Modelling of Tsunami Propagation in the Vicinity of the French Coast of the Mediterranean

The problem of tsunami-risk for the French coast of the Mediterraneanis discussed. Historical data of tsunami manifestation on the French coast are described and analysed.Numerical simulation of potential tsunamis in the Ligurian Sea is done and the tsunami wave heightdistribution along the French coast is calculated. For the earthquake magnitude 6.8 (typical value forMediterranean) the tsunami phenomenon has a very local character. It is shown that the tsunami tide-gaugerecords in the vicinity of Cannes–Imperia present irregularoscillations with characteristic periodof 20–30 min and total duration of 10–20h.Tsunami propagating from the Ligurian sea to the west coastof France have significantly lesser amplitudes and they are more low-frequency (period of 40–50min).The effect of far tsunamis generated in the southern Italy and Algerian coast is studied also, thedistribution of the amplitudes along the French coast for far tsunamis is more uniform.     

Fluidization of buried mass-wasting deposits in lake sediments and its relevance for paleoseismology: Results from a reflection seismic study of lakes Villarrica and Calafquén (South-Central Chile)

A dense grid of very-high resolution seismic profiles on Lake Villarrica provides a quasi-3D view on intercalated lenses of low-amplitude reflections, which are connected by acoustic wipe-out patches and fractures to an underlying voluminous mass-wasting deposit. The lenses are interpreted as being created by earthquake-triggered liquefaction in this buried mass-wasting deposit and subsequent sediment fluidization and extrusion at the paleo-lake bottom. These sediment volcanoes are mapped in detail. They have a rather uniform circular geometry and show a linear relationship between apparent width and maximum thickness on a seismic section. The largest sediment volcanoes are up to 80 m wide and 1.9 m thick. Their slope angles designate a syn- to post-depositional sagging of most sediment volcanoes. Sediment volcano detection and mapping from nearby Lake Calafquén further strengthen the revealed geometrical relationships. Locally, some of the sediment/fluid escape structures extend to a higher position in the stratigraphy, which points to a polyphase escape process associated with multiple multi-century spaced strong earthquakes. Thickness and morphology of the source layer seem to exert a dominant control in the production of sediment/fluid extrusions. This study shows that reflection seismic profiling allowed recognizing 4 different seismic events in the studied stratigraphic interval, which are evidenced by mass-wasting deposits and/or fluidization features.     

Establishing constraints on groundwater ages with Cl,C, H,and noble gases: A case study in the eastern Paris basin,France

Groundwaters from the Tithonian/Kimmeridgian, Oxfordian and Upper Dogger aquifers, within the eastern part of the Paris basin (France), were characterised using ³H, ¹⁴C and ³⁶Cl, and noble gases tracers, to evaluate their residence times and determine their recharge period. This information is an important prerequisite to evaluating the confinement properties of the Callovo-Oxfordian clay formation sandwiched between the Oxfordian aquifer and the Dogger aquifer, currently being investigated by the French nuclear waste management agency (Andra) for radioactive waste disposal. Data presented in this paper are used to test 4 hypotheses.     

Considérations sur le volcanisme post-ophiolitique dans les Alpes occidentales

Résumé L'activité magmatique ophiolitique du géosynclinal alpin (diabases, gabbros, serpentines, etc.) a été suivie par une activité à caractère volcanique moins bien connue. En effet, les appareils correspondant à cette activité ont complètement disparu; nous devons nous contenter pour tous renseignements de l'étude des fragments de roches contenus dans des grauwackes tertiaires appartenant au Flysch (grès de Taveyanne, grès d'AItdorf pro parte, grès du Champsaur).La détermination de la nature originelle des laves est, en outre, rendue difficile par le fait, découvert récemment, que ces grauwackes ont subi un métamorphisme régional les plaçant dans le faciès à zéolites; on peut raisonnablement admettre qu'il s'agissait d'andésites basaltiques.L'áge des épanchements est encore indéterminé, il doit être compris entre le Crétacé supérieur et la fin de l'Eocène. L'hypothèse la plus plausible consiste à admettre que les volcans, aujourd'hui complètement érodés se trouvaient dans la partie la plus interne du domaine pennique. Toutefois au moment du dépôt des grès de Taveyanne, les coulées ne se trouvaient plus dans leur position initiale, elles avaient glissé vers l'avant-pays sous forme d'une nappe.Il est très probable que cette activité volcanique post-ophiolitique n'est pas restreinte au segment franco-suisse des Alpes occidentales mais que des formations analogues aux grès de Taveyanne se retrouvent ailleurs, notamment en Sicile et dans les Apennins.

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The magmatic activity which gave birth to the ophiolites (diabases, gabbros, serpentinites) of the alpine geosyncline was followed by subaerial volcanism. This volcanic activity is not well known as the volcanoes were completely destroyed by erosion. Our only source of information is to be found in fragments of volcanic rocks which are part of Tertiary Flysch graywackes (Taveyanne sandstones, part of the Altorf sandstones, Champsaur sandstones).The determination of the initial composition of the lavas is further complicated by metasomatic transformations; it has been recently shown that the Taveyanne graywackes were submitted to a light regional metamorphism corresponding to the zeolitic facies ofCoombs. However, it seems that these lavas were originally basaltic andesites.The age of this volcanism is not precisely known, it cannot be later than Upper Eocene as the time of deposition of the Taveyanne sandstones is Uppermost Eocene-Lower Oligocene; it is probably post-Cenomanian. It is likely that the volcanoes were located in the southern part of the Penninic zone; however at the time of deposition of the graywackes the volcanic flows had already left their initial location, gliding toward the Foreland as part of a Nappe.Very probably, remnants of this post-ophiolitic volcanism are not restricted to the French-Swiss segment of the Western Alps, but will be found elsewhere, particularly in the Apennine Mountains and in Sicily.

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Zusammenfassung Die magmatische Tätigkeit, die Ophiolithe (Diabase, Gabbros, Serpentinite) der alpinen Geosynklinale entstehen ließ, wurde von subärischem Vulkanismus abgelöst. Diese Vulkantätigkeit ist wenig bekannt, da die Vulkane durch Erosion völlig zerstört wurden. Unsere einzige Informationsquelle findet sich in vulkanischen Gesteinsfragmenten, die Bestandteile der Tertiär-Flysch-Grauwacken sind.Die Bestimmung der ursprünglichen Zusammensetzung der Laven wird weiter durch metasomatische Umwandlungen erschwert. Kürzlich wurde gezeigt, daß die Taveyanne-Grauwacken einem regionalen Metamorphismus ausgesetzt waren, welcher der zeolithischen Fazies von Coombs entspricht. Es scheint jedoch, daß diese Laven ursprünglich basaltische Andésite waren.Das Alter dieses Vulkanismus ist nicht genau bekannt; es kann aber nicht später sein als das Obere Eozän, da die Ablagerungszeit der Taveyanne-Sandsteine Oberstes Eozän—Unteres Oligozän ist. Wahrscheinlich lagen die Vulkane im südlichen Teil der penninischen Zone; zur Zeit der Ablagerung der Grauwacken waren die Vulkanite bereits in die Überschiebungsmassen mit einbezogen.Sehr wahrscheinlich sind die Überreste dieses nach-ophiolithischen Vulkanismus nicht auf den französisch-schweizerischen Abschnitt der Westalpen beschränkt, sondern werden sich auch andernorts speziell auf dem Apennin und in Sizilien finden lassen.

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Early Permian extensional shearing of an Ordovician granite: The Saint-Eutrope “C/S-like” orthogneiss (Montagne Noire,French Massif Central)

Dating the magmatic events in the Montagne Noire gneiss dome is a key point to arbitrate between the different interpretations of the Late Carboniferous–Early Permian tectonics in this southern part of the Variscan belt. The Saint-Eutrope orthogneiss crops out along the northern flank of the dome. We show that the protolith of this orthogneiss is an Ordovician granite dated at 455 ± 2 Ma (LA-ICP-MS U-Pb dating on zircon). This age is identical to that previously obtained on the augen orthogneiss of the southern flank, strongly suggesting that both orthogneiss occurrences have the same Ordovician protolith. The Saint-Eutrope orthogneiss experienced intense shearing along the Espinouse extensional detachment at ca. 295 Ma (LA-ICP-MS U-Pb-Th on monazite), an age close to that determined previously on mica by the ³⁹Ar-⁴⁰Ar method and contemporaneous with the emplacement age of the syntectonic Montalet granite farther to the west. This normal sense shearing reworked previous fabrics related to Variscan thrusting that can be still observed in the augen orthogneiss of the southern flank, and is responsible for the spectacular “C/S-like” pattern of the Saint-Eutrope orthogneiss. This work also shows that care is needed when dealing with C/S-type structures, since they can develop not only in syntectonic intrusions, but also in orthogneisses affected by an intense secondary deformation, at decreasing temperature.     

Ontogenetic Habitat Shifts of the Atlantic Tomcod (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Microgadus tomcod</Emphasis>) Across an Estuarine Transition Zone

Tomcod (Microgadus tomcod) in the St. Lawrence estuarine transition zone (ETZ) undergo an ontogenetic habitat shift. Older age classes, characterised by a male-dominated sex ratio, disperse downstream over the summer months to occupy the colder more saline waters of the estuary. Significant differences in length and mass along the salinity gradient were observed in September with upstream fish of any given age class generally exhibiting greater growth. These differences were not seen in early summer. Benthic amphipod δ ³⁴S signatures were strongly correlated with salinity and served to demonstrate that tomcod δ ³⁴S signatures were not in isotopic equilibrium in the more saline waters of the ETZ. Seasonal distributional patterns, growth dynamics and isotopic disequilibrium all indicate that the observed habitat shift may occur on an annual basis, following winter aggregation in warmer, less saline waters. Tomcod located in the downstream parts of the ETZ, predominantly males, were significantly more sexually developed than upstream tomcod for a given age. On the other hand, greater growth early in life is insured by occupying warmer, upstream waters during the summer months.     

Seasonal control of the Saint-Lawrence maximum turbidity zone by tidal-flat sedimentation

The core of the turbidity maximum zone in the Saint-Lawrence Estuary is located in the North Channel and oscillates in front of the large (3×10⁶ m²) intertidal flats and marshes of Cap Tourmente. It is shown that seasonal fluctuations in the intensity and the position of this core are mainly determined by suspended sediment exchanges between the channel and the marshes. Fine sediments, most of them found 20 km downstream in the channel off Cap Maillard in late winter and early spring, are advected upstream over the flats during the summer months by the tide. The deposition, favored by marsh plant growth, reaches 5×10⁵ metric tons in three months. A period of intense erosion, at a mean rate of 4,500 metric tons per tide, coincides with the destruction of the plant cover by migratory geese. The material removed fills up the Chenal de l’Île d’Orléans upstream and is flushed back into the water column during the next spring freshette. This rotating seasonal sediment circulation, although very localized, exerts a major influence on the distribution and storage time of suspended particles in the upper estuary.     

Reply to “Oxygen isotope heterogeneity of the mantle beneath the Canary Islands: a discussion of the paper of Gurenko et al.”

The comment by Day et al. (Contrib Mineral Petrol, 2012) (1) discusses the validity of the previously obtained oxygen isotope data for El Hierro and La Palma (Canary Island) olivines, (2) questions the approach by Gurenko et al. (Contrib Mineral Petrol 162:349–363, 2011) of using weakly correlated variations of δ¹⁸O_olivine values with X _px (proportion of pyroxenite-derived melt in the parental magma), and (3) provides reasons why oxygen isotope data by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) “offer sensitive means for detecting melt-crust interactions.” We respond these comments and report a new set of oxygen isotope measurements performed by SIMS and single-grain laser fluorination methods. These measurements confirm our previous data and conclusions and demonstrate the ability of the SIMS technique to analyze O isotopes in terrestrial samples with 2-sigma uncertainty better than ±0.25 ‰.     

Les failles récentes des Grands-Moulins (Savoie) : un Sackung (tassement gravitaire) majeur dans les Alpes françaises

In Savoy, the Grands-Moulins recent fault scarps, previously interpreted as seismic fault ruptures, are in fact part of a major Sackung (deep seated gravitational spreading) of the French Alps (9 km long). We mapped more than 60 sackung scarps, some of them reaching 1330 m long and 30 m high. These antislope scarps stop the active screes and offset relict Dryassic rock glaciers by 16 m. We present geomorphologic observations attesting for their gravitational origin. This Sackung is primarily due to glacial debuttressing, while seismic shaking could be a triggering mechanism. To cite this article: J.-C. Hippolyte et al., C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).     

Contribution of geophysical surveys to groundwater modelling of a porous aquifer in semiarid Niger: An overview

Subsurface geophysical surveys were carried out using a large range of methods in an unconfined sandstone aquifer in semiarid south-western Niger for improving both the conceptual model of water flow through the unsaturated zone and the parameterization of numerical a groundwater model of the aquifer. Methods included: electromagnetic mapping, electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), resistivity logging, time domain electromagnetic sounding (TDEM), and magnetic resonance sounding (MRS). Analyses of electrical conductivities, complemented by geochemical measurements, allowed us to identify preferential pathways for infiltration and drainage beneath gullies and alluvial fans. The mean water content estimated by MRS (13%) was used for computing the regional groundwater recharge from long-term change in the water table. The ranges in permeability and water content obtained with MRS allowed a reduction of the degree of freedom of aquifer parameters used in groundwater modelling.