Radon daughters and sulfur output from Erebus volcano, Antarctica

The 1977–1978 French New-Zealand summer campaign at Mount Erebus took place during a period of rather low activity. In such conditions, we could measure an output of 3 Ci of ²¹⁰Pb, 100 Ci of ²¹⁰Po and 10¹⁰ tons of sulfate per year.The ²¹⁰Po seems to be the only element emitted by Mount Erebus whose contribution to the Antarctic atmosphere is significant: sulfur compounds as well as radon emitted by Mount Erebus during a period of quiescent activity, have a negligible contribution to the overall Antarctic budgets.The presence of long-lived radon daughters in volcanic gases, highly enriched in volatile elements, seems to be a characteristic of gases emitted directly from the magma at high temperature.     

Rôle de la végétation dans la protection contre l'érosion hydrique de surface

This paper is a review on the current knowledge concerning the role of vegetation in protection against surface hydric erosion. It first explains the mechanisms of vegetation action in relation to processes of erosion and sedimentation. Secondly, it presents the results of researches carried out on the efficiency of different vegetation structures and the significance of the rate of vegetation cover for combating gully erosion. To cite this article: F. Rey et al., C. R. Geoscience 336 (2004).     

Evolution géochimique par dégradation et agradation des minéraux argileux dans l'hydrosphère

Résumé Les dégradations des minéraux argileux sont fréquentes dans les altérations. Elles comportent une évolution des réseaux cristallins depuis les micas et chlorites jusqu'aux minéraux ouverts comme les vermiculites et les montmorillonites par l'intermédiaire d'édifices interstratifiés. Les agradations constituent le mécanisme réciproque et sont fréquentes dans la sédimentation et la diagenèse. Elles régénèrent par cicatrisation, construction et croissance, les phyllites caractéristiques du prémétamorphisme: illite et chlorite. Ces transformations minérales dépendant des milieux naturels sont un chapitre important de la Géochimie des silicates de l'Hydrosphère.

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The clay mineral degradations are frequent during weathering. They involve an evolution of the crystal lattices, from the micas and the chlorites to the open-minerals, through the mixed-layers. The aggradations constitute the reciprocal mechanism and they are frequent during sedimentation and diagenesis. Through cicatrization, construction and growth, they regenerate the phyllites typical of premetamorphism: illite and chlorite. These mineral transformations, subject to the natural environments, are an important chapter of the Geochemistry of Hydrosphere silicates.

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Zusammenfassung Während der Verwitterungen kommt oft ein Abbau der Tonminerale vor, der sich durch die Entwicklung des Gitters von Glimmer und Chlorit, über ein Zwischenstadium von Wechsellagertonen, zu offenen Mineralen wie Vermiculit und Montmorillonit kennzeichnet. Der entgegengesetzte Vorgang spielt sich in dem, in Ablagerung und Diagenese häufigen Aufbau ab. So werden die charakteristischen Phyllosilikate der Vormetamorphose: Illit und Chlorit, durch Vernarbung, Aufbau und Anwachsen der Gitter wieder hergestellt. Diese Veränderungen, die von den Bedingungen der natürlichen Milieus abhängen, stellen ein wichtiges Kapitel der Geochemie der Hydrosphärensilikate dar.

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Gymnospermes s.l. du Jurassique supérieur du massif Manamana,Sud-Ouest de Madagascar: une nouvelle paléoflore gondwanienne

Fossil plants from Upper Jurassic sediments belonging to the Gymnosperms s.l. have been studied in the Manamana massif from the southwestern part of Madagascar. The levels are Upper Oxfordian in age on the basis of the palaeontological content, especially with ammonites. The majority of fossil plants are devoided of organic matter but in some cases collodion peels have been made to present epidermal characters. The cuticle of Brachyphyllum madagascariense nov. sp. has been observed with scanning electron microscope (SEM). This new flora is constituted by Pteridospermales and Coniferales. Fragmentary fronds of Pteridospermales have been collected of Pachypteris sp. A and Pachypteris sp. B. Some epidermal characters are described. Coniferales are represented by leafy stems. The diagnosis of Brachyphyllum madagascariense nov. sp. is given with morphological and epidermal characters. Others conifers have been determined: Brachyphyllum sp. A, Brachyphyllum sp. B, Elatocladus sp., Cupressinocladus sp., Cyparissidium sp.. Araucarites sp. remains are probably isolated fertile scales of a female cone. Complete cones of Conites sp. are also present.Comparisons of the systematic composition are made with other Gondwana floras of the same age from Antarctica, South America, Madagascar, India, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. This flora shows xerophytic adaptations. With the Filicales described by Appert (1973a, b) from the same localities, it is now the most diverse flora from the Upper Jurassic of Madagascar, despite the lack of Cycadales, Bennettitales and Angiosperms.     

The Siwaliks of western Nepal: I. Geometry and kinematics

The Siwalik Group which forms the southern zone of the Himalayan orogen, constitutes the deformed part of the Neogene foreland basin situated above the downflexed Indian lithosphere. It forms the outer part of the thin-skinned thrust belt of the Himalaya, a belt where the faults branch off a major décollement (MD) that is the external part of the basal detachment of Himalayan thrust belt. This décollement is located beneath 13 Ma sediments in far-western Nepal, and beneath 14.6 Ma sediments in mid-western Nepal, i.e., above the base of the Siwalik Group. Unconformities have been observed in the upper Siwalik member of western Nepal both on satellite images and in the field, and suggest that tectonics has affected the frontal part of the outer belt since more than 1.8 Ma. Several north dipping thrusts delineate tectonic boundaries in the Siwalik Group of western Nepal. The Main Dun Thrust (MDT) is formed by a succession of 4 laterally relayed thrusts, and the Main Frontal Thrust (MFT) is formed by three segments that die out laterally in propagating folds or branch and relay faults along lateral transfer zones. One of the major transfer zones is the West Dang Transfer Zone (WDTZ), which has a north-northeast strike and is formed by strike-slip faults, sigmoid folds and sigmoid reverse faults. The width of the outer belt of the Himalaya varies from 25 km west of the WDTZ to 40 km east of the WDTZ. The WDTZ is probably related to an underlying fault that induces: (a) a change of the stratigraphic thickness of the Siwalik members involved in the thin-skinned thrust belt, and particularly of the middle Siwalik member; (b) an increase, from west to east, of the depth of the décollement level; and (c) a lateral ramp that transfers displacement from one thrust to another. Large wedge-top basins (Duns) of western Nepal have developed east of the WDTZ. The superposition of two décollement levels in the lower Siwalik member is clear in a large portion of the Siwalik group of western Nepal where it induces duplexes development. The duplexes are formed either by far-travelled horses that crop out at the hangingwall of the Internal Décollement Thrust (ID) to the south of the Main Boundary Thrust, or by horses that remain hidden below the middle Siwaliks or Lesser Himalayan rocks. Most of the thrusts sheets of the outer belt of western Nepal have moved toward the S–SW and balanced cross-sections show at least 40 km shortening through the outer belt. This value probably under-estimates the shortening because erosion has removed the hangingwall cut-off of the Siwalik series. The mean shortening rate has been 17 mm/yr in the outer belt for the last 2.3 Ma.     

Respective contributions of tectonic and gravity‐driven processes on the structural pattern in the Eastern Nile deep‐sea fan: insights from physical experiments

In the Nile deep‐sea fan, thin‐skinned deformation detaching on a layer of Messinian salt has generated an upslope to downslope progression from growth faults, to polygonal minibasins bounded by salt ridges, to buckle folds. Such progression is common in salt‐bearing passive margins, where gravity spreading of the salt–sediment system causes proximal thin‐skinned extension on the shelf and upper slope, and distal contraction along and in front of the lower slope. In the Eastern Nile deep‐sea fan, this structural progression seems to be restricted to a corridor bounded by NW–SE‐trending lineaments more than 200 km in length. These are associated with salt ridges and record strike–slip movements. In the absence of a large grid of deep‐penetrating seismic data accurately imaging the basement, different likely hypotheses have been advanced about the origin of this corridor: (1) it may result from possible deep‐seated tectonics related to the Rift of Suez, combined with salt‐related deformation or, (2) by complex interaction between the overburden's gravity spreading and pre‐existing pre‐Messinian paleo‐topographic features, particularly the possible buttressing effect of a seamount located North of the eastern Nile deep‐sea fan. In order to understand how this corridor could have been generated, we used a series of physical experiments to test the effect on three‐dimensional spreading of a sediment lobe of the following parameters: (1) active, crustal, oblique extension, (2) a dormant subsalt graben, (3) a passive buttress, such as a seamount and (4) complex paleo‐topographic features along the Egyptian margin affecting initial salt distribution. These experiments show that the presence of a distal buttress, combined with a complex Messinian topography best explain the complex deformational pattern observed in the eastern Nile deep‐sea fan.     

Using Causal Inference in Field Development Optimization: Application to Unconventional Plays

Mathematical Geosciences - In the current era of big data and machine learning, a strong focus exists on prediction and classification. In industrial applications, however, many important questions...