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The morphology of coastal sequences provides fundamental observations to unravel past sea level (SL) variations. For that purpose, converting morphometric observations into a SL datum requires understanding their morphogenesis. The long-lasting sequence of coral reef terraces (CRTs) at Cape Laundi (Sumba Island, Indonesia) could serve as a benchmark. Yet, it epitomizes a pitfall that challenges the ultimate goal: the overall chronology of its development remains poorly constrained. The polycyclic nature of the terraces, involving marine erosion and reoccupation of old coral colonies by more recent ones hinders any clear assignment of Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) to specific terraces, in particular the reference datum corresponding to the last Interglacial maximum (i.e., MIS 5e). Thus, to overcome these obstacles, we numerically model the genesis of the sequence, testing a range of eustatic SL reconstructions and uplift rates, as well as exploring the parameter space to address reef growth, erosion, and sedimentation. A total of 625 model runs allowed us to improve the morpho-chronological constraints of the coastal sequence and, more particularly, to explain the morphogenesis of the several CRTs associated with MIS 5e. Our results suggest that the lowermost main terrace was first constructed during the marine transgression of MIS 5e and was later reshaped during the marine regression of MIS 5e, as well as during the MIS 5c and MIS 5a highstands. Finally, we discuss the general morphology of the sequence and the implications it may have on SL reconstructions. At Cape Laundi, as elsewhere, we emphasize the necessity to address the development of CRT sequences with a dynamic approach, i.e., considering that a CRT is a landform built continuously throughout the history of SL oscillations, and not simply during a singular SL maximum.

Coastal boulders or mega-clasts, named huracanolitos in Cuba, are found along many rocky shores. They result from storms/hurricanes or tsunamis, but despite being potentially important indicators for hazard assessment, their mode of emplacement is typically unknown. We studied a coastal boulder that is probably the largest one ever described on Cuba Island. Located on a low-lying coral reef terrace on the SE Cuban shore, the reefal limestone boulder is emplaced seaward of the ruins of the Bucanero resort. The latter was built in 1989, suffered from Hurricanes Ivan (2004) and Dennis (2005), and, in October 2012, was totally destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. Despite these extreme climatic events, satellite images obtained since 1962 show no movement of the block. In order to analyse the boulder and its morphological context, we have analysed its position, shape and its morphological environment. To determine its volume, we developed a low-cost, open-source Structure from Motion photogrammetry (SfM) procedure using a simple 3D spherical target (diameter 30 ± 0.2 x 10-3 m). Using various hydrodynamic equations, we calculated the breaking wave height and associated energy responsible for the dislocation of the coral reef terrace and transport of the boulder. To determine the exposure time of the block on the terrace, we performed 36Cl analysis and U/Th dating on post-depositional secondary calcite. From these data, the climatic or tsunamigenic (by earthquake or gravity event) origin is discussed. Notably, mapping and dating of a neighboring coastal landslide were made in order to correlate or not its effect on the setting up of the boulder.Keywords: coastal boulder; extreme-wave deposit; tsunami; hurricane; Cuba

The fossil record of Quaternary reef systems, as expressed in uplifted regions by sequences of stacked terraces, has been extensively used to either understand their morphodynamics, or to unravel sea level variations. Yet, because these two aspects are intimately linked, Quaternary reef analysis is often underdetermined because the analysis often focuses on single sequences, along one-dimensional profiles. Here, we take advantage of the lateral variations of coral reef sequences by documenting the morphological variations of the reef sequence on Sumba Island. Near Tambolaka, Northwest Sumba, we analyzed a reef transect, topography, and associated sedimentological record to obtain a precise coral reef stratigraphy and geomorphic patterns that can be compared to the well documented eastern counterpart. In Tambolaka, the reef sequence displays four lower layers of bedded chalky limestone units with a weakly cemented sandy matrix, which we attribute to the Middle Miocene to Pliocene Wakabukak formation based on calcareous nannofossils and planktonic foraminifers. The uppermost layer is a calcretized reefal limestone unit with a well-lithified sandy matrix, which we attribute to the Plio-Pleistocene reef sequence of the Kalianga formation. Seven marine terraces imprint the regional morphology, four of which we correlate with MIS 5e, MIS 7e, MIS 9e, MIS 11c terraces of Cape Laundi, Northeast Sumba. When scrutinized at the light of numerical models of reef development, these results indicate that the morphodynamics of reefal sequences is strongly impacted by the tectonic evolution, even at local scales. The geodynamic context sets both the extrinsic -morphology of the basement, hydrodynamics- conditions of reef development, but also the intrinsic properties - reef growth rate in particular. While the morphodynamic evolution of the sequence is at first order representative of the interplay between uplift rates and sea level oscillations, the detailed assemblage of the reef units drastically varies along the coastline.

12 pages, 5 figures, supplementary information https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00583-7.-- Data availability: The Pleiades satellite imagery was obtained through the DINAMIS program of the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES, France) under an academic license and is not for open distribution. We do however share the Digital Surface Model that was derived from the satellite imagery (Supplementary Data 5), in GeoTiff format with 2-m horizontal resolution, which is enough to reproduce the results of this study. We note that the original imagery could be requested through dinamis@cnes.fr (please quote this paper). The 12-m resolution TanDEM-X Digital Surface Model that is used in this study was also obtained under an academic license and not for open distribution. It is not necessary to possess this data in order to reproduce the results of this study: this data was only used for aesthetic purposes in some of the maps, and Supplementary Fig. 3. To freely obtain such data, we note that calls for scientific projects are regularly launched through the TanDEM-X Science website (https://tandemx-science.dlr.de/).-- Code availability: The code for reef modeling is available through https://github.com/Anne-Morwenn/REEF. The TerraceM-2 code for shoreline angle calculation is available through https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2019.00255, The history of sea level across the Quaternary is essential for assessing past and future climate. Global sea-level reconstructions are typically derived from oxygen isotope curves, but require calibration with geological constraints that are scarce prior to the last glacial cycle (>130 thousand years ago). Here we show that the coral reef terrace sequence at the Huon Peninsula (Papua New Guinea) provides such constraints up to ∼420 thousand years ago, through a geometric analysis of high-resolution topographic data. We derive a northward tectonic tilt as regional deformation pattern, and estimate relative sea level for 31 Quaternary periods, including several periods for which no relative sea level data exists elsewhere. Supported by numerical reef models, these estimates suggest that oxygen isotope-based global mean sea-level curves systematically underestimate interstadial sea-level elevations, by up to ∼20 m. Compared to those curves, our results imply a stronger degree of non-linearity between ice-sheet volumes and global temperatures within Quaternary glacial cycles, G.G. acknowledges the CNES for his postdoctoral scholarship that made this study possible, as well as postdoctoral funding from the IRD and the Manajemen Talenta BRIN fellowship program, With the institutional support of the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S)

International audience; The Java Back-arc Thrust scars the entire back-arc area of Java Island, but the faults' nature, timing, and activity remain partly elusive. Characterizing the structure and activity of the seismogenic Java Back-arc Thrust (historical earthquakes up to 7 Mw) is a cornerstone to evaluate associated geohazards. We focus on the western part of Java Back-arc Thrust that reaches the megalopolis of Jakarta. We combine morphotectonic data, seismic reflection, electric resistivity profiles, kinematic, structural field measurements, paleoseismological trenching, and sediment dating (optically stimulated luminescence and 14C). Our results suggest that the interplay between the faults, volcanoes, and sedimentary basin modulates the propagation of the fault system across and along-strike. The West Java Back-arc Thrust has been active from Pliocene to Recent, but with a laterally variable tempo and tectonic regime. While tectonic activity was sustained for longer times in the eastern part, the West Java Back-arc Thrust broke through the Jakarta Basin in the west, possibly only since the Late Pleistocene, and partitions into a network of immature transpressive structures. We conclude that the West Java Back-arc Thrust has a high seismic hazard that requires a careful risk evaluation along its trace, as it threatens the numerous infrastructures of the densely populated West Java.

How many volcanic bodies are being confused with plutonic ones worldwide? The purpose of this study is not to provide an answer to this question, but rather to illustrate this issue through an example from the French Armorican Variscides. It concerns a magmatic body cross-cutting highly strained terranes in the Ouessant Island, regarded for decades as a granitoid (monzogranite) on the basis of both its coarse-grained texture and its mineralogy. However, the volcanic origin of the metamorphosed series flanking this foliated body is here recognized by pillow lavas, deposit layers, and fiamme-bearing volcaniclastics, all emplaced onto the soft-substrate floor of a fault-bounded basin. Among other things, similarities between feldspar megacrysts/porphyrocrysts in both the volcaniclastics and the adjoining (formerly) monzogranitic massive body lead us to reinterpret the latter as a trachydacitic extrusion. In our model, the corresponding viscous lava progressively flowed in the basin, recovering the earlier volcanic formations and inducing load effects on the underlying soft sediments, along with compaction of the previously deposited pumices, to produce fiamme. The interpretation of the South-Ouessant area as a Visean transtensional volcano-sedimentary basin provides a new perspective on the distribution of the Variscan pull-apart basins in the Armorican Massif.

The Java subduction megathrust is undoubtedly the source of high magnitude, extremely damaging earthquakes. In the back-arc of the subduction zone, severe earthquakes also affect the northern part of Java. The Jakarta basin lies at the western end of the Java back-arc thrust, which stems on the seismogenic Flores thrust in the east and propagates westward across Java. The tectonic activity of the Java Back-arc Thrust in the Jakarta basin has been overlooked because of its low recurrence time. Yet, historical records reveal that it was destructive, resulting in severe destruction in Bogor and Jakarta. Tracking fault activity in large cities is problematic because the original landscape is often profoundly anthropized and has little to do with its pre-industrial physiography. In the Jakarta basin, this is even more complex owing to the fast Plio-Quaternary sedimentation that conceals the morphotectonic features associated with the fault. We combine geomorphic observations and subsurface data using DEMs and optical imagery, seismic reflection and biostratigraphic well data. At depth, seismic data reveal a partitioned fault network of compressive fault-propagation folds and transpressive flower structures that deform the Plio-Quaternary sedimentary layers of the Jakarta basin and interplay with volcanoes. At the surface, morphological observations in the rims of the basin reveal that several river meanders were abandoned and uplifted hundreds of meters above the current riverbeds above the fault network. In the basin, multiple meter scale waterfalls that we interpret as knickpoints above active faults scar the flat surface of the basin. We conclude that the western end of the Java back-arc thrust fault bears a potentially high risk for the infrastructures of the densely populated province of Jakarta.

The stable vs mobile behaviour of basement terranes in orogens is discussed about the North Armorican Cadomian‐floored domain (NAD) in the Armorican Variscides, Western France. Our onshore/offshore structural study demonstrates the heterogeneous nature of the NAD which comprises: i) a southern part which remained stable during both the Paleozoic extensional and compressional (Variscan) events and ii) a northern part which was initially the locus of extensive Paleozoic sedimentary basins before recording Variscan deformation. Our work supplies a more complete structural picture of the Variscan pattern in Northern Armorica as a whole: i) as precising the spatial distribution of Variscan strain, ii) as emphazing its importance with a bulk shortening estimated at 30 % in the North Cotentin fold‐and‐thrust belt and iii) as regarding a newly identified pattern of sinistral ductile shear zones in the Morlaix area as lateral ramps that parallel the western edge of the rigid (southern) Cadomian block in a indenter kinematic setting. At a wider scale, compiling structural dataset from others Cadomian terranes in the Variscan belt of Central (Bohemia) and Western (Iberia) Europe leads us to hypothetize that their stability vs reworking during the Variscan orogeny relies primarily on the mechanical/thermal state of their lithosphere at the end of the Paleozoic extensional stage.

At the far end of the Tethyan realm, the Indo-Australian plate subducts in the Java and Banda trenches. Across the trench, a checkerboard-like distribution of continental and oceanic units sets the geodynamic stage since the Australian continent docked into the subduction zone a few Myr ago: to the East, the Australian continent now subducts and collides with the mostly oceanic Wallacea while to the West, the Indian oceanic plate subducts underneath continental Sundaland. We hypothesize that this fast and transient geodynamic regime explains many observations that characterize the region over the last few Myr: slab rollback and formation of the Banda arc, subsidence of the Weber superdeep seafloor to more than 7000 m, back-arc thrusting in Flores, dynamic subsidence in Sundaland and Sahul, and controversial slab tearing underneath Timor. We set out to model subduction dynamics accounting for the complex assemblage of plates in a real-Earth perspective, using the fast thermo-mechanical code LaMEM that allows dealing with complex setups. Our results predict the winding of the subduction zone around Papua, ultimately retreating into the Banda embayment, thereby causing the extreme dynamic subsidence of the Banda seafloor. Geometrical consistency imposes coeval slab tearing underneath Timor while the slab rolls back. The formation of the Flores backthrust quickly follows Australian collision with Wallacea and propagates westward in continental Sundaland. Shortening rates quickly drop tenfold while entering Sundaland, in Java, in agreement with kinematic and structural observations. In the geologically near future, the back-arc thrust is predicted to reverse the subduction polarity, Wallacea being on the brink to subduct southward underneath Australia. Last, transient mantle flow expectedly causes dynamic subsidence in Sahul and Sundaland, thereby profoundly remodeling the physiography of the entire region.

The Baribis-Kendeng Fault System crosscuts the northern part of Java Island (Indonesia). It seems that the fault systems is the continuation westward from the active Flores thrust in the northern offshore of the Lesser Sunda Islands. While the Flores thrust in the east is well documented as an active fault in the back-arc platform (e.g., source of the 2018 Lombok 6.9 Mw earthquake), the nature, timing, and activity of the Baribis-Kendeng Fault Systems, particularly the Baribis Fault Zone (BFZ) in the westernmost part of the system remain elusive. Yet, understanding the geological risk associated with the BFZ is crucial, as it crosscuts densely-populated regions, possibly up to 30 million inhabitants in the megalopolis of Jakarta. Previous studies mostly identified the BFZ by first-order morphotectonic observations, as well as large-scale geodetic and seismotectonic investigations, and assigned historical earthquakes (estimated up to 8.5 Mw in 1780) in northern Java to the BFZ. Ground-truthing the structure and activity of the BFZ from geological arguments is a cornerstone to evaluate associated geohazards.We first focus on the Cikamurang Ridge, nearly at the eastern part of the BFZ, where uplifted Pliocene-Recent sediment sequences outcrop. Morphotectonic data include an 8-m resolution digital elevation model that we used to map fault lineaments and calculate the channel steepness index of the rivers crossing the mapped fault segments. Field data, including paleoseismological trenching at the central part of Cikamurang Ridge and sediment dating (OSL and radiocarbon) provide temporal constraints on the BFZ activity. Subsurface geophysical data include seismic reflection and resistivity imaging provide better image of the fault geometry in the sub-surface.Our results suggest that the BFZ has been active in the Cikamurang Ridge during the late-Pleistocene to Holocene times, with deformed sediment sequences dated between 55 and 7 ka. Eastward, the BFZ crosses the Cisanggarung River where the fault deformed ~13-ka old sediments. Westward of the Cikamurang Ridge, both fault lineament interpretation and channel steepness index indicates that the fault continues from Subang regency to Jatiluhur and reaches the area between Jakarta and Bogor. Even though in the area between Jakarta and Bogor the surficial trace of the BFZ is not as clear as the Cikamurang and Subang, the seismic reflection data reveal the blind fault propagation fold. We conclude that the BFZ has a high seismic hazard that requires a careful risk evaluation along its trace, as it threats the numerous infrastructures of the extremely densely-populated West Java. Comparing to the Flores back-arc thrust, the existence of the BFZ indicate the whole island of Java affected with the back-arc compressive regime as well as the existence of the Kendeng Fault Zone, in the easternmost of the Baribis-Kendeng Fault Systems.

Quaternary sea-level curves provide crucial insights to constrain tectonic and climatic processes, but require calibration with geological constraints that are particularly scarce for cold periods prior to the last glacial-interglacial cycle. To derive such constraints, we re-visit the Huon Peninsula in Papua New Guinea, which is a classic coral reef terrace (CRT) site that was used for the earliest relative sea-level (RSL) curves. We use digital surface models calculated from 0.5m Pleiades satellite imagery to improve RSL constraints, and unlike previous studies, we find that large-scale tilting of the terrace sequence is generally N-directed. This implies that RSL estimates are several meters higher than previously thought for most highstands over the past ~125 ka. We use the large-scale geometry of the terrace sequence to estimate sea-level highstands up to ~400 ka, and our results suggest that global mean sea-level curves derived from oxygen isotopes consistently underestimate sea-level during the relatively cold Marine Isotope Stages 3, 5a, 5c, 6, 9a and 11a, up to ~10-20 m. We use coral reef models to show that our age interpretation is consistent with the overall terrace sequence morphology, and fits between models and topography improve when adjusting sea-level highstands according to our findings.

Coral reef terraces (CRT) are amongst the most important indicators of Quaternary sea level fluctuations, and are therefore relevant to a wide spectrum of climatic and tectonic studies. The Huon Peninsula in Papua New Guinea accomodates one of the first CRT sequences to be mapped, measured and dated in detail through pioneering studies several decades ago. Those studies were limited by the available techniques to assess the large scale terrace sequence morphology, and thus to constrain spatiotemporal uplift rate variations that are key to determine past relative sea-level (RSL). We re-visit the Huon CRTs with the aim of refining tectonic uplift rates and RSL, using digital surface models calculated from 0.5m Pleiades satellite imagery. This allows us to constrain variations in CRT elevation, and assess tectonic deformation wavelengths in detail. We then use a numerical code for coral reef modeling to reconstruct the sequence morphology and constrain the possible range of RSL over the past few glacial-interglacial cycles. We find that large-scale tilting of the terrace sequence is generally N- instead of NW-directed, which is more compatible with the regional tectonic setting. It also implies changes of several meters for RSL highstand estimates compared to previous studies. We compare our results to other terrace sequences, and discuss the potential of combining high-resolution topography with landscape evolution modeling to constrain RSL.

Landscape adjustment to tectonic, lithologic and climatic forcing leads to drainage reorganization and migration of divides. The respective contribution of these forcings, especially on carbonate landscapes is not well defined. Here, we have addressed this issue by combining field observations, satellite image interpretation and DEM quantitative analysis to assess drainage response to spatially heterogeneous rainfall, asymmetric uplift, and normal faulting on an emerging carbonated platform (Sumba Island, Indonesia). We map geomorphic markers of fluvial dynamics and drainage rearrangement and compute a χ parameter that incorporates the contributions of unevenly distributed precipitation and asymmetric uplift to estimate erosional disequilibrium across drainage divides. We find that asymmetric emergence of Sumba Island created an initial parallel drainage, asymmetric across a divide that propagates landwards. Soon after establishing itself on the emerging slopes this drainage was disturbed by normal faulting, which has become the main force driving drainage rearrangement. Vertical offsets across normal fault scarps first triggered aggradation within valleys over the hanging walls, and then disconnected upstream reaches from downstream reaches, leading to the formation of wind gaps atop the fault scarps and upstream perched sedimentary basins. The defeat of rivers by growing fault scarps was catalysed by the possibility for surface water to be rerouted near the fault scarps into underground water networks inside the underlying carbonates. At the end of the process, the opposite drainage across the main water divide captured the struggling drainage. Capture mechanisms include initial groundwater capture of the perched alluvial aquifers, followed by ground sapping at the head of the opposite drainage and surface stream diversion by avulsion. Finally, normal faulting is the main driving force of drainage rearrangement allowing avulsion and karstic rerouting whereas asymmetric uplift and climate forcings have shown a low efficiency. The role of karstification is more ambiguous, catalyzing or inhibiting drainage rearrangement.

The Variscan crystalline basement exposed along the SW Brittany coast recorded extensive long-term planation processes during Mesozoic times. Detailed onshore-offshore mapping (600 km2) in the Penmarc’h-Concarneau granitic coastal area reveals a km-scale, deeply fractured submarine rocky shelf. High-resolution offshore imagery (bathymetry and seismic reflection dataset), combined to structural field investigations, on these surfaces allow us to identify a preserved network of both ductile and brittle structures. The inherited fault pattern is dominated by the N160°E-trending and long-lived Concarneau-Toulven fault zone (CTFS) that separates two distinct morphostructural blocks, and strongly influences the seaward limit of the Concarneau submarine rocky shelf, as well as the linear coastline of the Concarneau embayment. The structural imprint of the CTFS decreases progressively westwards with respect to a composite network of large-scale N50°E- and N140°E-oriented faults bounding the seaward edge of the Penmarc’h rocky shelf. The latter in turn splits into three large-scale blocks along N50°E- (La Torche Fault – LTF), N140°E- (Saint Guenole Fault – SGF) and N160°E-trending normal faults. The morphostructural evolutionary model applied here to the Penmarc’h-Concarneau granitic coastal area resulted from the combined effects of structural Variscan inheritance and post-Variscan tectonics. Paleo-stress analysis of striated fault planes indicates three main Cenozoic tectonic events, inferred to have operated from Eocene to post-Oligocene times. The 3D-architecture of the Concarneau embayment, as a rocky shelf partially sealed with quaternary sediments, chiefly resulted from the reactivation of the CTFS during Eocene and Oligocene times. Further west, the surface of the Penmarc’h rocky shelf was tilted southeastward by the brittle reactivation of the LTF, and dissected by a horst-graben network post-Oligocene in age. The present-day morphology of the Penmarc’h and Concarneau domains depends on distinct driving processes: the Concarneau N160°E coastline is clearly controlled by tectonic processes via the CTFS, while the Penmarc’h headland land-sea contact appears to have been shaped by post-Cenozoic eustatism.

The Cotentin Peninsula (Normandy, France) displays sequences of marine terraces and rasas, the latter being wide Late Cenozoic coastal erosion surfaces, that are typical of Western European coasts in Portugal, Spain, France and southern England. Remote sensing imagery and field mapping enabled reappraisal of the Cotentin coastal sequences. From bottom to top, the N Cotentin sequence includes four previously recognized Pleistocene marine terraces (T1 to T4) at elevations < 40 m as well as four higher and older rasas (R1 to R4) reaching 200 ± 5 m in elevation. Low-standing marine terraces are not observed in the central part of the Peninsula and a limited number of terraces are described to the south. The high-standing rasas are widespread all over the peninsula. Such strandline distributions reveal major changes during the Late Cenozoic. Progressive uplift of an irregular sea-floor led to subaerial exposure of bathymetric highs that were carved into rocky platforms, rasas and marine terraces. Eventually, five main islands coalesced and connected to the mainland to the south to form the Cotentin Peninsula. On the basis of previous dating of the last interglacial maximum terrace (i.e. Marine Isotopic Stage, MIS 5e), sequential morphostratigraphy and modelling, we have reappraised uplift rates and derived: (i) mean Upper Pleistocene (i.e. since MIS 5e ~ 122 +/− 6 ka, i.e. kilo annum) apparent uplift rates of 0.04 ± 0.01 mm/yr, (ii) mean Middle Pleistocene eustasy-corrected uplift rates of 0.09 ± 0.03 mm/yr, and (iii) low mean Pleistocene uplift rates of 0.01 mm/yr. Extrapolations of these slow rates combined with geological evidence implies that the formation of the sequences from the Cotentin Peninsula occurred between 3 Ma (Pliocene) and 15 Ma (Miocene), which cannot be narrowed down further without additional research. Along the coasts of Western Europe, sequences of marine terraces and rasas are widespread (169 preserve the MIS 5e benchmark). In Spain, Portugal, S England and other parts of western France, the sequences morphostratigraphy is very similar to that of Cotentin. The onset of such Western European sequences occurred during the Miocene (e.g. Spain) or Pliocene (e.g. Portugal). We interpret this Neogene-Quaternary coastal uplift as a symptom of the increasing lithospheric compression that accompanies Cenozoic orogenies. © 2017 Elsevier B.V., We thank the ANR GiSeLE as well as the INSU programme Sulamer Hople for funding.

The Penmarc’h granitic coastal domain, SW Brittany (Western France), offers the opportunity to address the little investigated issue of erosional processes in a granitic coastal context. From land to sea, the granitic coast is composed of 1) an aerial marine terrace ( 10 Be) analyses, supplies new constraints on the weathering and denudation processes recorded by the Penmarc’h platform in Quaternary times. The role of at least two denudation events is emphasized: (i) a >1.8 m-thick level of granitic material is assumed to have been removed by erosion during the MIS5 sea-level highstand, both in the offshore domain and in the low part of the marine terrace; (ii) an additional 0.6 m-thick level of the granitic substratum was later removed during the last Holocene transgression, mainly in the marine domain. The lack of any morphological step between the subaerial marine terrace and the shore platform is here attributed to the combined effect of multiple factors, including (i) a Quaternary tectonic quiescence, (ii) a major eustatic transgression (MIS5) shaping both the shore platform and the low part of the marine terrace, (iii) the mechanically strong behaviour of the granitic basement with regard to erosion, and (iv) the moderate influence of the Holocene sea-level stillstand (since 6 ka) on the shore platform. Thanks to 10 Be content analysis, a range of vertical erosion rates of ca. 3–6 m⋅Ma −1 is obtained for the onshore domain, showing no discernable difference between the intertidal and aerial erosion rates. From that result, it is thus determined that the long-term development of the Penmarc’h granitic shore platform was mainly driven by marine erosive processes during the MIS5 and Holocene marine transgressions, whereas subaerial erosive processes prevailed after the MIS5 event.

International audience; Zagros Folded and thrust Belt (ZFTB) is a Cenozoic mountain belt in SSW of Iran and northeast of Arabia that resulted from closure of Neo-Tethys and collision between Arabia passive margin and Central Iran active margin. At this tectonic grain of Alp-Himalayan chain, change of the tectonic regime, degree of basement involvement, and character of accommodation of the deformation, in time and space, has been under debate. The results show that the deformation along the Zagros is not uniformly accommodated. Although the researchers have already paid attention to basement involvement in addition to the sedimentary cover rocks, little has been shown on the role of the basement's rigidity and lower crust's rheology on the deformation pattern along and across the belt This study tries to address these questions in terms of inversion of slip vector of basement earthquakes, measurement of fault-slip data on the cover rocks, geomorphic and field observations, and existing geodetic and gravity data, with especial focus on Dezful embayment and surrounding area. The results show the Dezful embayment plays an indenter role. It, with the other reentrants, changes the obliquity of Arabian plate convergence, facilitates the escape of the upper crust toward free mechanical boundaries in salients, controls the slip-rate of Zagros Main Recent Fault at the rear of the belt and contributes in forming Zagros Fold-and-Thrust Belt as an orocline. The viscous lower crust helps the strain partitioning by providing a ductile shear base under the rigid upper crust. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Mediterranean domain is characterized by a specific climate resulting from the close interplay between atmospheric and marine processes and strongly differentiated regional topographies. Corsica Island, a mountainous area located in the western part of the Mediterranean Sea is particularly suitable to quantify regional denudation rates in the framework of a source-to-sink approach. Indeed, fluvial sedimentation in East-Corsica margin is almost exclusively limited to its alluvial plain and offshore domain and its basement is mainly constituted of quartz-rich crystalline rocks allowing cosmogenic nuclide Be-10 measurements. In this paper, Holocene denudation rates of catchments from the eastern part of the island of Corsica are quantified relying on in situ produced Be-10 concentrations in stream sediments and interpreted in an approach including quantitative geomorphology, rock strength measurement (with a Schmidt Hammer) and vegetation cover distribution. Calculated denudation rates range from 15 to 95 mm ka(-1). When compared with rates from similar geomorphic domains experiencing a different climate setting, such as the foreland of the northern European Alps, they appear quite low and temporally stable. At the first order, they better correlate with rock strength and vegetation cover than with morphometric indexes. Spatial distribution of the vegetation is controlled by morpho-climatic parameters including sun exposure and the direction of the main wet wind, so-called Libecciu'. This distribution, as well as the basement rock strength seems to play a significant role in the denudation distribution. We thus suggest that the landscape reached a geomorphic steady-state due to the specific Mediterranean climate and that Holocene denudation rates are mainly sustained by weathering processes, through the amount of regolith formation, rather than being transport-limited. Al/K measurements used as a proxy to infer present-day catchment-wide chemical weathering patterns might support this assumption.

International audience; During the Pliocene and the Quaternary, the Gulf of Lion, the northern passive margin of the Liguro-Provençal basin in the western Mediterranean Sea, received sediments from a 120 000 km2 drainage area constituted by several structural domains. The denudation of mountainous areas, source of this sedimentary supply, results from complex interactions between tectonics, climate, morphology, and rock erodibility. In this study, denudation rates from the present-day and ranging back to the Quaternary and the Pliocene are quantified using four independent methods allowing an investigation over different time scales: 1) compilation of present-day measured sediment fluxes, 2) determination of catchment-scale cosmogenic denudation rates through measurements of in situ-produced 10Be concentrations in sands sampled at the outlet of present-day rivers, 3) estimation of eroded volumes within catchments using a DEM to quantify long-term averaged Quaternary denudation rates, and 4) quantification of sediment volumes deposited within the marine realm of the Gulf of Lion. The results obtained by these four methods are in agreement within the range of uncertainties. The internal part of the Alps exhibits significantly higher denudation rates (∼700 mm ka-1) than those estimated in the other structural domains: 150-250 mm ka-1 in the foreland Alps, ∼100 mm ka-1 in the Pyrenees, and 55-75 mm ka-1 in the Massif Central. The Alpine domain provides at least 80% of the total eroded volume supplied towards the Gulf of Lion. A quantitative geomorphological approach shows that denudation rates are controlled at the first order by catchment morphologies (slope, relief) over different time scales, suggesting glacial conditioning to be the main driver on denudation from the Quaternary to present-day. Throughout the Pliocene-Quaternary, a doubling of denudation rates related to the mid-Pleistocene Revolution (∼0.9 Ma) is highlighted.

At the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, we characterize the onshore structures and kinematics associated with crustal necking leading up to the Pliocene breakup and early East Pacific Rise seafloor spreading. From a combination of tectonic field investigations, K-Ar and cosmogenic isotope dating and geomorphology, we propose that the Los Cabos block represents the exhumed footwall of a major detachment fault. This north trending detachment fault is marked by a conspicuous low-dipping brittle-ductile shear zone showing a finite displacement with top to the SE ending to the ESE. This major feature is associated with fluid circulations which led to rejuvenation of the deformed Cretaceous magmatic rocks at a maximum of 17.5 Ma. The detachment footwall displays kilometer-scale corrugations controlling the present-day drainage pattern. This major detachment is synchronous with the development of the San Jose del Cabo Basin where syntectonic sedimentation took place from the middle Miocene to probably the early Pliocene. We propose that this seaward dipping detachment fault accommodates the proximal crustal necking of the Baja California passive margin, which predates the onset of formation of the East Pacific Rise spreading axis in the Cabo-Puerto Vallarta segment. Our data illustrate an apparent anticlockwise rotation of the stretching direction in Baja California Sur from ~17 Ma to the Pliocene.

The metasedimentary and magmatic terranes in the southern part of the Ouessant Island (Western Brittany, France) are the offshore prolongation of the Léon Variscan metamorphic domain. They mainly consist of micaschists and subordinate amphibolitic lenses (meta-pillow lavas and volcaniclastic successions) cut by a swarm of trondhjemite sills, together with a large porphyritic monzogranite body, newly dated at 336 Ma, and later syeno-leucogranitic intrusions. A large spectrum of fluidal peperites, including spectacular “fiamme”-bearing breccias, is observable at the contact between metasediments and most of the intrusives. The coexistence of amphibolitized basalts, adakitic trondhjemites, and peraluminous granites in the inferred South Ouessant basin is assigned to a variety of deep subcontemporaneous processes, including asthenospheric partial melting, high-pressure fractionation in lithospheric reservoirs (or partial remelting of deep crystallized mafic intrusions), and continental crust melting. Implications of these new results are discussed in the Visean basinal framework of the Armorican Massif, formed at an early stage of the Variscan orogeny.

The Aber-Ildut/North-Ouessant Variscan granitoid complex in the Armorican Massif is an example of high-K alkali-calcic zoned pluton, c. 304 Ma in age. A first magmatic batch intruded through a northern EW-trending sinistral transcurrent shear zone, before injecting southwards as a huge horizontal zoned sill, with moderately peraluminous muscovite-free granitoids in the north and strongly peraluminous muscovite-bearing leucogranites to the south. The second magmatic stage resulted in the intrusion of a large two-mica leucogranitic body from a root zone along the same shear zone, prior to the end of crystallization of the first injection. Finally, ultrapotassic dykes, including calc-alkalic lamprophyres (leucominettes), intrude the complex. The strongly peraluminous granites are interpreted as pure melting products of crustal clay-rich pelitic material. All the other petrographic types, including leucominettes, are thought to result from mixing of crustal melts and mantle-derived mafic liquids. Highly silicic tourmaline-bearing leucogranites are significantly affected by a tetrad effect, in relation with REE complexing behavior. Aber-Ildut/North-Ouessant granitoids probably formed during the Variscan late-orogenic stage associated with exhumation and lithospheric thinning, at low pressure and by advective heating of a ≤ 50 km-thick crust from hot metasomatized asthenosphere.

The Zagros Simply Folded Belt (ZSFB) is an active fold-and-thrust belt resulting from the still continuing continental collision between the Arabian plate and the Iranian plate, which probably started in the Oligocene. The present-day shortening (N25°) is well documented by focal mechanisms of earthquakes and global positioning system (GPS) surveys. We propose in this study a comparison of published palaeostress markers, including magnetic fabric, brittle deformation and calcite twinning data. In addition, we describe the magnetic fabric from Palaeocene carbonates (10 sites) and Mio-Pliocene clastic deposits (15 sites). The magnetic fabrics are intermediate, with magnetic foliation parallel to the bedding, and a magnetic lineation mostly at right angles to the shortening direction. This suggests that the magnetic fabric retains the record of an early layer-parallel shortening (LPS) that occurred prior to folding. The record of LPS allows the identification of originally oblique folds such as the Mand Fold, which have developed in front of the Kazerun Fault. The shape parameter of the magnetic fabric indicates a weak strain compatible with the development of detachment folds in the ZSFB. The palaeostress datasets, covering the Palaeocene to Pleistocene time interval, support several folding episodes accompanied by a counter-clockwise rotation of the stress field direction. The Palaeocene carbonates in the ZSFB record a N47 LPS during early to middle Miocene detachment folding in the High Zagros Belt (HZB). The Mio-Pliocene clastic deposits recorded a N38 LPS prior to and during detachment folding within the ZSFB at the end of the Miocene-Pliocene. Similarly, fault slip and calcite twin data from the ZSFB also support a counter-clockwise rotation from NE to N20 between the pre-folding stage and the late rejuvenation of folds. This counter-clockwise trend of palaeostress data agrees with fault slip data from the HZB. During the late stage of folding in the ZSFB, the Plio-Quaternary palaeostress trends are consistently parallel to the present-day shortening direction.

We present a synthesis of recently conducted tectonic, global positioning system (GPS), geomorphological and seismic studies to describe the kinematics of the Zagros mountain belt, with a special focus on the transverse right-lateral strike-slip Kazerun Fault System (KFS). Both the seismicity and present-day deformation (as observed from tectonics, geomorphology and GPS) appear to concentrate near the 1000 m elevation contour, suggesting that basement and shallow deformation are related. This observation supports a thick-skinned model of southwestward propagation of deformation, starting from the Main Zagros Reverse Fault. The KFS distributes right-lateral strike-slip motion of the Main Recent Fault onto several segments located in an en echelon system to the east. We observe a marked difference in the kinematics of the Zagros across the Kazerun Fault System. To the NW, in the North Zagros, present-day deformation is partitioned between localized strike-slip motion on the Main Recent Fault and shortening located on the deformation front. To the SE, in the Central Zagros, strike-slip motion is distributed on several branches of the KFS. The decoupling of the Hormuz Salt layer, restricted to the east of the KFS and favouring the spreading of the sedimentary cover, cannot be the only cause of this distributed mechanism because seismicity (and therefore basement deformation) is associated with all active strike-slip faults, including those to the east of the Kazerun Fault System.

article i nfo Article history: The Polochic and Motagua faults define the active plate boundary between the North American and Caribbean plates in central Guatemala. A splay of the Polochic Fault traverses the rapidly growing city of San Miguel Uspantan that is periodically affected by destructive earthquakes. This fault splay was located using a 2D electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) survey that also characterized the fault damage zone and evaluated the thickness and nature of recent deposits upon which most of the city is built. ERT images show the fault as a ~50 m wide, near-vertical low-resistivity anomaly, bounded within a few meters by high resistivity anomalies. Forward modeling reproduces the key aspects of the observed electrical resistivity data with remarkable fidelity thus defining the overall location, geometry, and internal structure of the fault zone as well as the affected lithologies. Our results indicate that the city is constructed on a ~20 m thick surficial layer consisting of poorly consolidated, highly porous, water-logged pumice. This soft layer is likely to amplify seismic waves and to liquefy upon moderate to strong ground shaking. The electrical conductivity as well as the major element chemistry of the groundwater provides evidence to suggest that the local aquifer might, at least in part, be fed by water rising along the fault. Therefore, the potential threat posed by this fault splay may not be limited to its seismic activity per se, but could be compounded its potential propensity to enhance seismic site effects by injecting water into the soft surficial sediments. The results of this study provide the basis for a rigorous analysis of seismic hazard and sustainable development of San Miguel Uspantan and illustrate the potential of ERT surveying for paleoseismic studies.

Field structural and SPOT image analyses document the kinematic framework enhancing transfer of strike-slip partitioned motion from along the backstop to the interior of the Zagros fold-and-thrust belt in a context of plate convergence slight obliquity. Transfer occurs by slip on the north-trending right-lateral Kazerun Fault System (KFS) that connects to the Main Recent Fault, a major northwest-trending dextral fault partitioning oblique convergence at the rear of the belt. The KFS formed by three fault zones ended by bent orogen-parallel thrusts allows slip from along the Main Recent Fault to become distributed by transfer to longitudinal thrusts and folds. To cite this article: C. Authemayou et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).

At the NW corner of the Pacific region, just south of the Kamchatsky Peninsula, the northern tip of Pacific plate subduction and associated volcanic arc interacts with the western end of the Aleutian-Komandorsky dextral transform plate boundary and associated arc. Study of both Holocene and Pleistocene sequences of uplifted marine terraces and also of fluvial drainage patterns on the Kamchatsky Peninsula allows us to highlight active tectonics produced by complex plate interaction. Our results show that the central - eastern coast of the peninsula is currently divided into four different zones consisting in uplifted blocks associated with various uplift rates in front of a fold and thrust zone to the west. Our main tectonic benchmark--the altitude of the shoreline correlated to last interglacial maximum (MIS 5e)--yields Late Pleistocene uplift rates ranging from 0.2 to 2.74 mm/yr. One of the main active faults bounding the coastal blocks is dextral and is interpreted as a prolongation of an offshore fault of the Aleutian-Komandorsky dextral transform plate boundary. We suggest that structures on the Kamchatsky Peninsula accommodate a part of the transform motion, but that mainly the arc-continent collision of the Aleutian arc against Kamchatka produces a "bulldozer" effect on the Kamchatsky Peninsula.

[1] Strike-slip plate boundaries juxtapose crustal blocks that may have different geodynamic origins and therefore different thermal structures. Thermo-kinematic modeling of this type of strike-slip plate boundary predicts an asymmetric signature in the low-temperature thermochronologic record across the fault. Age-elevation profiles of zircon (U-Th)/He ages across the Motagua Fault, a 500 km long segment of the transform boundary between the North American and Caribbean plates, document a sharp cooling age discontinuity across the fault. This discontinuity could be interpreted as a difference in denudation history on each side of the fault. However, a low-relief Miocene erosional surface extends across the fault; this surface has been uplifted and incised and provides a geomorphic argument against differential denudation across the fault. By integrating magmatic, volcanic, and heat flow data, age-elevation profiles, and thermo-kinematic modeling, we propose that large horizontal displacement along the Motagua Fault has offset a persistent geothermal asymmetry across the fault and explains both the age discontinuities and the age-elevation patterns. This study illustrates how thermochronology can be used to detect large strike-slip displacements and more generally opens new perspectives in understanding the impact of nonuniform thermal structures on thermochronologic results.

[1] The Polochic-Motagua fault system is part of the sinistral transform boundary between the North American and Caribbean plates in Guatemala and the associated seismic activity poses a threat to ∼70% of the country's population. The aim of this study is to constrain the Late Quaternary activity of the Polochic fault by determining the active structure geometry and quantifying recent displacement rates as well as paleo-seismic events. Slip rates have been estimated from offsets of Quaternary volcanic markers and alluvial fan using in situ cosmogenic 36Cl exposure dating. Holocene left-lateral slip rate and Mid-Pleistocene vertical slip rate have been estimated to 4.8 ± 2.3 mm/y and 0.3 ± 0.06 mm/y, respectively, on the central part of the Polochic fault. The horizontal slip rate is within the range of longer-term geological slip rates and short-term GPS-based estimates. In addition, the non-negligible vertical motion participates in the uplift of the block north of the fault and seems to be a manifestation of the regional, far-field stress regime. We excavated the first trench for paleo-seismological study on the Polochic fault in which we distinguish four large paleo-seismic events since 17 ky during which the Polochic fault ruptured the ground surface.

[1] The initial propagation of the Western Alpine orogen was directed northwestward, as shown by basement-involved and Mesozoic sedimentary cover compressional structures and by the early foreland basins evolution. The crystalline basement of the Dauphine zone recorded three shortening episodes: pre-Priabonian deformation D1 (coeval with the Pyrenean-Provence orogeny), and Alpine shortening events D2 (N-NW directed) and D3 (W-directed). The early Oligocene D2 structures are trending sub-perpendicular to the more recent, arcuate orogen and are interfering with (or truncated by) D3, which marks the onset of westward lateral extrusion. The NW-ward propagating Alpine flexural basin shows earliest Oligocene thin-skinned compressional deformation, with syn-depositional basin-floor tilting and submarine removal of the basin infill above active structures. Gravity enhanced submarine erosion gave birth locally to steep submarine slopes overlain by kilometric-scale blocks slid from the orogenic wedge. The deformations of the basin floor and the associated sedimentary and erosional features indicate a N-NW-ward directed propagation, consistent with D2 in the Dauphine foreland. The Internal zones represent the paleo-accretionary prism developed during this early Alpine continental subduction stage. The early buildup has been curved in the arc and rapidly exhumed during the Oligocene collision stage. Westward extrusion and indenting by the Apulian lithosphere allowed the modern arc to crosscut the western, lateral termination of the ancient orogen from ∼32 Ma onward. This contrasted evolution leads to propose a palinspastic restoration taking in account important northward transport of the distal passive margin fragments (Brianconnais) involved in the accretionary prism before the formation of the Western Alps arc.

The Polochic-Motagua fault systems (PMFS) are part of the sinistral transform boundary between the North American and Caribbean plates. To the west, these systems interact with the subduction zone of the Cocos plate, forming a subduction-subduction-transform triple junction. The North American plate moves westward relative to the Caribbean plate. This movement does not affect the geometry of the subducted Cocos plate, which implies that deformation is accommodated entirely in the two overriding plates. Structural data, fault kinematic analysis, and geomorphic observations provide new elements that help to understand the late Cenozoic evolution of this triple junction. In the Miocene, extension and shortening occurred south and north of the Motagua fault, respectively. This strain regime migrated northward to the Polochic fault after the late Miocene. This shift is interpreted as a "pull-up" of North American blocks into the Caribbean realm. To the west, the PMFS interact with a trench-parallel fault zone that links the Tonala fault to the Jalpatagua fault. These faults bound a fore-arc sliver that is shared by the two overriding plates. We propose that the dextral Jalpatagua fault merges with the sinistral PMFS, leaving behind a suturing structure, the Tonala fault. This tectonic "zipper" allows the migration of the triple junction. As a result, the fore-arc sliver comes into contact with the North American plate and helps to maintain a linear subduction zone along the trailing edge of the Caribbean plate. All these processes currently make the triple junction increasingly diffuse as it propagates eastward and inland within both overriding plates.

The NW trending Zagros fold-and-thrust belt is affected by two major dextral faults: (1) the NW trending Main Recent Fault that accommodates partitioning of oblique convergence at the rear of the western Zagros and (2) the north trending Kazerun Fault located in the central Zagros. Combined structural and fault kinematics studies and SPOT images analysis have shown a Pliocene kinematic change accompanied by a fault pattern reorganization, which has led to a modification in the accommodation of oblique convergence. Since the late Pliocene, the distributed transpressional deformation operating at the rear of the belt has become partitioned along the newly formed Main Recent Fault. This fault cuts through early Pliocene nappes and transpressional structures by right-laterally reactivating high-angle thrusts. The southeastern termination of the Main Recent Fault connects to the northern termination of Kazerun Fault that consists of three fault zones that end in bent, orogen-parallel splay thrust faults. The Kazerun Fault, together with a series of north to NNW trending inherited basement strike-slip faults, define an orogen-scale fan-shaped fault pattern pointing toward the Main Recent Fault-Kazerun Fault junction. This structural pattern allows slip from along the Main Recent Fault to become distributed by transfer to the longitudinal thrust faults and folds of the Zagros belt, with the fan-shaped fault pattern acting as a horse-tail termination of the Main Recent Fault.