Post-rift volcanism and high heat-flow at the ocean-continent transition of the eastern Gulf of Aden

A high heat-flow (∼900 mW m⁻²) has been observed over a volcanic structure at the Ocean-Continent Transition in the Eastern Gulf of Aden (Oman margin). The anomaly is superposed to a progressive increase of heat-flow across the margin and can be interpreted either by (1) heat refraction, (2) fluid discharge or (3) cooling magma. The two first explanations cannot be ruled out definitely by modelling analysis, but require unlikely thermal conductivity or permeability values. The third one implies that the latest activity of the volcano was about 100 000 years old and therefore continued c. 18 Ma after the break-up of Africa and Arabia. This potential mechanism is consistent with other lines of evidence of post-rifting activity in the Gulf of Aden and could invalidate the conventional assumption that rifted-margins become passive after the break-up of continents.     

Interpretation of dilatometer tests in a heavy oil reservoir

This paper presents a prospective study for identifying selected parameters of the modified Cam‐Clay model representing the behaviour of heavy oil reservoirs. The first part shows that the plastic compressibility, which controls the main recovery mechanism of such reservoirs, can be accurately determined, simultaneously with other parameters, by an inverse analysis of pressure–strain curves. The conditions of the identification procedure mainly involve two tests conducted under different drainage conditions or at different strain rates. The numerical study also establishes the sequence of an original in situ experimental program, in which three dilatometer tests at a relatively great depth (several hundreds of metres) were carried out. The comparison of the experimental data with the numerical computations reveals a significant over‐consolidation ratio which does not allow the plastic compressibility to be determined but supports the findings regarding the geological erosion of the site. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cementation of kerogen-rich marls by alkaline fluids released during weathering of thermally metamorphosed marly sediments. Part I: Isotopic (C,O) study of the Khushaym Matruk natural analogue (central Jordan)

The Khushaym Matruk site in central Jordan may represent a natural analogue depicting the interaction of alkaline solutions with a clayey sedimentary formation or with clay-rich confining barriers at the interface with concrete structures in waste disposal sites. In this locality, past spontaneous combustion of organic matter in a clayey biomicritic formation produced a ca. 60 m-thick layer of cement-marble containing some of the high-temperature phases usually found in industrial cements (e.g., spurrite, brucite, and Ca-aluminate). A vertical cross-section of the underlying sediments was used in order to study the interaction between cement-marbles and neighbouring clayey limestones under weathering conditions. A thermodynamic approach of the alteration parageneses (calcite–jennite–afwillite–brucite and CSH phases) in the cement-marbles constrains the interacting solutions to have had pH-values between 10.5 and 12. Over 3 m, the sediments located beneath the metamorphic unit were compacted and underwent carbonation. They display large C and O isotopic variations with respect to “pristine” sediments from the bottom of the section. Low δ¹³C-values down to −31.4‰/PDB show the contribution of CO₂ derived from the oxidization of organic matter and from the atmosphere to the intense carbonation process affecting that particular sedimentary level. The size of the C isotopic anomalies, their geometrical extent and their coincidence with the variations of other markers like the Zn content, the structure of organic matter, the mineralogical composition, all argue that the carbonation process was induced by the percolation of high pH solutions which derived from the alteration of cement-marbles. The temperature of the carbonation process remains conjectural and some post-formation O isotopic reequilibration likely affected the newly-formed carbonate. Carbonation induced a considerable porosity reduction, both in fractures and matrixes. The Khushaym Matruk site may have some bearing to the early life of a repository site, when water saturation of the geological formations hosting the concrete structures is incomplete, enabling simultaneous diffusion of alkaline waters and gaseous CO₂ in the near field.     

Cementation of kerogen-rich marls by alkaline fluids released during weathering of thermally metamorphosed marly sediments. Part II: Organic matter evolution,magnetic susceptibility and metals (Ti,Cr, Fe) at the Khushaym Matruk natural analogue (Central Jordan)

Spontaneous combustion, less than 1 Ma ago, affected a 60-m thick sediment pile of biomicrite at the Khushaym Matruck site (Jordan). The present study shows that three retrograde alteration stages occurred: weathering, thermal stress and oxidative alkaline perturbation. μ-FT-i.r. spectra of isolated kerogens and oxygen index of whole rocks indicate that oxidation of organic matter occurred down to ∼10 m beneath the metamorphosed zone at Khushaym Matruck. The occurrence of the oxidative weathering bacterially mediated, as suggested by the mass chromatograms of saturated hydrocarbons, can explain high Rock-Eval T_max values and low petroliferous potential measured along the sedimentary pile. On the other hand, the thermal extent of combustion events was limited to the first 2 m from the contact. The mean reflectance of 0.20–0.24% and porosity of ca. 50% of the grey clayey biomicrites indicate that organic matter was very immature and sediments were unconsolidated at the time of the combustion event. Using mineralogy, microscopic analyses of vegetable debris and magnetic susceptibility, a suite of characteristic points corresponding to the thermal imprint can be assessed: (i) x = 0m, T ∼ 1000 °C, (ii) x = 1 m, T ∼ 350 °C, (iii) x = 2 m, T ∼ 150 °C and (iv) x > ∼ 8 m, T ∼ 30 °C. Paleocirculation of meteoric groundwater in the ‘cement-marbles’ generated high-pH fluids that have circulated via fractures and through the matrix porosity of the underlying biomicrites but have also induced alkaline hydrolysis and oxidative attack of the organic matter. The polysaccharide/lignin ratio derived from μ-FT-i.r. analyses shows that the delignification of vegetable debris and degradation of polysaccharides progressively decline in the indurated zone, which indicates a decrease in the pH of migrating solutions. The latter also severely oxidized organic matter at 2.10 and 3.05 m as revealed by the oxygen index and induced the generation of bitumen. The spatial correlation between the oxidation levels of organic matter and the metal contents (Fe, Ti and Cr) suggests that redox reactions were responsible for the immobilization of metals in the indurated biomicrites. The intensity of these reactions is attributed to changes in the fluid flow regime within the sedimentary column.     

Segmentation of the Nazca and South American plates along the Ecuador subduction zone from wide angle seismic profiles

We describe the deep structure of the south Colombian–northern Ecuador convergent margin using travel time inversion of wide-angle seismic data recently collected offshore. The margin appears segmented into three contrasting zones. In the North Zone, affected by four great subduction earthquakes during the 20th century, normal oceanic crust subducts beneath the oceanic Cretaceous substratum of the margin underlined by seismic velocities as high as 6.0–6.5 km/s. In the Central Zone the subducting oceanic crust is over-thickened beneath the Carnegie Ridge. A steeper slope and a well-developed, high velocity, Cretaceous oceanic basement characterizes the margin wedge. This area coincides with a gap in significant subduction earthquake activity. In the South Zone, the subducting oceanic crust is normal. The fore-arc is characterized by large sedimentary basins suggesting significant subsidence. Velocities in the margin wedge are significantly lower and denote a different nature or a higher degree of fracturing.

Even if the distance between the three profiles exceeds 150 km, the structural segmentation obtained along the Ecuadorian margin correlates well with the distribution of seismic activity and the neotectonic zonation.     

Impact of surface heterogeneity on a buoyancy-driven convective boundary layer in light winds

Land-use practices such as deforestation or agricultural management may affect regional climate, ecosystems and water resources. The present study investigates the impact of surface heterogeneity on the behaviour of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), at a typical spatial scale of 1 km. Large-eddy simulations, using an interactive soil–vegetation–atmosphere surface scheme, are performed to document the structure of the three-dimensional flow, as driven by buoyancy forces, over patchy terrain with different surface characteristics (roughness, soil moisture, temperature) on each individual patch. The patchy terrain consists of striped and chessboard patterns. The results show that the ABL strongly responds to the spatial configuration of surface heterogeneities. The stripe configuration made of two patches with different soil moisture contents generates the development of a quasi- two-dimensional inland breeze, whereas a three-dimensional divergent flow is induced by chessboard patterns. The feedback of such small-scale atmospheric circulations on the surface fluxes appears to be highly non-linear. The surface sensible and latent heat fluxes averaged over the 25-km² domain may vary by 5% with respect to the patch arrangement.     

Assessment of the seismic non-linear behavior of ductile wall structures due to synthetic earthquakes

In this paper, different methods for generating synthetic earthquakes are compared in terms of related non-linear seismic response of ductile structures. The objective of the investigation is to formulate recommendations for the use of synthetic earthquakes for reliable seismic analysis. The comparison is focused on the accuracy of the reproduction of the characteristics of the structural non-linear response due to recorded earthquakes. First the investigations are carried out for non-linear single-degree-of-freedom systems. Later, the results are validated for a set of realistic buildings modelled as multi-degree-of-freedom systems. Various options of the classical stationary simulation procedure of SIMQKE and a non-stationary simulation procedure proposed by Sabetta and Pugliese are examined and compared. The adopted methodology uses a set of recorded earthquakes as a reference. Hundred synthetic accelerograms are generated for each examined simulation option with the condition that the related elastic responses are similar to those of the reference set. The non-linear single-degree-of-freedom systems are defined using six recognized hysteretic models and four levels of increasing non-linearity. The non-linear responses computed for the reference set and the studied simulation options are then statistically compared in terms of displacement ductility and energy. The results show that the implementation of the classical stationary procedure always leads to a significant underestimation of the ductility demand and a significant overestimation of the energy demand. By contrast, non-stationary time histories produce much better results. The results with the multi-degree-of-freedom systems are shown to confirm these conclusions.     

Mass budgets of the Lambert, Mellor and Fisher Glaciers and basal fluxes beneath their flowbands on Amery Ice Shelf

We used in situ measurements and remote-sensing data sets to evaluate the mass budgets of the Lambert, Mellor and Fisher Glaciers and the basal melting and freezing rates beneath their flowbands on the Amery Ice Shelf. Our findings show the Lambert and Mellor Glaciers upstream of the ANARE Lambert Glacier Basin (LGB) traverse may have positive imbalances of 3.9±2.1 Gt a-1 and 2.1±2.4 Gt a-1, respectively, while the Fisher Glacier is approximately in balance. The upstream region as a whole has a positive imbalance of 5.9±4.9 Gt a-1. The three same glaciers downstream of the ANARE LGB traverse line are in negative imbalance, where the whole downstream region has a negative imbalance of -8.5±5.8 Gt a-1. Overall the mass budgets of the Lambert, Mellor, and Fisher Glaciers are close to bal-ance, and the collective three-glacier system is also nearly in balance with a mass budget of -2.6±6.5 Gt a-1. The significant positive imbalances for the interior basin upstream of the ice-movement stations established in the early 1970s (GL line) reported previously are possibly due to an overestimate of the total accumulation and an underestimate of the ice flux through the GL line. The mean melting rate is -23.0±3.5 m ice a-1 near the southern grounding line, which decreases rapidly downstream, and transitions to refreezing at around 300 km from the southern extremity of the Amery Ice Shelf. Freezing rates along the flowbands are around 0.5±0.1 to 1.5±0.2 m ice a-1. The per-centage of ice lost from the interior by basal melting beneath the flowbands is about 80%±5%. The total basal melting and refreezing beneath the three flowbands is 50.3±7.5 Gt ice a-1 and 7.0±1.1 Gt ice a-1, respectively. We find a much larger total basal melting and net melting than the results for the whole Amery Ice Shelf derived from previous modeling and oceanographic measurements.     

Seismic Behaviour of Slightly Reinforced Concrete Walls: Experiments and Theoretical Conclusions

In order to develop new standards related to structures in seismic regions, a series of research programmes has been conducted on slightly reinforced structural walls commonly used in France. Based on these researches, a method of design of such walls submitted to a seismic action has been set up. This method used in the PS92 code differs from that used for ductile walls, where a plastic hinge can develop at the base of the wall. The analysis is similar to the push over analysis presently given in Eurocode 8. These various researches have confirmed the validity of the design concept developed for the PS92 code, on one hand, and highlighted a number of phenomena linked to the non linear behaviour of reinforced concrete walls, on the other hand. The present article aims at presenting a synthesis of the results obtained during these research programmes.