Upper Oligocene-Lower Miocene shallowing-upwardlacustrine sequences controlled by periodic and non-periodic processes(Ebro Basin, northeastern Spain)

The lacustrine facies from two sections (Candasnos and Fraga) ofthe Oligocene-Miocene Torrente de Cinca lithostratigraphic Unit in thecentral part of the Ebro Basin (Spain) have been analysed to determine theinfluence of orbital parameters in lacustrine sedimentation. The unit ispredominantly composed of limestones and marls, and represents a shallowlacustrine freshwater system. The sedimentological features of the faciesstudied demonstrate that the lower part of the Candasnos section representsoffshore lacustrine subenvironments whereas the upper part, and the whole ofthe Fraga section, characterise marginal lacustrine areas. Series of stratalthickness variations of limestone, marl, and limestone/marl couplets fromboth sections have been analysed using spectral analysis. This shows thatinformation corresponding to periodic cycles only appears in the offshorefacies, that is to say, in the lower part of Candasnos section, and disappearsin the marginal facies where non-periodic cycles exist. Furthermore, thespectral analysis of the offshore facies highlights the existence of a peak inthe power spectrum with a period of around 7 (6.8 to 7.8) that can berecognised in the field as shallowing-upward lacustrine sequences.Magnetostratigraphic data from the Candasnos section allow us to establish atime span of 2,808 years for the limestone/marl couplet from the lower partof this section, and between 19,000 and 22,000 years for the periodic cycleidentified, thus representing the climatic precession cycle. Shallowingsequences from marginal areas do not correspond with any periodiccycle.     

Tectonique transpressive en terre Adélie au Paléoprotérozoı̈que (Est Antarctique)Palaeoproterozoic transpression in Terre Adélie (East Antarctica)

The Palaeoproterozoic units of Terre Adélie show two types of structural domains associated with HT–LP metamorphic conditions: domes and NS–N340° striking vertical shear zones. Shear zones reflect dextral transpressive motions. Domes reflect sub-vertical shortening and principal stretching subparallel to shear zones. They could partly result from longitudinal flow coeval with transpression. Deformations are comparable to those described along the eastern and western boundaries of the Archean Gawler Craton (South-East Australia), which underlines the continuity between these two areas before opening of the Austral Ocean. To cite this article: A. Pelletier et al., C. R. Geoscience 334 (2002) 505–511.     

Wind velocity and sand transport on a barchan dune

We present measurements of wind velocity and sand flux performed on the windward side of a large barchan dune in Jericoacoara, northeastern Brazil. From the measured profile, we calculate the air shear stress using an analytical approximation and treat the problem of flow separation by an heuristic model. We find that the results from this approach agree well with our field data. Moreover, using the calculated shear velocity, we predict the sand flux according to well-known equilibrium relations and with a phenomenological continuum saltation model that includes saturation transients and thus allows for nonequilibrium conditions. Based on the field data and theoretical predicted results, we indicate the principal differences between saturated and nonsaturated sand flux models. Finally, we show that the measured dune moves with invariant shape and predict its velocity from our data and calculations.     

Permeability-porosity Relationships in Rocks Subjected to Various Evolution Processes

— It is well known that there is no “universal” permeability-porosity relationship valid in all porous media. However, the evolution of permeability and porosity in rocks can be constrained provided that the processes changing the pore space are known. In this paper, we review observations of the relationship between permeability and porosity during rock evolution and interpret them in terms of creation/destruction of effectively and non-effectively conducting pore space. We focus on laboratory processes, namely, plastic compaction of aggregates, elastic-brittle deformation of granular rocks, dilatant and thermal microcracking of dense rocks, chemically driven processes, as a way to approach naturally occurring geological processes. In particular, the chemically driven processes and their corresponding evolution permeability-porosity relationships are discussed in relation to sedimentary rocks diagenesis.     

Analytical Model for Permeability Evolution in Microcracking Rock

— Analytical expressions to predict the enhancement of permeability due to stress-induced microcracking in initially low porosity rock are presented. A fracture mechanical microcrack model is employed to derive integrated effective hydraulic variables as a function of stress, which are then used to calculate the evolution of permeability using the statistically-based Dienes model. The model enables determination of permeability enhancement as a function of two loading parameters and three material parameters. Results are in reasonable agreement with experimental measurements and indicate that appreciable increases in permeability can be anticipated during brittle failure. The analytical nature of the model makes it easily incorporatable into numerical models that require quantification of the permeability evolution as a function of stress, for which there is currently no law.     

Extracting flow structures from tracer data

A method of visualizing structures in closed chaotic flows out of homogenous particle distributions is presented in the example of models of a meandering jet. To this end, the system will be leaked or opened up by defining a region of the flow, so that a particle is considered to be escaped if it leaves this region. By applying this method to an ensemble of nonescaped tracers, we are able to characterize mixing processes by visualizing the converging and stretching filamentations (stable and unstable manifolds) in the flow without using additional mathematical tools. The possibility of applying the algorithm to analyze buoy data, and a comparison with the finite time manifolds are discussed.     

Failure Mode and Spatial Distribution of Damage in Rothbach Sandstone in the Brittle-ductile Transition

— To elucidate the spatial complexity of damage and evolution of localized failure in the transitional regime from brittle faulting to cataclastic ductile flow in a porous sandstone, we performed a series of triaxial compression experiments on Rothbach sandstone (20% porosity). Quantitative microstructural analysis and X-ray computed tomography (CT) imaging were conducted on deformed samples. Localized failure was observed in samples at effective pressures ranging from 5 MPa to 130 MPa. In the brittle faulting regime, dilating shear bands were observed. The CT images and stereological measurements reveal the geometric complexity and spatial heterogeneity of damage in the failed samples. In the transitional regime (at effective pressures between 45 MPa and 130 MPa), compacting shear bands at high angles and compaction bands perpendicular to the maximum compression direction were observed. The laboratory results suggest that these complex localized features can be pervasive in sandstone formations, not just limited to the very porous aeolian sandstone in which they were first documented. The microstructural observations are in qualitative agreement with theoretical predictions of bifurcation analyses, except for the occurrence of compaction bands in the sample deformed at effective pressure of 130 MPa. The bifurcation analysis with the constitutive model used in this paper is nonadequate to predict compaction band formation, may be due to the neglect of bedding anisotropy of the rock and multiple yield mechanisms in the constitutive model.     

Evolution and inheritance of a rock coast: western Galicia,northwestern Spain

There is increasing evidence that shore platforms and other elements of rock coasts may be inherited, at least in part, from interglacial stages when sea level was similar to today's. Most of this evidence, which includes ancient beaches and datable terrestrial deposits, has been obtained from areas of resistant, slowly eroding rock, where the platforms often appear to be much too wide to have developed since the sea reached its present level. It is much more dif?cult to demonstrate that inheritance has occurred in areas of weaker rock, which generally lack any datable material. The coast of western Galicia in northwestern Spain has shore platforms in igneous and metamorphic rocks that were deeply weathered during the Tertiary. These platforms are closely associated with ancient beaches from the last interglacial stage, and associated periglacial and ?uvio‐nival deposits that covered and fossilized most of the Eemian platforms and cliffs during the late middle and late Weichselian glacial stage. The sedimentary processes and the thickness and facies of the sediments were determined by the height, aspect and gradient of the coastal mountains, and their distance from the coast. Radiocarbon dating, sedimentary analysis and platform morphology indicate that the shore platforms of Galicia have been inherited from at least the last interglacial stage. They were fossilized in places beneath thick Weichselian deposits and then exhumed during the Holocene transgression. The abundant evidence for inheritance in Galicia has important implications for other coasts in fairly weak rocks where such evidence is generally lacking. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

La vallée d'Ys : un paléoréseau hydrographique immergé en baie de Douarnenez (Finistère,France)

Interpretation of the recent high-resolution survey, CANADOU 2000, in the Bay of Douarnenez (Finistère, France) allowed us to restore the morphology of the substratum and the sedimentary filling of the bay. The Brioverian and Palaeozoic substratum reveals a well-defined network of incised valleys as results of successive emergence stages of the Bay during the Quaternary. Valleys join in a westward-widened mean valley, called Ys Valley. The present-day sedimentary fill of the bay of Douarnenez appears mainly controlled by the Holocene rise and the consecutive highstand. It comprises fluvial and estuarine deposits filling up incised valleys and marine sedimentation extending out of the incised valleys. To cite this article: G. Jouet et al., C. R. Geoscience 335 (2003).To cite this article: G. Jouet et al., C. R. Geoscience 335 (2003).     

New structural and petrologic data on Mesozoic schists in the Rhodope (Bulgaria): geodynamic implications

Structural analysis of low-grade rocks highlights the allochthonous character of Mesozoic schists in southeastern Rhodope, Bulgaria. The deformation can be related to the Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous thrusting and Tertiary detachment faulting. Petrologic and geochemical data show a volcanic arc origin of the greenschists and basaltic rocks. These results are interpreted as representing an island arc-accretionary complex related to the southward subduction of the Meliata–Maliac Ocean under the supra-subduction back-arc Vardar ocean/island arc system. This arc-trench system collided with the Rhodope in Late Jurassic times. To cite this article: N.G. Bonev, G.M. Stampfli, C. R. Geoscience 335 (2003).