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Understanding mass transfer associated with fluids circulation and deformation in the Alpine orogeny is often complex due to common multistage crystallization. For example, in two emblematic and historic Pb-Ag deposits of the French Alps, Macôt-la Plagne (MP) and Peisey-Nancroix (PN), a sedimentary or orogenic origin is still debated. To discriminate between the metallogenic models of the two deposits, an integrative methodology combining field, microstructural, mineralogical, thermobarometrical, and geochronological data was here applied for establishing detailed Pressure–Temperature–Time–Deformation (P-T-t-d) mineralization conditions. Both deposits are located in Permo-Triassic quartzite of the External Briançonnais domain along the Internal Briançonnais Front (Internal Western Alps). The ore mainly occurs as veins and disseminated textures containing galena, pyrite, and variable content of tetrahedrite–tennantite and chalcopyrite. Quartz porphyroclasts and sulfide microstructures indicate a dynamic recrystallization of the quartzite during the main fluid mineralization episode. Chlorites and K-white micas (phengite) chemical analysis and thermodynamic modeling from compositional maps indicate an onset of the mineralization at 280 °C, with a main precipitation stage at 315 ± 35 °C and 6.25 ± 0.75 kbar. In situ U-Pb dating on monazite, cogenetic with sulfides, gives ages around 35 Ma for both deposits. The integrative dataset converges for a cogenetic MP-PN Alpine Pb-Ag mineralization during deformation in relation to the thrusting of the “Nappe des Gypses” and the Internal Briançonnais at the metamorphic peak.

Linking ages to metamorphic stages in rocks that have experienced low‐ to medium‐grade metamorphism can be particularly tricky due to the rarity of index minerals and the preservation of mineral or compositional relicts. The timing of metamorphism and the Mesozoic exhumation of the metasedimentary units and crystalline basement that form the internal part of the Longmen Shan (eastern Tibet, Sichuan, China), are, for these reasons, still largely unconstrained, but crucial for understanding the regional tectonic evolution of eastern Tibet. In situ core‐rim 40Ar/39Ar biotite and U–Th/Pb allanite data show that amphibolite facies conditions (~10–11 kbar, 530°C to 6–7 kbar, 580°C) were reached at 210–180 Ma and that biotite records crystallization, rather than cooling, ages. These conditions are mainly recorded in the metasedimentary cover. The 40Ar/39Ar ages obtained from matrix muscovite that partially re‐equilibrated during the post peak‐P metamorphic history comprise a mixture of ages between that of early prograde muscovite relicts and the timing of late muscovite recrystallization at c. 140–120 Ma. This event marks a previously poorly documented greenschist facies metamorphic overprint. This latest stage is also recorded in the crystalline basement, and defines the timing of the greenschist overprint (7 ± 1 kbar, 370 ± 35°C). Numerical models of Ar diffusion show that the difference between 40Ar/39Ar biotite and muscovite ages cannot be explained by a slow and protracted cooling in an open system. The model and petrological results rather suggest that biotite and muscovite experienced different Ar retention and resetting histories. The Ar record in mica of the studied low‐ to medium‐grade rocks seems to be mainly controlled by dissolution–reprecipitation processes rather than by diffusive loss, and by different microstructural positions in the sample. Together, our data show that the metasedimentary cover was thickened and cooled independently from the basement prior to c. 140 Ma (with a relatively fast cooling at 4.5 ± 0.5°C/Ma between 185 and 140 Ma). Since the Lower Cretaceous, the metasedimentary cover and the crystalline basement experienced a coherent history during which both were partially exhumed. The Mesozoic history of the Eastern border of the Tibetan plateau is therefore complex and polyphase, and the basement was actively involved at least since the Early Cretaceous, changing our perspective on the contribution of the Cenozoic geology.

One of the major challenges in Earth Sciences is understanding how the continental lithosphere deforms in convergent settings, according to which timescales. For its elevation and extension the Tibetan plateau is an ideal natural laboratory for the study of deep crustal processes in active convergent settings. The rise and thickening of the Tibetan plateau has generally been related to the only collision between the Eurasian and Indian plates during the Cenozoic. However, this interpretation has been recently put into question by apparently contrasting geophysical and geological features observed at different locations on the plateau.The aim of this PhD is to quantify the importance of the geological inheritance in the long-term and short-term deformation of an active thrust belt, focusing on the Longmen Shan orogen, the most enigmatic border of the Tibetan plateau. In the Longmen Shan (eastern Tibet) the Tibetan crust is over thickened (>60 km), the tectonic activity is localized along lithospheric faults -as demonstrated by the occurrence of the Mw 7.9 Wenchuan (2008) and Mw 6.6 Lushan (2013) earthquakes- and a high topography survives despite low convergence rates measured by GPS ( 30 km and to unravel a metamorphic jump of greater than 150°C across the major faults, inherited from the Mesozoic tectonics. While internal units of the belt were strongly deformed, decoupled from the basement and metamorphosed at T ~ 580-600°C (P ~11 kbar), external units were less deformed and experienced lower temperatures conditions (T < 400°C, P < 5 kbar). The partial exhumation of the crystalline basement from c. 20 km depth along the major fault (in both internal and external units) occurred at c. 120-140 Ma during a previously poorly documented tectonic event.The multi-method approach applied on a wide geographical area and on a large time interval enabled to quantify the rates and conditions of the different stages of the maturation of the belt; internal units reached the thermal relaxation at ~600°C 40 Ma after the beginning of the propagation of the orogenic load. The basement was re-activated 40 Ma later, at similar thermal conditions than its sedimentary cover. The Mesozoic geological inheritance is therefore a key element in the present structure of the belt and strongly controlled the rheological and structural state of the upper crust at the moment of the Cenozoic re-activation.The petro-chronological study of different segments of the belt showed an along-strike metamorphic segmentation of the Longmen Shan inherited from the Mesozoic. This segmentation corresponds to the present fault segmentation, underlying the potential role of inherited structure in controlling the geographic distribution of the recent earthquakes., Un des enjeux majeurs en Sciences de la Terre est la compréhension des mécanismes de déformation de la lithosphère continentale dans des zones de convergence. Le plateau Tibétain constitue un laboratoire naturel idéal pour l'étude des processus crustaux profonds actifs dans ces contextes, du fait de sa superficie et de son altitude remarquables. Le soulèvement et l'épaississement de la croûte Tibétaine ont été classiquement attribués aux effets de la collision Inde-Asie Tertiaire. Cependant, cette interprétation a été récemment mise en question par une série d’observations géologiques et géophysiques non concordantes, à différents endroits du plateau.L'objectif de cette thèse est de quantifier l’importance de l’héritage géologique dans la déformation à long-terme et à court-terme d’une chaîne active, en déchiffrant les différentes étapes de la structuration des Longmen Shan, la bordure la plus énigmatique du plateau Tibétain. Dans la chaîne des Longmen Shan la croûte Tibétaine est très épaissie (>60 km) et l'activité tectonique est localisée le long des failles d’échelle lithosphérique, comme démontré par les séismes de Wenchuan 2008 (Mw 7.9) et de Lushan 2013 (Mw 6.6). Un fort gradient topographique est présent, bien que les taux de convergence mesurés par GPS soient très faibles ( 30 km) et de mettre en évidence un saut métamorphique >150°C à travers les failles majeures, hérité de la tectonique Mésozoïque. Si les unités internes de la chaîne ont été fortement déformées, découplées du socle cristallin et métamorphisées à T ~580-600°C (P ~11 kbar), les unités externes apparaissent moins déformées et épaissies (T< 400°C, P< 5 kbar). Une exhumation partielle du socle depuis c. 20 km de profondeur a été également documentée à 120-140 Ma et reliée à un évènement tectonique méconnu auparavant.Cette thèse a ainsi permis de quantifier la durée et les conditions qui caractérisent les différentes étapes de la maturation de la chaîne: les unités internes atteignent la relaxation thermique 40 Ma après le début de la propagation du prisme orogénique. Le socle est réactivé 40 Ma plus tard, lorsqu’il atteint des conditions thermiques proches de celles de sa couverture sédimentaire. L’héritage géologique Mésozoïque contrôle fortement l’état thermique et rhéologique de la croûte supérieure au moment de la réactivation Cénozoïque ainsi que la structure actuelle de la chaîne.L’étude petro-chronologique de différents segments de la chaîne a aussi mis en évidence une segmentation métamorphique héritée du Mésozoïque qui correspond à la segmentation actuelle des failles. Ceci suggère que des structures héritées pourraient en partie contrôler la localisation des séismes récents.