The Weepah Hills Area (Nevada) exposes exhumed metamorphic and plutonic rocks and upper-plate (supradetachment) volcano-sedimentary rocks that have experienced a complex, multi-stage deformational and depositional history. The Weepah Hills metamorphic core complex (WHMCC) is located in a region of the western Cordillera that was affected by both Miocene Basin-and-Range style E-W extension and Mio-Pliocene Walker Lane transcurrent shearing. Mio-Pliocene transcurrent deformation is transferred across a ~175 km releasing bend, known as the Mina Deflection, that kinematically links dextral strike-slip faults of the Death Valley-Fish Lake Valley with the central Walker Lane Belt. Progressive Mio-Pliocene transtension is characterized by core complex detachment faulting and younger high-angle normal faults. Timing of detachment faulting is constrained by both (U-Th)/He thermochronometry of footwall rocks and detailed chronostratigraphy of upper-plate strata to between 9-6 Ma. This age is supported by deformation recorded in the upper-plate strata that is attributed to progressive folding of the detachment associated with corrugation development. Earlier Miocene Basin-and-Range style extension is characterized by N-S trending high-angle normal faults and half-grabens that are strongly overprinted by Mio-Pliocene structures. (U-Th)/He zircon cooling ages from the detachment footwall range from ~12-20 Ma and are attributed to exhumation and unroofing related to E-W Basin-and-Range extension. New detailed sedimentological and geochronologic data show that, in contrast to previous research, the WHMCC upper-plate strata do not form a single supradetachment package, but rather three temporally distinct Miocene stratigraphic packages bounded by angular unconformities. The stratigraphic, structural, and exhumational record preserved in the WHMCC elucidates the timing of deformation and sedimentary basin evolution related to both Basin-and-Range E-W extension and Walker Lane related NW-directed transtension. / text

Reconstructing the structural evolution of metamorphic core complexes is critical to understanding how large-magnitude extension is accommodated in the middle to upper crust. This dissertation focuses on the Miocene geometric and kinematic evolution of the Buckskin-Rawhide metamorphic core complex in west-central Arizona, addressing controversial topics including the geometric development of mid-crustal shear zones, the formation of detachment fault corrugations, and the transition from detachment faulting to more distributed deformation. Detailed microstructural data from mylonites in the lower plate of the Buckskin-Rawhide detachment fault indicate that early Miocene mylonitization was characterized by consistent top-NE-directed shear and ~450-500°C deformation temperatures that varied by [less-than or equal to]50°C across a distance of ~35 km in the extension direction. The relatively uniform deformation conditions and strain recorded in mylonitized ~22-21 Ma granitoids are incompatible with models in which the lower plate shear zone represents the down-dip continuation of a detachment fault. Instead, lower plate mylonites initiated as a subhorizontal shear zone that was captured and rapidly exhumed by a moderately to gently dipping detachment fault system. Structural data and geologic mapping demonstrate that the prominent NE-trending Buckskin-Rawhide detachment fault corrugations are folds produced by extension-perpendicular (NW-SE) shortening during core complex extension. Dominant NE-directed slip on the detachment fault was progressively overprinted by NW- and SE-directed slip associated with corrugation folding. Orientation patterns of upper plate bedding across the corrugations are compatible with folding about a NE-trending axis. Extension-perpendicular shortening in the lower plate is recorded by synmylonitic constriction and folding. Upright m-scale and km-scale lower plate folds parallel the detachment fault corrugations and developed primarily by postmylonitic flexural slip that was coeval with detachment faulting. The total amount of NW-SE shortening across the lower plate is ~10%, but the amount of NW-SE shortening recorded by the younger detachment fault is only ~1%. The relatively late-stage development of corrugations in the Buckskin-Rawhide metamorphic core complex suggests that extension-perpendicular shortening was primarily driven by a reduction of vertical stresses through crustal thinning and tectonic denudation. Brittle fault data document the transition from large-magnitude, NE-directed extension to distributed E-W extension and right-lateral faulting. Following exhumation to brittle conditions, lower plate mylonites were extended up to ~20-30% by NE-dipping, syndetachment normal faults. Towards the end of detachment faulting, the extension direction rotated clockwise, and some portions of the Buckskin detachment fault record a transition from dominant top-NE slip to ENE- and E-directed slip. After detachment faulting ceased, E-W extension was accommodated primarily by steeply NE-dipping, right-lateral and oblique right-lateral-normal faults. The cumulative amount of right-lateral shear across the core complex is probably 7-9 km, which is the amount needed to restore the topographic trend of lower plate corrugations into alignment with the dominant extension direction. Postdetachment right-lateral/transtensional faulting across the Buckskin-Rawhide metamorphic core complex reflects the increasing influence of the Pacific-North American transform plate boundary towards the end of the middle Miocene. / text

Hot spring geochemistry from the Peruvian Andes provide insight on how faults, or fractures in the Earth's crust, are capable of influencing fluid circulation. Faults can either promote or inhibit fluid flow and the goal of this study is test the role of a major fault, such as the Cordillera Blanca detachment, as a channel for transporting deep fluids to the surface. Hot springs are abundant in the Cordillera Blanca and Huayhuash ranges in Peru, and several springs issue along the Cordillera Blanca detachment, making this region an ideal setting for our study. To test the role of the Cordillera Blanca detachment, hot springs were sampled along the trace of the fault (Group 1), the western edge of the Cordillera Blanca (Group 2), the eastern side of the Cordillera Blanca (Group 3), and in the Cordillera Huayhuash (Group 4). Water and dissolved gas samples were collected from a total of 25 springs and then analyzed for an array of geochemical parameters. Distinct fluid chemistries from Groups 1 and 2 suggest that the Cordillera Blanca detachment and adjacent minor faults to the west intersect at depth and provide a preferential flow path for deep fluid circulation. Understanding the influence of faults on fluid flow is essential for many disciplines (e.g. oil exploration, hydrology), and this work demonstrates that fluid geochemistry is an excellent tool for assessing the role of faults on fluid distribution.

Le Bassin de Valence, situé à l’est de l’Ibérie et séparé du Bassin Algérien par le Promontoire Baléares, résulte d’une évolution polyphasée dans l’espace et dans le temps. Son histoire cénozoïque, celle d’un bassin d’arrière-arc Oligo-Miocène, est à présent reconnue. Toutefois cette extension se surimpose à plusieurs phases de rift observées à terre du Permien au Crétacé inférieur. Cette histoire plus ancienne demeure méconnue en mer malgré son importance dans l’héritage structural du bassin. Au sud du Bassin de Valence, le Bassin de Columbrets en témoigne en révélant d’épaisses séquences mésozoïques jusqu’alors incluses dans un « socle acoustique » indifférencié. Ce domaine permet donc le déchiffrage du mécanisme des évènements tectoniques qui se sont succédé du Mésozoïque à l’Est de l’Ibérie d’une part, au Cénozoïque en Méditerranée occidentale d’autre part.Basé sur une stratégie d’étude terre-mer, ce travail vise une meilleure compréhension (1) des processus tectoniques tertiaires modelant le sud du Bassin de Valence et la Méditerranée occidentale (2) de la réponse sédimentaire à des processus d’extension et d’hyper-extension au Mésozoïque (3) de l’importance de l’halocinèse lors la mise en place des structures sédimentaires et tectoniques.L’étude structurale d’Ibiza, l’île la plus méridionale du Promontoire Baléare, reconsidère le calendrier tectonique de la région ainsi que son intégration dans l’histoire géodynamique de la Méditerranée occidentale. Le rift Oligo-Miocène décrit dans le Bassin de Valence et initié par le Système de Rifts Cénozoïques Européens a été observé sur Ibiza. Cet évènement est suivi au Miocène Moyen d’une déformation compressive localisée par les failles normales précédemment formées. La comparaison avec le calendrier tectonique des Kabylies en Algérie montre que cette déformation compressive, qui épargne le Bassin Algérien, résulte de la convergence Europe-Afrique. Des cartes rétro-tectoniques intègrent ces évènements dans le contexte géodynamique de la Méditerranée occidentale depuis l’Oligocène.L’étude des séries Mésozoïques effectuées à terre et en mer (grâce à l’interprétation de données sismiques et de forages) révèle plusieurs phases de rifting du Permien au Crétacé inférieur. Un épisode majeur Jurassique supérieur à Crétacé inférieur est à l’origine de l’épaisse séquence sédimentaire du Bassin de Columbrets. Documentée à terre, cette phase ayant conduit à l’ouverture de la partie sud de l’Atlantique Nord est à l’origine de bassins ibériques ou péri-ibériques tels Maestrat, Caméros ou Parentis.Un amincissement majeur de la croûte est visible sous l’épaisse séquence mésozoïque, la réduisant à 5km. Le mécanisme d’extension voire d’hyper-extension proposé invoque une faille de détachement à pendage NW qui s’enracine dans la croûte inférieure litée. Une représentation des structures en 3D a été réalisée afin de comprendre l’évolution du Bassin de Columbrets.L’architecture sédimentaire du Bassin de Columbrets est également contrôlée par le mouvement des séries salifères depuis leur dépôt au Trias supérieur jusqu’à l’actuel. La partie septentrionale du bassin se caractérise par une halocinèse surtout lié aux déformations extensives de la région. En revanche au sud du front chevauchant des Bétiques, le sel est aussi remobilisé en compression. La géométrie et la répartition des structures salifères décrites à terre et en mer dépendent fortement de l’épaisseur initiale de la couche de sel dans le bassin; cette observation apporte des éléments de réponse sur la paléogéographie des séries du Keuper au sud du Bassin de Valence.Au final cette étude aborde d’une part des thèmes liés au mécanisme de formation des bassins intracontinentaux et plus particulièrement la relation entre hyper-extension, signature sédimentaire et halocinèse. D’autre, elle permet une meilleure intégration du sud du Promontoire Baléare et du Bassin de Valence dans la géodynamique Ouest- Méditerranéenne. / The Valencia Basin, located east of Iberia and separated from the Algerian Basin by the Balearic promontory, underwent a poly-phased tectonic evolution in space and time. The Cenozoic evolution of the basin has been widely discussed, the most classical interpretation being an Oligo-Miocene aborted back-arc basin. However, this extensional tectonic regime postdated several rifting events from the Permian to the Lower Cretaceous. This older evolution remains poorly understood offshore, despite its influence on the tectonic inheritance of the basin. The Columbrets Basin, in the southernmost part of the Valencia Basin, exhibits a thick Mesozoic sequence that was considered to belong to an undifferentiated “acoustic basement”. Hence, the Columbrets Basin is a key study area to unravel the successive Mesozoic to Cenozoic tectonic events in Eastern Iberia and Western Mediterranean.Our study integrates onshore and offshore data to better constrain (1) the Cenozoic tectonic processes that led to the current morphology of the southern Valencia Basin and the Western Mediterranean (2) the sedimentary records Mesozoic extensional to hyper-extensional processes and (3) the importance of the halokinesis in the sedimentary and tectonic architectures.Ibiza Island, located on the southernmost part of the Balearic Promontory, questions the standard tectonic agenda of the area and its integration in the Western Mediterranean geodynamic frame. The Oligo-Miocene rifting phase described in the Valencia basin is initiated by the European Cenozoic Rift System (ECRIS) and has been observed in Ibiza. This event is followed by a Middle Miocene contractional phase reactivating the inherited normal faults. The comparison with the tectonic history of the Kabylies in Algeria shows that this stage that does not affect the Algeria basin, results from the convergence between Europe and Africa. A set of retro-tectonic maps integrates these events in the geodynamic context of West Mediterranean.The Mesozoic units were studied onshore and offshore (using drilling and seismic data); it reveals several rifting phases from the Permian to the Lower Cretaceous. A major Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous event was responsible for the deposition of the thick sequence present in the Columbrets Basin. This tectonic event led to the opening of the southern part of the north Atlantic but is also at the origin of several Iberian or peri-iberian basins such as Maestrat, Cameros, or Parentis basins.A major crustal thinning has been observed underneath the thick Mesozoic sequence, reducing the crustal thickness to 5 km. The proposed extensional and even hyper-extensional mechanism used a NW dipping detachment fault rooting deeply into the layered lower crust. A 3D geometrical model of the structures illustrates the evolution of the Columbrets Basin.The sedimentary architecture of this basin is also controlled by salt movements from their deposition during the Late Triassic to current times. The northern part of the Basin is characterized by salt movements mainly linked to the extensional deformations of the area. South of the Betics Front, the salt is remobilized by compressional deformations. The geometry and the location of the salt structures described onshore and offshore depend on the initial thickness of the salt in the basin; this observation gives evidence for the paleogeography of the Keuper sequences in the south of Valencia Basin.Finally, this study documents the mechanisms leading to the formation of intracontinental basins and especially the relationships between hyperextension, sedimentary filling and halokinesis. On the other hand, our study allows a better integration of the southern part of the Balearic Promontory and Valencia Basin in the geodynamic frame of the West Mediterranean.

Le Golfe de Californie (GOC) est un exemple de rift très oblique, au stade d'accrétion depuis 3,6 Ma au sud. La déformation continentale débute au Miocène dans un contexte arrière-arc, en relation avec la subduction de la plaque Pacifique sous la Plaque Nord-Américaine. L'objectif de cette thèse est de déterminer I'histoire de la déformation à I'origine de la rupture continentale ainsi que les phénomènes post-rupture. Cette étude utilise des données tectoniques, sismologiques et géomorphologiques sur la marge Ouest du GOC en Basse Californie du Sud. Elles sont calées temporellement par des datations d'isotopes radiogéniques et cosmogéniques. Une histoire polyphasée de la déformation, essentiellement post-magmatique, est proposée en termes d'évolution des directions des failles et de déformations relativement à la cinématique des plaques. Je démontre dans cette zone que la déformation qui conduit à l'amincissement et à l'étirement lithosphérique est d'abord fortement oblique et devient transtensive et moins oblique relativement à la cinématique à partir de 7-8 Ma. La marge étudiée est intégrée de manière cohérente à I'ensemble des domaines déformés associés à la formation du GOC. On montre notamment que les marges du GOC sont diachrones et qu'elles se forment par migration vers I'Ouest de la déformation vers la zone de subduction, qui devient inactive vers 12 Ma. La dynamique post-breakup du GOC est interprétée en termes de mobilisation par fluage de la croûte inférieure en relation avec un évènement thermique lié à la rupture du slab. En conclusion, l'évolution du GOC ne peut s'expliquer par les modèles simples de rifting oblique et de formation de marges passives. / The Gulf of California (GOC) is an example of highly-oblique rift. Oceanic accretion started 3.6 Ma ago at its southern end. The earliest continental extension started during the Miocene, in a back-arc setting, in connection with the subduction of the Pacific plate (PAC) beneath North America (NAM). ln this study, I reconstitute the strain evolution along the proximal Baja California margin. For this, I used original tectonic and seismological data which I collected in Baja California Sur (BCS). Those data were time-constrained with absolute dating (radiogenic and cosmogenic isotopes). I outline that the main stretching and thinning of the Late Miocene-Pliocene Baja California margin was highly oblique regarding NAM-PAC kinematic vector, turning less oblique. By integrating the studied margin in the evolution of the GOC, it is proposed that the final break-up mechanism occurred within a broad semi-ductile right-lateral central shear-zone. lt is shown that the two GOC passive margins didn't form at the same time, crustal strain migrating westward during the Miocene in response to a probable retreat of the dying slab. The active post-breakup deformation in the proximal BCS is best interpreted in connection with an outward flow of the lower crust in a trend compatible with the margin shaping inherited from the major GOC-normal to GOC-oblique Miocene crustal deformation. This ductile flow would be enhanced by the heat input from the slab rupture. To conclude, the GOC evolution as an oblique rift system adjusts with no existing analogical or numerical model of strain field evolution of oblique rifting, a probable consequence to the complex dynamics in back-arc settings.