%0 Journal Article
%T Tectonic and Hydrothermal Activities in Debagh, Guelma Basin (Algeria)
%A Said Maouche
%A Abdeslam Abtout
%A Nacer-Eddine Merabet
%A Tahar A£¿fa
%A Atmane Lamali
%A Boualem Bouyahiaoui
%A Sofiane Bougchiche
%A Mohamed Ayache
%J Journal of Geological Research
%D 2013
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2013/409475
%X Quaternary and Pliocene travertines, deposited from hot springs, can reveal much about neotectonic and hydrothermal activity. The aim of this work is the understanding of the actual tectonic activity in the Guelma Basin and in one of its spa structures. Gravity data were collected during a field study in the Hammam Debagh (HD) area and then analyzed to better highlight the architecture of its subsurface underlying structures. This analysis was performed by means of a Bouguer anomaly, upward continuations, and residual and derivative maps. Comparison of gravity maps, field geology, geomorphic observations, and structural maps allowed us to identify the major structural features in the Hammam Debagh. As a result, we confirm the position of the Hammam Debagh active fault which is superimposed to the hydrothermal active source in the NW-SE direction characterized by a negative gravity anomaly. 1. Introduction Plio-Quaternary travertine deposits from hot springs can reveal much about the neotectonic history as demonstrated by many examples worldwide [1]. Several open cracks parallel to active normal faults were identified in deposits at Pamukkale, Turkey [2]. In New Guinea, travertine deposits are controlled by fracturing [3]. Numerous studies show how the deposition of travertine has ceased in relation to tectonic activity (i.e, Hula Valley, Israel [4]). Other examples of£¿£¿tectonic activity on a normal fault generating hydrothermal systems are known at Mammoth Hot Springs [5] in Slovakia [6]; Aveyron, France [7], and Shelsley, United Kingdom [8]. Tilting, warping, and faulting of the Algerian crust were followed by travertine formation [9]. Several hydrothermal systems and associated travertine deposits are identified in the Tellian Atlas (e.g., Hammam Debagh (HD) in the eastern part and Hammam Boughrara in the western part). Along the Tellian Atlas (Figure 1), most of the hydrothermal sources are located along active faults, activated or reactivated during major seismic events such as Bouchegouf and Hammam N¡¯ba£¿lis faults [10, 11]. Hammam Debagh (HD) hydrothermal source is located in the western part of the Guelma Basin and is one of the famous spas in northeastern Algeria [10, 12, 13]. The HD area is situated in the western limit of the Guelma Plio-Quaternary pull-apart basin created between two overlapping east-west dextral strike slip faults [10, 14]. This active hydrothermal source is responsible for several meters¡¯ thickness of travertine deposits. The presence of active hydrothermal source indicates the presence of fault not observed so far. This
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jgr/2013/409475/