Search

International audience; This contribution illustrates a new type of map, the “geological event map” (1:250,000 scale), which highlights the progressive steps of the geologic history recorded in the polycyclic orogenic belt of the European Alps, at their southwestern termination facing the western Mediterranean Sea. The formula of historical progression simplifies comprehension of significant phenomenal visions and reorients public curiosity towards geologic processes. This part of the Alpine belt records a geologic history starting with the Variscan convergence during Devonian, throughout the opening of the Tethys Ocean, Alpine convergence, followed by Apennine subduction driving the opening of the Ligurian-Provençal Ocean. Finally, from late Miocene to Present a progressive tectonic inversion characterizes the Ligurian-Provençal continental margin. This geologic history, over a time period of 400 million years, which includes three successive Wilson Cycles, is displayed in 8 plates composed of maps and illustrations. Each map explains the effects of successive tectonic events by adding geologic changes that modify the petrogenetic and structural configurations. The last plate shows the finite state of the geologic history at present-time. The map legend is based on ten major geodynamic events of which rock associations, and their genetic environment, are described in simple divulgation terms, to stimulate interest of neophytes. Illustration of the evolution of rocks and structures side of each map aims at conveying to non specialists in tectonics and petrology the impact of mechanisms associated with the Earth’s deep engine upon surface changes.

Discussing submarine canyons dynamics through a multidisciplinary approach allowed to identify both advances in knowledge and remaining gaps concerning the controlling factors underlying the formation, development, ecological functioning and vulnerability of canyons at various time scales. As a result, we identified a number of recommendations for future research and actions that the interested reader will discover in this synthetic chapter, drafted as a collective effort in the months following our meeting. The subsequent chapters, each written by a workshop participant, detail the specificities and dynamics of of submarine canyons within and beyond the Mediterranean domain. Versión del editor

La dorsale des Pouilles sépare, suivant une direction NW-SE, le Bassin Adriatique du Bassin Ionien. Un grand nombre de relevés de sismique réflexion a permis d'étudier les caractéristiques de sa couverture sédimentaire récente et les directions des accidents distensifs (essentiellement NW-SE, NS et EW) qui la découpent. Cette étude permet de distinguer deux grands secteurs ayant une évolution tectonique différente à partir du Miocène supérieur. Sa marge Adriatique est sédimentée et faiblement tectonisée. Sa marge Ionienne ne possède qu'une mince couverture récente et est découpée par un dense réseau d'accidents distensifs encore actifs pour la plupart. The submerged Apulian swell constitutes a wide, dissymmetric NW-SE trending topographic high extending from Apulia to Kephalinia in the northern lonian Sea. It separates the relatively shallow southern Adriatic basic from te deeper lonian Sea. In recent years a systematic survey (including dredging and seismic profiling) has been made by IGM Bologna across the whole area to study its sedimentary cover and shallow structure and to, determine its general recent evolution. The different maps of the swell show two margins. Toward the NE (Adriatic margin) the Apulian slope is gentle, wide and sedimented. Toward the SW (lonian margin) the slope comprises a series of steep scarps facing the deep lonian basin and the Taranto valley. This asymmetry reflects a comparable opposition between the two margins at the Ievel of both the sedimentary cover and the structural framework.

Recent field observations have identified the widespread occurrence of fluid seepage through the eastern Mediterranean Sea floor in association with mud volcanism or along deep faults. Gas hydrates and methane seeps are frequently found in cold seep areas and were anticipated targets of the MEDINAUT/MEDINETH initiatives. The study presented herein has utilized a multi-disciplinary approach incorporating observations and sampling of visually selected sites by the manned submersible Nautile and by ship-based sediment coring and geophysical surveys. The study focuses on the biogeochemical and ecological processes and conditions related to methane seepage, especially the anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM), associated with ascending fluids on Kazan mud volcano in the eastern Mediterranean. Sampling of adjacent box cores for studies on the microbiology, biomarkers, pore water and solid phase geochemistry allowed us to integrate different biogeochemical data within a spatially highly heterogeneous system. Geophysical results clearly indicate the spatial heterogeneity of mud volcano environments. Results from pore water geochemistry and modeling efforts indicate that the rate of AOM is similar to 6 mol m(-2) year(-1), which is lower than at active seep sites associated with conditions of focused flow, but greater than diffusion-dominated sites. Furthermore, under the non-focused flow conditions at Kazan mud volcano advective flow velocities are of the order of a few centimeters per year and gas hydrate formation is predicted to occur at a sediment depth of about 2 m and below. The methane flux through these sediments supports a large and diverse community of micro- and macrobiota, as demonstrated by carbon isotopic measurements on bulk organic matter, authigenic carbonates, specific biomarker compounds, and macrofaunal tissues. Because the AOM community appears to be able to completely oxidize methane at the rate it is seeping through the sediments, ultimate sinks for methane in this environment are authigenic carbonates and biomass. Significant differences in organic geochemical data between this site and those of other cold seep environments, even within the eastern Mediterranean mud volcanoes, indicate that the microbiological communities carrying out AOM varies depending on specific conditions such as methane flux and salinity. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

International audience; Funded by the EEC Sixth Framework Program, the SEAHELLARC project was aimed to evaluate, and better understand the causes, of the various natural geohazards (chiefly earthquakes and tsunamis), which frequently affect the western Peloponnese area and particularly its coastal domain; this region is one of the most seismically active of Greece and therefore of the Mediterranean Sea. Based on a set of new geophysical data, such as detailed swath bathymetry and high-resolution sub-bottom Chirp, we have distinguished and studied four contrasted domains along this area of the Peloponnese active continental margin underlined by intense crustal seismicity and marked by very contrasted and often sharp continental slopes; from east to west these are: (1) an area including the continental shelf and the upper slope; there sedimentary overload and destabilizations, syn-sedimentary faults, mass transport deposits and active sedimentary by-pass mechanisms are the main risk factors. (2) The middle to lower continental slopes, is mainly expressed by two, N-S trending, fault-related, depressions, where active deformations, well recorded by actual tilting of the sedimentary blanket, occur. (3) West of this deep structural depressions exists a poorly sedimented ridge area (from which merges the small Strophades Islands) also showing N-S and E-W trending lineaments resulting in a dense network of fractures and scarps and leading too a particularly complex sub-marine morphology; this area, together with the westernmost deep domain (4), which bounds the continental margin, clearly records the effects of significant active tectonic. Our studies of the shallow and recent sedimentary cover of the continental margin off western Peloponnese, confirm that this active margin segment is an area where geohazards can be expected. In addition to fault ruptures, generated at depth by the specific tectonic framework, sedimentary collapses, particularly along the shelf break nearby Cape Katakolo, may trigger significant local tsunamis, which may in turn induce strong damages all along the nearby coasts up to the town of Pylos.

International audience

In order to define seismic hazard with sufficient accuracy required for engineering applications, we initiated a multidisciplinary geoscientific study offshore western Peloponnese, focusing on the Kyparissiakos Gulf. Multibeam swath bathymetry localised unstable coastal slopes, which were later investigated by high resolution seismic profiles. Sediments and crustal structures were studied by multi-channel seismic recordings and active large-offsets seismic profiling. We established an onshore/offshore local seismic array that recorded 3500 micro-earthquakes in two months, and combined the results with historical and digital seismicity data in order to understand the active crustal deformation. These findings were further combined with geological mapping and tectonic observations from onshore Peloponnese and available offshore data. All this geologic and tectonic information was coupled with evidence from the analysis of historical and recent seismicity with the aim of identifying the seismogenic sources. We have defined nine seismogenic zones in western Peloponnese that are significantly different from those published in the literature. The new zonation addresses more accurately the deformation of the crust and sediments, and is the basis for a reliable seismic hazard analysis and seismic risk assessment. We identified a large area of the northern Peloponnese and the lonian islands of Lefkas, Cephalonia, Zakynthos and Strophades, to be involved in a SW-ward oriented crustal extrusion, dominated by two major dextral deforming strike slip faults: Cephalonia and Andravida with their offshore prolongation. Some changes with respect to the Greek zonation in the literature have been introduced in the region surrounding the new nine seismogenic zones to reach a homogeneous cover of the whole Peloponnese. © 2014 - OGS.

International audience; Voluminous mass-transport deposits (MTD) have been identified on seismic profiles across the central Nile Deep-Sea Fan (NDSF). The youngest MTDs are buried under 30-100 m of well-stratified slope deposits that, in water depths of 1,800-2,600 m, are characterized by undulating reflectors correlated with slope-parallel seabed ridges and troughs. Seabed imagery shows that, in the western part of the central NDSF, short, arcuate undulations are associated with fluid venting (carbonate pavements, gas flares), while to the east, long, linear undulations have erosional furrows on their downslope flanks and fluid seeps are less common. Sub-bottom profiles suggest that the western undulations correspond to rotated fault-blocks above the buried MTDs, while those in the east are sediment waves generated by gravity flows. We suggest that fluids coming from dewatering of MTDs and/or from deeper layers generate overpressures along the boundary between MTDs and overlying fine-grained sediment, resulting in a slow downslope movement of the sediment cover and formation of tilted blocks separated by faults. Fluids can migrate to the seafloor, leading to the construction of carbonate pavements. Where the sediment cover stabilizes, sediment deposition by gravity flows may continue building sediment waves. These results suggest that complex processes may follow the emplacement of large MTDs, significantly impacting continental-slope evolution.

International audience; The SEAHELLARC project, supported by the European Commission, aimed at evaluating and computing seismic hazard and risk, as well as modelling tsunamis for the town of Pylos, in the western Peloponnese and neighboring region. This paper describes the main scopes and results of the project.

International audience; Although there is a common agreement on the importance of conservation of Mediterranean submarine canyons amongst international organizations, their governance is complex: the canyons' extension covers waters and seabeds under various types of jurisdictions (territorial waters, Fisheries Protection Zone, Ecological Protection Zone, including delimitation issues). Conservation of deep-sea features, such as canyons, requires improving our understanding of the biological and ecological role of these ecosystems, threats and conservation issues, limits and chances of national and international jurisdictions. This report has been written with the intention of meeting this need by reviewing interdisciplinary contributions of experts from various Mediterranean countries.

International audience; Off northwest Libya the Cyrenaica foreland basin domain and its Pan-African continental crust, which constitute the African promontory, are overthrusted by the Mediterranean Ridge Complex. The thrust belt contact and its seismic stratigraphy have been analysed using pre-stack depth-migrated multichannel seismic (MCS) lines recorded during the MEDISIS survey (2002). The geometry and sedimentary distribution analysis through the wedge-top depocentres allow reconstruction of schematic cross-sections of the tectono-sedimentary wedge that includes two major thrust sequences separated by an apparently poorly deformed transition zone. Based on time-space variation of several piggyback basins, we propose that these thrust sequences relate to distinct phases of shortening. (1) A first event, which probably occurred just prior to the Messinian crisis in latest Miocene (Tortonian times?) and (2) A second event, that has finally led to the present-day overthrusting of the Mediterranean Ridge over the Libyan continental slope.

International audience; Regional multichannel seismic reflection (MCS) profiles across the Egyptian continental slope, offshore the Nile delta, were recorded during the MEDISIS survey (conducted in 2002 on board the R/V Nadir). The results of this survey allow an interpretation of the overall structure and evolution of this passive continental margin. The MCS data were processed using an amplitude preserving pre-stack depth migration technique, which has the advantage of providing a quantitative, and geometrically correct, image of seismic horizons. Well-defined reflecting events allow the identification of three main seismic units. The upper unit (a 7 km thick) is interpreted as the post-rift sedimentary cover of the margin; it includes an undisturbed Middle Cretaceous to Upper Miocene sedimentary pile, covered by thick Messinian (latest Miocene) salt-rich layers and by Pliocene to Quaternary sediments, locally intensively deformed by gravity tectonics. The underlying intermediate acoustic unit (6 km thick on average) is interpreted as the Mesozoic syn-rift sedimentary cover of the margin; the end of the last rifting event is marked by a strong angular unconformity, tentatively of Aptian age. The lower unit may correspond to the thinned continental crust of Africa (12 km thick on average in the study area) and its pre-rift cover. Its base is identified by strong, discontinuous reflector packages about 23–25 km below sea floor, interpreted as indicative of the Moho.

Two highly active mud volcanoes located in 990-1,265 m water depths were mapped on the northern Egyptian continental slope during the BIONIL expedition of R/V Meteor in October 2006. High-resolution swath bathymetry and backscatter imagery were acquired with an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV)-mounted multibeam echosounder, operating at a frequency of 200 kHz. Data allowed for the construction of similar to 1 m pixel bathymetry and backscatter maps. The newly produced maps provide details of the seabed morphology and texture, and insights into the formation of the two mud volcanoes. They also contain key indicators on the distribution of seepage and its tectonic control. The acquisition of high-resolution seafloor bathymetry and acoustic imagery maps with an AUV-mounted multibeam echosounder fills the gap in spatial scale between conventional multibeam data collected from a surface vessel and in situ video observations made from a manned submersible or a remotely operating vehicle.

International audience

Four mud volcanoes of several kilometres diameter named Amon, Osiris, Isis, and North Alex and located above gas chimneys on the Central Nile Deep Sea Fan, were investigated for the first time with the submersible Nautile. One of the objectives was to characterize the seafloor morphology and the seepage activity across the mud volcanoes. The seepage activity was dominated by emissions of methane and heavier hydrocarbons associated with a major thermal contribution. The most active parts of the mud volcanoes were highly gas-saturated (methane concentrations in the water and in the sediments, respectively, of several hundreds of nmol/L and several mmol/L of wet sediment) and associated with significantly high thermal gradients (at 10 m below the seafloor, the recorded temperatures reached more than 40 °C). Patches of highly reduced blackish sediments, mats of sulphide-oxidizing bacteria, and precipitates of authigenic carbonate were detected, indicative of anaerobic methane consumption. The chemosynthetic fauna was, however, not very abundant, inhibited most likely by the high and vigorous fluxes, and was associated mainly with carbonate-crust-covered seafloor encountered on the southwestern flank of Amon. Mud expulsions are not very common at present and were found limited to the most active emission centres of two mud volcanoes, where slow extrusion of mud occurs. Each of the mud volcanoes is fed principally by a main narrow channel located below the most elevated areas, most commonly in the centres of the structures. The distribution, shape, and seafloor morphology of the mud volcanoes and associated seeps over the Central Nile Deep Sea Fan are clearly tectonically controlled. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Albania, situated at the boundary between the Dinaric and the Hellenic branchs of the Dinaro-Hellenic fold belt, has experienced a multiphase geodynamic evolution. The internal zones show a Mid-Jurassic episode of deformation characterized by ophiolite obduction, followed by development of a fold-and-thrust belt in the external zones during the Cenozoic. More recently, Albania has experienced a tensional regime. We present apatite and zircon fission-track (AFT and ZFT) measurements for 22 samples, and seven measurements of track-length distributions to elucidate the thermal evolution. AFT ages vary from 10.8 ± 0.7 Ma to 50.5 ± 5.7 Ma. The oldest ages (Eocene) occur in the western Albanides, corresponding to Eocene emplacement of the internal zones over the external ones. Neogene ages in the eastern Albanides suggest rapid exhumation, which we relate to an extensional regime. The ZFT ages show that the internal Albanides did not reach temperatures > 200 °C during the Cenozoic.

Géomorphologie : Relief, Processus, Environnement, v. 2, p. 91-104, 2005; International audience; Since 80 My, the eastern Mediterranean basin has been subjected to a complex evolution, controlled by the ongoing convergence between African and Eurasian plates (fig. 1). One of the consequences of this specific kinematics is the formation, within the Ionian and Levantine basins, of the Mediterranean Ridge, an atypical tectono-sedimentary accretionary wedge 1500 km long and 200-250 km wide. From the Ionian to the Levantine basins, the Mediterranean Ridge appears as a southward arcuate high, lying at water depths ranging from 1400 m in its central area, to 3500 m, bounded to the north by the Hellenic trench system and to the south by a series of discontinuous abyssal plains. Within the western part of this system (Ionian basin), C. Truffert et al. (1993) identified three different morphostructural provinces: the outer front, the central domain, and the northern area, in contact with a flat inner domain. This classification was completed by E. Chaumillon (1995) who identified laterally a western (or Ionian) province, a central (or Libyan) narrow domain, and an eastern (or Levantine) branch. Although this prism has already been partly investigated using reflection and refraction seismics (

Depth migration of seismic reflection profiles across the Mediterranean Ridge accretionary complex between the African and Eurasian blocks illustrates profound variations in the geometry and internal structure along strike. Structural interpretations of four cross sections, together with bathymetric and acoustic surface information and drilling data, are used to volumetrically balance the amount of subduction versus accretion with time. Results suggest the existence of three distinct scenarios, with a jump in décollement in the west, intense backthrusting in the central part between Libya and Crete, and transcurrent tectonism in the east. The onset of accretion coincides with exhumation of thrust sheets (∼19 Ma), followed by rapid sediment accretion with thick, evaporite-bearing incoming successions facilitating outward growth of the wedge. The minimum rate of accretion (20–25% of the total sediment supply) is observed in the central portion where the ridge suffers maximum deformation. Here the indenting leading edge of the African Plate apparently forces the sediment into subduction, or local underplating. In contrast, an estimated 40–60% of the available sedimentary input was accreted in the western domain where collision is less accentuated. The results support the hypothesis that highly destructive forearc collisional events, like slab break off and exhumation of thrust sheets, can be followed by periods of accretion and continuous growth of accretionary wedges.

In the eastern Mediterranean, numerous argilo-kinetic manifestations, commonly named 'mud volcanoes', have been identified and studied in some detail during the last twenty years using several techniques. The Medinaut survey (December 1998) has provided new insights into this phenomenon through twenty deep dives performed with the submersible Nautile within two areas particularly active in terms of mud expulsions: the central Mediterranean ridge south of Crete, and the Anaximander mountains area, south of Turkey. The morphology, petrography, microstructure and biostratigraphy of different clasts sampled in the two areas helped to better understand the mud volcano formation and subsequent evolution. Paleoenvironmental conditions, ranging from deep marine deposition in distal deep-sea-fan environment during the Miocene (Mediterranean ridge) to continental margin conditions (Anaximander mountains), have been evaluated for the composition and age of the various rock types. Macroscopic and microscopic structural observations have revealed a close control of clast shapes by sets of early microfractures (calcite veins, joints) created before the clast expulsion to the seabed surface. Surface features, such as erosion marks, alteration aureoles or calcitic coatings, have also been described on most samples. Finally, erosion traces, alteration aureoles and calcitic coating observed for the first time are interpreted as the result of a complex cold seep context related to mud expulsion and associated fluid venting. © 2001 Ifremer/CNRS/IRD/Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS.

Methane seepage at mud volcanoes around the world continues to be of broad international interest for a number of reasons. Among these, seafloor methane is a potentially important contributor to global warming. In addition, dewatering and degassing of sediments and the formation of fluid migration pathways is important not only to sedimentologists, but also to hydrocarbon reservoir engineers and hydrologists.

During May 1990 and January-February 1991, an extensive geophysical data set was collected over the Côte d'Ivoire-Ghana continental margin, located along the equatorial coast of West Africa. The Ghana margin is a transform continental margin running subparallel to the Romanche Fracture Zone and its associated marginal ridge - the Côte d'Ivoire-Ghana Ridge. From this data set, an explosive refraction line running approximately 150 km, ENE-WSW between 3°55'N, 3°21'W and 4°23'N, 2°4'W, has been modelled together with wide-angle airgun profiles, and seismic reflection and gravity data. This study is centred on the Côte d'Ioivre Basin located just to the north of the Côte d'Ivoire-Ghana Ridge, where bathymetric data suggest that a component of normal rifting occurred, rather than the transform motion observed along the majority of the equatorial West African margin. Traveltime and amplitude modelling of the ocean-bottom seismometer data shows that the continental Moho beneath the margin rises in an oceanward direction, from approximately 24 km below sea level to approximately 17 km. In the centre of the line where the crust thins most rapidly, there exists a region of anomalously high velocity at the base of the crust, reaching some 8 km in thickness. This higher-velocity region is thought to represent an area of localized underplating related to rifting. Modelling of marine gravity data, collected coincident with the seismic line, has been used to test the best-fitting seismic model. This modelling has shown that the observed free-air anomaly is dominated by the effects of crustal thickness, and that a region of higher density is required at the base of the crust to fit the observed data. This higher-density region is consistent in size and location with the high velocities required to fit the seismic data. (Résumé d'auteur)