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 AGU and the Geochemical Society
Résumé : International audience
Numerical models show that small-scale convection (SSC) occurring atop a mantle plume is a plausible mechanism to rejuvenate the lithosphere. The triggering of SSC depends on the density contrast and on the rheology of the unstable layer underlying the stagnant upper part of the thermal boundary layer (TBL). Partial melting may change both properties. We analyze, using 2-D numerical simulations, how partial melting influences the dynamics of time-dependent SSC instabilities and the resulting thermo-mechanical rejuvenation of an oceanic plate moving atop of a plume. Our simulations show a complex behavior, with acceleration, no change, or delay of the SSC onset, due to competing effects of the latent heat of partial melting, which cools the plume material, and of the buoyancy increase associated with both melt retention and depletion of residue following melt extraction. The melt-induced viscosity reduction is too localized to affect significantly SSC dynamics. Faster SSC triggering is promoted for low melting degrees (low plume temperature anomalies, thick lithosphere, or fast moving plates), which limit both the temperature reduction due to latent heat of melting and the accumulation of depleted buoyant residue in the upper part of the unstable layer. In contrast, high partial melting degrees lead to a strong temperate decrease due to latent heat of melting and development of a thick depleted layer within the sublithospheric convecting layer, which delay the development of gravitational instabilities. Despite differences in SSC dynamics, the thinning of the lithosphere is not significantly enhanced relatively to simulations that neglect partial melting.
ISSN: 1525-2027

hal-01277175
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01277175
DOI : 10.1002/2015GC005967

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
A subject of continuing debate is how the Earth's lithospheric portion of the upper mantle has remained the thickest (> 200 km) and oldest (> 3 Gy) beneath cratons and is yet surrounded by a vigorously convecting asthenosphere. It is generally admitted that water is a key parameter in the strength and longevity of cratonic roots, because olivine, the main phase of the lithospheric mantle, becomes stronger if its water content decreases. Expanding upon the work presented in Novella et al. (2015) and Taylor et al. (2016), we report new water contents for additional olivine inclusions in diamonds together with the trace-element composition for all olivine inclusions, as well as for mantle xenoliths from various kimberlite pipes located on the Siberian craton. The olivine diamond inclusions from this study have systematically low-water contents (< 50 ppmw H2O), moderate to high forsterite (e.g., Fo91–94) contents and low Ni, Co, and Zn ppm contents (e.g., < 2848, < 108, and < 47 ppm, respectively). In contrast, olivines from Siberian craton mantle xenoliths have a wide range of water contents (6–323 ppmw H2O) and extend to lower-Fo (91–92), Ni, Co, and Zn-rich compositions, compared to the diamond inclusions. Depleted incompatible trace-element concentrations in olivine (0.1–0.001 × Primitive Mantle) advance our hypothesis for the protogenetic origins for the majority of Siberian diamond inclusions. These observations are consistent with the peridotite xenoliths as representing a part of the cratonic lithosphere that has experienced melt re-fertilization, which has also transported water. The olivine diamond inclusions, on the other hand, preserve “micro-samples” of an initial, dry cratonic lithosphere, mostly resulting from melting events. These inclusions are likely sourced from the initial cratonic mantle lithosphere, which thereby, resisted delamination over time, due to its buoyancy and strength, imparted from melt and water depletion, respectively. And thus, our data provides a major argument that the kimberlite-hosted mantle xenoliths may be more metasomatized than common rocks at the base of the Siberian and other cratonic roots away from kimberlite fields.
ISSN: 0024-4937

hal-01467731
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01467731
DOI : 10.1016/j.lithos.2016.07.023

Éditeur(s) : Université de Bretagne Occidentale
Résumé : The objective of the present work is to study the formation of the passive continental margins of the Central Segment of the South Atlantic, most particularly the Congo and Angola margins. We propose a combined approach, which integrates structural constraints based on geological cross-sections (based on seismic data) and global constraints based on plate kinematic reconstructions. The structural study is based on : i) MCS and refraction data collected during the ZaiAngo programme (a joint project conducted by Ifremer and Total) ; ii) proprietary, industrial seismic data (courtesy of Total) from the Angola margin and iii) on all available seismic lines from the Africa and Brazil conjugated margins, between Walvis Ridge and the Equatorial Fracture Zones. Based on theses data, three structural domains (continental, transitional and oceanic) have been defined, the major characteristics of which are : Crustal thinning occurs abruptly, mostly below the continental slope, over a lateral distance of less than 50 km. The top of the crust deepens as the Moho shallows. Only a few extensional structures are observed ; tilted blocks are very few (one or two, depending on the profile), found only on the upper part of the slope and sealed by a discordance prior to salt deposition. The transitional domain is characterized by the existence of a pre-salt basin lying over a thin crustal layer. No tilted blocks are observed in this domain and reflectors within the pre-salt sediment series are parallel to the base of the Aptian salt, over distances greater than 100 km, precluding the possibility of any significant deformation that would imply large horizontal motions. Two types of crust are observed in the transitional domain. "Type I" crust is found below the undeformed pre-salt sediment series located below the eastern part of the basin ; it is characterized by an upper layer of thickness greater than 5 km and a abnormal velocity layer (7.2 - 7.6 km/s), up to 6 km thick. "Type II" crust is less than 5 km thick and found below the salt compressive front that affects the western part of the basin. The salt cover is continuous (no erosion surface is observed), from the continental shelf to the western termination of the basin. Salt was not deposited in a confined environment (like in the Mediterranean), but in a shallow water, lagunal environment. This imposes the zero-level and constrains the paleo-bathymetry at the time of salt deposition, which dates the latest stage of margin formation. Understanding the formation of a margin cannot be approached without studying the homolog margin. Therefore, it is of major importance to reconstruct the closure of the ocean bordered by these homolog margins and take into account the constraints imposed by the kinematic reconstructions on the lateral motions of the lithospheric plates. In order to assess the relative position of the plates at the ocean closure (prior to crustal thinning), a global study was thus performed, integrating all geophysical and geological constraints, in the ocean and on land. The role of african intra-plate deformation and its limits and their consequences have been thoroughly studied. To juxtapose the margins of the central segment of the Southern Atlantic, it is all the margins bordering the Equatorial Atlantic that need to be adjuste precisely. The kinematic study of this last region shows that the reconstruction obtained are reliable, unambiguous with a quantifiable precision The best fitting poles (obtained using the PLACA software), show that it is impossible to close the margins beyond the superposition of the salt fronts, from the Angola and Brazil margins. The geological cross-sections based on seismic data from the homolog margins indicate that a 330 km wide basin with thin (< 12 km) crust was present at the time of the fit. This basin cannot result from horizontal movement related to pure stretching or simple shear, or any model implying conservative volume. This conclusion is consistent with the existence of presalt reflectors parallel to the salt layer wich extends to the platform: the formation of the pre-salt basin must be related to vertical motions. The scenario that we propose for the evolution of the Congo-Angola margin consist in four stages: the first phase corresponds to extensional deformation limited to the few tilted blocks observed on the upper part of the slope. During the second phase, the main crustal thinning occurs, vertical motions prevailes, resulting in the formation of the continental slope and in the subsidence of the basin. The third phase corresponds to the first stress striction: deformation is concentrated in a limited section of the basin, which corresponds to the salt compression front. A proto-oceanic crust is formed, probably composed of thinned continental crust intruded by mantle material. The second stress striction corresponds to the finale phase, resulting in oceanisation senso stricto. The evolution described shows that we can not apply conservative models for margin formation (such as McKenzie and Wernicke or any of their avatars). In order to explain this thinning, one should investigate non-conservative models (implying geochemical transformation, small scale convection, intrusion...) such as those proposed in marginal or continental basins with no horizontal movments.
Ce travail de thèse aborde la formation des marges continentales passives dans le segment central de l'océan Atlantique Sud (plus particulièrement au Congo et en Angola), en intégrant une étude en coupe (étude structurale à partir des coupes sismiques) et une étude en plan (étude cinématique). L'étude structurale de la marge a été réalisée à partir des données de sismique réflexion et réfraction de la campagne Zaïango et d'une compilation de données sismiques réflexion existantes sur toutes les marges africaine et brésilienne entre les zones de fracture équatoriales et la ride de Walvis. L'interprétation de ces données a permis d'individualiser la structure de la marge en trois domaines : continental, transitionnel et océanique et de déterminer quelques points majeurs sur la structuration de la marge. L'amincissement est abrupt, localisé dans la zone de pente continentale et restreint à 50 km. La marge montre peu de structures distensives : seuls un ou deux blocs basculés sont observés en haut de pente continentale. Le domaine transitionnel est caractérisé par la géométrie particulière de la sédimentation anté-salifère, l'absence de blocs basculés et la faible épaisseur de croûte. La couche sédimentaire anté-salifère montre des réflecteurs plans jusqu'à la base du sel, continus sur 100 km, éliminant toutes possibilités de déformation du socle pendant et après son dépôt. La croûte du domaine transitionnel peut-être divisée en deux types : une croûte de type I sur laquelle se déposent les sédiments non déformés, et une croûte de type II sur laquelle se superposent les limites du « front compressif salifère » bien exprimé dans les séries postsalifères. Enfin le sel, que l'on observe depuis la plate-forme jusqu'au bassin profond, ne se dépose pas dans un bassin confiné (comme en Méditerranée) mais à un niveau proche de 0 m (ressemblant probablement à un dépôt de type lagunaire) et donne la paléo-bathymétrie au moment de son dépôt qui marque la fin de la période de formation de la marge. La compréhension de la genèse d'une marge ne peut être approchée sans son homologue. Cette simple constatation, cette évidence, montre toute l'importance que l'on doit apporter à la reconstruction cinématique initiale de l'océan qui borde ces marges homologues et aux contraintes imposées par les reconstructions cinématiques sur les mouvements horizontaux des plaques lithosphériques. Afin d'étudier la position des marges au moment de cette fermeture, c'est-à-dire avant amincissement, une étude globale intégrant l'ensemble des données disponibles, géophysiques et géologiques, océaniques et continentales, a été réalisée. Le rôle de la déformation intraplaque africaine, ses limites et leurs conséquences a, en particulier, été l'objet d'une attention poussée. Pour juxtaposer les marges du segment central, ce sont toutes les marges de l'océan Atlantique Equatorial qui doivent être ajustées précisément. L'étude cinématique réalisée de la région équatoriale montre que l'on obtient une reconstruction fiable et sans ambiguïté, avec une précision que l'on peut quantifier. Les pôles issus de cette étude (et calculés avec le Logiciel PLACA) indiquent qu'il est impossible d'obtenir une fermeture plus serrée que celle qui conduit à la superposition des fronts salifères brésilien et angolais : les coupes issues de la sismique réflexion des deux marges indiquent qu'il subsiste un bassin aminci, large de plus de 330 km et dont la croûte n'excède jamais 13 kilomètres d'épaisseur. La formation de ce bassin ne peut résulter de mouvements horizontaux, ce qui exclut un amincissement par étirement (pure stretching) ou par l'existence d'une faille de détachement (simple shear) ou par quelque modèle conservatif que ce soit. Cette constatation corrobore l'observation de la présence d'horizons anté-salifère parallèles, entre eux et au sel, couche salifère que l'on retrouve sur la plate-forme : la création de ce bassin anté-salifère ne peut être que liée à un mouvement vertical. Le schéma d'évolution que nous proposons à partir des données structurales et des contraintes cinématiques présente quatre étapes : le premier stade correspond à une phase de déformation distensive limitée aux quelques rares blocs basculés observés en haut de pente continentale. C'est durant la deuxième étape que se déroule la phase d'amincissement principal, les mouvements verticaux prévalent, aboutissant à la formation de la pente continentale et à la subsidence du bassin. La troisième phase correspond à une première striction des contraintes : la déformation se concentre sur une partie réduite du bassin, coïncidant avec le front salifère compressif. Une proto-croûte océanique se forme, probablement composée de croûte continentale amincie et intrudée de matériel mantellique. La seconde striction correspond à la phase finale de formation de la marge et aboutit à l'océanisation sensu stricto. L'étude cinématique et la description de l'évolution de la marge à partir des données sismiques montre donc que l'on ne peut envisager l'application d'un modèle de genèse des marges avec conservation de volume (type McKenzie ou Wernicke et leurs avatars) : pour expliquer l'amincissement du bassin, il faudrait probablement nous intéresser aux modèles non-conservatifs (impliquant transformation, convection à petite échelle, ...) qui sont déjà invoqués pour la formation des bassins marginaux ou continentaux, sans mouvements horizontaux.

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2003/these-82.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/82/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
A variety of atypical plume-like structures and focused upwellings that are not rooted in the lower mantle have recently been discussed, and seismological imaging has shown ubiquitous small-scale convection in the uppermost mantle in regions such as the Mediterranean region, the western US, and around the western Pacific. We argue that the three-dimensional return flow and slab fragmentation associated with complex oceanic subduction trajectories within the upper mantle can generate focused upwellings and that these may play a significant role in regional tectonics. The testable surface expressions of this process are the outside-arc alkaline volcanism, topographic swell, and low-velocity seismic anomalies associated with partial melt. Using three-dimensional, simplified numerical subduction models, we show that focused upwellings can be generated both ahead of the slab in the back-arc region (though -five times further inward from the trench than arc-volcanism) and around the lateral edges of the slab (in the order of 100 km away from slab edges). Vertical mass transport, and by inference the associated decompression melting, in these regions appears strongly correlated with the interplay between relative trench motion and subduction velocities. The upward flux of material from the depths is expected to be most pronounced during the first phase of slab descent into the upper mantle or during slab fragmentation. We discuss representative case histories from the Pacific and the Mediterranean where we find possible evidence for such slab-related volcanism.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-00553075
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00553075
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2010.08.012

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Although subducting slabs undergo a bending deformation that resists tectonic plate motions, the magnitude of this resistance is not known because of poor constraints on slab strength. However, because slab bending slows the relatively rapid motions of oceanic plates, observed plate motions constrain the importance of bending. We estimated the slab pull force and the bending resistance globally for 207 subduction zone transects using new measurements of the bending curvature determined from slab seismicity. Predicting plate motions Using a global mantle flow model, we constrain the viscosity of the bending slab to be at most similar to 300 times more viscous than the upper mantle: stronger slabs are intolerably slowed by the bending deformation. Weaker slabs, however, cannot transmit a pull force sufficient to explain rapid trenchward plate motions unless slabs stretch faster than seismically observed rates of similar to 10(-15) s(-1). The constrained bending viscosity (similar to 2 x 10(23) Pa s) is larger than previous estimates that yielded similar or larger bending resistance (here similar to 25% of forces). This apparent discrepancy occurs because slabs bend more gently than previously thought, with an average radius of curvature of 390 km that permits subduction Of Strong slabs. This gentle bending may ultimately permit plate tectonics on Earth.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-00412383
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00412383
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2008.05.009

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD European Geosciences Union
Résumé : The properties of the subduction interplate domain are likely to affect not only the seismogenic potential of the subduction area but also the overall subduction process, as it influences its viability. Numerical simulations are performed to model the long-term equilibrium state of the subduction interplate when the diving lithosphere interacts with both the overriding plate and the surrounding convective mantle. The thermomechanical model combines a non-Newtonian viscous rheology and a pseudo-brittle rheology. Rock strength here depends on depth, temperature and stress, for both oceanic crust and mantle rocks. I study the evolution through time of, on one hand, the brittle-ductile transition (BDT) depth, zBDT, and, on the other hand, of the kinematic decoupling depth, zdec, simulated along the subduction interplate. The results show that both a high friction and a low ductile strength at the asthenospheric wedge tip shallow zBDT. The influence of the weak material activation energy is of second order but not negligible. zBDT becomes dependent on the ductile strength increase with depth (activation volume) if the BDT occurs at the interplate decoupling depth. Regarding the interplate decoupling depth, it is shallowed (1) significantly if mantle viscosity at asthenospheric wedge tip is low, (2) if the difference in mantle and interplate activation energy is weak, and (3) if the activation volume is increased. Very low friction coefficients and/or low asthenospheric viscosities promote zBDT = zdec. I then present how the subducting lithosphere age affects the brittle-ductile transition depth and the kinematic decoupling depth in this model. Simulations show that a rheological model in which the respective activation energies of mantle and interplate material are too close hinders the mechanical decoupling at the down-dip extent of the interplate, and eventually jams the subduction process during incipient subduction of a young (20-Myr-old) and soft lithosphere under a thick upper plate. Finally, both the BDT depth and the decoupling depth are a function of the subducting plate age, but are not influenced in the same fashion: cool and old subducting plates deepen the BDT but shallow the interplate decoupling depth. Even if BDT and kinematic decoupling are intrinsically related to different mechanisms of deformation, this work shows that they are able to interact closely. Comparison between modelling results and observations suggests a minimum friction coefficient of 0.045 for the interplate plane, even 0.069 in some cases, to model realistic BDT depths. The modelled zdec is a bit deeper than suggested by geophysical observations. Eventually, the better way to improve the adjustment to observations may rely on a moderate to strong asthenosphere viscosity reduction in the metasomatised mantle wedge.
ISSN: 1869-9510

hal-00795559
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00795559
DOI : 10.5194/se-3-467-2012, 2012

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

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 Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Highly siderophile elements (Platinum-group elements, Au and Re) are currently assumed to reside inside base metal sulfides (BMS) in the convecting upper mantle. However, fertile lherzolites sampled by Pyrenean orogenic peridotite massifs are unexpectedly rich in 0.5-3 mu m large micronuggets of platinum-group minerals (PGM). Among those, sulfides from the laurite-erlichmanite series (Ru, Os(Ir)S(As)2), Pt-Ir-Os alloys and Pt-Pd-Te-Bi phases (moncheite-merenskyite) are predominant. Not only the BMS phases but also the PGM micronuggets must be taken into account in calculation of the PGE budget of orogenic fertile lherzolites. Laurite is a good candidate for equilibrating the whole-rock budget of Os, it and Ru while accounting for supra-chondritic Ru/Ir-N. Textural relationships between PGMs and BMS highlight heterogeneous mixing between refractory PGMs (laurite/Pt-Ir-Os alloys) inherited from ancient refractory lithospheric mantle and late-magmatic metasomatic sulfides precipitated from tholeiitic melts. "Low-temperature" PGMs, especially Pt-Pd bismuthotellurides should be added to the list of mineral indicators of lithosphere refertilization process. Now disseminated within fertile lherzolites, "lithospheric" PGMs likely account for local preservation of ancient Os model ages (up to 2 Ga) detected in BMS by in-situ isotopic analyses. These PGMs also question the reliability of orogenic lherzolites for estimating the PGE signature of the Primitive Silicate Earth.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-00486109
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00486109
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2009.11.017

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
The processes active in the deep crust above an oceanic subduction zone during its evolution have been constrained through a detailed geochemical study (major and trace elements and Sr, Nd and Pb isotopes) of representative samples through an 30 km thick exhumed crustal section of the Cretaceous Kohistan oceanic island arc (Northern Pakistan). The use of both trace elements and radiogenic isotopes reveals two distinct geochemical suites (suites A and B) within the JijalPatanKiruKamila (JPKK) complex. Suite A is characterized by a progressive enrichment in Pb-207 and a decrease in Nd-143/Nd-144 with increasing La-N/Sm-N. Suite B has higher Pb-207/Pb-204 and lower Nd-143/Nd-144 ratios with approximately constant La-N/Sm-N. By combining trace elements with different partitioning behaviour it is demonstrated that there is an increasing contribution of the subduction component in the magmas with time. It is also possible to distinguish a slab component imprint carried by aqueous fluids from one corresponding to sediment melts. Intrusive granites are abundant in the upper levels of the JPKK section. All were generated at the arc root level (Jijal crustal section) during dehydration-melting of hornblende-rich plutonic rocks. A three-stage geodynamic model is proposed for the evolution of the arc over a period of 30 Myr. The first stage (117105 Ma) starts with the onset of subduction, which was followed by the building of the volcanic arc. The second stage (10599 Ma to 9691 Ma) corresponds to a major igneous event, which was characterized by abundant magma underplating and granulite-facies metamorphism at the arc base. Recycling of the residualcumulative lower crust into the convective asthenospheric mantle was efficient during this stage, and was probably related to thermo-mechanical erosion of the base of the crust. The last stage (9585 Ma) corresponds to a period of low magmatic activity, which marked the end of the intra-oceanic subduction. This is related to the formation of a cold blanket above the slab surface as a result of thermo-mechanical erosion of the cold walls of the subduction zone (i.e. the upper part of the slab and the base of the overriding plate), and corner flow dragging the cold material into the zone of melt generation. Ultimately, a voluminous magmatic pulse occurred around 85 Ma (forming the Chilas complex), before arccontinent collision.
ISSN: 0022-3530

hal-00420068
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00420068
DOI : 10.1093/petrology/egp010

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 Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
During ODP Leg 209, a magma-starved area of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) was drilled in the vicinity of the Fifteen-Twenty Fracture Zone (FZ) that offsets one of the slowest portions of the spreading ridge. We present here the results of a bulk rock multi-elemental study of 27 peridotites drilled at Sites 1272 and 1274 (to the south and the north of the FZ, respectively). The peridotites comprise mainly of harzburgites with minor dunites. Clinopyroxene (Cpx), which is interstitial and interpreted as secondary, is observed in Site 1274 peridotites. Sites 1272 and 1274 peridotites have low Al2O3 contents (<= 1 anhydrous wt.%), high Mg# (>91.5), and bulk rock trace elements compositions mostly below 0.1 x primitive mantle (PM). These peridotites, and in particular Site 1272 peridotites, represent the most depleted peridotites yet sampled at a slow spreading ridge. Their compositions indicate high degrees of partial melting and melt extraction. A single open-system melting event (melting plus percolation of melts produced within upwelling mantle) can explain their highly depleted yet linear chondrite-normalized REE patterns, characterized by a steady depletion from HREE to LREE. Late melt-rock reactions and precipitation of Cpx explains the slightly less depleted compositions of Site 1274 peridotites. Hence, the differences in composition between Sites 1272 and 1274 peridotites do not provide evidence for regional variations in the degrees of partial melting from the south to the north of the FZ. The occurrence of highly refractory peridotites in the Fifteen-Twenty area suggests we sampled a more actively convecting mantle than generally supposed below slow spreading centers.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-00412001
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00412001
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2007.11.058

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
The nature and extent of the regional lithosphere-asthenosphere interaction beneath Ireland and Britain remains unclear. Although it has been established that ancient Caledonian signatures pervade the lithosphere, tertiary structure related to the Iceland plume has been inferred to dominate the asthenosphere. To address this apparent contradiction in the literature, we image the 3-D lithospheric and deeper upper-mantle structure beneath Ireland via non-linear, iterative joint teleseismic-gravity inversion using data from the ISLE (Irish Seismic Lithospheric Experiment), ISUME (Irish Seismic Upper Mantle Experiment) and GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) experiments. The inversion combines teleseismic relative arrival time residuals with the GRACE long wavelength satellite derived gravity anomaly by assuming a depth-dependent quasilinear velocity-density relationship. We argue that anomalies imaged at lithospheric depths probably reflect compositional contrasts, either due to terrane accretion associated with Iapetus Ocean closure, frozen decompressional melt that was generated by plate stretching during the opening of the north Atlantic Ocean, frozen Iceland plume related magmatic intrusions, or a combination thereof. The continuation of the anomalous structure across the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary is interpreted as possibly reflecting sub-lithospheric small-scale convection initiated by the lithospheric compositional contrasts. Our hypothesis thus reconciles the disparity which exists between lithospheric and asthenospheric structure beneath this region of the north Atlantic rifted margin.
ISSN: 0956-540X

hal-00617815
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00617815
DOI : 10.1111/j.1365-246X.2011.04921.x

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : In situ analysis of major elements, platinum-group elements and Os isotope composition data for 170 grains of Ru–Os–Ir alloys from podiform chromitites in the Luobusa and Dongqiao ophiolites, Tibet, provide new constraints on the sources of the alloy grains, the Os-isotope composition of the Neo-Tethyan oceanic upper mantle, and the timing of melt–rock reactions in the ultramafic peridotites of the host ophiolites. Most alloy grains are osmiridium and iridosmine. Based on elemental and isotopic compositions, two populations can be identified. Group I, found in both ophiolite bodies, has fractionated PGE patterns typical of alloys and homogeneous 187Os/188Os 0.12645 ± 4 (2s; n = 145). Group II alloys from the Dongqiao ophiolites show smooth PGE patterns and 187Os/188Os ranges from 0.12003 to 0.12194 (yielding Re-depletion ages ≥ 1.1 Ga). Both the PGE patterns and the Os isotopic compositions of Group II resemble those of sulfides residual after melting. Group I alloys represent an early cumulate phase during the crystallization of magmas and are interpreted as derived from an asthenospheric melt. In contrast, Group II alloys are inferred to derive from the breakdown of residual sulfides from the mantle section of the ophiolite, which may represent relics of a sub-continental lithospheric mantle. The coexistence of the two groups of alloys in Dongqiao samples reflects interaction between asthenosphere-derived melts and old depleted lithospheric mantle and suggests that the chromitites originated through melt–rock reactions. The data on the Group I alloys support the hypothesis that the Re–Os evolution of the convective oceanic mantle resembles that of enstatite chondrites.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-00404967
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00404967
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2007.05.044