Cette thèse s'intéresse à un segment de croûte d'âge Paléoprotérozoïque du craton ouest-africain. Les roches de la zone d'étude comprennent des roches volcaniques et volcanoclastiques mafiques à felsiques, des paragneiss de haut grade métamorphique et des ensembles volcano-sédimentaires faiblement métamorphisés. De nouvelles cartes lithologiques, métamorphiques et structurales sont construites à l'aide d'une approche intégrée, couplant cartographie de terrain et interprétation des données géophysiques aéroportées à l'échelle régionale. L'analyse des données géochimiques et géochronologiques des suites magmatiques de la ceinture de roches vertes de Sefwi révèle une affinité marquée avec le magmatisme calco- alcalin, produit des arcs volcaniques modernes et avec les TTGs d'âge Néoarchéen, impliquant une certaine diversité des sources et des processus pétrogénétiques. Des coeurs de zircons hérités, présents au sein de la suite magmatique livrent des âges autour de ca. 2250 à 2270 Ma. Leurs couronnes révèlent des âges de mise en place compris entre ca. 2189 et 2081 Ma. L'analyses Lu-Hf sur zircon livre des valeurs eHf positives et des âges modèles pour la croûtes situés entre 2650 et 2250 Ma. Ces valeurs indiquent l'existence d'une proto-croûte à tendance radiogènique et des temps de séjour limités pour ces magmas évoluant au sein de cette proto-croûte. L'évolution des magmas montre qu'ils ont été générés de façon concomitante, vers 2155 Ma, certains dérivants de la fusion d'une source mafique faiblement enrichit en potassium et formant des magmas sodiques, riches en silice, de type TTGs, d'autres de composition plus dioritiques, générés à partir de la fusion du manteau métasomatisé et enrichit en LILE. La mise en place plus tard vers ca. 2136 Ma de monzonites, présentant de teneurs élevées en potassium, soutient l'hypothèse d'une interaction avec des magmas de refusion de TTG existants au sein de la croûte. Le dernier stade du magmatisme est caractérisé par la mise en place de granites à deux micas et de leucogranites, le long de la marge nord-ouest de la ceinture de roches vertes vers ca. 2092 et 2081 Ma, marquant le stade de la collision au sein de l'orogène Eburnéenne. L'évènement tectono-métamorphique d'âge Eburnéen est caractérisé par un métamorphisme initialement de faciès amphibolite de haute pression, associé à un gradient géothermique assez froid (HP-MT, ~ 15-17 ° C / km). Le raccourcissement D1, orienté NNO-SSE, a généré une foliation pénétrative (S1), parallèle au litage des roches et des plans de chevauchement à tendance décrochant, orienté E-W. Cette tectonique précoce a provoquée l'enfouissement de roches supra-crustales (sédiments, roches volcaniques) et un épaississement de la croûte. Cet évènement métamorphique précoce évolue dans le temps et l'espace vers le facies amphibolite-granulite et l'anatexie. Les données SHRIMP U-Pb in-situ sur monazite livré des âges autour de ca. 2073 Ma. Ces monazites sont présentes au sein de paragénèses métamorphiques (D2) soulignant la foliation S2. Ces âges sont interprétés comme marquant le début de l'exhumation et du refroidissement de la croûte inférieure. Des détachements normaux, orientés NNE-SSO et des structures constrictives se sont formés conjointement au sein d'un régime de déformation D2 globalement transtensif, à jeux sénestre. Un régime compressif plus tardif (D3) a ensuite causé une réactivation en mouvement dextre de ces structures cisaillantes orientées NE-SO avec une rétrogression en schistes verts. Nous proposons que les segments de croute juvénile ont été générés en contexte d'arc intra-océanique, associé à un magmatisme intense et varié, issus des processus de subduction qui prendront fin lors des stades d'accrétion et de collision de ces segments d'autres terranes birimiens. La marge nord-ouest de la ceinture de roches vertes de Sefwi est interprétée comme une zone de suture entre des segments d'arc originellement séparés. / This thesis investigates the Palaeoproterozoic crust of the West African Craton in southwest Ghana, providing insight into its controversial geodynamic and tectonic evolution. Rocks of the study area comprise greenschist- to amphibolite facies, mafic to felsic volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks, high-grade paragneisses and low-grade volcano-sedimentary packages, all of which are extensively intruded by multiple generations of granitoids. New lithological, metamorphic and structural maps are constructed using integrated field mapping and interpretation of regional airborne geophysical datasets. This approach is used to constrain the deformation history of the sparsely exposed rocks of the NE- to NNE-striking Sefwi Greenstone Belt and the adjacent volcano-sedimentary domains deformed during the Eburnean Orogeny (2150-2070 Ma). Combined geochemical and geochronological analysis of the magmatic suites of the Sefwi Greenstone Belt reveal calc-alkaline, volcanic arc affinities, as well as a striking similarity to Neoarchean TTGs that require diverse magma sources and petrogenetic processes. Rare inherited zircon cores from the Palaeoproterozoic magmatic suite yield ages of ca. 2250 to 2270 Ma, with granitoid emplacement ages ranging between ca. 2189 and 2081 Ma. Zircon Lu-Hf analysis reveals consistently positive eHf(t) values and two-stage crustal model ages between 2650 and 2250 Ma, indicative of a radiogenic proto-crust and short crustal residence times. The magmatic evolution reveals the coeval generation of sodic, high-silica TTGs derived from partial melting of low-K mafic sources and dioritic magmas generated in a metasomatised, LILE-enriched mantle wedge at ca. 2155 Ma. Subsequent emplacement of high-K quartz monzonites at ca. 2136 Ma supports the interaction of mantle-derived magmas and remelting of existing TTGs. The final stage of magmatism is characterised by the emplacement of two-mica-granites and leucogranites along the NW margin of the Sefwi Greenstone Belt between ca. 2092 and 2081 Ma, interpreted as a terminal collisional event during the Eburnean Orogeny. Eburnean metamorphism and deformation is characterised in the study area by initial high-pressure amphibolite facies metamorphism corresponding with low apparent geothermal gradients (HP-MT, ~15-17°C/km). D1 NNW-SSE shortening generated a ubiquitous bedding-parallel foliation (S1) and ~E-W striking thrust faults, resulting in the burial of supracrustal rocks and crustal thickening. In the high-grade terrane, subsequent amphibolite-granulite facies metamorphism is associated with anatexis. In-situ SHRIMP U-Pb monazite ages at ca. 2073 Ma, hosted within, D2 mineral assemblages, are interpreted as the initial timing of cooling and exhumation, significantly later than paroxysmal metamorphism in NW Ghana and central Ivory Coast (2150-2130 Ma). NNE-striking normal detachments and constrictional deformation structures formed during sinistral ENW-WSW transtension (D2), during which segments of the middle- and lower crust were juxtaposed with low-grade domains. Subsequent E-W directed shortening (D3) caused the dextral re- activation of NE-SW striking shear zones, associated with a localised greenschist facies metamorphic overprint. We propose that the juvenile crust of southwest Ghana was generated in an intra-oceanic arc setting, associated with diverse and intense subduction-related magmatism until subsequent terrane accretion and collision. The north-western margin of the Sefwi Greenstone Belt in interpreted as a suture between the separate arc terranes, diachronously accreted during the Eburnean Orogeny. The Palaeoproterozoic crust of the southern portion of the West African Craton represents a juvenile crustal growth event, recording the unique geodynamic and orogenic processes associated with nascent subduction-related plate tectonics in the early Earth.

Plane-layer geometry convection models remain useful for modelling planetary mantle dynamics however they yield significantly warmer mean temperatures than spherical shell models. For example, in a uniform property spherical shell with the same radius ratio, f, as the Earth's mantle; a bottom heating Rayleigh number, Ra, of 10^7 and a nondimensional internal heating rate, H, of 23 (arguably Earth-like values) are insufficient to heat the mean temperature, θ, above the mean of the non-dimensional boundary value temperatures (0.5), the temperature in a plane-layer model with no internal heating. This study investigates the impact of this geometrical effect in convection models featuring uniform and stratified viscosity. To address the effect of geometry, heat sinks are implemented to lower the mean temperature in 3D plane-layer isoviscous convection models. Over 100 models are analyzed, and their mean temperatures are used to derive a single equation for predicting θ, as a function of Ra, H and f in spherical and plane-layer systems featuring free-slip surfaces. The inclusion of first-order terrestrial characteristics is introduced to quantitatively assess the influence of system geometry on planetary scale simulations. Again, over 100 models are analyzed featuring a uniform upper mantle viscosity and a lower mantle viscosity that increases by a factor of 30 or 100. An effective Rayleigh number, Raη, is defined based on the average viscosity of the mantle. Equations for the relationship between θ, Raη, and H are derived for convection in a spherical shell with f = 0.547 and plane-layer geometries. These equations can be used to determine the appropriate heating rate for a plane-layer convection model to emulate spherical shell convection mean temperatures for effective Rayleigh numbers comparable to the Earth’s value and greater. Comparing cases with the same H and Raη, the increased lower mantle viscosity amplifies the mismatch in mean temperatures between spherical shell and plane-layer models. These findings emphasize the importance of adjusting heating rates in plane-layer geometry models and have important implications for studying convection with temperature-dependent parameters in plane-layer systems. The findings are particularly relevant to the study of convection in super-Earths where full spherical shell calculations remain intractable.

Flow instabilities occur at all scales in planetary systems. In this thesis we examine three cases of such instabilities, on three very different length scales. In the first part, we test the idea that Archean granite-greenstone belts (GGBs) form by crustal diapirism, or Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities. GGBs are characterized by large granitic domes (50-100 km in diameter) embedded in narrow keel-shaped greenstones. They are ubiquitous in Archean (> 2.5 Ga) terrains, but rare thereafter. We performed finite element calculations for a visco-elastic, temperature-dependent, non-Newtonian crust under conditions appropriate for the Archean, which show that dense low-viscosity volcanics overlying a felsic basement will overturn diapirically in as little as 10 Ma, displacing as much as 60 % of the volcanics to the lower crust. This surprisingly fast overturn rate suggests that diapiric overturn dominated crustal tectonics in the hot conditions of the Early Earth, becoming less important as the Earth cooled. Moreover, the deposition of large volumes of wet basaltic volcanics to the lower crust may provide the source for the formation of the distinctly Archean granitic rocks which dominate Earth's oldest continents. The second part examines the origin of Venusian coronae, circular volcanic features unique to Venus. Coronae are thought to result from small instabilities (diapirs) from the core-mantle boundary, which are typical of stagnant-lid convection. However, most young coronae are located in a region surrounded by long-lived hotspots, typical of a more active style of mantle convection. Using analogue experiments in corn syrup heated from below, we show that the co-existence of diapirs and long-lived mantle plumes are a direct consequence of the catastrophic overturn of the cold Venusian lithosphere thought to have occurred ~ 700 Ma ago. In the last part we analyze the thermal effect of fluid flow through a full-scale experiment testing clay and concrete tunnel seals in a Deep Geological Repository for nuclear was finite element software, we were able to show that the formation of fissures in the heated chamber between the two seals effectively limited heat flow, and could explain the discrepancy between the predicted and measured temperatures.

Plane-layer geometry convection models remain useful for modelling planetary mantle dynamics however they yield significantly warmer mean temperatures than spherical shell models. For example, in a uniform property spherical shell with the same radius ratio, f, as the Earth's mantle; a bottom heating Rayleigh number, Ra, of 10^7 and a nondimensional internal heating rate, H, of 23 (arguably Earth-like values) are insufficient to heat the mean temperature, θ, above the mean of the non-dimensional boundary value temperatures (0.5), the temperature in a plane-layer model with no internal heating. This study investigates the impact of this geometrical effect in convection models featuring uniform and stratified viscosity. To address the effect of geometry, heat sinks are implemented to lower the mean temperature in 3D plane-layer isoviscous convection models. Over 100 models are analyzed, and their mean temperatures are used to derive a single equation for predicting θ, as a function of Ra, H and f in spherical and plane-layer systems featuring free-slip surfaces. The inclusion of first-order terrestrial characteristics is introduced to quantitatively assess the influence of system geometry on planetary scale simulations. Again, over 100 models are analyzed featuring a uniform upper mantle viscosity and a lower mantle viscosity that increases by a factor of 30 or 100. An effective Rayleigh number, Raη, is defined based on the average viscosity of the mantle. Equations for the relationship between θ, Raη, and H are derived for convection in a spherical shell with f = 0.547 and plane-layer geometries. These equations can be used to determine the appropriate heating rate for a plane-layer convection model to emulate spherical shell convection mean temperatures for effective Rayleigh numbers comparable to the Earth’s value and greater. Comparing cases with the same H and Raη, the increased lower mantle viscosity amplifies the mismatch in mean temperatures between spherical shell and plane-layer models. These findings emphasize the importance of adjusting heating rates in plane-layer geometry models and have important implications for studying convection with temperature-dependent parameters in plane-layer systems. The findings are particularly relevant to the study of convection in super-Earths where full spherical shell calculations remain intractable.

Flow instabilities occur at all scales in planetary systems. In this thesis we examine three cases of such instabilities, on three very different length scales. In the first part, we test the idea that Archean granite-greenstone belts (GGBs) form by crustal diapirism, or Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities. GGBs are characterized by large granitic domes (50-100 km in diameter) embedded in narrow keel-shaped greenstones. They are ubiquitous in Archean (> 2.5 Ga) terrains, but rare thereafter. We performed finite element calculations for a visco-elastic, temperature-dependent, non-Newtonian crust under conditions appropriate for the Archean, which show that dense low-viscosity volcanics overlying a felsic basement will overturn diapirically in as little as 10 Ma, displacing as much as 60 % of the volcanics to the lower crust. This surprisingly fast overturn rate suggests that diapiric overturn dominated crustal tectonics in the hot conditions of the Early Earth, becoming less important as the Earth cooled. Moreover, the deposition of large volumes of wet basaltic volcanics to the lower crust may provide the source for the formation of the distinctly Archean granitic rocks which dominate Earth's oldest continents. The second part examines the origin of Venusian coronae, circular volcanic features unique to Venus. Coronae are thought to result from small instabilities (diapirs) from the core-mantle boundary, which are typical of stagnant-lid convection. However, most young coronae are located in a region surrounded by long-lived hotspots, typical of a more active style of mantle convection. Using analogue experiments in corn syrup heated from below, we show that the co-existence of diapirs and long-lived mantle plumes are a direct consequence of the catastrophic overturn of the cold Venusian lithosphere thought to have occurred ~ 700 Ma ago. In the last part we analyze the thermal effect of fluid flow through a full-scale experiment testing clay and concrete tunnel seals in a Deep Geological Repository for nuclear was finite element software, we were able to show that the formation of fissures in the heated chamber between the two seals effectively limited heat flow, and could explain the discrepancy between the predicted and measured temperatures.

Geodynamic modelling, via computer simulations, offers an easily controllable method for investigating the behaviour of an Earth system and providing feedback to conceptual models of geological evolution. However, most available computer codes have been developed for engineering or hydrological applications, where strains are small and post-failure deformation is not studied. Such codes cannot simultaneously model large deformation and porous fluid flow. To remedy this situation in the face of tectonic modelling, a numerical approach was developed to incorporate porous fluid flow into an existing high-deformation code called Ellipsis. The resulting software, with these twin capabilities, simulates the evolution of highly deformed tectonic regimes where fluid flow is important, such as in mineral provinces. A realistic description of deformation depends on the accurate characterisation of material properties and the laws governing material behaviour. Aside from the development of appropriate physics, it can be a difficult task to find a set of model parameters, including material properties and initial geometries, that can reproduce some conceptual target. In this context, an interactive system for the rapid exploration of model parameter space, and for the evaluation of all model results, replaces the traditional but time-consuming approach of finding a result via trial and error. The visualisation of all solutions in such a search of parameter space, through simple graphical tools, adds a new degree of understanding to the effects of variations in the parameters, the importance of each parameter in controlling a solution, and the degree of coverage of the parameter space. Two final applications of the software code and interactive parameter search illustrate the power of numerical modelling within the feedback loop to field observations. In the first example, vertical rheological contrasts between the upper and lower crust, most easily related to thermal profiles and mineralogy, exert a greater control over the mode of crustal extension than any other parameters. A weak lower crust promotes large fault spacing with high displacements, often overriding initial close fault spacing, to lead eventually to metamorphic core complex formation. In the second case, specifically tied to the history of compressional orogenies in northern Nevada, exploration of model parameters shows that the natural reactivation of early normal faults in the Proterozoic basement, regardless of basement topography or rheological contrasts, would explain the subsequent elevation and gravitationally-induced thrusting of sedimentary layers over the Carlin gold trend, providing pathways and ponding sites for mineral-bearing fluids.

Mémoire (M.Sc.T.)-- Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 1993. / Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

La Méditerranée orientale doit sa complexité aux mouvements tectoniques des plaques Africaines, d’Arabie et d'Eurasie. Les récentes découvertes pétrolières du bassin Levantin (2009) renforcent la nécessité d’une approche combinée sismique/terrain pour comprendre l’évolution de son remplissage. L’intégration des données de sismique 2D et des données de terrain a permis de proposer des modèles conceptuels 3D qui, couplées aux données de puits, ont permis de définir les sources sédiementaires et les principales phases de remplissages correspondantes aux grands évènements géodynamiques. Ainsi l’évolution du bassin du Levan est marquée par la transition d’une sédimentation carbonate vers une sédimentation mixte (silicoclatisque/carbonaté) au cours du Crétacé. Seul le mont Ératosthène, situé sur une tête de bloc basculé hérité du rifting thétysien, conserve une sédimentation carbonatée superficielle jusqu’au Crétacé supérieur, liée à sa distance des sources silicoclastiques. Celui-ci présente 4 séquences de sédimentation carbonatée alternant superficielle et profonde: La fin du Jurassique moyen, le Crétacé inférieur, le Crétacé supérieur suivie et le Miocène. L'amorce de la collision Miocène en les plaques Eurasienne et Africaine coïncide avec le soulèvement d'Eratosthène avec une phase paroxysmique au cours du Miocène supérieur suivi par son basculement vers le nord en avant de l’ile de Chypre. Nous montrons que la collision a provoqué la formation de petits bassins au sud de Chypre ; un bassin piggyback (Polis Basin) et un bassin flexural (bassin de Limassol) ; contrôlés par la distribution des sédiments mésozoïques. / The Eastern Mediterranean owes its complex nature to the movement of Africa, Arabia and Eurasia. The recent gas discoveries in the Levant Basin (2009) provoked the necessity of necessity of conducting a combined (seismic and field) study to better understand the geological evolution of the Basin. The combination of geophysical and field data allows the conceptualization of onshore and, offshore 3D models in order to characterize the tectonostratigraphic evolution of this area and eventually trace the main sources and pathways that contributed to the infilling of the Levant Basin. The evolution of the Levant Basin is marked by the transition from a pure carbonate system to a mix system (carbonate /siliciclastic) during the Cenozoic. The Eratosthenes block corresponds to a fault block platform. Four major seismic sequences, characterized by periods of aggradation, retrogradation and progradation, punctuated by major unconformities and drowning surfaces have been recognized on the Eratosthenes Seamount. These periods are: the Late Jurassic; the Early Cretaceous, the Late Cretaceous and the Miocene. The initiation of the collision during the Miocene between the African and Eurasian plates coincides with the uplift of the Eratosthenes Seamount with a peak during the upper Miocene (pre-Messinian Salinity Crisis) followed by its northward tilting under Cyprus thrusting. We show that the collision of the two plates caused the formation of small basins in southern part of Cyprus; a piggyback basin (Polis), and a flexural basin (Limassol) that were controlled by the different substratum of the Mesozoic sediments.

Beitrag zu Wasser und Eissatellitendaten zur Bilanzierung von Massentransporten anläßlich einer Festschrift zum 65. Geburtstag von Prof. Reinhard Dietrich.

Beitrag zum Werdegang von Reinhard Dietrich anläßlich seines 65. Geburtstages