Activity 1
Lead: Hassene AFFOURI (Professeur)
This research area aims to characterize unconventional source rocks (oil and gas shales) in order to assess their hydrocarbon potential. The study addresses the depositional environment, mineralogical composition, organic matter richness, maturity level, and petrophysical properties of the shales. Particular attention is given to porosity, its connectivity, and the adsorption and desorption mechanisms of hydrocarbons, controlled notably by organic matter and clay minerals. These parameters are essential for identifying the most promising areas and optimizing exploitation strategies for unconventional hydrocarbon resources.
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Activity 2
Lead: Hassene AFFOURI (Professeur)
The geographic distribution of the Toarcian in Tunisia (southern Tethyan margin) is nearly homogeneous, except on the Saharan platform. During this period, only the low-lying areas were filled by outer-platform marl-limestone sedimentation, with the development of anoxic conditions mainly in the grabens, leading to the preservation of large amounts of organic matter (OM), while the horsts are covered by condensed facies and/or major discontinuities accompanied by stratigraphic gaps.
This research area aims to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic conditions of the Toarcian in Tunisia, a period marked by an oceanic anoxic event (OAE) associated with Tethyan rifting, intense volcanic activity, and global warming. These events promoted the accumulation of organic matter in marine basins and caused significant disturbances to the carbon cycle, biological extinctions, and a rise in sea level. The study relies on a multidisciplinary approach integrating sedimentology, organic and mineral geochemistry, isotopic stratigraphy, and micropaleontology. High-resolution analyses of sedimentary successions will help identify the climatic, environmental, and geochemical variations recorded during this key interval of Earth's history.
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Activity 3
Lead: Hassene AFFOURI (Professeur) & Mongi FELHI (Maître-assistant)
MVT-type Pb-Zn deposits form at low temperature in carbonate sedimentary environments through the action of saline fluids, often at basin margins. In Tunisia, these mineralizations, located notably in diapiric zones, occur in various forms associated with Cretaceous and Tertiary stratigraphic units rich in organic matter. The latter plays a key role in sulfate reduction processes and the precipitation of metallic sulfides, thereby influencing the formation of mineralizations and the diagenesis of the host rocks. The project aims to better understand the relationships between the evolution of organic matter and the genesis of Pb-Zn mineralizations, based on advanced geochemical and mineralogical characterization methods.
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Activity 4
Lead: Hassene AFFOURI (Professeur) & Mongi FELHI (Maître-assistant)
The transformation of organic matter (OM) is closely controlled by mineral diagenetic processes, particularly the interactions between organic and mineral phases. OM can both influence mineral reactions, such as the illitization of smectites, and be preserved through mechanisms such as early sulfurization or adsorption onto mineral surfaces, particularly clays. These organo-mineral associations, favored by a high specific surface area and often anoxic environments, play a key role in OM stability and the formation of source rocks. This activity aims to analyze the links between mineral diagenesis and OM preservation using advanced analytical techniques (pyrolysis, GC-MS, XRD).
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