Emmanuel Masini

M&U France, Grenoble

By demonstrating that extensional inheritance plays a decisive role in the formation of orogens, recent studies have questioned the ability of a unique, complete Wilson cycle model to explain the diversity of collisional orogens. For 5 years, the OROGEN Research Project had therefore the ambition to challenge this classical Wilson cycle model. By f...

Hyperextended rift systems are characterized by extreme crustal thinning and mantle exhumation associated with extensional detachment faults. These faults cut through thinned continental crust, reaching the underlying mantle and allowing for seawater to infiltrate and react with the crustal and mantle rocks. Hydrothermal fluid systems linked to det...

The tectonic evolution of highly oblique continental margins that result from extension above lithospheric subduction–transform edge propagator (STEP) faults is poorly understood. Here, we investigate the case of the Alboran margin in the eastern Betics characterized by crustal thinning of 15–10 km, oblique to the direction of slab retreat. The cur...

The rift‐to‐drift transition at rifted margins is an area of active investigation due to an incomplete understanding of the spatial and temporal evolution of physical and chemical processes at the ocean‐continent transition (OCT). Deep structures that characterize modern OCTs are often difficult to identify by seismic observations, while terrestria...

The rift-to-drift transition at rifted margins is an area of active investigation due to unresolved issues of the ocean-continent transition (OCT). Deep structures that characterize modern OCTs are often difficult to identify by seismic observations, while terrestrial exposures are preserved in fragments separated by tectonic discontinuities. Numer...

Mountain belts are often the result of former inverted rifts or rifted margins. Up to date, relics of magma-poor rifted margins have been found in orogens allowing the investigation of how these margins reactivate and control the formation of mountain belts. In contrast, magma-rich rifted margins have barely been recognized within orogenic systems,...

The rift-to-drift transition at rifted margins is an area of active investigation due to unresolved issues of the ocean-continent transition (OCT). Deep structures that characterize modern OCTs are often difficult to identify by seismic observations, while terrestrial exposures are preserved in fragments separated by tectonic discontinuities. Numer...

The rift-to-drift transition at rifted margins is an area of active investigation due to unresolved issues of the ocean-continent transition (OCT). Deep structures that characterize modern OCTs are often difficult to identify by seismic observations, while terrestrial exposures are preserved in fragments separated by tectonic discontinuities. Numer...

The Pyrenees is a collisional orogen built by inversion of an immature rift system during convergence of the Iberian and European plates from Late Cretaceous to late Cenozoic. The full mountain belt consists of the pro-foreland southern Pyrenees and the retro-foreland northern Pyrenees, where the inverted lower Cretaceous rift system is mainly pres...

Rifted margin evolution is a relatively enigmatic phase of the plate tectonic cycle due to the difficulties of deep seismic experiments off-shore, few modern examples of continental rifting, and the inaccessibility of most rifted margins preserved in ophiolites. Combining numerical modeling with new datasets illuminates rifted margin evolution from...

The tectonic evolution of highly oblique continental margins that result from back-arc extension above lithospheric STEP faults is poorly understood. Here, we investigate the case of the Alboran margin in the eastern Betics characterized by crustal thinning of 15–10 km, oblique to the direction of slab retreat. The current deformation patterns indi...

We reassess the architecture and tectonic history of the Western Alps based on recent knowledge developed at rifted margins. First, we replace the main Alpine units of our study area into a synthetic rifted margin template based on diagnostic petrologic, stratigraphic, and structural criteria. We find that some units previously attributed to the in...

At distal magma-rich rifted margins, seismic reflections several seconds below the ~10 s TWT expected base of petrological crust for thermally equilibrated lithosphere, are commonly observed. These deep seismic reflectors are often interpreted as the petrological Moho as they distally rise and merge into the imaged oceanic Moho, however, the origin...

The Late Cretaceous Oman Mountains are generally assumed to result from obduction followed by the inversion of the mid-Permian-to Triassic Neotethyan rifted margin. However, the key rift-related crustal features, such as a necking zone or hyper-extended rift domains remain inferred and poorly described so far. In this study, we investigate the tect...

Preliminary results from the Ivory Coast Margin and numerical modeling of magma-poor margins.

This contribution reviews the challenges of imaging collisional orogens, focusing on the example of the Pyrenean domain. Indeed, important progresses have been accomplished regarding our understanding of the architecture of this mountain range over the last decades, thanks to the development of innovative passive imaging techniques, relying on a mo...

The tectono-stratigraphic evolution of rift systems is at present poorly understood, especially the one preceding the onset of oceanic seafloor spreading. Improving our understanding of the complex, polyphase tectonic evolution of the fossil Alpine Tethys, one of the best calibrated magma-poor rift systems worldwide, offers great potential for the...

The present-day tectonic setting of the Western Mediterranean region, from the Pyrénées to the Betics and from the Alps to the Atlas, results from a complex 3-D geodynamic evolution involving the interactions between the Africa, Eurasia and Iberia plates and asthenospheric mantle dynamics underneath. In this paper, we review the main tectonic event...

The aim of this paper is to provide a conceptual framework that integrates the role of inheritance in the study of rifts, rifted margins and collisional orogens based on the work done in the OROGEN project, which focuses on the Biscay-Pyrenean system. The Biscay-Pyrenean rift system resulted from a complex multistage rift evolution that developed o...

The architecture and nature of the continental lithosphere result from billions of years of tectonic and magmatic evolution. Continental deformation over broad regions form collisional orogens which evolution is controlled by the interactions between properties inherited from hits long-lasting evolution and plate kinematics. The analysis of present...

We present a 3-D shear wave velocity model of the Mauléon and Arzacq Basins from the surface down to 10 km depth, inverted from phase velocity maps at periods between 2 and 9 s. These phase velocity maps were obtained by analyzing coherent surface wave fronts extracted from ambient seismic noise recorded by the large-N Maupasacq seismic array with...

Whereas a straightforward link between crustal thinning and geothermal gradients during rifting is now well established, the thermal structure of sedimentary basins within hyperextended domains remains poorly documented. For this purpose, we investigate the spatial distribution of rift-related High- Temperature Low-Pressure (HT/LP) metamorphism rec...

Half grabens and supra-detachment basins correspond to end-member basin types of magma-poor rift settings, each of them showing a characteristic stratigraphic architecture. The occurrence of a basement-cover décollement has been shown to drastically change the stratigraphic architecture of half graben basins, however, the effect of such basement-co...

The long-term Pressure-Temperature-time-deformation (P-T-t-d) evolution of the internal zones of orogens results from complex interactions between the subducting lithosphere, the overriding plate and the intervening asthenosphere. 2-D numerical models successfully reproduce natural P-T-t-d paths, but most orogens are non-cylindrical and the situati...

The western European kinematic evolution results from the opening of the western Neotethys and the Atlantic oceans since the late Paleozoic and the Mesozoic. Geological evidence shows that the Iberian domain recorded the propagation of these two oceanic systems well and is therefore a key to significantly advancing our understanding of the regional...

Continental carbonate bodies are widespread in the Tabernas basin, eastern Betic Cordillera. Their relationships with the topographic evolution, climate changes and extensional regional tectonic processes recognized in the region are, however, still unclear. Travertine deposits exhibit facies of cascade and pool environments often reported as relat...

The West European kinematic evolution results from the opening of the West Neotethys and the Atlantic oceans since the late Paleozoic and the Mesozoic. Geological evidence shows that the Iberian domain well recorded the propagation of these two oceanic systems and is therefore a key to significantly advance our understanding of the regional plate r...

Abstract. The West European kinematic evolution results from the opening of the West Neotethys and the Atlantic oceans since the late Paleozoic and the Mesozoic. Geological evidence shows that the Iberian domain well preserved the propagation of these two rift systems and is therefore key to significantly advance our understanding of the regional p...

Successful exploration of ultra-deep offshore rifted margin settings is facing major challenges, as structural and sedimentary records of distal rifted margin, located outboard of crustal necking zones, cannot be understood by simple extrapolation of proximal rifted margin observations. The syn-rift record of distal margins differs in terms of acco...

The architecture of the Pyrenean‐Cantabrian belt results from the inversion of a series of former Cretaceous rift basins. A HT‐LP metamorphic event dated at 105 to 85 Ma ago is commonly associated with an Albo‐Cenomanian episode of hyperextension of the continental crust. This metamorphism is well known in the eastern Basque‐Cantabrian Basin within...

We investigate the thermal and structural evolution of asymmetric rifted margin using numerical modeling and geological observations derived from the Western Pyrenees. Our numerical model provides a self-consistent physical evolution of the top basement heat flow during asymmetric rifting. The model shows a pronounced thermal asymmetry that is caus...

During the Albian, the hyperextension of the Pyrenean passive margin led to a hyperthinning of the continental crust and the subsequent subcontinental mantle exhumation. The giant Trimouns talc-chlorite deposit represents the most prominent occurrence of Albian metasomatism in the Pyrenees, with the occurrence of the largest talc deposit worldwide....

It is commonly accepted that many orogens form by contractional reactivation of earlier continental rifts or rifted margins. Therefore, to better understand orogenesis, it is important to also understand how rift domains and their associated structures are incorporated into orogens. We investigate the role of rift structural inheritance during orog...

Mature magma-poor rifts and rifted margins are commonly understood as resulting from polyphase rifting. Avoiding semantic discussions, their evolution can be simplified as a possible succession of two maturation phases preceding seafloor spreading: an "early rifting phase" and a "hyper-extension rifting phase". Before stable seafloor spreading occu...

The partitioning of deformation through time and space and its tectono-sedimentary record in sedimentary basins represent key issues to understand rifting processes at hyper-extended rifted margin. One approach to address these questions consists in describing and restoring rift architectures from the fossil remnants preserved in mountain belts. Th...

Studies examining the margin evolution of the magma-poor Iberian-Newfoundland margins, defined the necking domain as the transition zone between hyperextended crust (i.e. <10 km) and the crust of normal thickness �30 km (e.g. Sutra et al. 2013). The necking domain corresponds to a tapered region where the interpreted seismic basement and Moho appea...

Many relics of passive margin are found in mountain belts sometimes together with pristine exhume mantle. The reasons why these structures are preserved from tectonic reworking and whether the piece of mantle that accompanies them is exhumed during extension or collision remains a question. Using thermo-mechanical modelling we find on the one hand...

The tectono-thermal evolution of rifted margins is currently challenged by observations derived from fossil hyperextended rift domains and from present-day settings showing previously unpredicted HT events. Linking the thermal and tectonic evolution of a rifted margin is assumed to be a numerical modelling challenge but requires additional geologic...

We exploit the data from five seismic transects deployed across the Pyrenees to characterize the deep architecture of this collisional orogen. We map the main seismic interfaces beneath each transect by depth migration of P-to-S converted phases. The migrated sections, combined with the results of recent tomographic studies and with maps of Bouguer...

A dense seismic network of about 450 three-component (3C) sensors recording continuously for 6 months, from March to October 2017, was deployed in the Mauleon basin which is located in the northern foothills of the western Pyrenees. Three different types of sensors were used: 191 SG-10 3C SERCEL nodes, 197 3C 5 Hz Seismotech short period stations,...

Exploration of Fold and Thrust Belts (FTB) petroleum systems is very often focused on the study of foreland basin formation. FTB basin evolution is assumed to be controlled by the propagation of thrusting and folding, foreland basin isostatic-flexure and the interaction of erosion and sedimentation. In many cases, basin modeling considers the pre-c...

Numerous studies have revealed the importance of rift-inheritance on the formation of orogens but little consideration was given to rift segmentation and the role of transfer zones on the architecture of mountain chains. Indeed, structural mapping of passive margins pointed out the occurrence of a strong variability in the rift architecture along t...

We use the Bay of Biscay and Western Pyrenees as a natural laboratory to develop and apply an approach to characterize and identify distinctive rifted margin domains in offshore and onshore settings. The Bay of Biscay and Western Pyrenees offer access to seismically imaged, drilled and exposed parts of one and the same hyperextended rift system. Of...

We summarize here observations from the South Atlantic Angola–Gabon rifted margin. Our study was based on the interpretation of a selection of deep penetration depth-migrated seismic reflection profiles. We describe here the large-scale dip architecture of the margin under five structural domains (proximal, necking, distal, outer and oceanic) and l...

An increasing number of field examples in mountain belts show that the formation of passive margins during extreme continent thinning may occur under conditions of high to very high thermal gradient beneath a thin cover of syn-rift sediments. Orogenic belts resulting from the tectonic inversion of distal margins and regions of exhumed continental m...

An increasing number of field examples in mountain belts show that the formation of passive margins during extreme continent thinning may occur under conditions of high to very high thermal gradient beneath a thin cover of syn-rift sediments. Orogenic belts resulting from the tectonic inversion of distal margins and regions of exhumed continental m...

Estimating shortening in collision belts is critical to reconstruct past plate motions. Balanced cross-section techniques are efficient in external domains, but lack resolution in the hinterland. The role and the original extent of the continental margins during the earliest stages of continental convergence are debated. Here, we combine existing a...

The SW Alps result from the inversion of the European continental margin during the oblique convergence between Europe and Adria since the Cretaceous. The orogenic deformation is controlled by two factors: the inherited sedimentary and structural record and the geodynamic interaction between the two plates. In this paper we present a stratigraphic...

We use the Bay of Biscay and Western Pyrenees as a natural laboratory to develop and apply an approach to characterize and identify distinctive rifted margin domains in offshore and onshore settings. The Bay of Biscay and Western Pyrenees offer access to seismically imaged, drilled and exposed parts of one and the same hyperextended rift system. Of...

thermal inheritance detrital thermochronology margin inversion inverse modeling Pyrenees The extent to which heat recorded in orogens reflects thermal conditions inherited from previous rift-related processes is still debated and poorly documented. As a case study, we examine the Mauléon basin in the north-western Pyrenees that experienced both ext...

In this paper, we present a sedimentary and structural analysis that together with maps, sections and new Ar/Ar data enable to describe the tectono-sedimentary evolution of the Maul,on hyper-extended rift basin exposed in the W-Pyrenees. Hyper-extension processes that ultimately resulted in exhuming mantle rocks are the result of the subsequent dev...

The Bay of Biscay and the Pyrenees correspond to a Lower Cretaceous rift system including both oceanic and hyperextended rift domains. The transition from preserved oceanic and rift domains in the West to their complete inversion in the East enables us to study the progressive reactivation of a hyperextended rift system. We use seismic interpretati...

Magma-poor rifted margins are being increasingly recognized in present day Atlantic-type systems. However, findings of fossil areas floored by exhumed mantle or hyper-extended crust are comparatively rare within orogenic belts that were originated through the inversion of pre-existing rifted margins. This discrepancy may be due to the common reacti...

The Late Permian to Late Jurassic paleogeographic evolution of the Alpine domain was strongly controlled by the formation of polyphase rift systems. If these rift systems are the result of a single, long lasting rifting event or if they are generated by two distinct rift pulses, is still a matter of debate. Recent studies seem to agree on the secon...