Gas hydrates have been recently recognized as a key factor affecting a number of global processes such as the climatic change, sea floor stability, etc. In this thesis we present the multidisciplinary study of gas hydrate rich sediments recovered during ODP Leg 204. The main objective of this thesis is to study how the textural characteristics of marine sediments can affect the main pathways and intensity of fluid flow and how fluid flow determines the distribution of gas hydrates in the continental margins, as well as the main geochemical processes that occur during early diagenesis.To reach these objectives, a complete sedimentary and geochemical study of 581 sediment samples from southern Hydrate Ridge was carried out. The methods and techniques that were applied include: complete textural analyses, mineralogy, physical properties and geochemistry.The southern Hydrate Ridge sediments are mainly made up of four lithofacies defined as: hemipelagites, turbidites, ash layers and debrites. Mass‐transport deposits such as turbidites and debrites are more abundant in Lithostratigraphic Unit III and II, as well as in Lithostratigraphic Unit IA in the slope basin of southern Hydrate Ridge. Some increasing trends with depth can be observed in the smectite content in the clay mineral assemblages. These features suggest that the transport in suspension of fine sediments through the California Current was more effective during the Pliocene and early Pleistocene period. Bedload transport of coarse material from local and distal areas was more effective during the middle Pleistocene and Holocene due to the tectonic reactivation of the southern Hydrate Ridge uplift. During the Pleistocene and owing to the pervasive fluctuation of sealevel, gas hydrate dissociation together with the seismic movements in the Oregon margin seems a plausible triggering mechanism for mass‐movements.The results presented here confirm that the sedimentation patterns in the Hydrate Ridge region are controlled by climate and tectonic parameters such as the regional intensity of the California Current or the local tectonic movements that lead to the uplift of the Ridge. These parameters mainly control the clay mineral distribution as well as the sedimentary facies that were produced.The sedimentary fabric of gas hydrate‐rich intervals is disturbed during core recovery due to gas hydrate dissociation. The two main disturbance fabrics generated through this process are mousselike and soupy. The gas hydrate‐rich sediments analyzed for this thesis are coarser grained in respect to the hemipelagite sediments. The coarse‐grained layers such as turbidites and ash layers could act as conduits for fluids in the southern Hydrate Ridge region because of their higher porosity and permeability. In this context, methane‐rich fluids migrate through these layers from deep in the sedimentary sequence and into the gas hydrate stability zone. A number of barium fronts have been identified in southern Hydrate Ridge sediments and interstitial waters. Barite fronts were formed as a result of the barite recycling process during early diagenesis, which is controlled by the availability of methane‐rich fluids, in situ decomposition of organic matter and the sulphate gradient. Modelling of these data shows that these processes were active at southern Hydrate Ridge for a period of up to one thousand years.A number of geochemical and sedimentological processes are proposed in this thesis as plausible mechanisms to allow the survival of the barite fronts during diagenesis. The sedimentary texture plays an important role in controlling the major fluid flow pathways in the continental margins. The temporal evolution of the fluid flow can be studied in a given area through the distribution of the mineral phases that form during early diagenesis, as well as the interstitial water composition. / EXTRACTE DE TESI:Aquesta tesi integra els resultats de l'anàlisi sedimentológica i geoquímica de sediment marins rics en hidrats de gas, recuperats durant la campanya "Ocean Drilling Program" Leg 204 en el marge d'Oregon (USA). L'objectiu principal d'aquest estudi és conèixer les característiques sedimentàries que afecten el fluxe de fluids i gasos a través del sediment i com els fluids afecten la distribució d'hidrats de gas en aquesta àrea, així com alguns processos geoquímics que operen durant la diagènesi inicial. Els mètodes i tècniques aplicats inclouen l'anàlisi de sedimentològia, mineralogia, susceptibilitat magnètica i geoquímica.Els sediments de southern Hydrate Ridge estan formats per 4 litofàcies: hemipelagita, turbidita, cendra volcànica i debrita. La sedimentació està controlada per factors climàtics i tectònics com ara la intensitat del corrent oceànic Californià o moviments tectònics locals. Aquests paràmetres exerceixen un control fonamental en la distribució dels minerals d'argila i de les fàcies sedimentàries en el marge continental. La seva evolució des del Pliocè és discutida en aquesta tesi.Els sediments analitzats rics en hidrats de gas són més grollers que els sediments hemipelàgics. Els sediments més grollers actuen com a conductes preferents per a la circulació de fluids degut a la seva porositat i permeabilitat. En aquest context, fluids rics en metà migren des dels sediments profunds cap a la zona d'estabilitat dels hidrats de gas, on possibiliten la seva formació.Diversos fronts de barita han estat identificats en els sediments de southern Hydrate Ridge. Es formen com a resultat del reciclatge de barita durant la diagènesi inicial, controlada per la presència de fluids rics en metà, la degradació de matèria orgànica i la presència de sulfat. La modelització de les dades obtinguda mostra que aquest procés va ser actiu durant un període de >1000 anys. En aquesta tesi, es discuteixen els possibles processos geoquímics i sedimentaris que permetrien la supervivència de la barita durant la diagènesis.La textura sedimentària juga un paper molt important en el flux de fluids als marges continentals. La seva evolució temporal en una àrea determinada pot ser deduïda estudiant les fases minerals que es formen durant la diagènesi.

Most coastal aquifers undergo seawater intrusion. Mitigating this risk depends on a sound knowledge of flow mechanisms, well located and constructed wells, an effective management, suitable policies and the desire to conserve the aquifer. To this end, a comprehensive geological model is essential. The single most important question that the geological model should address is the degree and nature of the connection of the aquifer to the sea. Differences in the connection explain why apparently similar coastal aquifers display very different salinitzation behavior. Some aquifers salinize with moderate pumping (eg. Tordera and Llobregat deltas) whereas others sustain large extractions with lower vulnerability to seawater intrusion (eg. Ter delta). However, the characterization of such a connection is not easy given the lack of onshore-offshore geological mapping potential pathways for seawater contamination. This thesis is focused on sequence stratigraphy, which is necessary to understand the onshore-offshore aquifer connection, thus modifying the classical hydrogeological conceptual models. The methodology of sequence stratigraphy offers a perspective of delta architecture based on geological controls and processes. Sequence stratigraphic concepts are used in Western Mediterranean deltas in addition to local factors, such as subsidence, uplift and the rate of sediment supply to account for differences in Pleistocene stratigraphic patterns and aquifer preservation. These local factors exert an influence over the shape, slope and thickness of aquifers. Together with the width of the continental shelf, the presence of submarine canyons, faults and thin prodelta layers conditions vulnerability to seawater intrusion. The Quaternary Mediterranean shelf is characterized by high-frequency depositional sequences mainly composed of large-scale regressive wedges with poor or poorly preserved transgressive to highstand intervals. Although the Llobregat delta is an anomaly, it serves as a paradigm of deltaic architecture because of its well preserved transgressive and highstand intervals. The well preserved coarse transgressive deposits are important from hydrogeological point of view. They act as aquifers with high lateral continuity from onshore to offshore providing paths for seawater intrusion.The excellent preservation in the Llobregat delta may be a consequence of Quaternary growth faults, which caused high accommodation space, limiting the action of wave and storm events. The identification of different seismic units and deformation features along the coast makes it possible to distinguish two main morpho-structural sectors. These sectors can be influenced by tectonic movements, which may be intensified by sediment supply changes.Detailed sedimentological, age and paleontological (foraminifera and ostracods) data display a cyclic vertical pattern of facies, including a high degree of reworked sediments. Available ages together with high sediment preservation due to constant subsidence and sediment supply during sea level rises allow us to establish a chronostratigraphic framework. The most significant and widespread erosion were interpreted as occurring during gradual sea-level falls with a frequency of 100 Kyr. glacial-interglacial cycles. However, most of the regressive deposits display complex internal architectures, which suggest the imprint of higher-frequency cycles. The stacking pattern of the modern Holocene delta is controlled by changes in the relative sea-level and in the sediment supply. Paleofloods frequencies controlled by climatic changes and intensified by anthropic activity caused an important progradational pulses in the Llobregat delta and the channel switching with the rapid abandonment of the delta lobes.