Abstract
The Edough massif is the Easternmost crystalline massif of the Maghrebide belt. This area presents strong similarities with the internal zones of the Peri-Mediterranean Alpine belt but its evolution stillremains poorly constrained. Edough can be approximated as a metamorphic dome of gneisses and migmatites containing garnet amphibolite and metaperidotites of Sidi Mohamed in its core. In the North, the dome is overlain by a nappe stack constituted by a “melange” unit composed of various lithologies and, upward, by the Kef Lakhal massive amphibolites of oceanic origin. This work is focused on three units containing mafic and ultramafic lithologies i.e. the Sidi Mohamed peridotites, the “melange” unit and the Kef Lakhal amphibolites. The aim of this Ph.D. work is to characterize all three units, to determine their relationships and establish the timing of the main events identified. We chose a combined geochronological-geochemical approach using in situ analyses (major and trace elements, U-Pb geochronology and Hf isotopes on accessory minerals) and bulk analyses on whole rock/mineral fraction (major and trace elements, Ar-Ar geochronology and Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf isotopes). We show that the Sidi Mohamed mafic rocks display an affinity with the Alboran mantle. The mantle rocks from Sidi Mohamed display affinities with a subcontinental mantle influenced by subduction processes and late metamorphism at crustal levels. The melange unit is interpreted as a Permo-Carboniferous passive margin. The amphibolite lenses in the mélange unit originate from a mantle modified by subduction processes. This unit contains relics of Ultra-High Pressure rocks as evidenced by the occurrence of diamonds in a megacrystal of garnet showing oceanic affinities. These ultra-high pressure rocks document a prograde stage at ~32 Ma and exhumation to lower crustal levels at ~21 Ma. The Kef Lakhal unit displays oceanic crust-like signatures and characteristics of fluid induced signatures. We interpret the Kef Lakhal amphibolites as a shallow subducted Tethys fragment, which was exhumed at 21 Ma. We propose that the Edough massif represents the Permo-carboniferous passive margin of Africa basement onto which a fragment of the Tethys Ocean was thrusted. The whole massif was finally exhumed as a metamorphic core complex at 18 Ma and experienced fast cooling until ~16 Ma. We relate this fast processes to the interplay between trench and slab movements.