Thèse : Géologie : Faculté des sciences de Paris : 1864. Thèse : Botanique : Faculté des sciences de Paris : 1864. / Titre provenant de l'écran-titre.

Through flume experiments we demonstrate the calcite precipitation process seen at geothermal hot springs in the lab setting. A series of four experiments were run, varying temperature and terrace ridge height while all other experimental parameters, including initial substrate slope, spring water discharge, and CO₂ input were kept constant. The goal of the experiments was to measure the temperature and terrace height control quantitatively in terms of the amount of overall travertine aggradation, aggradation rate changes in time and downstream direction, as well as to observe the effect of these parameters on processes occurring during precipitation. Using the final deposit thickness measured manually at the end of each experiment and elevation data obtained from a laser topographic profiler, I conclude that high temperature and small terrace heights favor increased precipitation of travertine. However, the amount of precipitation also depends on location within a terrace pond. Flow velocity increases as it approaches a terrace lip, resulting in enhanced precipitation and greater thicknesses in the downstream direction through increased CO₂ degassing, a process called downstream coarsening. / text

Cette thèse s'attache à caractériser l'évolution dans le temps et l'espace des circulations de fluides le long des failles. Une approche multidisciplinaire et multi-échelle a été mise en place sur un exemple naturel dans la région du plateau du Colorado (Utah): du terrain à la modélisation et de la proche-surface au bassin. L'étude des minéralisations en proche surface et leur lien avec le transfert le long des failles a été effectuée sur des travertins récents. L'analyse isotopique et la datation U/Th des veines de travertins révèle des cycles de circulation de fluides enrichis en CO2 et de précipitation épisodiques de carbonates de calcium (travertin) correspondant à des cycles saisonniers ou climatiques (annuels et centennals) ainsi qu'à des cycles qui s'apparentent à des cycles sismiques de l'ordre du millier d'années. Ces données permettent de calibrer le volume de CO2 qui a fuit par la faille. Des zones de paléo-circulation, témoins de l'activité des failles sur le long-terme, sont observées sous forme de blanchiment chimique ("bleaching") des grès à l'affleurement, et ont été étudiées à l'échelle du bassin. Deux épisodes principaux de circulation de fluides le long des failles ont été distingués : une première circulation durant l'enfouissement maximum puis une seconde circulation le long des réservoirs et des failles, qui est reliée à des phénomènes tectoniques régionaux, compemporains de la remontée du Plateau du Colorado. La dernière circulation s'est découpée en plusieurs pulses avec des circulations de fluides de différente nature (tels que des saumures, des fluides riches en hydrocarbures ou en CO2) au cours du temps et le long des failles. / This work aims to characterise fluid flow along faults in time and space. Multi-disciplinary and multi-scale investigations of a natural analogue have been carried out in the Colorado Plateau area (Utak, USA), from fieldwork to numerical modeling. The study of Quaternary travertine calibrated the near-surface mineralization and their relationship with the faults. Stable Isotope measurements and U/Th datings of travertine veins revealed episodic cycles of CO2-fluid circulation and related calcium carbonate precipitation (travertine). These cycles may be linked with seasonal or climatic cycles (annual and centennial) and also with seismic cycles of millennial duration. Based on the obtained data, escaping CO2 volumes from the fault zone, with time have been calibrated. Chemical bleaching of the outcropping sandstones, linked with fluids paleo-circulation at depth, has been characterized at basin scale. Two main circulation events have been distinguished: a first circulation contemporaneous to maximum burial and a second along-reservoirs and faults circulation that could be linked with later regional tectonic events, contemporaneous of Colorado Plateau rusing. Pulses of different fluids (such as brines, fluids enriched in hydrocarbons or CO2) are linked in time and space with the last circulation.

Si la relation entre l’enregistrement géochimique au sein de ces travertins et les paramètres environnementaux semble admise, le détail des processus, notamment cinétique et dégazage, ainsi que leur poids respectifs dans les reconstitutions paléoenvironnementales ne sont clairement établis. Afin de mieux contraindre ces processus, un travail minutieux de reconnaissance des mécanismes de précipitation et d’enregistrement de la signature géochimique a été effectué sur les travertins –récents et fossiles- d’une source carbogazeuse située dans le Massif Central (France). Il couple expériences de laboratoire innovantes et travail sérié sur le terrain.Le taux de dégazage du CO2 dans les sources carbogazeuses est l’un des facteurs principaux conduisant aux conditions de précipitation via la modulation du taux de précipitation de la calcite et par conséquent, sa composition en 18O et 13C. Les tests en laboratoire ont été conduits en deux étapes : (1) caractérisation des mécanismes de dégazage seuls, et (2) des expériences combinant dégazage et précipitation pour mieux appréhender les processus cinétiques lors de la précipitation des travertins. En parallèle, un travail de terrain spécifique par pose de plaques de plexiglas le long de différents écoulement de la source, nous a permis de connaitre la résolution de précipitation des travertins et d’obtenir une meilleure estimation des facteurs de fractionnement.Les tests en laboratoire confirment que, lors d’un dégazage important, i.e. conduisant à la précipitation de travertins, la spéciation des espèces du carbone inorganique dissout (CID) et les flux entre ces espèces sont des paramètres primordiaux à considérer. Le facteur de fractionnementεDIC-CO2(g) qui dépend du pH suit alors une distillation de Rayleigh dans un système cinétique. Les évolutions des espèces carbonées en solution ont ainsi pu être modélisées à l’aide d’une équation de diffusion faisant intervenir les paramètres propres à l’expérience.Les résultats de terrain permettent de démontrer que les variations de conditions de précipitation sont principalement dues aux variations de conditions hydrodynamiques et, secondairement, aux variations de température, ce qui a pu être modélisé à l’aide de l’équation définie par Plummer en 1968 et qui a montré la variabilité des conditions de précipitation in-situ. Dans le cas des expériences de précipitation en laboratoire et par comparaison avec les données de terrain, le facteur de fractionnement εCID-calcite va dépendre des concentrations de chaque espèce de CID mais aussi de la partition du carbone entre phase gaz et phase solide. Pour l’oxygène 18, de 0°C à 10°C, les résultats acquis sur les travertins actuels nous ont permis d’utiliser la droite définie récemment par Coplen (2007) pour lier de façon fiable la température au moment de la précipitation et le facteur de fractionnement. Toutefois, pour des températures plus élevées, le facteur de fractionnement est plus important que ce qu’il devrait et confirmant ainsi la non-représentativité des droites de Coplen pour la détermination de la température de précipitation. Lors des expériences de précipitation la tendance est inverse à celle observée pour les travertins confirmant l’influence de la vitesse de dégazage et de l’indice de saturation sur le fractionnement isotopique. Nous avons également confirmé avec les expérimentations, l’impact de la vitesse de précipitation sur les teneurs isotopiques enregistrées dans les travertins.Ce travail a mis en lumière des mécanismes cinétiques complexes et qui ne sont pas complètement contraints par la seule utilisation des outils isotopiques. L’utilisation du partitionnement des éléments traces est un outil primordial pour appuyer l’étude de ces mécanismes. / The response of continental groundwater systems to recent climate fluctuations can be reconstructed via the continuous measurement of groundwater level, spring flow and climatic chronicles. When any data exist, recent reconstructions of groundwater dynamics may be reached through various recorders of environmental and hydrological conditions such as travertine. Although the relationship between geochemical records in travertine and environmental parameters seems to be accepted, the details of processes and their respective weight in the paleo-information are not clearly established.Rate of CO2 degassing in CO2-rich spring likely influences calcite precipitation rate and the related δ18O and δ13C composition. Isotopic equilibrium is rarely maintained during travertine deposition and the degassing rate is the main controlling factor of the disequilibrium. Due to the lack of knowledge, fractionation processes, either kinetic or equilibrium, occurring between CO2-rich water, gas and travertine required specific pH and temperature-controlled laboratory tests. These tests were conducted on synthetic water at different pH to focus only on the degassing processes. Other tests were conducted on trace elements partitioning during calcite precipitation, to identify the origin of isotopic signature variability, and to constraint the way of recording past conditions.All these tests confirmed that during a degassing leading to travertine precipitation, the speciation of dissolved inorganic carbon species is a major parameter to be tackled since a linear relationship between εDIC-CO2(g) and pH is observed. Indeed, we highlighted that for a high degassing rate, the isotopic equilibrium is not reached because the reaction greater involves light isotopes than heavy ones. There is thus different reaction rate between the species of dissolved inorganic carbon, the reactions occurring faster in the water than the one between water and gas, the latter being controlled by diffusion.

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[pt] O Travertino é uma rocha amplamente usada no mundo como rocha ornamental, mas suas propriedades petrológicas e mecânicas análogas a rochas carbonáticas de reservatório influenciaram em sua escolha para a compreensão do comportamento geomecânico destas formações. Neste sentido, este trabalho procurou analisar o comportamento geomecânico do Travertino Romano mediante um programa experimental que incluiu uma caracterização da petrologia, da estrutura porosa e do comportamento mecânico da rocha. Foi determinada sua estrutura e textura sedimentar, composição química, mineralógica e índices físicos. Além disso, sua complexa estrutura porosa foi caracterizada por análise de imagens 2D e 3D geradas no microscópio óptico e no micro-tomógrafo de raios-X, com a determinação da presença de macro e micro poros, distribuídos aleatoriamente na rocha com uma baixa conectividade, assim mesmo foi também estabelecida uma relação entre a porosidade e a resistência. Analisaram-se também os resultados dos ensaios de resistência mecânica, que tanto para o estado de tensão uniaxial como triaxial mostraram um decréscimo da resistência com o incremento da porosidade, apresentando um comportamento frágil na maioria dos casos. / [en] The Travertine is a rock widely used in the world as an ornamental rock, but their analogous petrological and mechanical properties to carbonate rocks of reservoir influenced his choice to be able to understand the geomechanical behavior of these formations. Thus, this study sought to analyze the geomechanical behavior of Roman Travertine through an experimental program that included a characterization of petrology, the porous structure and mechanical behavior of the rock. Sedimentary structure and texture, chemical, mineralogical composition and physical indexes was determined. Moreover, Its complex porous structure was characterized by analysis of 2D and 3D images generated in the optical microscope and X-Ray micro CT-scanner, with the determination of the presence of macro and micro pores, randomly distributed in the rock with a low connectivity, so it was also established a relationship between the porosity and strength. Also analyzed the test results of mechanical strength, both to the state of uniaxial to triaxial stress showed a decrease in resistance with increasing porosity, with a brittle behavior in most cases.

[pt] Os reservatórios de hidrocarbonetos em rochas carbonáticas representam aproximadamente 50 por cento da produção mundial de petróleo e tem por característica marcante sua complexidade, uma vez que são bastante heterogêneos. No Brasil, as rochas carbonáticas ganharam uma grande importância com a descoberta dos reservatórios carbonáticos do pré-sal. Entender e caracterizar estes reservatórios, que apresentam baixas taxas de penetração, exigirá grandes esforços em pesquisa e desenvolvimento. Uma pequena contribuição neste sentido é proporcionada nesta dissertação, onde três distintas rochas carbonáticas, o travertino romano, o travertino turco e o travertino de Itaboraí, foram caracterizadas geológica e geomecanicamente. O programa experimental consistiu na caracterização mineralógica, química, textural e diagenética, bem como na realização de ensaios de resistência e de porosidade. De posse dos resultados do programa experimental buscou-se correlações entre os índices/propriedades/parâmetros determinados. Verificou-se que a resistência à compressão simples dos materiais é diretamente proporcional, a sua densidade, a sua velocidade de propagação de ondas e ao índice esclerométrico; e inversamente proporcional a sua porosidade. Constatou-se ainda que a velocidade de propagação de ondas dos materiais é diretamente proporcional a sua densidade e inversamente proporcional a sua porosidade. / [en] Hydrocarbon reservoirs in carbonate rocks represent circa 50 percent of all oil produced worldwide. Those reservoirs are very complex since they are quite heteregeneous. In Brazil, carbonate rocks gained a great importance with the discovery of the pre-salt reservoirs. Understand and characterize these reservoirs, that present low penetration rates, will require major efforts in research and development. A small contribution in this regard is provided in this dissertation, where three travertines (i.e., Roman, Turkish and Itaboraí) were geologically and geomechanically characterized. The experimental program consisted in the chemical, mineralogical, textural and diagenetic characterization, as well as strength and porosity tests. A comprehensive analysis of test results from the experimental program was carried out in order to seek correlations between the indexes/properties/parameters determined. It was found that the unconfined compression strength of materials is directly proportional to its density, its velocity of ultrasonic wave propagation and to Schmidt test hammer index; and inversely proportional to its porosity. It was also found that the velocity of ultrasonic wave propagation of materials is directly proportional to its density and inversely proportional to its porosity.

[pt] O travertino Romano é uma rocha ornamental, historicamente presente na arquitetura Romana, que mesmo nos dias de hoje é muito utilizada em decorações e fachadas. Porém no meio científico é considerada uma rocha análoga a reservatórios carbonáticos, em especial do pré-sal Brasileiro. O presente trabalho buscou realizar um estudo experimental do travertino Romano, com enfoque no comportamento geomecânico anisotrópico em duas direções (normal e paralela ao acamamento), sob valores de tensões condizentes com as que ocorrem em reservatórios. Para isto foram feitas diversas análises macro e microscópicas, incluindo microscopia eletrônica de alta resolução a fim de estudar propriedades do travertino e sua estrutura porosa. Análises químicas do material e medição em laboratório dos mais variados parâmetros para se obter uma satisfatória lista de índices físicos auxiliaram neste contexto. Ensaios de resistência complementares, como o ensaio de carga pontual e ensaio de tração indireta (Ensaio Brasileiro) enriqueceram o estudo com resultados de ruptura nas direções perpendicular e paralela ao acamamento. Por fim, buscou-se estudar o comportamento geomecânico anisotrópico do travertino, sob a ótica normal e paralela ao acamamento sedimentar, através de ensaios triaxiais com tensão confinante variando de zero (uniaxiais) a 40 MPa, intervalo este bastante próximo as tensões efetivas de reservatórios carbonáticos brasileiros. Devido à grande heterogeneidade, os corpos de prova foram separados em grupos com intervalos de porosidade total similares. Então, com resultados de curvas tensão-deformação e trajetórias de tensão, foram possíveis diversas comparações em termos de comportamento geomecânico e observar que nem sempre o incremento da tensão confinante e a menor porosidade resultarão em maior resistência mecânica. / [en] The Roman travertine is an ornamental rock, historically present in Roman architecture, which even in present days is much used in decorations and facades. However in the scientific community it is considered a rock similar to carbonate reservoirs, especially the Brazilian pre-salt. The present work sought to carry out an experimental study of the Roman travertine, focusing on the anisotropic geomechanical behavior in two directions (normal and parallel to the sedimentary bedding) under tension values consistent with those occurring in reservoirs. For this, several macro and microscopic analyzes were carried out, including high resolution electron microscopy in order to study the properties of travertine and its porous structure. Chemical analysis of the material and laboratory measurement of the most varied parameters to obtain a satisfactory list of index properties aided in this context. Complementary strength tests, such as the point load test and indirect tensile strength test (Brazilian Test) enriched the study with results of rupture in the directions perpendicular and parallel to the bedding. Finally, it was studied the anisotropic geomechanical behavior under normal and parallel optics to the sedimentary bedding through triaxial tests with confining stress ranging from zero (uniaxial) to 40 MPa, this interval very close to the effective stresses from Brazilian carbonate reservoirs. Due to the great heterogeneity, the specimens were separated into groups with similar total porosity ranges. Then, with results of stress-strain plots and stress trajectories, several comparisons were possible in terms of geomechanical behavior and observe that not always the increase of the confining stress and the lower porosity will result in greater mechanical resistance.

This thesis identifies the geotechnical parameters of the Antalya karstic foundation rocks (travertine/tufa), which are highly variable in nature, by means of geological observations, geotechnical site investigations, and field and laboratory geomechanics tests to examine karstic (mainly tufa) rock mass behavior. Several geotechnical parameters such as porosity, seismic wave velocity, uniaxial compressive strength, Young&rsquo / s modulus, tensile strength, etc. that are thought to have significant influence on rock mass behavior have been tested and statistically analyzed. Principal component analysis and multiple linear and non-linear regression analyses have been carried out in order to reveal correlations between the geotechnical parameters tested. Porosity has been statistically determined to be one of the major parameters governing the strength of the Antalya tufa rock mass. Intact rock failure criteria, among which Bieniawski&rsquo / s criterion has been proven to be more appropriate for each tufa type (phytoherm framestone, phytoherm boundstone, microcrystalline tufa, phytoclast tufa and intraclast tufa) along with the Antalya tufa rock mass have been determined from the experiments. GSI rock mass classification of the Antalya tufa rock mass, whose GSI value was recommended between 20&plusmn / 5 and 75&plusmn / 5, has been attempted to be used in engineering design. Furthermore, the depth and dimension of the karstic cavities and fractures have been investigated by the geophysical tests, surface geological survey and subsurface investigations (borings and observation pits).