Academic literature on the topic 'Géochronologie K-Ar et 40Ar/39Ar'

Abstract The eastern part of the “Seuil du Poitou” area had been selected by the French National radioactive waste management agency (ANDRA) as a potential site for building an underground laboratory in granitic rocks. 17 cored bore holes, completed by petrographical, geochemical [Cuney et al., 2001], geophysical [Virlogeux et al., 1999] and structural [Gros and Genter, 1999] studies, have provided a detailed knowledge of the Charroux-Civray complex, hidden under a Jurassic sedimentary cover. Three main types of magmas were distinguished : medium-K calk-alkaline, high-K calk-alkaline and peraluminous. The first two types are largely predominant and belong to the “Limousin Tonalitic line” (LTL) [Peiffer, 1985 ; 1986]. They were emplaced between 356 ± 5 Ma to 349 ± 5 Ma from U-Pb dating of zircon [Bertrand et al., 2001], at a depth of 14 ± 2 km [Freiberger et al., 2001]. This work aims to reconstruct the thermochronological evolution of the Charroux-Civray complex from 40Ar/39Ar dating of biotite and amphibole, combined with available U/Pb ages [Bertrand et al., 2001] and thermo-barometric data derived from mineral paragenesis and fluid inclusions [Freiberger et al., 2001]. This reconstruction may provide interesting constraints on a stage not well understood in the evolution of the French Massif Central : the emplacement of the LTL granitoids. The datings were performed on alteration-free, single grain of biotite and amphibole from the main petrologic types, according to the procedure described by Ruffet et al. [1991] and [1995]. The closure temperatures of the isotopic systems have been assumed to be 300 ± 30 oC for biotites, 500 ± 50 oC for amphiboles, and 850 ± 50 oC for zircons [Villa, 1998 ; McDougall and Harrison, 1999]. Six samples were dated : two tonalites (samples 112 and 212t), a monzogranite (sample 106), a monzogabbro-diorite (sample 115), a monzodiorite (sample 104), and a granodiorite (sample 105). Some of the analyses have been performed twice to test the reproducibility of the 40Ar/39Ar measurements. The 14 age spectra obtained may be divided into four groups : plateau ages, which provide robust ages for the amphiboles of samples 104, 106, 112, and biotites from samples 106, 115 and 212t ; pseudo-plateaux ages : three biotites (samples 104, 105 and 112) display spectrum shapes that could be interpreted as resulting from 39Ar recoil, related to an incipient chloritisation [Ruffet et al., 1991 ; McDougall and Harrison, 1999]. The most reliable ages are therefore close to the apparent ages given by the high temperature steps ; 40Ar* excess, as suggested by the spectrum shape of the amphibole from sample 212t [McDougall and Harrison, 1999]. The preferred age is defined with 83 % of released gas, and has been confirmed by a duplicate analysis ; a meaningless spectrum has been obtained on the amphiboles from sample 115. A duplicate analysis provided an approximate age of 347 ± 1 Ma, calculated on a relatively flat segment of the age spectrum. These results show that : (1) the closure of the isotopic system of the amphiboles occurred at approximately the same time over the entire complex (about 348 Ma) ; (2) the closure of the isotopic system of the biotites occurred slightly after the closure of the amphiboles, but spread over a larger time interval (350–343 Ma), (3) all the samples display high temperature gradients between 500 and 300 oC (> 40 oC.my-1). These results are in good agreement with mineralogical and fluid inclusion thermo-barometric data [Freiberger et al., 2001]. Two scénarios may be invoked to explain such high temperature gradients : a fast exhumation episode (several mm/y) during the 350–340 Ma period. This model is not acceptable because it is incompatible with pre- and post-intrusion conditions constrained by thermo-barometric data ; a fast thermal equilibration of the complex with surrounding rocks at the end of a succession of nearly-synchronous emplacement of calk-alkaline intrusions. First-order numerical models were used to simulate the thermal equilibration of the intrusive bodies with surrounding rocks, assuming a purely conductive heat regime [Carslaw and Jaeger, 1959]. These models show that according to the size of intrusions, the thermal equilibrium with surrounding rocks is reached in less than 5 to 10 m.y. The calculated temperature gradients derived from these models are compatible with those deduced from 40Ar/39Ar ages. These data confirm the existence of a major calk-alkaline magmatic event on the Seuil du Poitou, at about 355–350 Ma, which would be synchronous with the emplacement of the large peraluminous Guéret-type granodiorites in the northern Limousin. The 40Ar/39Ar biotite ages indicate that a regional temperature of 250–300 oC was reached at ca. 340 Ma at a depth of about 9 km.

As part of the wider European GTS Next project, I propose new constraints on the ages of the Late Cretaceous, derived from a multitude of geochronological techniques, and successful stratigraphic interpretations from Canada and Japan. In the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, we propose a new constraint on the age of the K/Pg boundary in the Red Deer River section (Alberta, Canada). We were able to cyclostratigraphically tune sediments in a non-marine, fluvial environment utilising high-resolution proxy records suggesting a 11-12 precession related cyclicity. Assuming the 40Ar/39Ar method is inter-calibrated with the cyclostratigraphy, the apparent age for C29r suggests that the K/Pg boundary falls between eccentricity maxima and minima, yielding an age of the C29r between 65.89 ± 0.08 and 66.30 ± 0.08 Ma. Assuming that the bundle containing the coal horizon represents a precession cycle, the K/Pg boundary is within the analytical uncertainty of the youngest zircon population achieving a revised age for the K/Pg boundary as 65.75 ± 0.06 Ma. The Campanian - Maastrichtian boundary is preserved in the sedimentary succession of the Horseshoe Canyon Formation and has been placed ~8 m below Coal nr. 10. Cyclostratigraphic studies show that the formation of these depositional sequences (alternations) of all scales are influenced directly by sea-level changes due to precession but more dominated by eccentricity cycles proved in the cyclostratigraphic framework and is mainly controlled by sand horizons, which have been related by autocyclicity in a dynamic sedimentary setting. Our work shows that the Campanian - Maastrichtian boundary in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin coincides with ~2.5 eccentricity cycles above the youngest zircon age population at the bottom of the section and ~4.9 Myr before the Cretaceous - Palaeogene boundary (K/Pg), and thus corresponds to an absolute age of 70.65 ± 0.09 Ma producing an ~1.4 Myr younger age than recent published ages. Finally, using advances with terrestrial carbon isotope and planktonic foraminifera records within central Hokkaido, Northwest Pacific, sections from the Cretaceous Yezo group were correlated to that of European and North American counterparts. Datable ash layers throughout the Kotanbetsu and Shumarinai section were analysed using both 40Ar/39Ar and U-Pb methods. We successfully dated two ash tuff layers falling either side of the Turonian - Coniacian boundary, yielding an age range for the boundary between 89.31 ± 0.11 Ma and 89.57 ± 0.11 Ma or a boundary age of 89.44 ± 0.24 Ma. Combining these U-Pb ages with recent published ages we are able to reduce the age limit once more and propose an age for the Turonian - Coniacian boundary as 89.62 ± 0.04 Ma.

L'évolution des îles volcaniques résulte d'interactions complexes entre croissance des volcans et processus de destruction (éruptions explosives, glissements de terrain, érosion fluviale, altération). Les changements climatiques peuvent influencer ces processus sur des échelles variées. A l’échelle événementielle, des précipitations intenses peuvent engendrer des épisodes érosifs extrêmes. Sur le long-terme, des variations des taux d'altération, sensibles aux précipitations et à la température, peuvent impacter la fertilité des sols et le cycle global du carbone.Les îles volcaniques des Açores offrent un cadre idéal pour étudier ces interactions, avec une grande importance scientifique et sociétal, en particulier dans le contexte actuel du réchauffement climatique. Au centre de l'Atlantique Nord, elles sont influencées par des facteurs climatiques majeurs. Ces îles ont eu des pulses d'activité volcanique au cours du dernier million d'années (Ma), une période marquée par d’importants changements climatiques liés aux cycles glaciaires-interglaciaires. Si les variations des conditions globales ont été bien documentées sur cette période, la reconstruction paléoclimatique aux échelles locales/régionales reste un défi. Les paléosols (PSs) sont des anciens sols inclus dans le registre géologique. Leur géochimie fournit des informations précieuses sur les conditions paléo-environnementales, et la géochronologie des produits volcaniques les encadrant permet leur contrainte temporelle.Dans ce travail, nous avons reconstruit les conditions moyennes annuelles de précipitation (MAP) et de température de l’air (MAAT) aux Açores au cours du dernier Ma. Deux proxies basés sur la composition en éléments majeurs des PSs ont été utilisés : l’indice d'altération CIA-K et l’argilosité, tous deux validés dans d'autres milieux volcaniques. La datation précise des unités volcaniques par K-Ar sur mésostase séparée (laves) et par ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar sur monocristaux de feldspath potassique (dépôts pyroclastiques), révèle des «pulses» d‘altération sur quelques milliers d’années, notamment après les terminaisons glaciaires (MIS 21, 19, 11, 9e, 5e et 1). La géochimie des PSs montre des changements environnementaux rapides et des MAATs (12-28 ᵒC) en accord avec les données de température marine de surface établies à partir d’archives océaniques. Cette concordance indique une étroite relation océan-atmosphère. Ces «pulses» suggèrent en outre des phases d'affaiblissement de l'anticyclone des Açores, permettant aux courants d'air humides d'atteindre des secteurs plus au sud.Les taux moyens de formation des sols (3-180 mm/kyr) ont été influencés par la structure et la texture du substrat rocheux. Des PSs se sont formés lors de MAPs plus faibles dans les dépôts pyroclastiques que dans les coulées de lave (seuils de ~500 et ~800 mm/an). Cette différence supporte une cinétique favorisée par la fragmentation et une surface spécifique élevée. L’altération accrue en surface et le long des discontinuités géologiques de sub-surface peut avoir favorisé l'érosion par glissements de terrain. Des MAPs élevées (jusqu'à 1500 mm/an) sont notamment obtenues autour du stade interglaciaire de l’Eemien, qui coïncide avec l’initiation d’un glissement complexe sur le flanc Sud de Pico. Des MAPs intenses ont pu accélérer l’infiltration des eaux et favoriser les interactions hydromagmatiques. L’augmentation associée de pression interstitielle a ainsi pu déclencher la mise en mouvement du flanc le long de failles listriques toujours actives. Les conditions actuelles aux Açores sont plus humides et légèrement plus chaudes qu’au cours du dernier Ma, ce que pourrait favoriser le détachement du flanc externe de Pico, avec des conséquences potentiellement drastiques.Plus généralement, l’altération accrue favorise l’évolution rapide du paysage sur de telles îles et engendre des flux élémentaires et une absorption de CO₂ atmosphérique croissantes, ce qui a impacts locaux, régionaux et globaux
Landscape evolution on volcanic islands is driven by complex interactions between volcano growth and destruction by a variety of processes (explosive eruptions, landslides, riverine erosion, weathering). Major climate changes, may impact the dynamics of degradation processes at different spatial and temporal scales. For example, extreme rain can produce an immediate hydrological response causing important destruction. Changes in weathering rates, sensitive to precipitation and temperature, can trigger changes in soil fertility but also modify global carbon cycling.The Azores volcanic islands provide an ideal setting to study these interactions, with both scientific and societal significance, especially in the context of ongoing global warming. Located in the Central North Atlantic, they are under the influence of major climatic drivers. Most of them had pulses of volcanic activity over the past 1 Myr, a period characterized by high-amplitude glacial-interglacial transitions with major climatic changes. While global climatic variations have been relatively well-studied for this period, reconstructing the atmospheric paleoclimate and its effects at local/regional scales remains challenging. Paleosols (PSs) are fossil soils formed by weathering at surface, and later incorporated into the geological record. Their geochemistry provides valuable insights into past environmental conditions, while the geochronology of volcanic products “bracketing” PSs allows their temporal constraint.In this work, we reconstructed mean annual precipitations (MAP) and air temperature (MAAT) over the last 1 Myr in the Azores region through a combined geochemical-geochronological study of PSs. Two proxies based on PSs’ major element were used: the weathering index (CIA-K) and the Clayeyness, both validated in other volcanic settings. The precise dating of volcanic units by either unspiked K-Ar on lava flow groundmass separates or ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar on single K-feldspar of trachytic fallout evidence “pulses” of soil-formation within only a few kyr. This occurred especially after glacial terminations (MIS 21, 19, 11, 9e, 5e and 1), under wet and warm conditions. Fast paleoenvironmental changes were recorded in PSs’ geochemistry, and MAAT reconstructions (12-28 ᵒC) agree with previously published Sea Surface Temperatures, pointing to a tight ocean-atmosphere teleconnection. Those “pulses” suggest sustained weakening phases for the Azores High, allowing humid air currents (Westerlies) to reach further to the south.Our data also show contrasted rates of vertical soil development (3-180 mm/kyr). Weathering was favored by the structure and texture of parental materials, as PSs formed under lower MAP in pyroclastic deposits than in lava flows (~500 and ~800 mm/yr thresholds). This highlights the influence of fragmentation on weathering’s kinetics due to higher specific surface area. Enhanced weathering at surface and along geological discontinuities may have promoted mechanical weakening, favoring erosion and landslides. Notably, high MAPs (up to 1500 mm/yr) obtained around the Eemian interglacial stage are coincident in time with the initiation of a large slide complex on the southern flank of Pico. Intense precipitation may have led to increased water infiltration favoring enhanced hydromagmatic interactions. Drastic increase in pore pressure may then have triggered the initiation of the flank movement along listric faults that are still active. Current conditions in the Azores are wetter and slightly warmer than during the last Myr. Increased infiltration along faults could partly control subsequent movement and yield to detachment of the outer flank of Pico, with potentially dramatic consequences.More generally, present temperature and humidity increase on volcanic islands points to intense weathering, resulting in fast landscape evolution, increased lixiviation and elementary export and high atmospheric CO₂ uptaking, with local, regional and global impacts

Ce travail de thèse présente le développement et la mise au point d'un procédé original pour la datation par la technique 40_Ar/39_Ar. Le cœur de ce système, un spectromètre de masse utilisant la collection simultanée des cinq isotopes de l'argon, est aujourd'hui unique à l'échelle internationale. Tout d'abord testé et validé sur des échantillons géologiques standard, ce système a permis de réaliser, dans sa configuration actuelle, des analyses de grande qualité sur les roches volcaniques de l'Ethiopie, avec une reproductibilité analytique de l'ordre de 0. 2%. Il est maintenant communément admis que les grands traps basaltiques sont en étroite relation avec les grandes déchirures continentales. C'est notamment le cas du point chaud Afar localisé dans un contexte extensif de point triple. Un des objectifs de cette thèse est d'apporter, à la lumière de 28 et 68 nouvelles données acquises, respectivement, en 40_Ar/39_Ar et K/Ar, des contraintes temporelles sur l'épanchement du point chaud et sur les prémices de l'ouverture continentale. Pour cela, des laves et des granites d'ouverture ont été échantillonnées sur les trois zones géographiques aujourd'hui désunies, c'est-à-dire sur les hauts plateaux éthiopiens, yéménites et somaliens, ainsi que le long de leurs escarpements aux marges de la dépression Afar. Nos résultats attestent de l'édification rapide des grands traps (en moins de 1 Ma, pour l'essentiel de la pile volcanique) et d'une initiation du volcanisme autour de 30. 2 Ma. Les prémices de l'ouverture apparaissent en conséquence totalement synchrones de cette phase, comme l'indique la mise en place de granites, dès 30 Ma. Les résultats de cette étude sont repris et discutés de manière plus générale, afin de préciser et de proposer un schéma global d'évolution depuis 30 Ma
We present here a new analytical system for 4O_Ar/39_Ar dating that relies onto an original 180ʿ sector multiple collection mass spectrometer with five faraday cups. Results of preliminarily experiments undertaken on geological standard minerals highlight the good behavior of this new instrument for step heating analyses. The age reproducibility of successive steps lead to analytical errors lower than 0. 2 %. Such a system appears today unique on the international plan for 40_Ar/39_Ar routine dating. This new penta-collector MS enabled us to perform highly reproducible 40_Ar/39_Ar dating of Ethiopian volcanics. It is now admitted that continental flood basalt volcanism has a strong relationship with continental break-up. The Ethiopian-Afar plume has been linked to the early opening of the Afar depression, where the propagation of Red Sea and Gulf of Aden within the depression is still an ongoing process. The purposes of this study are to constrain the emplacement and duration of the trap series, and to reconstruct the eruptive chronology of the earlier opening stages, since the initiation of the fracturation. Twenty-eight 40_Ar/39_Ar and 68 K/Ar new ages data have been performed on volcanic series and granitic bodies, sampled on the plateaus (Ethiopian, Yemenite, Somalian) and along their boundaries on the Afar margin. Our results support that the onset of traps volcanism took place around 30 Ma, with a duration lower than 1 Myr. The emplacement of granitic bodies as early as 30 Ma argues for a synchronous initiation of the opening. Finally, all results obtained in this study on both plateau and rifted margin areas helped us to propose a global scheme for the evolution of the Afar depression since 30 Ma

Pour poursuivre le développement de la géothermie de haute-enthalpie dans l’arc insulaire des Petites Antilles il faut d’une part identifier de nouvelles zones potentielles et d’autre part mieux comprendre le fonctionnement des réservoirs géothermaux. Dans ce cadre, l’objectif de cette thèse est de caractériser l’évolution spatio-temporelle de l’hydrothermalisme au niveau de la plaque supérieure de l’arc en Guadeloupe au travers d’une analyse pluridisciplinaire (études structurales, géochimiques, minéralogiques, pétrologiques et géochronologiques) des complexes volcaniques les plus anciens de l’archipel. Au Nord de la Basse-Terre nous identifions un métamorphisme d’arc de type sub-Schistes Verts. L’état thermique standard de la croûte d’arc en Guadeloupe ainsi établit indique une transition fragile-ductile située à 3-4 km de profondeur. Un paléo-réservoir exhumé, identifié au Sud de l’île de la Basse-Terre, illustre un métamorphisme hydrothermal de type Schistes-Verts synchrone du développement de couloirs de schistosité et révèle la présence d’horizons verticaux et latéraux de transfert de fluides hydrothermaux situés à 2-3 km de profondeur. En comparant l’âge du volcanisme et la datation Ar-Ar des phases hydrothermales de haute-température, nous estimons une durée maximale de fonctionnement du paléo-réservoir à 650 ka. Enfin, la découverte, l’analyse et la datation K-Ar d’une nouvelle brèche hydrothermale, au coeur du système géothermal actif, met en évidence un système épithermal distal relié à l’activité volcanique de la Soufrière. Nos résultats conduisent à un modèle conceptuel de fonctionnement d’un réservoir géothermal de haute-énergie en contexte d’arc actif
To further develop high-enthalpy geothermal energy in Lesser Antilles arc, it is necessary to identify possible new key targets, and to better understand the modes of fluids and heat transfers in geothermal reservoirs. The objective of this work is thus to characterize the spatio-temporal evolution of hydrothermalism at the upper plate of the arc in Guadeloupe with a multidisciplinary approach (combined structural, geochemical, mineralogical, petrological and geochronological analyses) focussed on the oldest volcanic complexes of the archipelago. In the north of Basse-Terre Island reveals an arc metamorphism developed under sub-Greenschist facies. The standard thermal state of the arc crust in Guadeloupe thus established shows a brittle-ductile transition located at depths of 3 to 4 km. An exhumed geothermal paleo-reservoir, identified at the south of Basse-Terre Island, indicates a hydrothermal metamorphism developed under Greenschist facies synchronous with the development of schistose corridors and attests for both vertical and lateral hydrothermal fluid transfers at depths between 2 and 3 km. Comparison of the age of the volcanic activity and Ar-Ar dating of the high-temperature hydrothermal phases allows us to estimate a maximum operating time of the paleo-reservoir at 650 ka. Finally, the discovery, the analysis and the K-Ar dating of a new hydrothermal breccia, within the active geothermal system, reveals a link between current geothermal activity and volcanic activity of the Soufrière, interpreted as a distal epithermal system. Our results lead to a conceptual model for the operation of a high-energy geothermal reservoir in the context of an active arc