés pour comprendre la dynamique du manteau convectif et les interactions asthénosphère-lithosphère en domaine intracontinental. L’objectif de cette thèse est d’apporter de nouvelles contraintes sur la genèse des magmas alcalins en caractérisant les conditions de cristallisation, la source et les processus de fusion partielle à l’origine des néphélinites à olivine, des néphélinites à pyroxène et des basanites du champ volcanique du Jbel Saghro dans l’Anti-Atlas marocain.L’étude pétrologique et géochimique des roches et des minéraux, couplée à l’analyse des inclusions fluides a permis de contraindre les conditions pré-éruptives des néphélinites de Saghro à 1.7–2.2 GPa et ~1350 °C. Les minéraux montrent que les magmas néphélinitiques sont riches en éléments volatils (Cl, F, S), et les inclusions fluides indiquent que les magmas étaient saturés en fluide riche en CO2 à des pressions > 590 MPa. Les différents assemblages minéralogiques des néphélinites et la présence de xénolites péridotitiques suggèrent une ascension rapide des néphélinites à olivine et des processus plus complexes en profondeur pour les néphélinites à pyroxène.La modélisation des processus de cristallisation fractionnée et de fusion partielle des laves mafiques de Saghro a permis de déterminer qu’elles sont issues de faibles taux de fusion partielle (0.6–2.5 %) d’une péridotite carbonatée enrichie en éléments incompatibles, au niveau de la transition grenat–spinelle (~80–85 km) et en présence d’amphibole. Les néphélinites de Saghro montrent une évolution temporelle avec une légère augmentation du taux de fusion et une diminution de la quantité d’amphibole au résidu des plus anciennes (néphélinites à olivine, 9.6 Ma) aux plus récentes (néphélinites à pyroxène, 2.9 Ma). Les basanites forment un système indépendant des néphélinites et sont issues de taux de fusion plus élevés. Les fortes variations dans leur composition chimique suggèrent qu’elles ont subi de la cristallisation fractionnée lors de leur ascension.Les caractéristiques particulières des néphélinites et basanites de Saghro (enrichissement en éléments incompatibles, anomalies négatives en K, Zr, Hf et Ti, rapports Ca/Al et Zr/Hf élevés) indiquent que leur source a subi un métasomatisme principalement carbonatitique. L’influence de ce métasomatisme est plus forte pour les néphélinites à pyroxène que pour les néphélinites à olivine, impliquant une évolution temporelle de l’intensité du métasomatisme. Ces résultats suggèrent des interactions fluide-roche sous le craton Nord-Ouest Africain, entraînant la formation d'un manteau métasomatisé par des composants carbonatitiques riches en CO2 au niveau de la transition lithosphère-asthénosphère. L’origine du métasomatisme provoquant l’enrichissement de la source et la formation de veines d’amphibole pourrait être liée à la fusion de reliquats de croûte océanique subductée. Les températures de fusion relativement faibles (< 1350 °C) suggèrent l’absence d’anomalie thermique sous le Jbel Saghro, et favorisent donc un modèle de délamination de la lithosphère comme initiateur du volcanisme. Cependant, l’augmentation du taux de fusion partielle au cours du temps, également observée dans le Moyen Atlas, et les similitudes isotopiques et géochimiques avec les laves alcalines des îles Canaries ne permettent pas d’exclure une influence du panache des Canaries sur la source du volcanisme alcalin du Jbel Saghro.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01615888

NNT : 2015MONTS070
tel-01615888
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01615888
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01615888/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01615888/file/53752_CHAMBOREDON_2015_archivage_cor.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union
Résumé : We study the Africa-Iberia plate boundary in the vicinity of Gibraltar. Numerous models have been proposed for that region throughout the last decades, proposing mechanisms that range widely from continental delamination, convective removal, to subduction of oceanic lithosphere. To better constrain upper-mantle structure under the region, we study waveforms of P-waves that traverse the Alboran Sea region between Spain and Morocco. These show dispersive behavior, which, together with early arrival times, confirms the presence of an anomalous upper mantle structure under the Alboran Sea. The dispersion is consistent with that expected from subducted lithosphere. Waveforms of body waves therefore provide a way to better constrain the elusive mantle structure and dynamics of the Alboran Sea region
ISSN: 0094-8276

hal-00407670
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00407670
DOI : 10.1029/2007GL030964