Basile, Christophe, Loncke, Lies, Girault, Igor, Heuret, Arnauld, Poetisi, Ewald, Institut des Sciences de la Terre ( ISTerre ), Université Grenoble Alpes ( UGA ) -Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ) -Université Savoie Mont Blanc ( USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry] ) -PRES Université de Grenoble-Institut de recherche pour le développement [IRD] : UR219-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers ( INSU - CNRS ) -Institut Français des Sciences et Technologies des Transports, de l'Aménagement et des Réseaux ( IFSTTAR ) -Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 ( UJF ), Centre de Formation et de Recherche sur les Environnements Méditérranéens ( CEFREM ), Université de Perpignan Via Domitia ( UPVD ) -Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ), Université de Bourgogne ( UB ), Géosciences Montpellier, Université des Antilles et de la Guyane ( UAG ) -Institut national des sciences de l'Univers ( INSU - CNRS ) -Université de Montpellier ( UM ) -Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ), Anton de Kom Universiteit van Suriname, CNRS-INSU: Tellus-Pré campagne Ifremer: fonds de soutien CEFREM: BQR, ISTerre, CNRS UMR 5275, Université Grenoble Alpes, CEFREM - Université de Perpignan, Université de Guyane, Institut des Sciences de la Terre (ISTerre), Institut Français des Sciences et Technologies des Transports, de l'Aménagement et des Réseaux (IFSTTAR)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut de recherche pour le développement [IRD] : UR219-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes [2016-2019] (UGA [2016-2019]), Centre de Formation et de Recherche sur les Environnements Méditérranéens (CEFREM), Université de Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université de Bourgogne (UB), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Université des Antilles (UA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Anton de Kom Universiteit van Suriname - Anton de Kom University of Suriname [Paramaribo] (UVS), Université de Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA), and Basile, Christophe
The DRADEM campaign was performed from July 9th to 21th 2016 on board the Pourquoi Pas?, in the Exclusive Economic Zones of Suriname and French Guyana. This campaign belongs to a program dedicated to geological investigations of the Demerara plateau, following the GUYAPLAC (2003) and IGUANES (2013) campaigns, and before the MARGATS campaign (2016). The aims of the DRADEM campaign were to map the continental slope of the transform margin north of the Demerara plateau, and to dredge the rocks outcropping in the slope.We completed the bathymetric mapping of the continental slope, including part of the edged of the Demerara plateau. These new bathymetric data confirm the segmentation of the transform margin in three parts with very different morphologies. In addition, two circular structures were interpreted as mud volcanoes, one on the northern edge of the plateau, the other one in the distal part of the Orinoco deep sea fan.Twelve dredges were performed between 4700 and 3500 m depths. Four from these twelve did not recovered rocks. The eight others brought back variables amounts of rocks, often encrusted, but of various natures: sediments (breccia, coarse sandstones, sandstones with plants debris, sandstones with shells, clayey ooze), micro-granular rocks and metamorphic rocks (including mylonite). The nature of the rocks was determined from macroscopic observation of the rocks, which are currently altered. Of course, these determinations need to be validated and specified by onshore further studies. Anyway, most of these rocks were previously unknown in this area, and they will strongly influence our understanding of the structure and evolution of this margin. They evidence huge vertical displacements that brought back to the surface some of these rocks that formed in a deep setting.