Apport de la modélisation géophysique pour la compréhension de la structuration du pas de Calais

This study is based on an analysis of seismic, gravimetric and magnetic data to model the structure of the Dover Straits area. The Dover Straits are set in a transitional position within the Brabant para-autochthon, which lies between the Ardennes allochthon to the south and the Brabant Massif to the north. The seismic profiles show that this area is characterised by several superimposed Mesozoic basins, whose evolution has been controlled by the reactivation of Lower Palaeozoic faults. In common with the adjacent Weald–Wessex and southern North Sea basins, the Dover Straits area records a Jurassic extensional phase and a post-Cretaceous tectonic inversion. The geophysical modelling reveals the presence of a basement to these Mesozoic basins that exhibits Ordovician to Silurian structures, which cannot be detected on the seismic reflection profiles. In contrast to earlier interpretations, the modelling presented here suggests that the Brabant Massif continues southward beyond the Dover Straits and under the Brabant para-autochthon. Gravity data also provides evidence for the presence of granitic body at depth, in the vicinity of Km 27 on the seismic profile, which may have driven the uplift of the Silurian rocks in the area of the Straits. Similar granitic intrusions have been proposed to explain gravity anomalies along the Rhenohercynian Margin in Belgium, eastern and southern England. The geophysical modelling demonstrates the continuity of the basement and Mesozoic basin structures across the Dover Straits, suggesting a common geological evolution of the adjacent southern England–northern France regions. To cite this article: B. Minguely et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).