Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : This thesis aims to analyze the active tectonics and the seismic hazard for three main cities of NW Iran (Tehran, Tabriz and Zandjan) using morphotectonics and paleoseismology. Within the Tehran capital, we focused our analysis on the Mosha-North Tehran (M-NT) active fault system. Our investigations show that this fault system is mainly dominated by left-lateral faulting. Along the eastern part of the M-NT fault system, we found evidences of at least seven strong (M>7) paleoearthquakes during the past 10 ka (recurrence interval : 1100-1400 yrs). Our study along the central portion of the fault system (in Abali region) suggests that it corresponds probably to the source of the 1830 AD historical earthquake (M=7.1, Io= IX). Within Tabriz region, we studied the SE segment of the North Tabriz fault. We found evidences of at least three strong events, which occurred during the past 33.5 ka. The North Tabriz dextral fault corresponds to the central portion of a fault system (TFS), and contains two fault segments (NW and SE). Our paleoseismological analysis shows a variation of the slip rate, which decreases from NW to SE along the strike-slip fault. The western (Mishu) and eastern (Bozghush) terminations of the fault system correspond to oblique-compression zones. TFS belongs to the eastern portion of a regional fault system (GSKT), linking the active extension within the central part of the collision and the active compression to the East. Finally, we focus on the Zandjan area, where no important historical seismicitiy is recorded. There, based on morphotectonics analysis we discovered a large active fault network, whose southeastern part affects the Zandjan city. To conclude this work, we replace our observations within the general geodynamic framework of the Arabia- Eurasia collision. One of the striking pictures is the occurrence of opposite kinematics along the M-NT (and other range parallel faults within the south Central Alborz) and the North Tabriz fault systems that have the same trend. This shows the rapid variation of the regional stress field in the Northern Iran.
L'objectif de ce mémoire de thèse est l'étude de la tectonique récente et l'évaluation de l'aléa sismique pour trois villes importante, Téhéran, Tabriz et Zandjan, situées dans le nord-ouest de l'Iran. Dans la capitale de l'Iran, Téhéran, nous nous sommes concentrés sur le système de faille active de Mosha-Nord Téhéran. Nos travaux démontrent que ce système est essentiellement décrochant sénestre. Nos analyses paléosismologiques sur la portion est de ce système (dans la vallée de Tar) montrent au minimum les évidences de sept grands événements sismiques (M>7) pendant les derniers 10000 ans (l'intervalle de récurrence est de 1100 à 1400 ans). Les études que nous avons mené dans la partie centrale de ce système (région d'Abali) révèlent qu'il pourrait être la source du dernier événement sismique ayant affecté la ville de Téhéran en 1830 AD. Dans la région de Tabriz, nous nous sommes intéressés au segment SE de la faille décrochante dextre de Nord Tabriz où nous avons trouvé les évidences de trois grands séismes pendant les derniers 33500 ans. Nos études montrent que la faille Nord Tabriz qui est la portion centrale d'un système de faille (TFS) est constituée par deux segments NW et SE dextres. Notre étude paléosismologique suggère une variation de la vitesse qui diminue du NW vers SE le long de ces segments. Les extrémités ouest (Mishu) et est (Bozghush) de ce système correspondent à des zones compressives qui absorbent les déplacements horizontaux sur les segments NW et SE. D'un point de vue général la TFS est une partie d'un système de failles régionales (GSKT) qui relie une zone d'extension active dans la partie centrale de la collision Arabie-Eurasie et une zone de compression active à l'Est. Enfin, à Zandjan qui est une ville située dans une région de lacune sismique, nous avons découvert un important réseau de failles actives. Le tracé sud-est de ce réseau de failles passe par la ville de Zandjan. En conclusion, les localisations et les cinématiques des systèmes de faille étudiés sont discutées dans le cadre géodynamique général de la collision Arabie-Eurasie. On remarquera que la faille majeure de Nord Tabriz qui correspond essentiellement à un décrochement dextre a la même direction NW-SE que les décrochements sénestres présents dans la chaîne de l'Alborz (les failles de : Mosha, Talaghan et Manjil). Cette observation nécessite une variation de la direction de compression entre ces deux régions.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00539739

tel-00539739
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00539739
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00539739/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00539739/file/thesesoleymani.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD MAIK Nauka/Interperiodica
Résumé : International audience
The paper is concerned with the kinematics of the major faults, their pattern, and the time of occurrence of compression and extension deformations in the southeast of the Eastern Sayan. The geometry of the mountain ranges and the kinematics of the major faults exhibit northeast-oriented compression responsible for the current processes of relief formation, which corresponds to the direction of the vector of deformations associated with the Indo-Asian collision. The results obtained thus far may be indicative of the remote influence of collision on the orogenic activity and transpressional deformations in the Eastern Sayan since the end of the Miocene. Morphotectonic analysis has shown that the areas of Quaternary extension- related deformations in the Eastern Sayan are not a response to active rifting in the Baikal Rift Zone. The position and geometry of the subsided blocks and magma ruptures point to the fact that they form locally as extension structural elements near the strike-slip faults. The strike-slip and thrust faults are widespread and play the leading role in the development of the southeastern part of the Eastern Sayan.
ISSN: 0016-8521

insu-00667345
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00667345
DOI : 10.1134/S001685211101002X

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union
Résumé : International audience
The reactivation of faults with near-optimal orientations is commonly considered to control the state of stress in the crust. Near the surface, where a principal stress direction is vertical, the attitude of such faults is explained by Anderson's theory. This raises the questions of how prevalent this type of faulting actually is in current seismicity, down to what depth it frequently occurs, and what range of friction angles explains it best. The Global Centroid Moment Tensor catalog is analyzed to address these questions. Dip-slip and strike-slip mechanisms are dominant, and oblique slips are relatively rare for well-constrained events with depths shallower than 30 km. Preferred Andersonian faulting is the simplest, but not the unique, explanation for this dominance. Isolating reverse, strike- slip, and normal events reveals an asymmetry in the distribution of nodal plane dips and plunges of the P, B, and T axes between reverse and normal faulting. Assuming that the most frequent events correspond to reactivation near optimal orientations yields 40-60 degrees and 0-20 degrees friction angles for reverse and normal faults, respectively. This indicates that reverse and normal faulting mechanics are not symmetrical with respect to stress configuration as predicted by Anderson's theory.
ISSN: 8755-1209

hal-00412159
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00412159
DOI : 10.1029/2007RG000240

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union
Résumé : International audience
New high-resolution marine data acquired aboard R/V Le Suroît was used to map active normal faults offshore Montserrat in greater detail. The main faults of the Montserrat-Havers fault zone have cumulative scarps up to 200 m high, and offset sedimentary layers by hundreds of meters. They are arranged in a right-stepping, en echelon, trans-tensional array, which confirms that they accommodate the left-lateral component of motion resulting from slip partitioning of oblique convergence along the volcanic arc. They cut across Montserrat's recent volcanic complex. Faulting and fissuring exerted control on the position of andesitic domes, which are aligned along the N110°E average fault trend. The ≈10 km-long fault segments that cross the island could produce damaging, M ≈ 6 events comparable to the shallow, 16 March 1985, Mw∼6.3 earthquake that ruptured a submarine, N140°E striking, left-lateral fault near Redonda.
ISSN: 0094-8276

insu-01586768
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01586768
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01586768/document
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01586768/file/Feuillet_et_al-2010-Geophysical_Research_Letters.pdf
DOI : 10.1029/2010GL042556

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
We use 3-D mechanical modeling representing faults as planar surfaces with frictional properties that obey Coulomb-failure process to explore the long-term slip rates of the Altyn Tagh fault and Kunlun faults in the north Tibetan plateau. Crustal theology is simplified as an elastoplastic upper crust and a viscoelastic lower crust. Far-field GPS velocities and late Quaternary fault slip rates are used to constrain the model results. Rheological tests show that effective fault friction lower than 0.1-0.08 leads to high slip rates that fit with geologically and geodetically determined slip rates of the Kunlun fault (10-11.7 +/- 1.5 mm/yr). Meanwhile, the modeled Altyn Tagh fault reaches slip rates similar to 13.7 mm/yr to similar to 7.8 mm/yr in its central portion, between ranges of the geological slip rates. Associated with high slip rates, our model predicts that central Tibet (similar to 84 degrees E-95 degrees E) from the Altyn Tagh fault to the north of the Himalayan arc accommodates north-south shortening and east-west extension rates of similar to 10-12 mm/yr and similar to 8-10 mm/yr, respectively. We also question the widely accepted idea that interseismic strain is driven at the base of the seismogenic zone by a screw dislocation. If this assumption fails, the presented model implies that interseismic strain around large strike-slip faults could be distributed in a much broader way if the lithosphere deforms as a thin elastic plate rather than an elastic half-space with an embedded dislocation. If this distributed deformation is ignored, and the instantaneous surface deformation field modeled as that resulting from slip on a dislocation below a specified depth embedded in an elastic half-space, the estimated slip rate will inevitably be lower than the true long-term slip rate. This appears to explain why geodetic slip rates proposed for the Altyn Tagh fault (510 mm/yr) are lower than some of the geological slip rates. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-00411926
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00411926
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2008.06.049

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
Iran is an active continental domain accommodating the convergence between the Arabia and Eurasia plates. In northwestern Iran, deformation between the Central Iranian block and the Caucasus domain is mainly accommodated by right lateral strike-slip on the Tabriz fault. Cities and villages, including the city of Tabriz, have been destroyed by several strong historical earthquakes (M similar to 7). In this study, we compare the slip-rates estimated from geodetic measurements (radar interferometry and UPS) with those determined by dating a geomorphological offset of an alluvial fan along the Tabriz fault. The GPS measurements along two profiles normal to the Tabriz fault suggest a slip-rate of 7.3 +/- 1.3 mm yr(-1). The persistent scatterer radar interferometry analysis of Envisat satellite archives from 2003 to 2010 shows a velocity gradient (6 +/- 3 mm yr(-1)) across the Tabriz fault in agreement with GPS results. Moreover, it reveals that most of the area located south of the Tabriz fault is affected by subsidence, and that some sections of the fault probably act as barriers to fluid migration which may have an impact on its mechanical behaviour. West of Tabriz morphotectonic investigations on an alluvial fan surface show a right-lateral cumulative offset of 320 +/- 40 m Luminescence analyses of the coarse matrix alluvial fan deposits provide an age of 46 +/- 3 ka. This yields a slip-rate comprised between 6.5 and 7.3 mm yr(-1) along this segment. These results suggest that the Late Quaternary slip-rate is in agreement with the present-day slip-rate estimated by geodetic measurements, showing no slip-rate changes during the past 45 000 yr. Short-term variations within the 45 000 yr related to temporal earthquake clustering over few seismic cycles cannot be ruled out, but if they exist, they do not affect the geodetic and the geomorphological estimates. This study is in agreement with previous ones suggesting that long-term slip-rates (i.e. averaged over several tens of seismic cycles) are consistent with geodetic estimated slip-rates (i.e. extrapolated from few years of interseismic observations), and suggests that perturbations of fault slip-rates are related to variations over few seismic cycles.
ISSN: 0956-540X

hal-00844695
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00844695
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00844695v2/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00844695/file/rizza2013.pdf
DOI : 10.1093/gji/ggt041

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
To estimate the seismic hazard, the geometry (dip, length and orientation) and the dynamics (type of displacements and amplitude) of the faults in the area of interest need to be understood. In this paper, in addition to geomorphologic observations, we present the results of two ground penetrating radar (GPR) campaigns conducted in 2010 and 2011 along the Emeelt fault in the vicinity of Ulaanbaatar, capital of Mongolia, located in an intracontinental region with low deformation rate that induces long recurrence time between large earthquakes. As the geomorphology induced by the fault activity has been highly smoothed by erosion processes since the last event, the fault location and geometry is difficult to determine precisely. However, by using GPR first, a non-destructive and fast investigation, the fault and the sedimentary deposits near the surface can be characterized and the results can be used for the choice of trench location. GPR was performed with a 50 MHz antenna over 2-D lines and with a 500 MHz antenna for pseudo-3-D surveys. The 500 MHz GPR profiles show a good consistency with the trench observations, dug next to the pseudo-3-D surveys. The 3-D 500 MHz GPR imaging of a palaeochannel crossed by the fault allowed us to estimate its lateral displacement to be about 2 m. This is consistent with a right lateral strike-slip displacement induced by an earthquake around magnitude 7 or several around magnitude 6. The 2-D 50 MHz profiles, recorded perpendicular to the fault, show a strong reflection dipping to the NE, which corresponds to the fault plane. Those profiles provided complementary information on the fault such as its location at shallow depth, its dip angle (from 23 • to 35 •) and define its lateral extension. Central Asia is known for its high level of seismic hazards, especially Mongolia, which has been one of the most seismically active intracontinental regions in the world with four large earthquakes (magnitude around 8) along its active faults in the western part of the country during the last century (Khilko et al. 1985). The deformation in Mongolia is located between compressive structures related to the collision and penetration of the Indian plate into the Eurasian plate and extensive structures in the north of the country related with the Baykal rift (Tapponnier & Molnar 1979; Baljinnyam et al. 1993; Schlupp 1996; Bayasgalan & Jackson 1999). The seismic activity observed in the vicinity of Ulaanbaatar (UB), capital of Mongolia, is relatively low compared to the activity observed in western Mongolia. Nevertheless, since 2005, the seismic activity around UB not only has increased, but is also organized (see Fig. 1) at the west of UB along two perpendicular directions, which determine two active faults: Emeelt fault, discovered in 2008 (NNW-SSE direction, 25-km-long minimum and situated about 10 km W of UB) and Hustai fault (WSW–ENE direction, 80 km long, with its NE tip at less than 20 km west of UB); their length and morphology indicate that they can produce earthquakes of magnitude 6.5–7.5 (Schlupp et al. 2012). Most of the Mongolian population (1.2 million over 3 million) is concentrated at UB, which is the main political and economical centre of the country. Hence, the study of seismic hazard and the estimation of the probability of future destructive earthquakes are of primary importance for the country (Dugarmaa et al. 2006). Since the last large earthquake, the faults geomorphology has been highly smoothed by erosional processes and the exact location of the fault plane surface rupture is thus hidden within a several metre wide strip. The GPR method has been proven to give good and useful results to characterize faults by identifying offsets of radar reflections (Malik et al. 2007; Christie et al. 2009; Yalçiner et al. 2013) and
ISSN: 0956-540X

hal-01342629
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01342629
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01342629/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01342629/file/Dujardin_Bano_etal_Geoph.%20J.%20Int._2014_final.pdf
DOI : 10.1093/gji/ggu130

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : In SW Yukon – SE Alaska, the boundary between the Pacific and North America plates is characterized by a syntaxis at the transition between the Aleutian subduction to the W and the Fairweather – Queen Charlotte strike-slip faults to the SE. The relative motion is oblique to the main fault structures, and the area is marked by the Yakutat block collision. From the Chugach – Saint Elias mountains in the plate boundary zone (up to 6 000 m high) to the intraplate strike-slip faults, markers of the present-day deformation give information on its partition in the system.During my PhD, I first measure surface deformation using a dense GPS network, deployed up to 500 km inland the North America plate. After precise processing and corrections of transient effects in the area (postseismic and glacial isostatic rebound), a new residual velocity field is produced for the syntaxis area, from which I derive strain rates. Those data allow me to quantify the fault slip rates for Fairweather and southern Denali strike-slip faults, and to characterize a bi-modal deformation pattern: Along the plate boundary, the deformation is localized on large-scale structures (accretionary prism to the W, Fairweather to the E); In the syntaxis area, strain rates are the highest and the GPS data shows a diffuse intraplate deformation, similar to an indentor pattern. The Yakutat block seems to strongly drive the North America plate deformation.This indentor pattern induces strong lateral variations on the large intraplate faults: the Denali – Totschunda – Duke River system. In a second part, I realize a regional geomorphological study to characterize the role and slip rate of those faults. From very high-resolution Digital Elevation Models (~ 1 m), a detailed cartography is done. On the basis of fieldwork observations, I measure offsets of fluvial and glacial markers, which are sampled for dating. A dextral cumulative deformation is highlighted on the northern Denali Fault, where as all southern Denali is marked by vertical deformation. This study allows me to quantify new slip rates for the system Denali – Totschunda – Duke River, and to show the leading role of the Totschunda (~ 14 mm/a) and Duke River (~ 6 mm/a) faults, contrary to the Denali Fault (~ 1 mm/a) North of the syntaxis.The new tectonic model for the Yakutat collision provides an important case study for the understanding of indentor systems. The concomitance of a rigid-block deformation (to the West) and diffuse deformation (to the East), as well as the near-zero slip rate on the lithospheric-scale southern Denali Fault highlight the major control of boundary conditions and the structural heritage on the orogen deformation.
Au SO Yukon – SE Alaska, la frontière entre les plaques Pacifique et Nord-Amérique est marquée par une syntaxe à la transition entre la subduction des Aléoutiennes à l’O et le décrochement de Fairweather – Queen Charlotte au SE. Le mouvement relatif est oblique et la région est marquée par la collision du bloc Yakutat. De la chaine des Chugach – Saint Elias en frontière de plaque (jusqu’à 6 000 m d’altitude) aux grands décrochements intraplaque, les marqueurs de la déformation actuelle apportent des informations sur sa partition dans ce système.Au cours de cette thèse, je m’intéresse dans un premier temps à mesurer la déformation de surface à l’aide d’un réseau GPS dense, déployé jusqu’à 500 km à l’intérieur de la plaque Nord-Amérique. Après un travail minutieux de traitement des données et de correction des effets transitoires (rebond post-glaciaire et post-sismique), un champ de vitesses résiduelles robuste et inédit est produit au niveau de la syntaxe, dont je dérive des taux de déformation. Ces données me permettent de quantifier les vitesses de glissement les failles décrochantes de Fairweather et Denali au Sud, et également de caractériser une déformation bimodale : En frontière de plaques, la déformation est localisée sur les grandes structures (prisme d’accrétion à l’O, Fairweather à l’E) ; Au niveau de la syntaxe, les taux de déformation sont les plus importants et les données GPS mettent en évidence une déformation intraplaque diffuse, similaire à un champ attendu à l’aplomb d’un indenteur. Le bloc Yakutat semble donc contrôler fortement la déformation de la plaque Nord-Amérique.Ce champ de déformation induit des variations latérales fortes sur les grandes failles intraplaque : le système Denali-Totschunda-Duke River. Dans une seconde partie, je réalise une étude géomorphologique régionale pour caractériser le rôle et la vitesse de ces failles. À partir de Modèles Numériques de Terrain très haute résolution (~ 1 m), une cartographie de détail est réalisée. Puis une mission de terrain me permet de mesurer des décalages sur des marqueurs fluviatiles et glaciaires et collecter des échantillons pour les dater. Je mets en évidence une déformation cumulée dextre sur le segment Nord de la faille de Denali, alors que toute la partie Sud déforme verticalement la surface. Cette étude me permet de quantifier de nouvelles vitesses de failles sur le système Denali-Totschunda-Duke River, et de montrer le rôle prépondérant des failles de Totschunda (~ 14 mm/a) et Duke River (~ 6 mm/a) contrairement à la faille de Denali (~ 1 mm/a) au Nord de la syntaxe.Le nouveau modèle cinématique proposé pour la région de collision Yakutat permet d’apporter un nouvel exemple à la compréhension des systèmes d’indenteur. La concomitance d’une déformation de blocs (à l’Ouest) et diffuse (à l’Est), ainsi que l’absence de déformation sur la faille lithosphérique de Denali Sud met en évidence le contrôle majeur des conditions aux limites et de l’héritage structural dans la déformation des orogènes.
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01241688

tel-01241688
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01241688
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01241688/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01241688/file/manuscrit_anais_v2_optimise.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Active faults from the Campo de Dalías (SE Betic Cordillera) allow us to constrain the deformation styles involved in the development of segmented oblique-slip faults. This sector constitutes the widest outcrop of Plio-Quaternary sediments in the northern boundary of the Alboran Sea. It has emerged since the Late Pliocene, and therefore provides recent deformation markers that are not disturbed by erosive processes. The faults started to grow during the Pleistocene, reactivating previous hybrid joints, with a normal-dextral slip. We present a detailed map of the largest fault in the area, the Loma del Viento fault, comprising six onshore segments. Based on field work and aerial photography, the distributions of the contiguous joints have been mapped, and the joints reactivated as faults are identified. Some of these fault segments are hard-linked, and fault slip enhances toward the linkage sectors between them with associated sedimentary depocenters. An electrical tomography profile reveals the wedge geometry of a unit of Pleistocene conglomerates and red silts that were coevally deposited during the fault movement. Long-term slip rate in the central part of the fault is estimated at 0.07 ± 0.03 mm/y. In addition, a seismic crisis nucleated close to the Loma del Viento fault during November 2010 was recorded. Moment tensor analysis of the two mainshocks (Mw 3.5 and 4.2) provides a focal solution indicating a N120°E striking right-lateral strike-slip fault. The corrugated morphology of the Loma del Viento fault may have influenced its seismic behavior. Some of the fault segments are oblique to the general motion of the fault. These oblique segments would provide higher resistance against the general fault motion and could lock the fault, leading to accumulate elastic energy.
ISSN: 0040-1951

hal-00750357
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00750357
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2011.12.001

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
In places where sedimentation and erosion compete at fast rates, part of the record of past earthquakes on faults may be buried, hence hidden, in the first few metres below the surface. We developed a novel form of palaeoseismology, of geophysical type, based on the use of a dense pseudo-3-D Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey to investigate such possible buried earthquake traces, on a long, fast-slipping strike-slip fault (Hope fault, New Zealand), at a site (Terako) where marked alluvial conditions prevail. We first used LiDAR data to analyse the ground surface morphology of the 2 km2 site at the greatest resolution. Nineteen morphological markers were observed, mainly alluvial terrace risers and small stream channels that are all dextrally offset by the fault by amounts ranging between 3 and 200 m. The measurements document about 10 past earthquake slip events with a mean coseismic slip of 3.3 +/- 1 m, with the most recent earthquake event having a slip of 3 +/- 0.5 m. We then investigated a detailed area of the site (400 x 600 m2) with pseudo-3-D GPR. We measured 56, similar to 400 m long, 510 m spaced GPR profiles (250 MHz), parallel to the fault and evenly distributed on either side. The analysis revealed the existence of a palaeosurface buried at about 3 m depth, corresponding to the top of alluvial terraces of different ages. That buried surface is incised by a dense network of stream channels that are all dextrally offset by the fault. We measured 48 lateral offsets in the buried channel network, more than twice than at the surface. These offsets range between 6 and 108 m, as observed at the surface, yet provide a more continuous record of the fault slip. The similarity of the successive slip increments suggests a slip per event averaging 4.4 +/- 1 m, fairly similar to that estimated from surface data. From the total surface and buried 67 offset collection, we infer that a minimum of 30 large earthquakes have broken the Hope fault at the Terako site in the last about 67 kyr, with an average coseismic slip of 3.2 +/- 1 m, a minimum average recurrence time of about 200 yr, and a magnitude of at least Mw 7.07.4. Our study therefore confirms that part of the record of past earthquakes may indeed reside in the first few metres below the surface, where it may be explored with geophysical, GPR-based palaeoseismology. Developing such a new palaeoseismological tool should provide rich information that may complement surface observations and help to document the past earthquakes on faults.
ISSN: 0956-540X

hal-00704560
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00704560
DOI : 10.1111/j.1365-246X.2012.05366.x

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
I use GPS interseismic velocities and classic 2D elastic half-space models with a screw dislocation to estimate the long-term fault slip rate, locking depth, and the offset between the surface fault trace and the location of the dislocation below the seismogenic zone for 13 segments along 8 major strike-slip faults. Using deduced strike-slip rates and the position of the dislocation to normalize the interseismic velocities to facilitate comparison of spatial patterns of deformation, I show that no substantial differences can be detected, ruling out a large asymmetry in interseismic velocities across the 8 faults used in this study. Only the Carrizo Plain segment of the San Andreas Fault shows a significant asymmetry that cannot be explained by shifting the position of the dislocation at depth relative to the fault trace. However, the resulting perturbation is less than 10% of total strike-slip rate. Fault traces are usually curved, defining a concave side. When the dislocation at depth is significantly offset from the fault trace, the shift is always toward the block on the concave side of the fault trace. This suggests that the fault zone in the lower crust may develop a simpler geometry more consistent with relative motion across the fault than its upper seismogenic part constrained by the structural complexity of the brittle crust. Since the faults used in this study are at different times in their interseismic period, comparing the interseismic velocity fields across them allows identification of possible variations of the interseismic velocities with time. When normalized by slip rate and dislocation location, all the faults show the same interseismic strain with no significant differences between deduced locking depths. These comparisons suggest that if temporal variations occur as suggested by some dynamic earthquake cycle models, they are small and below the accuracy of the available geodetic measurements.
ISSN: 0040-1951

hal-01171753
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01171753
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2015.01.013

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
The Ryukyu subduction is known to generate very few earthquakes in its central segment contrarily to its two extremities. We focus in this study on the southernmost part of the Ryukyu subduction zone offshore east Taiwan. Our first task was to build a homogeneous earthquake catalogue for the period 1900–2007. The new catalogue provides homogenized M′W magnitudes and shows that several M′W≥ 7.0 earthquakes occurred offshore Hualien and Suao cities. We then focused on the 1920 June 5 earthquake (reported surface wave magnitude 8.1) previously located beneath the accretionary prism. The revised moment magnitude has been estimated in our catalogue at 7.7 ± 0.2. It is the biggest earthquake ever recorded in the Taiwan area but the fault that has produced this earthquake has not yet been identified with confidence. We relocated this event using regional phases (seismological bulletins archived at the Central Weather Bureau of Taiwan) about 50 km NNE and shallower of its former location, that is, within the Ryukyu Arc basement. According to earthquake bulletin information, revised magnitude, new hypocentral determination and known regional faults, we propose four potential active faults as candidates for the slip associated to this event: (1) the interplate seismogenic zone (ISZ), (2) an out-of-sequence thrust cutting through the forearc and branching on the ISZ, (3) a NS strike-slip fault cutting through the Ryukyu arc and (4) a N–S, westward dipping thrust fault, affecting the Philippine Sea Plate east of the Luzon Arc. The best compromise is to consider a rupture along the ISZ with a shallow nucleation possibly along a splay-fault followed by a downward and lateral propagation of the rupture that would explain the lack of significant seafloor motion and subsequent tsunami. We also estimate the maximum seismic coupling of the ISZ in the region east of Taiwan to about 0.4. In parallel, the evidences of aseismic slip occurring along the ISZ allow us to conclude that this region should only be affected by M < 8 earthquakes.
ISSN: 0956-540X

hal-00545459
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00545459
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00545459/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00545459/file/theunisseGJI2010.pdf
DOI : 10.1111/j.1365-246X.2010.04813.x

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
In the South Tien Shan range (Kyrgyzstan), the Late Paleozoic geodynamic evolution remains debated especially to the west of the Talas-Fergana fault (TFF) fault where suture-related high-pressure (HP) rocks are scarce. We provide new petrological and geochronological data on garnet amphibolites from the Chatkal range, to the west of the TFF, northwest of the South Tien Shan suture. These rocks are retrogressed eclogites. We used a micro-mapping approach combined with forward modeling and empirical thermobarometry to decipher the P–T path of these amphibolitized eclogites. The metamorphic peak conditions culminated at 490 ± 50 °C and 18.5 ± 2 kbar and were followed by higher temperature retrogression (∼560 °C at 11–7 kbar). In order to constrain the age of the HP stage, we dated allanite crystals texturally coeval to the HP mineral assemblage. Allanite grains dated in situ with a U–Pb LA-ICPMS methodology yield an age of 301 ± 15 Ma. Compared with previously published data for the east of the TFF, these P–T constraints allow improving the understanding of the Late Paleozoic geodynamic evolution of the South Tien Shan. To the east of TFF, the Turkestan Ocean closed around 320 Ma with the collision of the Tarim Craton with the Kazakh microcontinent. To the west of TFF, the Turkestan Ocean closed around 300 Ma, when the Alai block collided with the Kazakh microcontinent. This later collision involved nappe-stacking and intense subvertical folding in the western South Tien Shan. This complex folding explains the S-shape of the suture to the west of the TFF that cannot be observed in the eastern part. These new data allow us to propose a distinct tectonic evolution of the two sides of the TFF, which suggests that this fault was a major transform fault before being a strike-slip intra-continental fault.
ISSN: 0264-3707

hal-01347171
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01347171
DOI : 10.1016/j.jog.2015.06.005

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
A network of continuous GPS stations has been installed in NW Iran since 2005 to complement the survey GPS network already existing in the region. We present the 1999-2009 GPS-derived velocity field for this region based on the continuous and survey-mode observations. The results confirm a right lateral slip of 7 +/- 1 mm/yr for the North Tabriz fault, in agreement with previous studies. This rate is consistent with earthquakes of magnitude 7-7.3 and recurrence times of 250-300 yr. The higher spatial coverage of the new network shows that deformation is localized in the vicinity of the Chalderan, south Gailatu-Siah Cheshmeh-Khoy fault and the North Tabriz fault. However the eastern end of the North Tabriz fault appears to cross Mount Bozgush rather than following its southern foothills. This new velocity field does not indicate the 8 mm/yr of NNE-SSW extension suggested earlier for the region, but rather shows lower extension of 1-2 +/- 1 mm/yr across the eastern segment of the North Tabriz fault and the Talesh. To the west, the Chalderan and the western North Tabriz fault segment act like pure strike slip faults without significant extension or compression. The denser network in the Rudbar earthquake region (Ms 7.3, 1992) shows no significant motion across the fault, suggesting that the recurrence time of earthquakes like the Rudbar event must be very long. The lack of substantial compressive strain and the sharp azimuth change of the velocity vectors in the transition zone from Arabia to Lesser Caucasus motion imply that processes other than "extrusion", possibly related to old subduction or delamination, contribute to active deformation.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-00617666
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00617666
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2011.04.029

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union
Résumé : International audience
The strike-slip faults of north Tibet accommodate part of the Cenozoic convergence between India and Asia. Along the Karakax valley south of Yecheng and near the Xidatan trough south of Golmud, the active traces of the Altyn-Tagh and Kunlun faults follow narrow belts of metamorphic rocks. The deformation recorded in those mylonites is sinistral strike-slip. Rb/Sr and 40Ar/39Ar ages of deformation from syntectonic fabrics formed at 350–400°C 120 Ma. Argon loss suggests that deformation was associated to a 250–300°C thermal pulse that lasted 5–20 Ma after the onset of movement. Unroofing occurred much later, around 25 Ma when sudden cooling suggests a component of thrusting or more likely normal faulting. The Cretaceous shear may be related to collision between the Qiantang and the Lhasa blocks. The Karakax and Xidatan shear zones may have formed a unique, continuous boundary in the Cretaceous, which was later reused by the Tertiary strike-slip faults, leading to potentially calculable offsets along the Altyn-Tagh fault.
ISSN: 2169-9313

hal-00197562
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00197562
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00197562/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00197562/file/Arnaud_JGR000904_def.pdf
DOI : 10.1029/2001JB000904

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : In order to identify and quantify the Rif (Morocco) present-day deformation, especially those related to active faults (location, geometry, kinematic), we perform a morphotectonic study. The studied area and faults are located in the Northern part (conjugate faults of Al-Hoceima Bay: Trougout, Boujibar and Rouadi), the Eastern part (Nekor fault) and the Southern part of the chain (Rif frontal thrust between Fes and Meknes cities).Morphotectonic tools (DEMs at different scales, satellite and aerial pictures), field studies and Quaternary dating methods (U/Th, OSL, 14C and in-situ cosmogenic isotopes 10Be, 3He, 36Cl) allow us to characterize transtensional deformation in the Northern Rif. Horizontal and vertical slip rates along the N-S-oriented Trougout major fault are ~1.6 mm/yr and ~2 mm/yr respectively. In the Southern part, the Rif frontal thrust shows a shortening rate of ~1.8 mm/yr into Fes and Meknes area. In the Eastern part, the deformation is focused on the Nekor left-lateral strike-slip major fault with ~1.5 mm/yr. Incision features and raised marine terraces involve an uplift of the chain about ~0.2 mm/yr. The overall deformation in the Rif seems to be continuous since the Messinian-Pliocene time.These new morphotectonic constraints are consistent with the GPS measurements showing southwestward overall motion of most of the Rif belt with respect to stable Africa, associated to clockwise rotation. Finally, we propose a geodynamic model in which the Rif, the Alboran sea and the Betics belong to a single microplate bounded by the strike-slip faults of the Betics on the North, the Rif frontal thrust on the South, the Nekor and TASZ (Trans Alboran Shear Zone) strike-slip faults on the East and North-East, and the western Rif folded structures on the West.
L'objectif de cette étude est d'identifier et de quantifier les déformations actuelles dans la chaine du Rif (Maroc), notamment celles associées aux failles actives (localisation, géométrie, cinématique). Pour ce faire, nous mettons en œuvre pour la première fois dans cette région, une approche morphotectonique. Les sites et failles sélectionnés et étudiés se situent dans la partie Nord (les failles conjuguées de la baie d'Al-Hoceima: Trougout, Boujibar et Rouadi), l'Est (la faille de Nékor) et le Sud (front chevauchant sud rifain entre Fes et Meknes).A partir des outils de la morphotectonique (MNTs à différentes résolutions, images satellitaires, photographies aériennes), d'analyses de terrain et grâce aux méthodes de datation du Quaternaire (U/Th, OSL, 14C et isotopes cosmogéniques produits in-situ 10Be, 3He, 36Cl), cette étude met en évidence et quantifie une déformation transtensive dans la partie Nord de la chaine. Les vitesses de glissement horizontales et verticales le long de la faille principale d'orientation méridienne de Trougout sont de ~1.6 mm/an et ~2 mm/an, respectivement. Dans la partie Sud, nous montrons que le front rifain entre Fez et Meknes est actif avec une vitesse de raccourcissement de ~1.8 mm/an. La déformation dans la région Est se localise principalement sur la faille du Nékor avec une vitesse décrochante senestre de ~1.5 mm/an. Par ailleurs, la présence de nombreuses figures d'incision et de surfaces marines soulevées au niveau du littoral Nord témoignent d'une surrection généralisée de la chaine de l'ordre de ~0.2 mm/an. L'ensemble de cette déformation semble être constante depuis la période du Messino-Pliocène. Ces résultats sont cohérents avec les données GPS qui montrent un déplacement de ~5mm/an vers le SW de l'ensemble du Rif associé à un mouvement rotatif horaire, dans le référentiel Afrique stable. D'un point de vue géodynamique, nous proposons que le Rif, la mer d'Alboran et les Bétiques appartiennent à une même microplaque limitée au Nord par les failles décrochantes des Bétiques, au Sud par le chevauchement rifain, à l'Est et au Nord-Est par les failles décrochantes de Nékor et de la TASZ (Trans Alboran Shear Zone) et à l'Ouest par les structures plissées bordières du Rif.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01170466

NNT : 2014MON20105
tel-01170466
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01170466
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01170466v2/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01170466/file/41875_POUJOL_2014_archivage_cor.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Résumé : The role of the Karakorum fault zone (KFZ) is debated. South of 33°N, ongoing dextral-oblique slip along the SW edge of the Gar basin exhumes metamorphic and magmatic rocks of the Ayilari range. Minerals have recorded a continuum of deformation from temperatures >600–400°C down to <250_C. The 40Ar/39Ar ages, the oldest being 21.2 ± 1.0 Ma, yield minimum estimates for the initiation of the KFZ. These are in agreement with the U-Th/Pb ages constraining the onset of deformation at ca 25–22 Ma. Thermochronologic results show slow cooling for the period ca 21– 14 Ma, followed by rapid cooling between 14 and 4 Ma. These data demonstrate that right-lateral motion was in progress in the early Miocene and that shear continued at least until 4 Ma, pointing to >20 Ma of deformation along the fault. Greenschist facies deformation superimposed upon the medium- to high-grade deformation marks a kinematic change from pure dextral to dextral-normal motion associated with the onset of rapid cooling. At the regional scale, the coexistence of transtension in the Gar basin with transpression documented along the Pangong range farther north suggests another example of the ‘‘zipper tectonics'' model developed along the Red River fault. The kinematic shift induced the rise of the Ayilari range starting at 16–12 Ma and the incision of major river courses. The Indus River might have become captive of the relief at this time. The river's 120 km of apparent offset implies dextral motion at a long-term rate of ca 8.5 ± 1.5 mm/yr.
ISSN: 0278-7407

hal-00197561
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00197561
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00197561/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00197561/file/Valli_Karakorum_thermochron_Tectonics_07_pre_print.pdf
DOI : 10.1029/2005TC001913

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The Zandjan province is situated in the NW of Iran, at the junction between the southern termination of the Tabriz right-lateral strike-slip fault and the western end of the Alborz active mountain range. Despite this key location, in terms of active tectonics, there is no destructive earthquake reported in available historical seismicity catalogues. Even if a few low magnitude instrumental earthquakes have been recorded indicating that this area is actively deforming, the Zandjan region can be considered as a seismic gap. Based on detailed field investigations, digital elevation models (DEMs), satellite image and aerial photo interpretations, we have identified a major active fault network affecting this regions. It is mainly constituted by several west and est verging thrust faults, trending NW-SE to N-S, that clearly cut Late Quaternary to Holocene deposits. Evidences in the morphology indicate also that they accommodate some right-lateral slip component. This fault network can be divided into four major fault zones affecting Zandjan city (present day population over 500,000) and part of the Zandjan-Mianeh basin more to the west. Based on fault geometrical characteristics (fault length, segmentation ... ) and kinematics, the Zandjan fault system is certainly capable to produce moderate to large earthquakes (Mw = 6.5-7.0) and serious damages in the Zandjan city and surrounding areas. The study of these faults is, then, of major interest for seismic hazard assessment in Zandjan province where total population exceed 1.5 million but also to better understand present day geodynamic of NW Iran.
ISSN: 0040-1951

hal-00617526
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00617526
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2011.04.012

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : Hot collisional orogens are characterized by abundant syn-kinematic granitic magmatism that profoundly affects their tectono-thermal evolutions. Voluminous granitic magmas, emplaced between 360 and 270 Ma, played a visibly important role in the evolution of the Variscan Orogen. In the Limousin region (western Massif Central, France), syntectonic granite plutons are spatially associated with major strike-slip shear zones that merge to the northwest with the South Armorican Shear Zone. This region allowed us to assess the role of magmatism in a hot transpressional orogen. Microstructural data and U/Pb zircon and monazite ages from a mylonitic leucogranite indicate synkinematic emplacement in a dextral transpressional shear zone at 313 +/- 4 Ma. Leucogranites are coeval with cordierite-bearing migmatitic gneisses and vertical lenses of leucosome in strike-slip shear zones. We interpret U/Pb monazite ages of 315 +/- 4 Ma for the gneisses and 316 +/- 2 Ma for the leucosomes as the minimum age of high-grade metamorphism and migmatization respectively. These data suggest a spatial and temporal relationship between transpression, crustal melting, rapid exhumation and magma ascent, and cooling of high-grade metamorphic rocks.;Some granites emplaced in the strike-slip shear zone are bounded at their roof by low dip normal faults that strike N-S, perpendicular to the E-W trend of the belt. The abundant crustal magmatism provided a low-viscosity zone that enhanced Variscan orogenic collapse during continued transpression, inducing the development of normal faults in the transpression zone and thrust faults at the front of the collapsed orogen.
ISSN: 0040-1951

hal-00445260
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00445260
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2009.03.022

Éditeur(s) : Wiley / Blackwell
Résumé : For the first time, a deep seismic data set acquired in the frame of the Algerian-French SPIRAL program provides new insights regarding the origin of the westernmost Algerian margin and basin. We performed a tomographic inversion of traveltimes along a 100-km-long wide-angle seismic profile shot over 40 ocean bottom seismometers offshore Mostaganem (Northwestern Algeria). The resulting velocity model and multichannel seismic reflection profiles show a thin (3-4 km thick) oceanic crust. The narrow ocean-continent transition (less than 10 km wide) is bounded by vertical faults and surmounted by a narrow almost continuous basin filled with Miocene to Quaternary sediments. This fault system, as well as the faults organized in a negative-flower structure on the continent side, marks a major strike-slip fault system. The extremely sharp variation of the Moho depth (up to 45 +/- 3 degrees) beneath the continental border underscores the absence of continental extension in this area. All these features support the hypothesis that this part of the margin from Oran to Tenes, trending N65-N70 degrees E, is a fossil subduction-transform edge propagator fault, vestige of the propagation of the edge of the Gibraltar subduction zone during the westward migration of the Alboran domain.
Geophysical Journal International (0956-540X) (Wiley / Blackwell), 2015-02 , Vol. 200 , N. 2 , P. 1027-1043

Droits : The Authors 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Royal Astronomical Society
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00255/36670/35278.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00255/36670/35279.pdf
DOI:10.1093/gji/ggu454
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00255/36670/