De l’observation microscopique d’une lame mince à l’observation mégascopique d’une province volcano-plutonique par télédétection (SRTM, Landsat), ce travail s’intéresse aux méthodes de comptage, aux traitements statistique et fractale des tailles, formes, orientations et distributions spatiales ainsi qu’à l’interprétation pétrogénétique et/ou géodynamique de différents marqueurs géologiques (cristaux, linéaments, cônes volcaniques…) associés au volcano-plutonisme phanérozoïque d’Afrique équatoriale (Ligne du Cameroun et régions voisines).<p><p>L’analyse à l’échelle microscopique de la distribution de taille de grains et des textures de roches volcaniques et mantelliques (laves et enclaves provenant de l’île de Bioko, golfe de Guinée) a permis de mettre en évidence l’importance d’une quantification objective des paramètres de taille et des relations entre les phases minérales. Après avoir appliqué et discuté les résultats obtenus par les méthodes dites de « distribution de tailles de grains » ou CSD (Crystal Size Distribution), les relations spatiales entre les cristaux et donc les textures ont été étudiées par analyse fractale classique puis grâce à l’entropie de Shannon, dont il s’agit de la première application 2D. La généralisation de ces méthodes de comptage à des objets géologiques de plus grande taille (linéaments, cônes volcaniques…) par le biais des images satellites (Landsat) et modèles numériques de terrain (MNT) issus des données SRTM, a permis d’aborder de manière objective, sur un nombre suffisant de mesures, la morphostructure de la région étudiée. L’ensemble des données morpho-structurales, soit 15.171 linéaments, 8.092 cônes volcaniques ou complexes annulaires, d’une vaste zone de plus de 2.700.000 km2 autour du golfe de Guinée, ont permis d’élaborer plusieurs modèles structuraux locaux qui, synthétisés dans une vue spatio-temporelle complète depuis le Carbonifère jusqu’à l’actuel, ont permis de redéfinir l’évolution géodynamique de la région.<p><p>Cette zone mobile complexe, pincée entre le craton congolais et le craton ouest-africain, est caractérisée par un soubassement précambrien, réactivé lors de la mise en place des grands bassins sédimentaires et ensembles magmatiques phanérozoiques. Contrairement à un modèle unique, souvent invoqué, l’évolution géologique régionale se présente comme une suite de régimes transcurrents dextres se déplaçant spatialement autour des directions N80 au Jurassique, N120 au Crétacé et N30 du Paléogène à l’actuel. L’intégration des nombreuses données géochimiques et isotopiques de la littérature aux modèles géodynamiques de ce travail oblige à globaliser le magmatisme cénozoïque à l’échelle de l’Afrique équatoriale dans son ensemble qui se présente alors comme un « ensemble » magmatique cohérent.<p> / Doctorat en Sciences / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

La Cordillère des Andes, issue de la subduction de la plaque Pacifique sous le continent Sud-Américain, est un système orogénique propice à la formation de grands systèmes volcaniques acides, dans lesquels coexistent des produits d’éruptions volcaniques explosives de grandes magnitudes et des laves et dômes, associés à des calderas mono- ou polygéniques. Ce mémoire de thèse apporte de nouvelles connaissances sur certains systèmes volcaniques acides du Sud du Pérou, dont les produits affleurent dans les canyons d’Ocoña-Cotahuasi-Maran (OCM). Ces canyons, les plus profonds des Andes (3 à 3,5 km), résultent de la combinaison des processus de soulèvement tectonique, d’incision, et d’érosion depuis 15 Ma. Les imposantes séries ignimbritiques exposées dans cette région (env. 10000 km²), témoignent de l’existence d’un volcanisme explosif de grande ampleur, associé à des systèmes acides peu connus d’après les études antérieures. Cette étude vise tout d’abord à obtenir une chrono-stratigraphie améliorée des événements ignimbritiques (groupes, unités) dans la région OCM pour mieux connaître les récurrences des super-éruptions dans cette région au cours des derniers 25 Ma. Ensuite, nous cherchons à localiser les sources des grandes unités et à identifier les éventuelles structures d’effondrement associées (calderas). Pour ce faire, nous avons combiné diverses techniques, associant l’étude de la stratigraphie et de la lithologie des dépôts volcaniques, les datations par la méthode 40Ar-39Ar des principales unités ignimbritiques et coulées de lave, l’imagerie satellitaire (Landsat, SPOT) et la pétrologie (assemblages minéralogiques, étude des textures et des compositions chimiques) et enfin, les mesures de densité et d’anisotropie de susceptibilité magnétique des ignimbrites (ASM) pour analyser les directions d’écoulement et tenter de localiser leurs sources. Ainsi, les résultats nous ont permis d’identifier huit événements ignimbritiques, dont six majeurs, datés entre ~24 Ma et ~2 Ma. Les âges des grandes unités (Nazca, Alpabamba, Huaylillas, Caraveli, Sencca inférieure et supérieure) montrent une récurrence moyenne de l’ordre de 4-5 Ma depuis 25 Ma. Les lithologies sont assez semblables, bien que les degrés de soudure varient beaucoup, allant de produits meubles jusqu’aux faciès eutaxitiques. L’étude pétrologique révèle des assemblages de minéraux assez homogènes, les paragenèses étant dominées par le quartz, le feldspath, la biotite, l’amphibole et des oxydes. Les volumes bruts des unités principales que nous avons déterminés se situent entre ~40 et ~500-800 km3. Cependant, il ne s’agit que de valeurs minimales, puisque nous considérons que les volumes initiaux sont au moins le double ou le triple, probablement dans la gamme ~100 à ~2400 km3. La distribution des unités ignimbritiques d’OCM et les résultats des analyses ASM désignent plusieurs zones sources. L’unité de Caraveli provient de la caldera de Trapiche, qui contient le lac Parinacochas. Cette structure que nous identifions, d'un diamètre de ~22 km, est située dans un bassin tectonique allongé selon la direction N-S. Elle est occupée dans sa partie ouest par un dôme résurgent de 800 m de haut, le Cerro Trompo Orjo. Les unités Huaylillas et Alpabamba, ainsi que les groupes Sencca (inférieure et supérieure) seraient issus d’une source entièrement recouverte par le massif volcanique quaternaire du Nevado Coropuna. Des estimations de volumes éruptifs suggèrent une atténuation significative du volcanisme ignimbritique depuis 9 Ma, peut-être liée à la maturation orogénique de l’Altiplano-Puna. En profondeur, le magmatisme a probablement contribué à l’épaississement crustal par adjonction de grands volumes de magma. (...) / The Andes, resulting from the subduction of Pacific plate under South-America continental plate, is an orogenic system suitable for large acidic volcanic systems formation. These structures display at the same time volcanic products from high magnitude explosive eruptions, lavas and domes, and mono- or polygenetic calderas. This manuscript brings a new expertise on some of the acidic volcanic systems in South Peru, which products outcrop in the Ocoña - Cotahuasi - Maran canyons (OCM). This canyons system, one of the deepest worldwide (up to 3.5 km), was created by combined tectonic uplift, incision and erosion processes since 15 Ma. Voluminous ignimbritic series widespread in this region (around 10000 km2) are evidences for a past high amplitude explosive volcanic activity related to little-known acidic systems. The topic of this study is to obtain an enhanced chrono-stratigraphy of the OCM region ignimbritic succession (groups and units). This would provide a better knowledge on the regional super-eruptions recurrence since the last 25 Ma. Then, we focus on localizing the largest ignimbrites sources and identify the possible related collapse structures (calderas). For that purpose we combine several studies, from stratigraphy, deposits lithology to 40Ar-39Ar dating of the main ignimbritic units and lava flows. We also use satellite imagery (Landsat, SPOT) and petrology (mineralogical assemblage, textures and geochemical composition). Finally, we measure the ignimbrites density and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) to determine their flowing directions and estimate their sources locations. Thus, the results let us identify eight ignimbritic events among which, six happened between ~24 Ma and ~2 Ma. The main units ages (Nazca, Alpabamba, Huaylillas, Caraveli, lower and upper Sencca) show an average recurrence of 4-5 Ma since 25 Ma. Lithologies are similar even if welding degrees ranges are spread from loose deposits to eutaxitic facies. Petrological study show quite homogeneous mineralogical assemblages since quartz, feldspar, biotite, amphibole and oxydes dominate the paragenesis. Our estimations of the main units bulk volumes range from ~ 40 to ~ 500-800 km3. However, these are only minimum values since we consider that initial volumes as twice or three times higher, probably in the range of ~100 to ~2400 km3. The OCM ignimbrite flow units distribution and the AMS study results indicate several regions as sources for these units. Caraveli unit flowed from Trapiche caldera in which the Parinacochas lake rests. This structure is estimated to be ~22 km of diameter and lays in a N-S orientated tectonic basin. Its western part is occupied with a 800 m high resurgent dome, named Cerro Trompo Orjo. Alpabamba and Huaylillas units, as Sencca units (lower and upper) would come from a source presently entirely covered with the quaternary massif of Nevado Coropuna. Estimations of eruptive volumes recall an important decrease of ignimbritic volcanism since 9 Ma, which might be related to simultaneous Altiplano-Puna orogenic growing. It is supported that deep magmatism have probably contributed to crustal thickening thanks to the addition of large volumes of magma. These results also involve that canyons erosion and incision would have taken place at a rate ranging from 150 to 500 m/Ma during the last 13 Ma. Given that the large-volume acidic system studied in this work is considerable, further research are necessary to improve these results.

Human activities such as mining and smelting of lead (Pb) ores and combustion of alkyllead additives in gasoline have resulted in extensive global Pb pollution. Since the late 1960's studies of polar ice and snow have been undertaken to evaluate the extent of anthropogenic Pb emissions in recent times as well as to investigate changes in anthropogenic Pb emissions in the more distant past. The polar ice sheets have been used to investigate Pb pollution as they offer a long-term record of human activity located far from pollution sources and sample aerosol emissions on a hemispheric scale. Lead isotopes have been previously used to identify sources of Pb in polar snow and ice, while new evaluations of Pb isotopic compositions in aerosols and Pb ore bodies allow more thorough evaluations of anthropogenic Pb emissions. Lead isotopic compositions and Pb and Barium (Ba) concentrations have been measured in snow and ice core samples from Law Dome, East Antarctica, to produce a detailed pollution history between 1530 AD and 1989 AD. Such a record has been produced to evaluate changes in anthropogenic Pb emission levels and sources over the past 500 years, to determine when industrial (anthropogenic) activities first began to influence Antarctica and also to investigate natural Pb fluxes to Antarctica. Additional samples were also collected from Law Dome snow and ice cores to respectively investigate seasonal variations in Pb and Ba deposition, and the influence of the 1815 AD volcanic eruption of Tambora, Indonesia. All samples were measured by thermal ionisation mass spectrometry, for which techniques were developed to reliably analyse Pb isotopic compositions in Antarctic samples containing sub-picogram per gram concentrations of Pb. / Particular attention was given to the quantity of Pb added to the samples during the decontamination and sample storage stages of the sample preparation process. These stages, including the use of a stainless steel chisel for the decontamination, contributed ~5.2 pg to the total sample analysed, amounting to a concentration increase of ~13 fg g-1. In comparison, the mass spectrometer ion source contributed typically 89 +/- 19 fg to the blank, however its influence depended upon the amount of Pb available for analysis and so had the greatest impact when small volumes of samples with a very low concentration were analysed. As a consequence of these careful investigations of the Pb blank contributions to the samples, the corrections made to the Pb isotopic ratios and concentrations measured are smaller than previously reported evaluations of Pb in Antarctica by thermal ionisation mass spectrometry. The data indicate that East Antarctica was relatively pristine until -1884 AD, after which the first influence of anthropogenic Pb in Law Dome is observed. "Natural", pre-industrial, background concentrations of Pb and Ba were - 0.4 pg/g and - 1.3 pg/g, respectively, with Pb isotopic compositions within the range 206Pb/207Pb = 1.20 - 1.25 and 208Pb/207Pb = 2.46 - 2.50 and an average rock and soil dust Pb contribution of 8-12%. A major pollution event was observed at Law Dome between 1884 and 1908 AD, elevating the Pb concentration fourfold and changing 206Pb/207Pb ratios in the ice to ~1.12. Based on Pb isotopic systematics and Pb emissions statistics, this was attributed to Pb mined at Broken Hill and smelted at Broken Hill and Port Pirie, Australia. / Anthropogenic Pb inputs to Law Dome were most significant from ~1900 to 1910 and from ~1960 to 1980. During the 20th century, Ba concentrations were consistently higher than "natural" levels. This was attributed to increased dust production, suggesting the influence of climate change and/or changes in land coverage with vegetation. Law Dome ice dated from 1814 AD to 1819 AD was analysed for Pb isotopes and Pb, Ba and Bismuth (Bi) concentrations to investigate the influence of the 1815 AD volcanic eruption of Tambora, Indonesia. The presence of volcanic debris in the core samples was observed from late-1816 AD to 1818 AD as an increase in sulphate concentrations and electrical conductivity of the ice. Barium concentrations were approximately three times higher than background levels from mid-1816 to mid1818, consistent with increased atmospheric loading of rock and soil dust, while enhanced Pb/Ba and Bi/Ba ratios, associated with deposition of volcanic debris, were observed at mid-1814 and from early-1817 to mid-1818. From the results, it appeared likely that Pb emitted from Tambora was removed from the atmosphere within the 1.6 year period required to transport aerosols to Antarctica. Increased Pb and Bi concentrations observed in Law Dome ice ~1818 AD were attributed to either increased heavy metal emissions from Mount Erebus, or increased fluxes of heavy metals to the Antarctic ice sheet resulting from climate and meteorological modifications following the Tambora eruption. / A non-continuous series of Law Dome snow core samples dating from 1980 to 9185 AD were analysed to investigate seasonal variations in the deposition of Pb and Ba. It was found that Pb and Ba at Law Dome do exhibit seasonal variations in deposition, with higher concentrations of Pb and Ba usually observed during Summer and lower concentrations of Pb and Ba usually observed during the Autumn and Spring seasons. At Law Dome, broad patterns of seasonal Pb and Ba deposition are evident however these appear to be punctuated by short-term deposition events or may even be composed of a continuum of short-term deposition events. This variability suggests that complex meteorological systems are responsible for the transport of Pb and Ba to Law Dome, and probably Antarctica in general.

Spät-miozäne bis quartäre Vulkanite der vulkanischen Front und der Back-arc Region der Zentralen Vulkanischen Zone in den Anden weisen eine weite Spannbreite von delta 11B Werten (+4 bis &ndash;7 &permil;) and Borkonzentrationen (6 bis 60 ppm) auf. Die positiven delta 11B Werte der Vulkanite der vulkanischen Front zeigen eine Beteiligung einer 11B-reichen Komponente am Aufbau der andinen Vulkanite, die am wahrscheinlichsten aus Fluiden der alterierten ozeanischen Kruste der abtauchenden Nazca-Platte stammt. Diese Beobachtung macht einen alleinigen Ursprung der untersuchten Laven aus der kontinentalen Kruste und/oder dem Mantelkeil unwahrscheinlich. Der Trend zu systematisch negativeren delta 11B Werten und kleineren B/Nb Verhältnissen von der vulkanischen Front zum Back-arc wird als Resultat einer Borisotopenfraktionierung einhergehend mit einer stetigen Abnahme der Fluidkomponente und einer relativ konstanten krustalen Kontamination, die sich durch relativ gleichbleibende Sr, Nd und Pb Isotopenverhältnisse ausdrückt, interpretiert. Weil die delta 11B Variation über den andinen vulkanischen Bogen sehr gut mit einer modellierten, sich als Funktion der Temperatur dynamisch verändernden, Zusammensetzung des Subduktionszonenfluides übereinstimmt, folgern wir, dass die Borisotopenzusammensetzung von Arc-Vulkaniten durch die sich dynamisch ändernde delta 11B Signatur eines Bor-reichen Subduktionsfluides bestimmt ird. Durch die Abnahme dieses Subduktionsfluides während der Subduktion nimmt der Einfluss der krustalen Kontamination auf die Borisotopie der Arc-Vulkanite im Back-arc zu. In Anbetracht der Borisotopenfraktionierung müssen hohe delta 11B Werte von Arc-Vulkaniten nicht notwendigerweise Unterschiede in der initialen Zusammensetzung der subduzierten Platte reflektieren.<br /> Eine Dreikomponenten Mischungskalkulation zwischen Subduktionsfluid, dem Mantelkeil und der kontinentalen Kruste, die auf Bor-, Strontium- und Neodymiumisotopendaten beruht, zeigt, dass das Subduktionsfluid die Borisotopie des fertilen Mantels dominiert und, dass die primären Arc-Magmen durchschnittlich einen Anteil von 15 bis 30 % krustalem Materiales aufweisen. / Late Miocene to Quaternary volcanic rocks from the frontal arc to the back-arc region of the Central Volcanic Zone in the Andes show a wide range of delta 11B values (+4 to -7 &permil;) and boron concentrations (6 to 60 ppm). Positive delta 11B values of samples from the volcanic front indicate involvement of a 11B-enriched slab component, most likely derived from altered oceanic crust, despite the thick Andean continental lithosphere, and rule out a pure crust-mantle origin for these lavas. The delta 11B values and B concentrations in the lavas decrease systematically with increasing depth of the Wadati-Benioff Zone. This across-arc variation in delta 11B values and decreasing B/Nb ratios from the arc to the back-arc samples are attributed to the combined effects of B-isotope fractionation during progressive dehydration in the slab and a steady decrease in slab-fluid flux towards the back arc, coupled with a relatively constant degree of crustal contamination as indicated by similar Sr, Nd and Pb isotope ratios in all samples. Modelling of fluid-mineral B-isotope fractionation as a function of temperature fits the across-arc variation in delta 11B and we conclude that the B-isotope composition of arc volcanics is dominated by changing delta 11B composition of B-rich slab-fluids during progressive dehydration. Crustal contamination becomes more important towards the back-arc due to the decrease in slab-derived fluid flux. Because of this isotope fractionation effect, high delta 11B signatures in volcanic arcs need not necessarily reflect differences in the initial composition of the subducting slab. <br /> Three-component mixing calculations for slab-derived fluid, the mantle wedge and the continental crust based on B, Sr and Nd isotope data indicate that the slab-fluid component dominates the B composition of the fertile mantle and that the primary arc magmas were contaminated by an average addition of 15 to 30 % crustal material.

Gangschwärme nehmen eine bedeutende Stellung im Verständnis zur kontinentalen Fragmentierung ein. Einerseits markieren sie das Paläo-Spannungsfeld und helfen bei der Rekonstruktion der strukturellen Entwicklung der gedehnten Lithosphäre, andererseits gibt ihre petrologische Beschaffenheit Aufschluß über die Entstehung des Magmas, Aufstieg und Platznahme und schließlich erlaubt ihre Altersbestimmung die Rekonstruktion einer chronologischen Reihenfolge magmatischer und struktureller Ereignisse.<br><br> Das Arbeitsgebiet im namibianischen Henties Bay-Outjo Dike swarm (HOD) war zur Zeit der Unterkreide einem Rifting mit intensiver Platznahme von überwiegend mafischen Gängen unterworfen. Geochemische Signaturen weisen die Gänge als erodierte Förderkanäle der Etendeka Plateaubasalte aus. Durch den Einsatz von hochauflösenden Aeromagnetik- und Satellitendaten war es möglich, die Geometrie des Gangschwarmes erstmals detailliert synoptisch zu erfassen. Viele zu den Schichten des Grundgebirges foliationsparallel verlaufende magnetische Anomalien können unaufgeschlossenen kretazischen Intrusionen zugeordnet werden.<br><br> Bei der nach Norden propagierenden Südatlantiköffnung spielte die unterschiedliche strukturelle Vorzeichnung durch die neoproterozoischen Faltengürtel sowie Lithologie und Spannungsfeld des Angola Kratons eine bedeutende Rolle. Im küstennahen zentralen Bereich war dank der Vorzeichnung des Nordost streichenden Damara-Faltengürtels ein Rifting in Nordwest-Südost-Richtung dominierend, bis das Angola Kraton ein weiteres Fortscheiten nach Nordosten hemmte und die Vorzeichnung des Nordwest streichenden Kaoko-Faltengürtels an der Westgrenze den weiteren Riftverlauf und die letztendlich erfolgreiche Öffnung des Südatlantiks bestimmte. Aus diesem Grund kann das Gebiet des HOD als ein failed rift betrachtet werden.<br><br> Die Entwicklung des Spannungsfeldes im HOD kann folgendermaßen skizziert werden:<br><br> 1. Platznahme von Gängen bei gleichzeitig hoher Dehnungsrate und hohem Magmenfluß.<br> 2. Platznahme von Zentralvulkanen entlang reaktivierter paläozoischer Lineamente bei Abnahme der Dehnungsrate und fortbestehendem hohen Magmenfluß.<br> 3. Abnahme/Versiegen des Magmenflusses und neotektonische Bewegungen führen zur Bildung von Halbgräben. / Dike swarms play a fundamental role in understanding continental breakup. On the one hand they represent strain markers of the paleo-deformation field and help to reconstruct the structural evolution of the rifted lithosphere. On the other hand their magmatic infill contains information about the conditions of magma generation, ascent and emplacement. Finally, dating of dikes allows reconstructing a chronological order of magmatic and structural events. The study area of the Namibian Henties Bay-Outjo Dike swarm (HOD) underwent tectonic extension in the Lower Cretaceous associated with the widespread emplacement of predominantly mafic dikes and intrusive ring complexes representing the remnants of volcanic centres. Geochemical signatures of the dikes prove them to be the feeder structures of the Etendeka Plateau Basalts. The application of recent high resolution aeromagnetic surveys and satellite imaging revealed the dike swarm's extent and geometry for the first time. The distribution and geometry of the dikes shown in the aeromagnetics reflect the propagation of the South Atlantic opening from south to north by their relative-ages.<br><br> Northwest-southeast-directed rifting was dominant in the central coastal area, due to the structural control of the northeast striking basement structures until further propagation was hampered by the Angola Craton. Subsequently the structural control of the coast-parallel Kaoko Belt became dominant and determined the successful opening of the South Atlantic. Hence, the area of the HOD can be considered as a failed rift.<br><br> The stress field evolution within the HOD can be outlined as follows:<br><br> 1. Intrusion of dikes when extension rates as well as magma supply were high.<br> 2. Intrusion of volcanic ring complexes along reactivated Panafrican lineaments when extension rates decreased and magma supply remained high.<br> 3. Neotectonic movements create half-grabens after the termination of magmatism.

The Glass Buttes volcanic complex is a cluster of bimodal (basalt-rhyolite), Miocene to Pleistocene age lava flows and domes located in Oregon's High Lava Plains province, a broad region of Cenozoic bimodal volcanism in south-central Oregon. The High Lava Plains is deformed by northwest-striking faults of the Brothers Fault Zone, a diffuse, ~N40°W trending zone of en echelon faults cutting ~250 km obliquely across the High Lava Plains. Individual fault segments within the Brothers Fault Zone are typically <20 km long, strike ~N40°W, have apparent normal separation with 10-100 m throw. A smaller population of ~5-10 km long faults striking ~N30°E exhibits mutually crosscutting relationships with the dominant northwest striking faults. Basaltic volcanic rocks in the Glass Buttes area erupted during the late Miocene and Pleistocene. The oldest and youngest lavas are 6.49±0.03 Ma and 1.39±0.18 Ma, respectively, based on ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of five basaltic units. Numerous small mafic vents both within and around the margins of the main silicic dome complex are commonly localized along northwest-striking faults of the Brothers Fault Zone. These vents erupted a diverse suite of basalt to basaltic andesite lava flows that are here differentiated into 15 stratigraphic units based on hand sample texture and mineralogy as well as major and trace element geochemistry. The structural fabric of the Glass Buttes area is dominated by small displacement, discontinuous, en echelon, northwest-striking fault scarps that result from normal to slightly oblique displacements and are commonly linked by relay ramps. Northwest alignment of basaltic and rhyolitic vents, paleotopography, and cross-cutting relationships suggest these faults have been active since at least 6.49±0.03 Ma, the age of the rhyolite lavas in the eastern Glass Buttes are. Faults displace Quaternary sedimentary deposits indicating these structures continue to be active into the Quaternary. Long-term extension rates across northwest-striking faults calculated from 2-5 km long cross section restorations range from 0.004 – 0.02 mm/yr with an average of 0.12 mm/yr. A subordinate population of discontinuous northeast-striking faults form scarps and exhibit mutually cross-cutting relationships with the dominant northwest-striking population. Cross-cutting relationships indicate faulting on northeast-striking faults ceased sometime between 4.70±0.27 Ma and 1.39±0.18 Ma. Gravity data at Glass Buttes reveals prominent northwest- and northeast-trending gravity gradients that closely parallel the strikes of surface faults. These are interpreted as large, deep-seated, normal faults that express themselves in the young basalts at the surface as the discontinuous, en echelon fault segments seen throughout the study area and BFZ in general. Elevated geothermal gradients are localized along these deep-seated structures at two locations: (1) where northwest- and northeast-striking faults intersect,(2) along a very prominent northwest-striking active normal fault bounding the southwest flank of Glass Butte. High average heat flow and elevated average geothermal gradients across the High Lava Plains, and the presence of hydrothermal alteration motivated geothermal resource exploration at Glass Buttes. Temperature gradient drilling by Phillips Petroleum and others between 1977-1981 to depths of up to 600 m defined a local geothermal anomaly underlying the Glass Buttes volcanic complex with a maximum gradient of 224 °C/km. Stratigraphic constraints indicate that near-surface hydrothermal alteration associated with mercury ores ceased before 4.70±0.27 Ma, and is likely associated with the 6.49±0.03 Ma rhyolite eruptions in the eastern part of Glass Buttes. The modern thermal anomaly is not directly related to the pre-4.70±0.27 Ma hydrothermal system; rather it is likely a result of deep fluid circulation along major extensional faults in the area. / Graduation date: 2013 / Includes accompanying DVD with digital data supplement (8 GB).

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This study shows how the composition of gases released from a single magmatic source may be modified during their ascending path. The main processes that influence the composition of the gases in these high temperature fumarolic environments, are: 1) interactions with wallrocks during gas ascent, which change the fugacities of the metal volatile species and affect the equilibrium between major species (fH2S/fSO2; fH2/fH2O); 2) mixing with meteoric water with consequent Cl adsorption, which may account for the Cl depletion of the gases; 3) remobilisation of previously formed sublimates and/or incrustation deposits. Comparison between the thermochemical models and the mineralogical composition of the silica tubes at Kudryavy and Satsuma-Iwojima volcanoes suggests that high fO2 due to the mixing of the gases with air during their injection into the atmosphere significantly reduces the volatility of several trace elements (As, Sb, Sn, Na, K, Tl, Te, Se and Cd). Comparisons between the enriched metals in aerosols and in the gases suggest that Mo, Pb, Bi, Na, K, Cu, Zn or Fe, which are enriched in the gases, are preferentially deposited in the gas conduits and vents whereas the highly volatile metals (Te, Tl, Sb, As and Se) and Cd condense in the plume.<p>This study determines the reactions that may occur during the alteration of rocks in high temperature fumarolic environments. Three different processes of alteration prevail: <p>(1) Acidic alteration which is characterized by the complete absence of clays, because the constant supply of gases to these systems allows for the pH values of the acidic fluids to be maintained low enough to prevent the precipitation of clay minerals. Complete leaching of all cations, except Si, from the primary silicates leads to important "silicification" of the wall rock. The primary mineral cations are leached in the following order: K, Na > Ca > Fe, Mg > Al > Si, Ti. The fluids enriched in these cations circulate in microcracks at different temperatures and different redox conditions and lead to the precipitation of secondary incrustations. At Kudryavy the incrustations are mainly sulfates. At Usu the lower sulfur/fluoride ratio of the gases allows the occurrence of aluminum fluoride incrustations. The order of primary minerals dissolution (olivine > plagioclase > pyroxene > matrix glass > Fe-Ti oxides) is established for both sites studied. <p>(2) Alteration by an oxidized volcanic gas, resulting from mixing with the atmosphere (500 to 300°C). At Kudryavy, thermochemical modeling suggests that anhydrite and anhydrous sulfates, which occur at intermediate temperatures, are formed by interactions of the rock with oxidized gas. <p>(3) The most important outcome of this work is the identification of the features of alteration by the volcanic gas that directly reacts with the rock at high temperatures (T > 500°C). The Kudryavy rocks show evidences for mineral transformations, which occur in the presence of the volcanic gas phase. Volcanic gas directly reacts with rocks at high temperatures (T > 500°C). The gas destabilizes the primary minerals, remobilizes the rock-bearing cations, and leads to the formation of second mineral assemblages. These transformations occur in situ, without significant mobility (gain or loss) of the cations. The high temperature secondary associations are characterized by the presence of andradite, hedenbergite, hercynite, tridymite/cristobalite. Anhydrite and anhydrous Al sulfate may occur within these mineral assemblages if the gas is oxidized.<p> / Doctorat en sciences, Spécialisation géologie / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Detailed field mapping (Map, Appendix B) has been conducted in and around the boundaries of a 14x18km, volcanic complex 35km northeast of Molteno in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The structure is interpreted as a subsidence structure, and is filled with two volcaniclastic breccias, numerous lava flows, a number of sedimentary facies, and lies on a base of Clarens Formation overlying Elliot Formation rocks. This is an important study because 'widespread, voluminous fields of basaltic breccias are very rare (see Hanson and Elliot, 1996) and this is the first time that this type of volcanic complex and its deposits have been described. Detailed analyses of the two volcaniclastic breccias revealed changes in colour, clast types, clast sizes, and degree of alteration over relatively short distances both vertically and laterally within a single breccia unit. The variation in clast sizes implies a lack of sorting of the breccias. The lower of the two volcaniclastic breccias fills the subsidence structure, and outcrops between the Stormberg sedimentary sequence and the overlying Drakensberg basalts and was produced from phreatomagmatic eruptions signalling the start of the break-up of Gondwanaland in the mid-Jurassic. The upper volcaniclastic breccia is interbedded with the flood basalts and is separated from the lower breccia by up to 100m of lava flows in places, it is finer-grained than the lower volcaniclastic breccia, and it extends over 10km south, and over 100km north from the volcanic complex. The upper breccia is inferred to have been transported from outside the study area, from a source presumably similar to the subsidence structure in the volcanic complex. The pyroclastic material forming the upper breccia was transported to the subsidence structure as a laharic debris flow, based on its poorly sorted, unwelded and matrix-supported appearance. However, both breccias are unlikely to have been derived from epiclastic reworking of lava flows as they contain glass shards which are atypical of those derived from the autoclastic component of lava flows. The breccias are therefore not "secondary" lahars. There is also no evidence of any palaeotopographic highs from which the breccias could have been derived as gravity-driven flows. Based on the occurrence of three, 1m thick lacustrine deposits, localised peperite, fluvial reworking of sandstone and breccia in an outcrop to the south of the subsidence structure, and channel-lags encountered only in the upper units of the Clarens Formation and only within the subsidence structure, the palaeoenvironment inferred for the subsidence structure is one of wet sediment, possibly a shallow lake, in a topographic depression fed by small streams. Magmatic intrusions below the subsidence structure heated the water-laden, partly consolidated Clarens Formation sandstones, causing the circulation of pore fluid which resulted in the precipitation of minerals forming pisoliths in the sandstones. Intruding magma mixed, nonexplosively, with the wet, unconsolidated sediments near the base of the Clarens Formation (at approximately 100m below the surface), forming fluidal peperite by a process of sediment fluidisation where magma replaces wet sediment and cools slowly enough to prevent the magma fracturing brittly. Formation of fluidal peperite may have been a precursor to the development of FCIs (Fuel Coolant Interactions) (Busby-Spera and White, 1987). The breccias may represent the products of FCIs and may be the erupted equivalents of the peperites, suggesting a possible genetic link between the two. The peperites may have given way to FCI eruptions due to a number of factors including the drying out of the sediments and/or an increase in the volume of intruded magma below the subsidence structure which may have resulted in a more explosive interaction between sediment and magma. Phreatic activity fragmented and erupted the Clarens Formation sandstone, and stream flows reworked the angular sandstone fragments, pisoliths and sand grains into channelised deposits. With an increase in magmatic activity below the subsidence structure, phreatic activity became phreatomagmatic. The wet, partly consolidated Clarens Formation, and underlying, fully consolidated Elliot Formation sediments were erupted and fragmented. Clasts and individual grains of these sediments were redeposited with juvenile and non-juvenile basaltic material probably by a combination of back fall, where clasts erupted into the air fell directly back into the structure, and backflow where material was erupted out of the structure, but immediately flowed back in as lahars. This material formed the lower volcaniclastic breccia. A fault plane is identified along the southwestern margin of the subsidence structure, and is believed to continue up the western margin to the northwestern corner. A large dolerite body has intruded along the inferred fault plane on the western margin of the structure, and may be related to the formation of the lower volcaniclastic breccia, either directly through fluidisation of wet sediment during its intrusion, or as a dyke extending upwards from a network of sill-like intrusions below the subsidence structure. Geochemical analysis of the Drakensberg basalt lava flows by Mitchell (1980) and Masokwane (1997) revealed four distinct basalt types; the Moshesh's Ford, the Tafelkop, the Roodehoek, and the Vaalkop basalts. Basalt clasts sampled from the lower volcaniclastic breccia were shown to belong to the Moshesh's Ford basalt type which does not outcrop in situ within the subsidence structure. This implies that the Moshesh's Ford basalts were emplaced prior to the formation of the lower volcaniclastic breccia, and may have acted as a "cap-rock" over the system, allowing pressure from the vaporised fluids, heated by intruding basalt, to build up. The Moshesh's Ford basalt type was erupted prior to the resultant phreatomagmatic events forming the lower volcaniclastic breccia.

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