Articles | Volume 17, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-17-35-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-17-35-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
09 Jan 2026
Research article |
| 09 Jan 2026
| 09 Jan 2026
Polyphase tectonic, thermal and burial history of the Vocontian basin revealed by U–Pb calcite dating
Louise Boschetti
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Géosciences Environnement Toulouse, Université de Toulouse Paul Sabatier, CNRS, IRD, 14 av. Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France
Malou Pelletier
Géosciences Environnement Toulouse, Université de Toulouse Paul Sabatier, CNRS, IRD, 14 av. Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France
Frédéric Mouthereau
Géosciences Environnement Toulouse, Université de Toulouse Paul Sabatier, CNRS, IRD, 14 av. Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France
Institut Universitaire de France, 75005 Paris, France
Stéphane Schwartz
ISTerre, Université Grenoble Alpes, USMB, CNRS, IRD, UGE, 38000 Grenoble, France
Yann Rolland
ISTerre, Université Grenoble Alpes, USMB, CNRS, IRD, UGE, 38000 Grenoble, France
EDYTEM, Université Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, UMR 5204, Le Bourget du Lac, France
Guilhem Hoareau
Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour, E2S UPPA, CNRS, LFCR, UMR5150, Pau, France
Thierry Dumont
ISTerre, Université Grenoble Alpes, USMB, CNRS, IRD, UGE, 38000 Grenoble, France
Dorian Bienveignant
ISTerre, Université Grenoble Alpes, USMB, CNRS, IRD, UGE, 38000 Grenoble, France
Abdeltif Lahfid
BRGM, B.P. 6009, 45060 Orléans CEDEX, France
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Geochronology, 7, 387–407, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-7-387-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-7-387-2025, 2025
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We present an approach to dating of carbonates using isotopic maps. The maps are divided into squares called virtual spots. For each virtual spot, statistical values (mean, uncertainty) are used to determine the age. The user can modify the size and location of the virtual spots and select those that give the most robust age. This approach, applied to high-spatial-resolution images, makes it possible for the first time to obtain satisfactory ages on maps as small as 100 µm x 100 µm.
Marine Larrey, Frédéric Mouthereau, Damien Do Couto, Emmanuel Masini, Anthony Jourdon, Sylvain Calassou, and Véronique Miegebielle
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Extension leading to the formation of ocean–continental transition can be highly oblique to the main direction of crustal thinning. Here we explore the case of a continental margin exposed in the Betics that developed in a back-arc setting perpendicular to the direction of the retreating Gibraltar subduction. We show that transtension is the main mode of crustal deformation that led to the development of metamorphic domes and extensional intramontane basins.
Carole Petit, Tristan Salles, Vincent Godard, Yann Rolland, and Laurence Audin
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We present new tools in the landscape evolution model Badlands to simulate 10Be production, erosion and transport. These tools are applied to a source-to-sink system in the SW French Alps, where the model is calibrated. We propose a model that fits river incision rates and 10Be concentrations in sediments, and we show that 10Be in deep marine sediments is a signal with multiple contributions that cannot be easily interpreted in terms of climate forcing.
Naïm Célini, Frédéric Mouthereau, Abdeltif Lahfid, Claude Gout, and Jean-Paul Callot
Solid Earth, 14, 1–16, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-1-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-1-2023, 2023
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We investigate the peak temperature of sedimentary rocks of the SW Alps (France), using Raman spectroscopy on carbonaceous material. This method provides an estimate of the peak temperature achieved by organic-rich rocks. To determine the timing and the tectonic context of the origin of these temperatures we use 1D thermal modelling. We find that the high temperatures up to 300 °C were achieved during precollisional extensional events, not during tectonic burial in the Western Alps.
Marianna Corre, Arnaud Agranier, Martine Lanson, Cécile Gautheron, Fabrice Brunet, and Stéphane Schwartz
Geochronology, 4, 665–681, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-4-665-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-4-665-2022, 2022
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This study is focused on the accurate measurement of U and Th by wet chemistry and laser ablation methods to improve (U–Th)/He dating of magnetite and spinel. The low U–Th content and the lack of specific U–Th standards significantly limit the accuracy of (U–Th)/He dating. Obtained U–Th results on natural and synthetic magnetite and aluminous spinel samples analyzed by wet chemistry methods and LA-ICP-MS sampling have important implications for the (U–Th)/He method and dates interpretation.
Olivier Lacombe, Nicolas E. Beaudoin, Guilhem Hoareau, Aurélie Labeur, Christophe Pecheyran, and Jean-Paul Callot
Solid Earth, 12, 2145–2157, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2145-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2145-2021, 2021
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This paper aims to illustrate how the timing and duration of contractional deformation associated with folding in orogenic forelands can be constrained by the dating of brittle mesostructures observed in folded strata. The study combines new and already published absolute ages of fractures to provide, for the first time, an educated discussion about the factors controlling the duration of the sequence of deformation encompassing layer-parallel shortening, fold growth, and late fold tightening.
Guilhem Hoareau, Fanny Claverie, Christophe Pecheyran, Christian Paroissin, Pierre-Alexandre Grignard, Geoffrey Motte, Olivier Chailan, and Jean-Pierre Girard
Geochronology, 3, 67–87, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-3-67-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-3-67-2021, 2021
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A new methodology for the micron-scale uranium–lead dating of carbonate minerals is proposed. It is based on the extraction of ages directly from pixel images (< 1 mm2) obtained by laser ablation coupled to a mass spectrometer. The ages are calculated with a robust linear regression through the pixel values. This methodology is compared to existing approaches.
Antonin Bilau, Yann Rolland, Stéphane Schwartz, Nicolas Godeau, Abel Guihou, Pierre Deschamps, Benjamin Brigaud, Aurélie Noret, Thierry Dumont, and Cécile Gautheron
Solid Earth, 12, 237–251, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-237-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-237-2021, 2021
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As a result of the collision between the European and Apulian plates, the Alps have experienced several evolutionary stages. The Penninic frontal thrust (PFT) (major thrust) was associated with compression, and now seismic studies show ongoing extensional activity. Calcite mineralization associated with shortening and extensional structures was sampled. The last deformation stages are dated by U–Pb on calcite at ~ 3.5 and ~ 2.5 Ma. Isotope analysis evidences deep crustal fluid mobilization.
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Short summary
We investigated the Vocontian Basin in the SE of France to understand its tectonic evolution at the intersection between the Alps and Pyrenees. By combining calcite U–Pb dating, burial modeling, and Raman thermometry, we identified three major deformation phases from the Late Cretaceous to the Miocene. Our results highlight how brittle deformation, fluid circulation, and thermal gradients record the interplay of multiple mountain-building and rifting events.
We investigated the Vocontian Basin in the SE of France to understand its tectonic evolution at...
