Deformation processes at fast to ultra-fast oceanic spreading axes: mechanical approach

The morphology of fast to ultra-fast oceanic spreading ridges such as the East Pacific Rise (EPR) is characterized by an axial dome, 5–10 km wide, culminating at 300–500 m above the surrounding seafloor. This dome is bounded by lateral grabens that develop systematically 2 to 6 km apart from the spreading axis. A large summit trough, 200 m to 2 km wide, locally notches the axial high, only where the dome is inflated, indicative of a time-average robust magma supply. This summit trough is thought to represent an elongated axial summit caldera (ASC) created as a result of the subsidence of the top of the axial magma chamber (AMC). Such subsidence is likely caused by a temporary decrease in melt supply into the shallow magma reservoir suffering continuous regional extension. Analog experiments using small-scale modeling have been performed in order to better constrain the tectonic evolution of the axial region. The experimental apparatus includes an elongated balloon filled with water as an analog of the magma reservoir set in a central groove in a table. It is capped with a silicone layer representing hot rocks below the brittle–ductile transition and is covered by a sand layer representing the brittle crust. The experiments integrate withdrawal of the balloon and extension at the boundary of the model by the mean of two mobile walls. Three experimental setups allowed us to study independently the mechanical parameters controlling the axial tectonic evolution: extension without withdrawal, withdrawal without extension, withdrawal and synchronous extension. We show that the morphology of the EPR axis can be considered as the result of both horizontal and vertical movements. Two symmetrical lateral grabens develop on both sides of a non-deformed axial dome when single extension is applied to a model with a thin silicone layer. Normal faults of the lateral grabens are rooted on two divergent velocity zones (DVZs) located on the edges of the groove. This situation is regarded as an analog of the natural case where the top of the AMC acts as a stress-free boundary that fails to transmit the extensional stresses to the upper brittle layer. An important deflation of the balloon without extension results in the creation of a central collapse trough limited by reverse faults. During synchronous extension and withdrawal, the initiation of the lateral grabens is favored by a balloon deflation, even if such deflation is unable to generate a superficial collapse. This last case is considered as representative of the evolution of EPR segments showing little variations in melt supply into the AMC. Higher deflation rates under continuous extension correspond to EPR segments undergoing strong variations in melt supply. In such experiments, the lateral grabens are created together with a central collapse trough developing in a way similar to that of experiments involving only balloon deflation. Finally, we show that DVZs located at the brittle–ductile boundary are the key mechanical elements which may explain the structural evolution of the axial region of fast to ultra-fast spreading ridges. The distance from axis and the width of the DVZs directly control the location and the distribution of the lateral grabens.     

Origine et évolution du soufre au sein de l'aquifère des Sables infra-molassiques du Bassin aquitainOrigin and evolution of sulphur in the Infra-Molassic Sands Aquifer from the Aquitaine Basin

New data on isotopic composition of sulphur and oxygen in dissolved sulphates are used to determine the origin of sulphate ions (SO₄^2?) in the water of the Infra-Molassic Sands Eocene aquifer. Two very distinct origins appear: one is the gypsum dissolution, from the molasse, and the second is the pyrite oxidation, present at the bottom of and within the aquifer. These isotopic analyses helped, in agreement with hydrogeology, to identify geochemical basins whose properties modify the chemical water composition. They also highlight the existence of bioreduction areas. To cite this article: L. André et al., C. R. Geoscience 334 (2002) 749–756.     

Comparison of UV and IR Laser Ablation ICP-MS on Silicate Reference Materials and Implementation of Normalisation Factors for Quantitative Measurements

Direct analysis of geological reference materials was performed by LA-ICP-MS using two Nd:YAG laser systems operating at 266 nm and 1064 nm. The aim of this work was to compare UV and IR laser ablation and to assess the potential of the technique for the quantitative bulk analysis of rocks, sediments and soils. The laser sampling process was investigated and the analytical performance of both systems was compared. The influence of the laser operating conditions and the nature of the matrix on ICP-MS response factors calculated for major, minor and trace elements was evaluated. Under consistent laser settings, the response factors appeared to be matrix dependent. For a given matrix, the response factors were also significantly different for the two lasers. Normalisation with a single matrix element was effective only for matrices with similar mineralogy. When operating at 266 nm instead of 1064 nm, matrix effects could be reduced but not overcome. However, variations of the response factors between the different matrices appeared to be similar within distinct groups of elements, reflecting geochemical associations. When using multiple internal standards, matrix effects but also effects of the laser wavelength, could be fully compensated.     

A new engineering-geological rock durability classification

The construction of the 5.3-m diameter, 82-km long Orange—Fish Tunnel in the Republic of South Africa, in sensibly horizontal beds of mudrocks, siltstones and sandstones of the Karoo Supergroup (Upper Carboniferous to Triassic age), revealed the paramount importance of rock durability. The presence of non-durable rock types was found to be one of the causes of the rock distress problems encountered in some tunnel sections during construction.

Geomechanical tests conducted on representative samples of potentially difficult rock types from the Orange—Fish Tunnel, indicated important limitations of international rock material classifications, such as the Deere—Miller Modulus—Strength and the Deere—Gamble Durability—Plasticity systems. The inadequacy of these classifications in the case of the Karoo sedimentary rocks, underlined the need for a new rock durability classification which could be used for the timely indication of the presence of non-durable rock material sections at tunnel level.

An account is given of the lithology, mineralogy and the postulated weathering mechanics of the Karoo rocks encountered, as well as the application of these parameters to the numerical methods used for the quantitative assessment of rock durability. It is considered that a reliable appraisal of this time-dependent parameter can be provided by the measurement of the strength and free swelling properties of the intact rock material.

A new rock durability classification, styled the Geodurability Classification, is discussed. This empirical system appears to be practical and simple as it depends on the minimum number of index rock properties, which can be measured fairly rapidly in a field laboratory by means of simple test apparatus and semi-skilled labour. It is based on different ranges of ratios of the uniaxial compressive strength, σ_c, and the “Duncan” free swelling coefficient, ε_D, as index parameters. The intact rock material is classified according to a rating system which varies from “excellent” (Class A) to “very poor” (Class F).

The extensive use of the Geodurability Classification indicated such a system to be particularly relevant to compacted and weakly cemented rocks, where the tendency of the rock material to deteriorate with time (and not the presence of rock discontinuities such as joints and bedding planes) dominates the time-dependent behaviour of tunnel rock masses.     

Role of strike-slip faults in the Betic-Rifian orogeny

A new model for the Betic-Rifian orogeny of the Western Mediterranean (Spain and North Africa) is proposed in which four strike-slip faults play an important role; the faults are not of the same age. Two faults, the left-lateral Jebha fault to the south (in Morocco and principally in the Mediterranean Sea) and the right-lateral North Betic fault (southern Spain) to the north, define the boundaries of the Alboran block (Betic and Rifian internal zones). Final movement along these faults was during the Burdigalian time. Two other faults, the left-lateral Nekor fault (North Africa) to the south of the Jebha fault and the right-lateral Crevillente fault, somewhat to the north of the North Betic fault, define a larger Alboran block (including part of the Betic and Rifian external zones) that was present during the Tortonian.The following sequence of events is proposed:

1. (a) During the Eocene and Oligocene, the African and European plates converged in a N-S sense causing the breakup and overthrusting of the Betic, Rifian and Kabyle internal zones and then the movement towards the WSW of the Alboran block by slip along the Jebha and North Betic faults.

2. (b) By the end of Burdigalian time, movement along the Jebha and North Betic faults ceased.

3. (c) With continued N-S convergence, the Nekor and Crevillente faults, which bound a larger Alboran block, were formed during the mid- and late Miocene. The Arc of Gibraltar (the zone lying between the four major faults) seems to be a result of WSW motion of a crustal block being thrust over external zones.

The model proposed adds to the earlier idea that tectogenesis proceeds from the interior to the exterior of an erogenic belt. In the Betic-Rifian orogeny major strike-slip fracture zones shifted to the exterior of the orogenic belt as the orogeny progressed in order to relieve the stress caused by locking of the more internal faults.     

The Rwenzori Mountains,a landslide-prone region?

With its exceptionally steep topography, wet climate, and active faulting, landslides can be expected to occur in the Rwenzori Mountains. Whether or not this region is prone to landsliding and more generally whether global landslide inventories and hazard assessments are accurate in data-poor regions such as the East African highlands are thus far unclear. In order to address these questions, a first landslide inventory based on archive information is built for the Rwenzori Mountains. In total, 48 landslide and flash flood events, or combinations of these, are found. They caused 56 fatalities and considerable damage to road infrastructure, buildings, and cropland, and rendered over 14,000 persons homeless. These numbers indicate that the Rwenzori Mountains are landslide-prone and that the impact of these events is significant. Although not based on field investigations but on archive data from media reports and laymen accounts, our approach provides a useful complement to global inventories overlooking this region and increases our understanding of the phenomenon in the Rwenzori Mountains. Considering the severe impacts of landslides, the population growth and related anthropogenic interventions, and the likelihood of more intense rainfall conditions, there is an urgent need to invest in research on disaster risk reduction strategies in this region and other similar highland areas of Africa.     

High-yielding aquifers in crystalline basement: insights about the role of fault zones,exemplified by Armorican Massif,France

While groundwater constitutes a crucial resource in many crystalline-rock regions worldwide, well-yield conditions are highly variable and barely understood. Nevertheless, it is well known that fault zones may have the capacity to ensure sustainable yield in crystalline media, but there are only a few and disparate examples in the literature that describe high-yield conditions related to fault zones in crystalline rock basements. By investigating structural and hydraulic properties of remarkable yielding sites identified in the Armorican Massif, western France, this study discusses the main factors that may explain such exceptional hydrogeological properties. Twenty-three sites, identified through analysis of databases available for the region, are investigated. Results show that: (1) the highly transmissive fractures are related to fault zones which ensure the main water inflow in the pumped wells; (2) the probability of intersecting such transmissive fault zones does not vary significantly with depth, at least within the range investigated in this study (0–200 m); and (3) high yield is mainly controlled by the structural features of the fault zones, in particular the fault dip and the presence of a connected storage reservoir. Conceptual models that summarize the hydrological properties of high-yield groundwater resources related to fault zones in crystalline basement are shown and discussed.