Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
Two opposing visions of the Aegean backarc tectonics implicitly contain contrasting images of the rheological behaviour of the lihosphere, supported by different sets of observations. The propagation of the NAF and extension in the Corinth Rift suggest a strongly localising rheology whereas the formation of MCC in the Cyclades and the Rhodope suggests instead a more viscous behaviour. This paradox was the seminal question addressed by the ANR-EGEO programme (2007-2010) that leads to the following conclusions: (1) The exhumation of the Cycladic MCC's is accommodated by the N-dipping North Cycladic Detachment System (NCDS) that partly reworks the Vardar suture and at the base by a series of thrusts, including the basal contact of the Cycladic Blueschists (CBS) over the Cycladic Basement (CB). The activity of LANF is due to the reactivation of pre-existing discontinuities such as thrusts or earlier detachments and much less to the interaction with granitic plutons. (2) Exhumation in the Cyclades has proceeded in two stages: (a) Eocene syn-orogenic exhumation within the subduction lower/upperplate interface while the post-orogenic Rhodope MCC formed further north, (b) Oligo-Miocene post-orogenic extension in an MCC mode coeval with syn-orogenic exhumation in Crete and the Peloponnese. (3) Both stages were associated with slab retreat, as early as the Eocene with an acceleration at 30-35 Ma. (4) The localisation of the presently active steeply-dipping normal faults on the southern margin of the Corinth Rift may have been preceded by a partial reworking of thrusts and syn-orogenic detachments by shallow-dipping decollements. (5) The localisation of the NAF in the Marmara Sea region and the Northern Aegean Sea is now accurately dated between 5.3 and 5 Ma Ma using the erosion and deposition surfaces that mark the Messinian salinity Crisis and nannofossils ages. (6) The formation of MCCs in the Cyclades resulted in the draining of the low viscosity lower crust from the northern Aegean Sea and led to an easier coupling between upper mantle and upper crust, easing the localisation and propagation of the NAF. (7) A comparison between crustal and mantle finite strain suggests that mantle flow due to slab retreat controls the stretching of the crust. Our model involves progressive slab retreat and mantle flow below the overriding plate inducing the observed succession of tectonic episodes with a progressive localisation of extension due to several slab tearing events. There is no paradox in the tectonic history and rheological behaviour of the Aegean lithosphere but an evolution of the kinematic boundary conditions due to slab deformation at depth.
American Geophysical Union
San Francisco, United States

insu-00860518
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00860518
BIBCODE : 2010AGUFM.T13G..04J

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Lambert Academic Publishing
Résumé : The Himalaya-Tibet system is considered as the classical case of continental collision. Nonetheless, some fundamental questions concerning its structure, as well as physical processes influencing its evolution are still pending. This book presents several advances in the subject matter. Based on new high-resolution geophysical data from the field, combined with robust imaging techniques, the structure of the collision is revealed in detail: the underplating of India beneath half of Tibet, as well as the geometry of the surface along which this happens. Various numerical modelling techniques allow to discuss physical processes at work in the collision zone, such as the rheology of the India plate whose strong mantle supports the Himalayas, or the metamorphic reactions at depth emphasizing the role of water. We recommend this book to Earth Scientists in a broader sense. While specialists in seismology or modelling can thumb technical details, all Readers can get an interdisciplinary overview of mountain building in the Himalayas, with a retrospective outlook on early day explorers and the dawn of some classical geological principles.
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00854592

ISBN : 978-3838323534
hal-00854592
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00854592

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The lithospheric mantle is intrinsically heterogeneous and anisotropic. These two properties govern the repartition of deformation, controlling intraplate strain localization and development of new plate boundaries. Geophysical and geological observations provide clues on the types, ranges, and characteristic length scales of heterogeneity and anisotropy in the lithospheric mantle. Seismic tomography points to variations in geothermal gradient and hence in rheological behavior at scales of hundreds of km. Seismic anisotropy data substantiate anisotropic physical properties consistent at scales of tens to hundreds of km. Receiver functions imply lateral and vertical heterogeneity at scales < 10 km, which might record gradients in composition or anisotropy. Observations on naturally deformed peridotites establish that compositional heterogeneity and Crystal Preferred Orientations (CPOs) are ubiquitous from the mm to the km scales. These data allow discussing the processes that produce/destroy heterogeneity and anisotropy and constraining the time scales over which they are active. This analysis highlights: (i) the role of deformation and reactive percolation of melts and fluids in producing compositional and structural heterogeneity and the feedbacks between these processes, (ii) the weak mechanical effect of mineralogical variations, and (iii) the low volumes of fine-grained microstructures and difficulty to preserve them. In contrast, olivine CPO and the resulting anisotropy of mechanical and thermal properties are only modified by deformation. Based on this analysis, we propose that strain localization at the plate scale is, at first order, controlled by large-scale variations in thermal structure and in CPO-induced anisotropy. In cold parts of the lithospheric mantle , grain size reduction may contribute to strain localization, but the low volume of fine-grained domains limits this effect.
ISSN: 0040-1951

hal-01277174
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01277174
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2015.07.026

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 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
The minerals constituting the Earth's upper mantle are nominally anhydrous silicates (NAMs). However they do contain hydrogen as a trace element, decorating point defects in their crystalline structure. Experimental petrology and mineralogy have quantified the maximum concentration under several compositional and thermodynamic conditions, but systematic studies on the hydrogen concentration in minerals from mantle-derived rocks have only recently been carried out. Here, we have compiled the distribution of hydrogen in upper mantle peridotite xenoliths, from which several conclusions can be drawn. NAMs from peridotite xenoliths contain a few ppm wt. H2O in their structure. From the current database, the hydrogen concentrations in olivine regularly increase with increasing depth. The amount of hydrogen in NAMs from peridotite xenoliths from subduction contexts is not higher than in other geological context for similar temperature and pressure conditions. The highest hydrogen concentrations is found in peridotitic olivines from cratonic mantle, and are likely due to the depth of origin. The increasing hydrogen concentration in olivine with increasing depth is likely controlled by the increase of H partitioning into olivine at the expense of orthopyroxene as imposed by a decrease in Al content in opx with depth. However, the sparse data could also indicate that the bulk hydrogen concentration slightly increases with depth > 150 km. In this case, it would suggest, locally (Udachnaya for example), a possible increase in water fugacity due to fluid saturation. Even if the most abundant mineral in mantle rocks is olivine, the bulk hydrogen concentration in peridotites is controlled by the amount of hydrogen stored in pyroxenes. However, hydrogen concentration in olivine remains crucial for consequences on physical properties such as rheology and electrical conductivity. Kinetics of hydrogen transport is reviewed and hydrous melt/fluid percolation appears necessary to homogenize the hydrogen distribution at km-scale. Sampling of natural rock specimens is currently biased (e.g., in favor of optically attractive samples) and needs improvement, which will be achieved by increasing sample diversity (all type of grain sizes, lithologies, geological settings) and size of rock samples, as well as advances in analytical techniques. Acquisition of high quality data will be achieved by studying the co-existing minerals in mantle specimens, exploring each sample by linear and mapping measurements, and using appropriate FTIR calibrations for polarized and unpolarized radiation.
ISSN: 0024-4937

hal-01306676
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01306676
DOI : 10.1016/j.lithos.2015.11.012

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer
Résumé : International audience
In this study, we used data recorded by two consecutive passive broadband deployments on the Gulf of Aden northern margin, Dhofar region, Sultanate of Oman. The objective of these deployments is to map the young eastern Gulf of Aden passive continental margin crust and upper mantle structure and rheology. In this study, we use shear-wave splitting analysis to map lateral variations of upper mantle anisotropy beneath the study area. In this study, we found splitting magnitudes to vary between 0.33 and 1.0 s delay times, averaging about 0.6 s for a total of 17 stations from both deployment periods. Results show distinct abrupt lateral anisotropy variation along the study area. Three anisotropy zones are identified: a western zone dominated by NW-SE anisotropy orientations, an eastern zone dominat- ed with NE-SW anisotropy orientations, and central zone with mixed anisotropy orientations similar to the east and west zones. We interpret these shorter wavelength anisotropy zones to possibly represent fossil lithospheric mantle anisotropy. We postulate that the central anisotropy zone may be representing a Proterozoic suture zone that separates two terranes to the east and west of it. The anisotropy zones west and east were being used indicative of different terranes with different upper mantle anisotropy signatures.
ISSN: 1866-7411

hal-00647478
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00647478
DOI : 10.1007/s12517-011-0477-2

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
We report new structural, microstructural, petrological, and major- and trace-element data on ultramafic rocks from the Kondyor zoned ultramafic complex in Far-East Russia. The ultramafic rocks are subdivided into three subconcentric lithologies, from core to rim: (1) a metasomatic domain where generally phlogopite-rich dykes pervasively intrude dunite; (2) a main dunite core; (3) a pyroxenite rim. The ultramafic rocks have nearly vertical contacts with the surrounding Archaean basement (gneisses, quartzites and marbles) and hornfelsed Riphean sediments. The hornfelsed sediments show a relatively steep ( 60), outward dipping layering, which rapidly flattens to horizontal away from the inner contact. Although the Riphean sediments define a dome-like structure, the inward, shallow dipping foliation of the dunites indicates a synformal structure. Detailed petro-structural investigations indicate that the Kondyor dunites were deformed by solid-state flow under asthenospheric mantle conditions. The outward textural change from coarse- to fine-grained equigranular dunite and the outward-increasing abundance of subgrains and recrystallized olivine grains suggest dynamic recrystallization while fluid circulation was channelized within the core metasomatic zone, with a decreasing melt fraction from core to rim, and also suggest that solid-state deformation induced grain-size reduction towards the cooling border of the Kondyor massif. Based on their geochemistry, the dunites are interpreted as mantle rocks strongly affected by reaction with melts similar to the JurassicCretaceous Aldan Shield lamproites. Rim pyroxenites were formed by a melt-consuming peritectic reaction, implying the existence of at least a small, conductive thermal gradient around the dunite body while the latter was still at near-solidus temperature conditions. This suggests that the zoned structure of Kondyor was initiated at mantle depths, most probably within the subcontinental lithosphere. Upon cooling, the lamproitic melts were progressively focused in the central part of the massif and drained into vein conduits where they reacted with the wall-rock dunite. Two-dimensional numerical modelling based on finite-differences with a marker-in-cell technique incorporates temperature-dependent rheologies for both molten and non-molten host rocks. The modelling consolidates the structural, petrological and geochemical interpretations, which show that the dunites represent the synformal, flat-lying apex of an asthenospheric mantle diapir, triggered by fluid pressure channelized in the core, which nearly reached the Earths surface. We conclude that translithospheric mantle diapirism is an important mode of mass transfer in the Earth.
ISSN: 0022-3530

hal-00424508
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00424508
DOI : 10.1093/petrology/egn083

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
During the last decade, the interaction of deep processes in the lithosphere and mantle with surface processes (erosion, climate, sea-level, subsidence, glacio-isostatic readjustment) has been the subject of heated discussion. The use of a multidisciplinary approach linking geology, geophysics, geodesy, modelling, and geotechnology has led to the awareness of coupled deep and surface processes. Deep earth dynamics (topography, erosion, tectonics) are strongly connected to natural hazards such as earthquakes, landslides, and tsunamis; sedimentary mass transfers have important consequences on isostatic movements and on georesources, geothermal energy repartitions. The ability to read and understand the link between deep Earth dynamics and surface processes has therefore important societal impacts. Ground-truthing at carefully-selected sites of investigation is imperative to better understand these connections.Due to its youth (<30 Ma) and its subsidence history, the almost land-locked Gulf of Lion–Sardinia continental margins system provides a unique record of sedimentary deposition from the Miocene to present. Due to its high subsidence rate, palaeoclimatic variations, tectonic events and vertical evolution are all recorded here at very high resolution. The late Miocene isolation and desiccation of the Mediterranean, the youngest and most catastrophic event, the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC), induced drastic changes in marine environments: widespread deposition of evaporite (gypsum, anhydrite and halite) in the central basin, and intense subaerial erosion along its periphery. These extraordinary mass transfers from land to sea induced strong isostatic re-adjustments that are archived in the sedimentary record and represent a window to the lithospheric rheology and the deep processes.The GOLD (Gulf of Lion Drilling) project, proposes to explore this unique sedimentary record as well as the nature of the deep crustal structure, providing valuable information about the mechanisms underlying vertical motions in basins and their margins.
ISSN: 0264-8172

insu-01197393
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01197393
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01197393/document
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01197393/file/Rabineau%20et%20al.-final-MPG2014_REVISED-FINAL-No-Marked_FINAL%2BFigures.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2015.03.018

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Deep crustal and mantle rocks are exhumed in core complex mode of extension in three types of structures: metamorphic core complexes, oceanic core complexes and magma poor passive margins. Using available analogue and numerical models and their comparison with natural examples, the present paper reviews the mechanical processes involved in these different types of extensional setting. Three main aspects are considered: i) the primary role of lithosphere rheology, ii) the lithosphere-scale patterns of progressive deformation that lead to the exhumation of deep metamorphic or mantle rocks and iii) the initiation and development of detachment zones. Crustal core complexes develop in continental lithospheres whose Moho temperature is higher than 750 °C with “upper crust-dominated” strength profiles. Contrary to what is commonly believed, it is argued from analogue and numerical models that detachments that accommodate exhumation of core complexes do not initiate at the onset of extension but in the course of progressive extension when the exhuming ductile crust reaches the surface. In models, convex upward detachments result from a rolling hinge process. Mantle core complexes develop in either the oceanic lithosphere, at slow and ultra-slow spreading ridges, or in continental lithospheres, whose initial Moho temperature is lower than 750 °C, with “sub-Moho mantle-dominated” strength profiles. It is argued that the mechanism of mantle exhumation at passive margins is a nearly symmetrical necking process at lithosphere scale without major and permanent detachment, except if strong strain localization could occur in the lithosphere mantle. Distributed crustal extension, by upper crust faulting above a décollement along the ductile crust increases toward the rift axis up to crustal breakup. Mantle rocks exhume in the zone of crustal breakup accommodated by conjugate mantle shear zones that migrate with the rift axis, during increasing extension.
ISSN: 0040-1951

insu-01610186
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01610186
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01610186/document
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01610186/file/brun-tect-2017.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2017.09.017

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Most of the plate boundaries are activated obliquely with respect to the direction of far field stresses, as roughly only 8% of the plate boundaries total length shows a very low obliquity (ranging from 0 to 10°, sub-orthogonal to the plate displacement). The obliquity along plate boundaries is controlled by (i) lateral rheological variations within the lithosphere and (ii) consistency with the global plate circuit. Indeed, plate tectonics and magmatism drive rheological changes within the lithosphere and consequently influence strain localization. Geodynamical evolution controls large-scale mantle convection and plate formation, consumption, and re-organization, thus triggering plate kinematics variations, and the adjustment and re-orientation of far field stresses. These geological processes may thus result in plate boundaries that are not perpendicular but oblique to the direction of far field stresses. This paper reviews the global patterns of obliquity along plate boundaries. Using GPlate, we provide a statistical analysis of present-day obliquity along plate boundaries. Within this framework, by comparing natural examples and geological models, we discuss deformation patterns and kinematics recorded along oblique plate boundaries.
ISSN: 0040-1951

hal-01467188
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01467188
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2016.05.033

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
Metamorphic soles correspond to m to 500 m thick highly strained metamorphic rock units found beneath myloniticbanded peridotites at the base of large-scale ophiolites, as exemplified in Oman. Metamorphic soles aremainly composed of metabasalts deriving from the downgoing oceanic lithosphere and metamorphosed up togranulite-facies conditions by heat transfer from the mantle wedge. Pressure–temperature peak conditions areusually estimated at 1.00.2 GPa and 800100ºC. The absence of HP–LT metamorphism overprint implies thatmetamorphic soles have been formed and exhumed during subduction infancy. In this view, metamorphic soleswere strongly deformed during their accretion to the mantle wedge (corresponding, now, to the base of the ophiolite).Therefore, metamorphic soles and banded peridotites are direct witnesses of the dynamics of early subductionzones, in terms of thermal structure, fluid migration and rheology evolution across the nascent slab interface.Based on fieldwork and EBSD analyses, we present a detailed (micro–) structural study performed on samplescoming from the Sumeini window, the better-preserved cross-section of the metamorphic sole of Oman. Largedifferences are found in the deformation (CPO, grain size, aspect ratio) of clinopyroxene, amphibole and plagioclase,related to mineralogical changes linked with the distance to the peridotite contact (e.g., hardening due to theappearance of garnet and clinopyroxene).To model the incipient slab interface in laboratory, we carried out 5 hydrostatic annealing and simple-shear experimentson Griggs solid-medium apparatus. Deformation experiments were conducted at axial strain rates of 10-6s-1. Fine-grained amphibolite was synthetized by adding 1 wt.% water to a (Mid-Ocean Ridge) basalt powder asa proxy for the metamorphic sole (amphibole + plagioclase + clinopyroxene garnet assemblage). To synthetizegarnet, 2 experiments were carried out in hydrostatic conditions and with deformation at 800C with confiningpressure of 2 GPa. Another simple-shear experiment has been carried out at 800C and 1 GPa with fined-grainednatural garnet. With the aim of mimicking the early slab interface (between the metamorphic sole and bandedperidotites at the base of the ophiolite), 2 simple-shear deformation experiments with 2 layers have been carriedout at 800C and confining pressure of 1 GPa. The bottom layer was made of hydrated basalt powder and the toplayer was made of olivine.Fined-grained garnet-free amphibolite is significantly weaker than dunite but the appearance of harder mineralsin the amphibolite (garnet and clinopyroxene) has major implications on its rheological evolution. These resultsallow liking field observations of strain localization at the interface to the metamorphic sole formation
European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2016
Vienne, Austria

insu-01309394
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01309394

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

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", which corresponds to the first 0-2 My immediately following subductionnucleation, when a newly born slab penetrates into the overriding plate mantle and heats up.The only remnants of this critical, yet elusive, geodynamic step are thin metamorphic soles, commonly found beneathpristine, 100-1000 km long portions of oceanic lithosphere emplaced on top of continents (i.e. ophiolites).In this study, we show how, during subduction infancy, transient mechanical properties of both the mantle and crustacross the subduction plate interface (during 100s ky) control and hinder the penetration of tectonic plates intothe mantle, and how this results in strong peaks of resistance and even slicing of their surface — leaving behindthin, chopped-off metamorphic slivers (i.e. metamorphic soles).These findings constrain the mechanical behaviour of the subduction plate interface (with implications for couplingprocesses and earthquake generation) as well as the properties of the crust and mantle. They also highlight the roleof fluids in enabling subduction to overcome this early resistance.
Geophysical Research Abstracts
Vienne, Austria

insu-01309386
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01309386

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The initiation and subsequent evolution of intra-plate orogens, resulting from continental plate interior deformation due to transmission of stresses over large distances from the active plate boundaries, is controlled by lateral and vertical strength contrasts in the lithosphere. We present lithospheric-scale analogue models combining 1) lateral strength variations in the continental lithosphere, and 2) different vertical rheological stratifications. The experimental continental lithosphere has a four-layer brittle–ductile rheological stratification. Lateral heterogeneity is implemented in all models by increased crustal strength in a central narrow block. The main investigated parameters are strain rate and strength of the lithospheric mantle, both playing an important role in crust–mantle coupling. The experiments show that the presence of a strong crustal domain is effective in localizing deformation along its boundaries. After deformation is localized, the evolution of the orogenic system is governed by the mechanical properties of the lithosphere such that the final geometry of the intra-plate mountain depends on the interplay between crust–mantle coupling and folding versus fracturing of the lithospheric mantle. Underthrusting is the main deformation mode in case of high convergence velocity and/or thick brittle mantle with a final asymmetric architecture of the deep lithosphere. In contrast, lithospheric folding is dominant in case of low convergence velocity and low strength brittle mantle, leading to the development of a symmetric lithospheric root. The presented analogue modelling results provide novel insights for 1) strain localization and 2) the development of the asymmetric architecture of the Pyrenees.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-01243577
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01243577
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2015.05.022

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
We performed forward modelling of seismic anisotropy beneath a migrating strike-slip plate boundary to: (1) test if such a geodynamic context might explain teleseismic shear wave splitting data in the vicinity of the central part of the San Andreas Fault and (2) constrain the power of such data to unravel vertical and lateral variations in deformation patterns in the upper mantle. The modelling involves five steps: (1) thermomechanical modelling, using a finite-element code, of the deformation field, (2) viscoplastic self-consistent modelling of the resulting olivine and pyroxene crystal preferred orientations, (3) calculation of the elasticity tensors for different domains of the finite elements (FEs) model, (4) forward modelling of seismic wave propagation through the model using ray theory, finite-frequency theory and a full-wave approach and (5) performing splitting measurements on the synthetic seismograms. SKS splitting data in central California are best fitted by a model with a hotter geotherm within 60 km of the plate boundary accounting for the opening of an asthenospheric window due to the northward migration of the Mendocino Triple Junction. The westward motion of the plate boundary cannot however explain the rotation of fast polarization directions east of the San Andreas Fault in central California. Comparison between modelled and measured individual shear wave splitting also implies that the homogeneity of the two-layer models accounting for the observations in the vicinity of the San Andreas Fault indicates a sharp transition between lithospheric and asthenospheric deformations beneath this plate boundary. The ability of different synthetic approaches to localize horizontally and vertically the plate boundary-related deformation differs significantly. Splitting in ray theory synthetics closely follow variations in olivine crystallographic preferred orientations in the model. In contrast, splitting analysis on full-wave synthetics, which should be more representative of actual long-period SKS waves, results in smooth apparent lateral variations of anisotropy; the exact location and width of the plate boundary may only be retrieved by comparing fast-polarization profiles obtained using a multichannel analysis on waves with different periods.
ISSN: 0956-540X

hal-01236150
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01236150
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01236150/document
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01236150/file/Bonnin_San_Andreas_modelling_GJI2012.pdf
DOI : 10.1111/j.1365-246X.2012.05650.x

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
We have inferred the deformation mechanisms of antigorite by high-resolution EBSD mapping of samples from Cerro del Almirez ultramafic massif (Betic Cordillera, SE Spain). Textural relations and phase diagram calculations constrain the foliation development conditions to the subduction prograde path at up to 600-630 °C and 1.6-1.9 GPa. Deformation was followed by static annealing of antigorite at ca. 680 °C. The Crystal Preferred Orientation (CPO) of antigorite is characterised by a strong alignment of (001) poles normal to the foliation plane and a weaker, but clear, parallelism between [100] axes and the macroscopic lineation defined by the elongation of magnetite aggregates. Analysis of misorientations across subgrains shows predominance of [010] rotation axis, consistent with activation of the [100](001) slip system. However, tilt subgrain boundaries subparallel to (100), probably formed by edge dislocations of this system, are subsidiary. Most subgrain boundaries are subparallel to (001) planes. They are interpreted as (001) twins wherein continuing viscoplastic deformation resulted in a slight increase of the misorientation between the twins. Modelling of the evolution of the antigorite CPO using a lower bound approach and considering different deformation regimes and sets of basal and non-basal slip systems has shown that intensities of [100] and [010] maxima reflect the relative strength of the antigorite [100](001) and [010](001) systems. Activation of other basal or non-basal slip systems does not change significantly the CPO patterns, but results in less concentrated CPO. 3D transpression models better reproduce the CPO of natural antigorite serpentinites. We propose that the widespread occurrence of strong CPO in high-pressure antigorite serpentinite is consistent with deformation by dislocation creep with dominant glide on [hk0](001), together with the activation of twinning, implying that a power law rheology would better account for the mechanical behaviour of antigorite serpentinite deep in the subduction channel and mantle wedge.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-00795511
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00795511
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2012.06.049

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union
Résumé : International audience
More than 10 years of geodetic measurements demonstrate an uplift rate of 1–3 mm/yr of the high topography region of the Western Alps. By contrast, no significant horizontal motion has been detected. Two uplift mechanisms have been proposed: (1) the isostatic response to denudation responsible for only a fraction of the observed uplift and (2) the rebound induced by the Wurmian ice cap melting which predicts a broader uplifting region than the one evidenced by geodetic observations. Using a numerical model to fit the geodetic data, we show that a crustal viscosity contrast between the foreland and the central part of the Alps, the latter being weaker with a viscosity of 1021 Pa s, is needed. The vertical rates are enhanced if the strong uppermost mantle beneath the Moho is interrupted across the Alps, therefore allowing a weak vertical rheological anomaly over the entire lithosphere.
ISSN: 0094-8276

hal-01332757
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01332757
DOI : 10.1002/2016GL067821

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Much debate exists concerning the strength distribution of the continental lithosphere, how it controls lithosphere-scale strain localization and hence enables plate tectonics. No rheological model proposed to date is comprehensive enough to describe both the weakness of plate boundary and rigid-like behaviour of plate interiors. Here we show that the duality of strength of the lithosphere corresponds to different stages of microstructural evolution. Geological constraints on lithospheric strength and large strain numerical experiments reveal that the development of layers containing weak minerals and the onset of grain boundary sliding upon grain size reduction in olivine cause strain localisation and reduce strength in the crust and subcontinental mantle, respectively. The positive feedback between weakening and strain localization leads to the progressive development of weak plate boundaries while plate interiors remain
ISSN: 0040-1951

insu-00949213
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00949213
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00949213/document
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00949213/file/Gueydan_et_al_2014.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2014.02.005

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Nature Publishing Group
Résumé : International audience
Mantle flow involves large strains of polymineral aggregates. The strongly anisotropic plastic response of each individual grain in the aggregate results from the interactions between neighbouring grains and the continuity of material displacement across the grain boundaries. Orthorhombic olivine, which is the dominant mineral phase of the Earth's upper mantle, does not exhibit enough slip systems to accommodate a general deformation state by intracrystalline slip without inducing damage. Here we show that a more general description of the deformation process that includes the motion of rotational defects referred to as disclinations can solve the olivine deformation paradox. We use high-resolution electron backscattering diffraction (EBSD) maps of deformed olivine aggregates to resolve the disclinations. The disclinations are found to decorate grain boundaries in olivine samples deformed experimentally and in nature. We present a disclination-based model of a high-angle tilt boundary in olivine, which demonstrates that an applied shear induces grain-boundary migration through disclination motion. This new approach clarifies grain-boundary-mediated plasticity in polycrystalline aggregates. By providing the missing mechanism for describing plastic flow in olivine, this work will permit multiscale modelling of the rheology of the upper mantle, from the atomic scale to the scale of the flow.
ISSN: 0028-0836

hal-01054315
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01054315
DOI : 10.1038/nature13043