Evolution of the Sele River coastal
plain (southern Italy) during the Late
Quaternary by inland and offshore
stratigraphical analyses
Pietro P. C. Aucelli, Vincenzo Amato,
Francesca Budillon, Maria Rosaria
Senatore, Sabrina Amodio, Carmine
D’Amico, Simone Da Prato, et al.
Rendiconti Lincei
SCIENZE FISICHE E NATURALI
ISSN 2037-4631
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DOI 10.1007/s12210-012-0165-5
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DOI 10.1007/s12210-012-0165-5
LAND SEA INTERACTION IN CAMPANIA (ITALY)
Evolution of the Sele River coastal plain (southern Italy)
during the Late Quaternary by inland and offshore
stratigraphical analyses
Pietro P. C. Aucelli • Vincenzo Amato • Francesca Budillon • Maria Rosaria Senatore
Sabrina Amodio • Carmine D’Amico • Simone Da Prato • Luciana Ferraro •
Gerardo Pappone • Elda Russo Ermolli
•
Received: 19 November 2011 / Accepted: 11 January 2012
Springer-Verlag 2012
Abstract The late Quaternary evolution of the Sele River
coastal plain (Salerno Gulf, southern Italy) was investigated through integrated stratigraphical, chronological and
palaeoecological analyses. The main environmental changes were ascribed to glacio-eustatic variations leading to
rapid ingressions alternating with coastal progradations.
The marked marine ingression of MIS 5.5 is testified by
palaeoridges now cropping out 4 km inland at 11/13 m
a.s.l. (Gromola palaeoridge). The eustatic minimum of MIS
This paper is an outcome of the FISR project VECTOR (Vulnerability
of the Italian Coastal Area and Marine Ecosystem to Climate changes
and their role in the Mediterranean carbon cycles), subproject
VULCOST (VULnerability of COaSTal environments to climate
changes) on: ‘‘Land–sea interaction and costal changes in the Sele
River plain, Campania’’.
P. P. C. Aucelli S. Amodio G. Pappone
Dipartimento di Scienze per l’Ambiente, Università di Napoli
Parthenope, Centro direzionale, isola c4, 80143 Naples, Italy
e-mail: [email protected]
S. Amodio
e-mail: [email protected]
G. Pappone
e-mail: [email protected]
V. Amato (&) C. D’Amico
Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie per l’Ambiente e il
Territorio, Università del Molise, C.da Fonte Lappone,
86090 Pesche (IS), Italy
e-mail: [email protected]
C. D’Amico
e-mail: [email protected]
2 is testified by lower shoreface deposits in the offshore
core record and in the seismic profiles at 120/130 m below
sea level. This prolonged sea-level fall was interrupted by
at least three rapid sea-level rises, probably related to MIS
5.3, 5.1 and 3. The evidence of the first two sea level rises
are represented by shoreface deposits in the inland S1 core
(30 m thick, 3 m a.s.l., 1.5 km inland). The highstand of
MIS 3 was identified by seismic profiles as onlapping
marine deposits. The shore deposits at 100 m b.s.l were
tentatively attributed to the lowstand of MIS 4. After the
lowstand of MIS 2, the Sele Plain was newly flooded due to
the rapid Post Glacial sea-level rise. This ingression caused
the inland migration of a barrier-lagoon system and stopped at approximately 5.5 ky BP. From that moment the
shoreline started prograding up to the present position
probably due to the decrease in the sea-level rise rates and
L. Ferraro
e-mail: [email protected]
M. R. Senatore
Dipartimento di Scienze per la Biologia, la Geologia e
l’Ambiente, Università degli Studi del Sannio,
Via Dei Mulini 59A, 82100 Benevento, Italy
e-mail: [email protected]
S. Da Prato
Istituto di Geoscienze e Georisorse, CNR, Via Moruzzi 1,
56124 Pisa, Italy
e-mail: [email protected]
E. Russo Ermolli
Dipartimento ARBOPAVE, Università degli Studi ‘‘Federico II’’
di Napoli, Via Università 100, 80055 Portici, Italy
e-mail: [email protected]
F. Budillon L. Ferraro
Istituto per l’Ambiente Marino Costiero, CNR, Calata Porta di
Massa, 80133 Naples, Italy
e-mail: [email protected]
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to the volcaniclastic supplies from the Neapolitan volcanoes, especially from the AD 79 Vesuvius eruption, also
recorded in the subbottom chirp profiles.
Keywords Late Quaternary Sele Plain Sea-level
changes Facies analysis Seismostratigraphy Land–sea correlation
1 Introduction
Sea-level changes represent a significant factor in controlling the evolution of coastal environments over geological times. Reconstructing palaeo-sea levels has been
attracting increasing interest in the last years due to the
deep impact of global warming on people living along the
coasts (Lambeck et al. 2011; IPCC 2007; Rahmstorf
2007; Siddall et al. 2006; Pirazzoli 1996). For this reason,
relatively tectonically stable areas are the best places for
this kind of research. In these areas, biological and sedimentological markers of the Last Interglacial (Marine
Isotopic Stage 5.5, hereinafter MIS 5.5) and Holocene
(MIS 1) sea level highstand phases are clearly recognizable inland (Orrù et al. 2011; Coltorti et al. 2010;
Ferranti et al. 2006; Antonioli et al. 2004; Lambeck et al.
2004; Antonioli et al. 1999), while markers of the lowstand phases (MIS 2 and 4) can be recognized both offshore and inland at a considerable depth from the present
ground level (Spampinato et al. 2011; Caruso et al. 2011;
Wheatcroft and Drake 2003; Waelbroeck et al. 2002; Plint
and Nummedal 2000).
The Sele Plain/Salerno Gulf half-graben represents an
excellent area for integrated studies on the Quaternary
stratigraphic records. In fact the studies on the late Quaternary morpho-stratigraphy allowed the palaeobeach
deposits of the Last Interglacial period to be recognized at
ca. 4 km inland, ca. 11/13 m a.s.l. (Brancaccio et al. 1987;
Russo and Belluomini 1992), covered by dune sands of the
Gromola-S.Cecilia-Arenosola-Aversana
palaeoridges
(hereinafter GP). Moreover, the beach deposits of the
Holocene highstand are found at ca. 1.5 km inland, covered
by dune sands of the Laura palaeoridge (Brancaccio et al.
1988; ISPRA 2009; Amato et al. 2011). Other beach
deposits were recognized between 0.8 km inland and the
present shoreline, covered by dune sands of the Sterpina
palaeoridges (Brancaccio et al. 1988; ISPRA 2009; Amato
et al. 2011). The offshore sector of the Salerno Gulf shows
a wide continental shelf extending up to 15–25 km from
the present coast. Here shoreface deposits, recording the
eustatic minimum of the Last Glacial Maximum, were
found offshore in seismic and core data at ca. 8–10 km
from the present-day shoreline and at ca 110/120 m below
s.l. (Budillon et al. 1994).
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In order to reconstruct the variations of the coastal and
marine palaeoenvironments due to the palaeoclimatic
changes between MIS 5 and MIS 1, a land–sea integrated
stratigraphic study was carried out, combining information
from three seismic profiles interpreted on the base of two
gravity cores (C1213 and C101), with a 30-m deep core
(S1) drilled inland at 1.5 km from the present coast. Facies
analysis was applied to all cores, also supported by palaeoecological data, sequence-stratigraphic interpretation
and tephro-chronologic and 14C age constraints.
2 The inland and offshore geologic and geomorphologic
setting
The alluvial-coastal plain of the Sele River displays up to
2,400 m of post-orogenic sediment infill, accumulated in a
coastal half-graben, extending offshore in the deep Salerno
Gulf (ISPRA 2009 with references). This tectonic depression is bounded to N-NE by the horsts of the Lattari and
Picentini mountains and to the S-SE by the Cilento
mountains (Fig. 1). The submerged topography of the
Salerno Gulf displays an asymmetrical shape: a narrow
shelf domain develops down to 120–130 m around the
large submarine Salerno Valley, whereas a shelf 25 km
large and 180 m deep, surrounds the Cilento shore south of
the Sele River mouth, controlled by shallow rocky outcrops. This physiography largely reflects the structural
configuration, mainly controlled by the Capri Master Fault
to the north (CMF in Fig. 1) and the Sele line to the south.
The Sele Plain–Salerno Gulf half-graben was characterized by extensional tectonics since the Late Miocene–
Lower Pliocene (Brancaccio et al. 1987; Ortolani et al.
1979), along NW–SE and NE–SW faults. The collapse is
evidenced by the deposition of the so-called Conglomerati
di Eboli, a thick and widespread clastic unit (Early Pleistocene in age). The latter is in part deeply buried in the
external sector of the plain and in the offshore sector, and
in part is largely exposed inland, along the NW margin of
the plain (Fig. 1). At the beginning of Middle Pleistocene,
the geomorphology of the plain was re-shaped by normal
and transtensional faults (Fig. 1). Part of the area carrying
Early Pleistocene fanglomerates was uplifted, while a large
part of the Plain continued to subside, accommodating the
so-called Battipaglia-Persano Supersynthem (BP in Fig. 1;
ISPRA 2009). This unit, which is up to some hundred
meters thick, covers a large part of the most internal sector
of the plain forming wide depositional terraces lying at
16–18 m a.s.l., close to the modern coast, and at 100 m
a.s.l. or more close to the mountain foot. Thickness and
facies distribution of the supersynthem’s lower part suggest
that its deposition was accompanied by subsidence and by
NW-ward tilting (ISPRA 2009).
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Fig. 1 Simplified geological map of the Salerno Gulf–Sele Plain
area. 1) Pre-Quaternary bedrock; 2) Eboli Conglomerates (Early–
Middle Pleistocene); 3) marine, continental and transitional deposits
of the Battipaglia-Persano SuperSynthem (BP) (Middle–Late Pleistocene); 4) fluvial-marshy deposits (Late Pleistocene–Holocene); 5)
travertine deposits (Middle Pleistocene–Holocene); 6) Gromola-
S.Cecilia-Arenosola-Aversana sandy barriers (GP) (Late Pleistocene,
MIS 5); 7) Laura-Sterpina sandy barriers (LP) (Holocene); 8) Main
faults (CMF Capri Master Fault); 9) location of inland (S1) and
offshore (C101, C1213) cores; 10) seismic lines (GNS12, CSal 5,
CSal 2) location. PR Picentino River, TR Tusciano River, SR
Solofrone River
The subsidence sharply decreased when the transgression witnessed by the Gromola-S.Cecilia-Arenosola-Aversana palaeoridges (GP in Fig. 1) occurred (Last
Interglacial; MIS 5; Brancaccio et al. 1988; Russo and
Belluomini 1992).
This eustatic transgression first formed clayey-silty and
peaty transitional (lagoon to palustrine) deposits and then
sandy beaches. The back-barrier domains were filled up
with marshy and fluvio-palustrine sediments when the sealevel rise stopped and aeolian sands finally accumulated on
the coastal ridges. Remnants of the back-barrier terrace
related to these highstand phases are preserved in the
modern landscape at 11–14 m a.s.l., while the coeval
shoreface sediments occur up to 13 m a.s.l. and the dunes
up to 23 m a.s.l. This chrono-altimetrical data of the MIS 5
palaeo-sea level allowed the plain to be considered slightly
uplifting during the last 120–100 ky (Brancaccio et al.
1988; Barra et al. 1998, 1999; ISPRA 2009).
Near Paestum, in the SE sector of the plain and near
Pontecagnano in the NW sector, the MIS 5 transgression
was limited by the pre-existing prominent lobes of the
Travertini di Cafasso-Seliano (ISPRA 2009; Amato et al.
2009a) and of the Travertini di Faiano-Pontecagnano
(D’Argenio et al. 1983; Amato et al. 2009a, b), respectively
(Fig. 1).
During the Last Glacial regression the Sele Plain was
mainly subjected to floodplain conditions, when the fall of
the sea level caused a strong shoreline progradational phase
(Budillon et al. 1994). To the late part of the Post Glacial
transgression and to the following period of highstand is
finally due the deposition of the most external sector of the
plain. The early Holocene shows a clear transgressive trend
while the late Holocene has a progradational trend. The
transgression trend was pre-announced by lagoon deposits,
whose basal part was radiometrically dated to around
9,000 years BP (Barra et al. 1998, 1999; ISPRA 2009). The
peak of ingression occurred at about 5,300 years BP and
formed the innermost part of the Laura coastal ridge (up to
1.5 km from the present coastline; LP in Fig. 1). The
progradational trend added more advanced Laura ridges
(probably other three, dated from 5.3 to 3.6 ky BP) and the
Sterpina ridges (I and II, dated from 2.6 ky BP to about
2.0 ky BP; Brancaccio et al. 1986, 1988; Barra et al. 1998,
1999; ISPRA 2009).
The shelf sector hosts the seaward front of the Sele,
Tusciano (TR in Fig. 1), Picentino (PR in Fig. 1) and
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Solofrone-Capo di Fiume (SR in Fig. 1) rivers’ alluvial
deposits. Coastal and alluvial domains prograded 15 km
seawards starting from MIS 5, in step with the general
retreat of the sea level during the Last Glacial Maximum
(MIS 2). Successively the shelf underwent drowning,
following the Late Pleistocene–Holocene transgression
(Budillon et al. 1994; Buccheri et al. 2002; Iorio et al.
2009; Sacchi et al. 2009). Consequently, the stratigraphic
pattern of the Sele River plain consists of a thick Late
Pleistocene prograding wedge topped by a marked
erosional unconformity, which, in turn, underlies the
lithosomes that were formed between 18 and 5 ky. The late
Holocene depositional unit consists of a wedge whose
thickness decreases toward the shelf edge. The most
impressive late Holocene event was caused by the AD 79
Vesuvius eruption (Lirer et al. 1973; Buccheri et al. 1994;
Sacchi et al. 2005; Insinga et al. 2008), that settled a thick
pumiceous lapilli layer, which now provides a well recognizable stratigraphic marker within the shelf and the
upper slope sediments.
3 Materials and methods
3.1 Inland core
A new deep core (30 m thick) was drilled in the inner part
of the Laura palaeoridge (4027.3230 N, 1438.1710 E,
2.85 m a.s.l., S1 in Fig. 1), using a dry-continuous
mechanic coring that allowed a 10 cm diameter core to be
extracted. The core was preserved in six coring-box, now
kept at IAMC-CNR Naples warehouses. Here, the core was
analyzed to define color, texture, grains size, shape and
composition, fossil content, sedimentary and diagenetic
structures. All these features were taken into account to
define lithofacies and their association, according to the
Unconformity Boundary Stratigraphic Unit method
(UBSU, after Salvador 1994). The most significant layers
were sampled for laboratory analyses, such as palaeoecology (mollusk, ostracoda and benthic foraminifera
assemblages) palynology and 14C AMS datings, in order to
interpret at the best, the lithofacies organizations and their
chronology, and finally, the original depositional environments (Fig. 2).
3.2 Mollusks
Qualitative and quantitative malacological analyses were
carried out on 58 samples of the S1 core. Shells of each
sample were identified and counted. Taxonomy of the
species follows both the World Register of Marine Species
(WoRMS) database for marine and brackish taxa (accessed
at http://www.marinespecies.org on 2011-06-27) and the
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Fig. 2 Sedimentological log of the inland core S1. Columns show c
from the left to the right: (a) selected samples used for 14C datings and
palaeoecological analyses (mollusks, benthic foraminifera, ostracods,
pollens); (b) grain size log; (c) lithofacies, as indicated in Table 1,
where their detailed descriptions are shown; (d) vertical distribution
of the main mollusk, ostracod and benthic foraminifera assemblages;
(e) depositional environments, also suggested by vertical evolution of
lithofacies; (f) systems-tract interpretation as suggested by retrogradational and progradational facies trends (SB sequence boundary,
MFS maximum flooding surface); (g) marine isotope stages (MIS)
interpretation. See details in the text of the inland data
Italian Ministry of Environment’s Checklist of the Italian
Fauna (accessed at http://www.faunaitalia.it/checklist/ on
2011-06-27) for non-marine taxa. Ecology of marine and
brackish species was defined after Pérès and Picard (1964)
and Pérès (1982); while for non-marine species we follow
Kerney (1999). A malacological diagram (Fig. 3) based on
numerical data was essayed; the diagram deals with the
number of shells related to species recovered from each
sample. As the different samples recorded a great variability in the total number of shells, ranging from more
than 1,400 to less than 5, percentages of species are not
considered for the construction of the diagram, that allows
to recognize several mollusk zones (related to different
environments), in accordance with the major faunal changes through the sequence.
3.3 Benthic foraminifera
The foraminiferal analysis was carried out on a total of 20
samples collected at approximately 100 cm intervals of the
S1 core (Fig. 2). Almost 300 g of sediment was wet-sieved
through 125 lm, dried at 60C and then weighed. In the
present study data from [125 lm size fraction were analyzed. When abundant, the sediments were split by a
microsplitter in small portions for counting foraminifera.
Species determination was mainly based on studies concerning the Mediterranean benthic fauna (Sgarrella and
Moncharmont Zei 1993; Fiorini and Vaiani 2001). For the
genus Ammonia, we referred to Carboni and Di Bella
(1996). Because of the general scarcity of foraminifera,
only qualitative analysis was performed on benthic species.
3.4 Ostracods
Thirty-seven samples were prepared for ostracod analysis
of the S1 core (Fig. 2). Samples were disaggregated in
warm water (95C) adding hydrogen peroxide, washed
through a 63-lm sieve, and finally dried at 110C. In order
to facilitate palaeoecologic interpretation, semi-quantitative analyses were performed, including both juvenile and
adult specimens. Ostracod frequencies were calculated for
200 g of dried sediment. The analysis of the population
structure of each species was performed in order to
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Fig. 3 Malacological diagram from the inland core S1. Crosses represent single shells
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separate autochthonous from displaced species (Gliozzi
2000). The autoecological data of each species and their
interpretation were performed following different authors
(e.g. Colalongo 1969; Athersuch et al. 1989; Montenegro
and Pugliese 1995; Gliozzi and Mazzini 1998; Meisch
2000).
3.5 Pollen
Only four samples were collected for pollen analysis of the
S1 core, due to unsuitable lithology (Figs. 2, 4). For each
sample, 10 g of sediment were treated with HCl and HF for
mineral dissolution. Physical enrichment procedures, such
as ZnCl2 separation and ultrasound sieving, were realized
in order to concentrate the pollen grains in the residue. The
most peaty samples were boiled in KOH 10% before being
processed. Quantitative pollen analysis was only possible
on three core samples, since the sample at -12.20 m was
barren. Ca. 300 pollen grains were counted in each sample
and 42 taxa were identified. The main sum used for the
calculation of arboreal (AP) and nonarboreal pollen (NAP)
percentages excluded marsh and water plants (including
Typha and Potamogeton), spores, algae and indeterminate
grains.
3.6 Offshore cores
The gravity core C1213 was collected in 2003 at a depth of
152 m (4026.1330 N, 1445.9500 E) (Fig. 1) and about
4.7 m of marine sediment were retrieved. The core was cut
in 1 m-long sections and split in two halves in order to
allow visual description and sediment physical measurements at IAMC-CNR laboratories.
The gravity core C101 was collected in 1984 at a depth
of 87 m (4033.0670 N; 1447.1660 E) (Fig. 1) and entered
the marine sediment within the shelf down to 4.30 m bsf.
3.7 Seismic data
The subbottom profiles were acquired in 2002 using a
Chirp Cap II profiler on board of the R/V Urania, during
the acquisition of data for a geologic cartographic project
by IAMC-CNR (Fig. 1). Chirp seismic system in based on
a frequency-modulated source (FM), pinging within the
2–7 kHz band. The single channel Uniboom profiles were
shot by a EG&G mod. 230 (PSU230) Power Supply, each
150 ms at 300 J, on board of R/V Bannock during a cruise
carried out by the Earth Science Department of Naples
University in 1984.
The conversion of two-way travel time to real depth was
obtained assuming an average velocity of about
1,550 m s-1 below the sea floor (Carlson et al. 1986). The
vessel positioning was achieved by a 12-channel DGPS, a
Fig. 4 Pollen diagram from core S1. Taxa percentages are plotted
against depth
motion sensor and a gyrocompass in order to perform a
real-time correction during the 2002 survey while a Loran
C positioning was used during the acquisition of Uniboom
profiles in 1984. Subbottom profiles investigated the shelf
record by about 60 ms two-way travel time, c. 50 m
beneath the sea floor. Maximum vertical resolution does
not exceed 30–40 cm. The Uniboom signal penetrated the
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first 80 ms two-way travel time, c. 60 m bsf, and achieved
a vertical resolution of about 70 cm.
Seismic lines were interpreted considering reflection
geometries, relative lateral terminations among reflectors
and seismic facies analysis, according to standard seismostratigraphic, echo facies interpretation (Damuth 1980;
Vail 1987) and sequence-stratigraphic criteria on continental margins (Posamentier and Allen 1999; Plint and
Nummedal 2000).
•
3.8 Radiometric datings
An age-depth model of the S1 drilled succession was built
thanks to radiometric dating of three biological sea-level
markers: Cerithium vulgatum, Cerastoderma glaucum and
Donax trunculus. The shells were analyzed at the CIRCEDSA-SUN laboratory (Center for Isotopic Research on
Cultural and Environmental heritage, Environmental Science Department, Second University of Naples). 14C ages
were calibrated using the Calibration data set, intcal09.14c
of Reimer et al. (2009).
The age model of the C101 core is based on AMS 14C
dating performed at CIRCE-DSA-SUN Laboratory on
mixed planktonic foraminifera shells from four collected
samples. Radiocarbon ages were converted into calendar
ages through intracal09.14c (Reimer et al. 2009). The fall
deposits of the 79 AD Vesuvius eruption were considered
as chronological reference.
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4 Results
4.1 The S1 core
4.1.1 Mollusks
A total of 101 mollusk taxa were recovered, including 33
bivalves, 66 gastropods and 2 scaphopods. All the identified species were previously reported for modern nonmarine, marine and lagoonal settings of the Mediterranean
area. Figure 3 provides a malacological diagram divided in
the following mollusk zones.
•
Zone S1A (from -29.7/-29.8 to -28.8/-29 m; from
-25.3/-25.5 to -24.6/-24.8 m): polytypic marine
assemblages consisting mainly of Antalis dentalis,
Chamelea gallina, Corbula gibba, Donax semistriatus,
Tellina nitida, Timoclea ovata, Bittium sp., Pyramidelloidea spp. and Turritella communis. Shell fragments
are abundant and often rounded. Taxa of the unstable
mud biocoenosis (MI; infralittoral and circalittoral) of
Pérès and Picard (1964) dominate; infralittoral elements
of the upper clean-sand (SFS; bathymetry: 0–2.5 m),
of the fine, well-sorted sand (SFBC; bathymetry:
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2.5–25 m) and of the Posidonia meadows biocoenoses
(HP; bathymetry: 0.5–40 m) are also present.
Zone S1B (from -28.5/-28.65 to -25.8/-26 m; from
-24.1/-24.3 to -23.25/-23.4 m; from -22.1/-22.3
to -20.1/-20.3 m): mixed polytypic marine and
oligotypic brackish assemblages. Besides the interval
from -22.1/-22.3 to -20.1/-20.3 m, both marine
shells and their fragments, altered and dissolved, are
frequent. Species of the marine assemblages are the
same of the zone S1A. Generally low diversity and low
abundance characterize the brackish assemblages;
shells are well preserved. Bittium reticulatum, an
euryhaline component of HP biocoenosis, also spreading over brackish environments, and Hydrobia sp.,
typical of the lagoonal eurythermal and euryhaline
biocoenosis (LEE), prevail. Abra segmentum (LEE),
Parvicardium exiguum (LEE) and Rissoidae spp. (HP)
are present as associated elements.
Zone S1C (sample -22.6/-22.8 m): abundant fragments and reworked marine shells. Species of the MI
biocoenosis (A. dentalis, C. gibba, T. communis)
prevail; other species such as Glycymeris sp. (SFBC),
Nuculana pella, T. ovata and Ringicula sp. are rare and
represented only by fragments.
Zone S1D (from -19.6/-19.8 to -18.6/-18.8 m): rare
fragments and broken specimens (Cardiidae indet.,
B. reticulatum, Rissoidae indet.).
Zone S1E (from -18.1/-18.3 to -15.1/-15.3; sample
-12.1/-12.3 m): rich oligotypic brackish assemblages
dominated by B. reticulatum (HP) and Hydrobia sp.
(LEE). Also represented are A. segmentum (LEE),
Cerastoderma glaucum (LEE), Loripes lacteus (LEE),
P. exiguum (LEE), and some taxa requiring higher
salinity conditions, such as Cerithium vulgatum, Pyramidelloidea spp., Pusillina spp. (HP) and Rissoa spp.
(HP). Specimens of freshwater gastropods (Acroloxus
lacustris, Bithynia tentaculata, Gyraulus spp., Lymnaea
(Radix) peregra, Physa (Physella) acuta and Valvata
piscinalis), typical of environments with still or slowmoving waters, and a fair number of marine infralittoral
species locally occur.
Zone S1F (from -14.7/-14.9 to -12.6/-12.8 m):
mixed marine and oligotypic brackish assemblages.
Marine elements are reworked (e.g. C. vulgatum,
C. gallina, C. gibba, Donax spp., Glycymeris sp.);
and shells of the brackish assemblages (A. segmentum,
B. reticulatum, C. glaucum, Hydrobia sp., Pusillina
spp.) are both preserved and reworked. Rare Cochlicella conoidea, a terrestrial species typical of dune
environments, and V. piscinalis, a freshwater gastropod,
also occur. Shell oxidation may be locally observed.
Zone S1G (sample -11.55/-11.70 m): mixed mollusk
assemblage with marine and brackish species.
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B. reticulatum (HP) prevails, and is followed by
C. gallina (SFS and SFBC), Caecum sp., Lucinella
divaricata (SRPV = upper muddy sands in sheltered
areas biocoenosis; bathymetry: 0–1 m), Hydrobia sp.
(LEE), D. semistriatus (SFS) and C. vulgatum. Shell
fragments are abundant; individuals of some species are
strongly reworked (B. reticulatum, C. vulgatum); others
are in a good state of preservation (Caecum sp.,
C. gallina, Hydrobia sp., L. divaricata). Rare Gyraulus
sp. and Succinea sp. testify some freshwater input.
Zone S1H (from -11.1/-11.3 to -10.6/-10.8 m):
fragments and specimens of marine species (B. reticulatum, C. glaucum, C. gallina, Donax spp., L. divaricata), are generally poor represented and reworked.
Zone S1I (from -10.1/-10.3 to -4.1/-4.3 m): marine
infralittoral assemblages dominated by infaunal and
filter feeders bivalves. Shell fragments are common;
specimens are not abundant. C. gallina (SFS and
SFBC), D. semistriatus (SFS), Glycymeris sp. (SFBC)
and L. divaricata (SRPV) prevail. Rare individuals and
fragments of non-marine species (Ancylus fluviatilis,
V. piscinalis and Hygromiidae indet.) locally occur.
Zone S1L (from -3.6/-3.8 to -3.1/-3.3 m): few and
rounded marine shell fragments, and one specimen of
L. divaricata (SRPV).
Zone S1M (from -2.6/-2.8 to -1.6/-1.8 m): rare
marine and terrestrial shell fragments.
Zone S1N (sample -1.10/-1.30 m): few shell fragments of terrestrial gastropods and one specimen of
C. conoidea.
4.1.2 Benthic foraminifera
From the bottom to the top of the core two associations
have been individuated (Fig. 2)
•
Association A1: (from -29.90/-30.00 to -21.40/
-21.50 m): the benthic association is characterized
by the prevalence of Ammonia beccarii (Linn.) and
subordinately by the species A. tepida (Linn.), Elphidium crispum (Linn.), E. macellum (Fichtel and Moll),
Peneroplis pertusus (Forskål) and Quinqueloculina spp.
All taxa are present with low percentages except in
sample -28.70/-28.80 m in which A. beccarii and
A. parkinsoniana are more abundant. A. beccarii, is
present in all samples and it is indicative of a shallowmarine environment characterized by sandy bottoms
(Sgarrella and Moncharmont Zei 1993). Jorissen (1988)
found that this species is very abundant in the Adriatic
Sea along a belt parallel to the Italian coast at a water
depth of less than 20 m, where the highest abundance is
found between 15 and 20 m in the samples with
intermediate percentages of organic matter. The species
•
is totally absent in the area in front of the main Po
outlets. E. crispum, E. macellum and P. pertusus are
shallow-marine species that are commonly found as
epiphytic (Blanc-Vernet 1969; Langer 1993) and do not
tolerate high concentrations of organic matter. The
assemblage found in this interval suggests an area not
directly influenced by the river run-off and mainly
characterized by coarse substrate.
Association A2: (from -17.35/-17.50 to -11.35/
-11.50 m): taxa are dominated by very few specimens
of the genus Ammonia. While the sample at -16.35/
-16.50 m is characterized by the highest values of
A. tepida (Cushman) and E. granosum (d’Orbigny).
E. granosum is considered by Jorissen (1988) as
inhabitant of a near-shore zone (7.5–25 m water depth),
with coarse substrata poor in organic matter; it is also
reported from lagoon and shallow-marine settings
(Zampi and D’Onofrio 1987; Albani and Serandrei
Barbero 1990; Bellotti et al. 1994). A. tepida is common
in shallow-marine environments, lagoons and deltas
(Almogi-Labin et al. 1992; Favry et al. 1998; Abu-Zied
et al. 2007); it can also be indicative of moderately
restricted conditions (Debenay et al. 2005). A. tepida
(referred to as A. parkinsoniana forma tepida by Jorissen
1988) has a very close relation to run-off systems and has a
strong correlation with high percentages of organic matter.
All taxa present in this interval are common in shallowmarine environments subjected to fluvial influence.
4.1.3 Ostracoda
Basing on ostracod assemblages, the S1 core may be
divided from the bottom to the top in seven intervals
(Fig. 2). In the first interval the ostracods are abundant both
in species diversity and in number of specimens with an
association typical of shallow-marine environments. The
third interval is characterized by an oligotypic association,
indicative of brackish water, with a very low number of
specimens per sample. The ostracod assemblage of the fifth
interval is characterized by a relatively high species
diversity and abundant valves, typical of oligo to mesohaline shallow-water environments (lagoon). The changes in
the ostracod associations are due to salinity variations. On
the contrary, the following interval is characterized by
relatively low species diversity and low number of specimens; these taxa are typical of shallow-marine environments. The other intervals are barren.
4.1.4 Pollen
Pollen analysis results are presented in a detailed pollen
diagram (Fig. 4) where all the recognized taxa show their
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percentage values plotted against depth. The arboreal taxa
percentage (AP/Tot curve in Fig. 4) oscillates between 80
and 90% giving the image of a very dense forested landscape (intra alias Heim 1970) in which the main arboreal
elements were deciduous Quercus, Alnus, Carpinus and
Corylus. These trees do not show important variations
along the diagram, they probably represent the main elements of a forest association established on humid soils.
Vegetation associations dominated by Alnus, Corylus,
Carpinus and Ulmus now characterize high humidity
environments linked to microclimatic conditions, well
represented all over Italy (Pedrotti and Gafta 1996). These
elements are also commonly present in alluvial environments of temperate regions in central Europe (Polunin and
Walters 1987) where they form plain-wood strips, by now
relicts in Italy and almost disappeared from southern Italy,
a part from the hygrophilous woods of Mount Circeo
(Stanisci et al. 1998).
It is very interesting from a phytogeographic and bioclimatic point of view the constant presence of Vitis sp.
The species vinifera, as its wild representative, are now
associated with the above-mentioned arboreal elements in
thermophilous humid forests from central to southern Italy
(Pignatti 1982) even if the wild representative is in constant
regression all over Europe (Arnold et al. 1998).
Small amounts of Abies, Fagus and Betula are the
only representatives of the mountain vegetation belt.
Mediterranean elements are mainly represented by
Quercus ilex and by minor percentages of Olea, Phillyrea
and Pistacia.
Poaceae are the main representatives of the herbaceous
elements; their percentages are always below 10%. The
constant presence of Cyperaceae, water plants and spores
indicates the persistence of humid environments around the
site. In sample -17.20 the presence of a dinoflagellate cyst
suggests the possible connection to sea water.
A very similar vegetation association, dominated by a
deciduous forest on humid soils with Vitis as brushwood
element, characterized the Holocene climatic optimum
(8,354–8,524 cal yr BP) in the Vendicio plain, near Formia, about 100 km north of Naples (Aiello et al. 2008).
Here, the dated level was sampled at a core depth corresponding to ca. 16 m below the present sea level. In the S1
core the levels sampled for pollen analysis correspond to
ca. 13–14 m b.s.l. and thus their stratigraphical position is
consistent with an early–middle Holocene age.
4.1.5 Facies analysis
On the whole, 23 lithofacies, organized in 8 lithofacies
associations, were identified and their detailed descriptions
are summarized in Table 1. The vertical stratigraphic
evolution of the S1 core (Fig. 2) is here briefly described.
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The lowermost interval (-30.00/-28.30 m) is characterized by bioclastic sands where marine fossil fauna are
rich and diversified, indicating a high-energy shallowmarine environment, corresponding to the infralittoral zone
(S2 and S3 lithofacies).
From -28.30 to -25.80 m depth, coarse to fine muddy
sands with bioclasts, locally intercalated to gravels, occur
(SB1 and SB2 lithofacies); marine fauna is dominant, but
associated with brackish species indicating, on the whole, a
shallow-marine environment with freshwater input.
After a thin interval made of very altered and oxidized
reddish-brown silty sands showing diagenetic structures
related to an emersion phase (CP2 lithofacies, ephemeral
coastal plain), the shallow-marine conditions are re-established as shown by coarse sands and gravels with typical
shallow-marine fauna (S2 and S4 lithofacies), which in turn
pass upward to sands and gravels with marine and subordinately brackish fauna (SB lithofacies association, up to
-23.10 m depth). Then, a second interval (0.15 m thick)
characterized by the CP1 lithofacies, testifies to a new
emersion surface.
From -23.00 to -21.00 m depth, medium sands to gravels
with rounded and discoidal pebbles and cobbles are documented; a dominant brackish fauna or barren sediments occur
(M lithofacies association, mouth bar of estuarine/delta). The
upper interval up to about -15.30 m depth is dominated by
muddy sediments with organic matter and brackish fossil
fauna, living in still waters with soft bottoms (L1 and L2
lithofacies, open to sheltered lagoon environment).
The following interval (from -15.30 to -11.75 m),
limited by two erosional surfaces, is characterized by
gravels passing gradually to muds; here brackish fauna is
associated to freshwater (characeans) and terrestrial (gastropods) species. On these bases, the sediments could be
interpreted as a flooded tidal delta or as a washover fan
formed on the landward margin of a barrier island (WF
lithofacies association). After open marine conditions came
back by a coarse reworked horizon with polygenic grains
(mollusks and travertine fragments, S6 and S5 lithofacies,
from -11.75 to -10.40 m depth), followed by a thick
interval (from -10.40 to -3.90 m) with abundant coarse to
medium sands locally intercalated with silty horizons (S
lithofacies association, upper shoreface environment).
Here, the marine species are more frequent than the
brackish ones but, on the whole, the fossil fauna is less rich
and diversified than in the lower part of S1 core.
From -3.90 to -1.60 m depth, planar and cross-laminated silty sands, locally oxidized, with rare fragments of
marine bivalves, together with terrestrial gastropods, indicate a foreshore/backshore deposit (FB1 and FB2 lithofacies), followed by fossilized and pedogenized beach dune
ridge deposits and recent aeolian sands of coastal plain
(D and CP lithofacies associations, from -1.60 to 0 m).
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Table 1 S1 land core: lithofacies, lithofacies association and their environmental interpretation
Lithof.
assoc.
CP
D
FB
S
Lithofacies
Environ. interpretation
CP1
Reddish-brown medium-fine and coarse silty sands with abundant altered shell fragments.
Note the strong oxidation of sediments
Coastal plain
CP2
Paleosol: brownish sandy mud with organic matter and plant material
CP3
Volcaniclastic deposits formed by greenish altered cinerite with rare whitish-grey pumice. The
thickness is about 5 cm
D1
Dark-brown medium-fine silty sands with rounded and subrounded lithic fragments topped by
roots and humified material
D2
Greyish muddy medium sands with pedoconcretions and burrows filled by dark muddy sandy
matrix. Rare Cochlicella conoidea and fragments of indeterminate terrestrial mollusks are
present
FB1
Whitish-grey medium-fine silty sands and rare muddy levels; rounded and discoidal lithic and
calcareous granules locally occur; planar and cross laminations are present. Fragments of
indeterminate terrestrial mollusks and rare fragments of marine bivalves have been
recognized
FB2
Gravelly coarse-medium sands with rounded and discoidal lithic and biogenic (bivalves)
fragments
S1
Planar laminated centimeter levels of alternating grey sandy silts, muds and medium-fine
sands. Detrital mineral grains are recognized: quartz, mica and others. Shallow-marine fossil
associations are poor and oligotypic with rare gastropods, benthic foraminifera (rare
Ammonia) and ostracods (rare Aurila, Loxoconcha, Argilloecia sp.). This lithofacies only
occurs in the holocenic interval
S2
Grey medium-fine silty sands with abundant bioclasts (mollusks, anellids, echinoids, corals);
nodules of organic matter locally occur. Sometimes planar laminations are recognized.
Mollusks fauna (Antalis dentalis, Turritella communis, subordinated Chamelea gallina,
Corbula gibba, Donax semistriatus, Bittium sp. etc.), also as rounded bioclasts, indicate
marine environment with high-energy. Ostracofauna is rich and diversified: Cytheretta
subradiosa, Carinocythereis antiquata, Semicytherura incongruens, Cytheridea neapolitana,
Pontocythere turbida, with rare Hiltermannicythere turbida, Cytheretta adriatica, Costa spp.
Benthic foraminifera association is dominated by Ammonia beccarii, subordinately Ammonia
tepida, Elphidium crispum, Elphidium macellum, Peneroplis pertusus and Quinqueloculina
spp. are present. All fossil associations are poor and oligothipic in the holocenic interval
S3
Dark-grey gravelly muddy sands (medium-coarse sand grains) with abundant bioclasts
(mollusks, anellids, echinoids, bryozoans and rare corals); granules and pebbles are
subrounded and discoidal. Organic matter and altered volcanic material locally occur. Fossil
associations are the same as that in the S2 lithofacies, but some brackish mollusks (Bittium
reticulatum and Hydrobia sp.) are associated. On the whole, fossil fauna are scarce and less
diversified in the holocenic interval
S4
Coarse sands and gravels with scarce silty matrix. Clasts are represented by granules, pebbles
and cobbles (max. 3 cm in size). Mollusk association is represented by Chamelea gallina,
Donax semistriatus, Glycymeris sp. and Bittium sp. with rare form of Hydrobia sp. Benthic
foraminifera are rare or absent; the genera Ammonia is dominant. Ostracod association is
poor and oligotypic (rare Aurila, Loxoconcha, Argilloecia sp.).
S5
Coarse-medium reworked sands and polygenic gravels with abundant whole and fragmented
mollusks (Chamelea gallina, Donax semistriatus, very abundant Bittium sp.), rare ?travertine
fragments; very rare Ammonia occur; ostracod association is poor and oligotypic (rare Aurila,
Loxoconcha, Argilloecia sp.). This lithofacies is only documented in the holocenic interval
S6
Coarse reworked sands and polygenic gravels with abundant whole and fragmented mollusks
(Chamelea gallina, Donax semistriatus, Lucinella divaricata, Bittium sp., Caecum sp., and
Hydrobia sp.), echinoid spines. Some characeans (oogons) are locally documented.
Ostracods association is composed of Cyprideis torosa and Loxoconcha elliptica, also with
Candona neglecta, C. angolata, Aurila woodwardi, Prionocypris zenkeri and Xestoleberis sp.
Very rare Ammonia occur. This lithofacies is only documented in the holocenic interval
Beach dune ridge
Foreshore/backshore
Upper shoreface
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Table 1 continued
Lithof.
assoc.
SB
WF
Lithofacies
Environ. interpretation
SB1
Whitish-grey coarse to fine muddy sands with bioclasts and organic matter. More altered
volcanoclastic material also occurs. Mollusk associations are marine (Antalis dentalis,
Turritella communis, Chamelea gallina, Lentidium mediterraneum, Bittium sp.) and brackish
(Cerastoderma glaucum, Hydrobia sp. Abra segmentum); the marine shells are more altered
and dissolved while the brackish ones are well preserved. Ostracods and benthic foraminifera
associations are the same as that in the S2 lithofacies
Upper shoreface/brackish
SB2
Whitish-grey coarse-medium sands and gravels with scarce silty sand matrix; bioclasts are
common. Also here the marine mollusk shells are partly altered and dissolved. More altered
volcanoclastic material occurs. Fossil associations are the same as that in the SB1 lithofacies
WF1
Dark-grey medium-fine muddy sands with volcanoclastic material and oligotyphic brackish
(Abra segmentum, Cerastoderma glaucum, Bittium reticulatum and Hydrobia sp.) and
reworked marine molluscks. Some oogones of characeans occur. Ostracod associations are
dominated by Cyprideis torosa and Loxoconcha elliptica associated with Candona neglecta,
C. angolata, Aurila woodwardi, Prionocypris zenkeri e Xestoleberis sp. Rare or totally absent
Ammonia.
WF2
Grey medium-coarse muddy sands with pebbles; integral and fragmented reworked shells of
marine and brackish mollusks (Bittium sp. Pusillina lineolata, and Hydrobia sp.) occur. Few
oogons of characeans and rare terrestrial gastropods (Cochlicella conoidea) are present;
oxidation locally occur. Ostracod and benthic foraminifera associations are the same as that
in the WF1 lithofacies
Grey muddy gravels with subrounded and discoidal polygenic pebbles and abundant
fragmented shells of brackish (Abra segmentum, Cerastoderma glaucum, Bittium sp.
Pusillina lineolata and Hydrobia sp.) and subordinately reworked marine mollusks. Few
oogons of characeans occur. Ostracod and benthic foraminifera associations are the same of
the WF1 lithofacies
WF3
L
M
L1
Dark-grey laminated mud with rare polygenic coarse sands; abundant brackish (Bittium
reticulatum and Hydrobia sp.) and subordinate freshwater (Armiger crista, Bitynia
tentaculata, Valvata piscinalis) mollusks, living in still waters with soft bottom, are
documented. An oxidated and altered greenish pumice horizon (10 cm thick) occur. Ostracod
fauna is dominated by Cyprideis torosa and Loxoconcha elliptica and associated with
Candona neglecta, C. angolata, Aurila woodwardi, Prionocypris zenkeri and Xestoleberis sp.
Benthic foraminifera association is characterized by Ammonia tepida, Elphidium granosum
and deformed Ammonia tepida. Pollen analysis shows deciduous main arboreal elements
(Quercus, Alnus, Carpinus, Corilus) representing a near forest association on humid soils;
herbaceous elements are Poaceae (\10%), Cyperaceae, water plant, spores, rare
dinoflagellate cysts, indicating humid environment connected to sea water
L2
Dark-grey silty clay with abundant coarse to fine sand intercalations; mollusks are not
abundant or rare (Bittium sp., Hydrobia sp. Cardiidae indeter., Rissoa sp.), sometimes
oxidated. Ostracod fauna is the same as that in the L1 lithofacies. Rare Ammonia or totally
absence of benthic foraminifera occur
M1
Greenish grey medium-fine silty sands alternated with rounded and discoidal gravels or sandy
silts. Mollusks association is dominated by brackish forms (Bittium reticulatum, Hydrobia
sp., Abra segmentum, Cerastoderma glaucum, Loripes lacteus, Pusillina lineolata, Rissoa
spp.); the ostracods are Cyprideis torosa and Loxoconcha elliptica, subordinately Aurila
woodwardi. Very rare Ammonia beccarii
M2
Muddy sandy gravels, locally oxidated, and medium-coarse sands with abundant reworked and
dissolved marine shells. Fossil associations are the same as that in the M1 lithofacies
M3
Dark-grey muddy gravels with subrounded and rounded pebbles and cobbles (until to 8 cm in
size), locally rich in organic matter. Fossil associations are the same as that in the M1
lithofacies
4.1.6 Chronology
The C1 sample (Donax trunculus, 9.70 m from the top,
-6.85 m below s.l.) gave a 14C age of 4,582 ± 50 years
BP for the S4 lithofacies (calibration: 95% r2 at
123
?Flood tidal delta or
washover fan in brackish
lagoon
Brackish lagoon
?Mouth bar of estuary/delta
5,346 ± 33 years BP). The C2 sample (Cerastoderma
glaucum, 17.20 m, 14.35 m below s.l.) gave a 14C age of
10.073 ± 49 years BP for the L1 lithofacies (calibration:
95% r2 at 11,660 ± 218 years BP), while the 14C age of
the C3 sample (Cerithium vulgatum, 18.20, 15.35 m below
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s.l.) was 9,568 ± 39 years BP for the L2 lithofacies (calibration: 95% r2 at 10,968 ± 180 years BP).
The ages obtained from the C2 and C3 samples are not
in agreement with the stratigraphy. The bias could be due
to reworking of this part of the core during the drilling, to
reworking of the dated mollusk shells into the sediments
or to a dating error. Nevertheless, these chronologic-data
allowed the lagoon environments (L1 and L2 lithofacies)
to be referred to as the beginning of the Holocene, while
the transition to the upper shoreface was established about
5,300 years ago. In this way, if there are no dating errors,
it is possible to constraint the upper part of the S1 succession (from L1 and L2 lithofacies to the top) into the
Holocene.
4.1.7 Environmental model and sequence stratigraphy
According to the above integrated approach based mostly
on sedimentological and palaeoecological data, it has been
essayed the reconstruction of the palaeoenvironmental
evolution of the southern sector of the Sele Plain during the
Late Pleistocene–Holocene interval. To this purpose we
have taken into account also the literature of the last
10 years (cfr. Barra et al. 1999; ISPRA 2009). The environmental model, that we propose, corresponds to a coastal
plain with a fluvial mouth passing to the open sea through a
lagoon-barrier island system, sometimes crossed by washover fans and/or channels.
In addition, the detailed sedimentological and stratigraphic analyses allowed us to individuate the retrogradational and progradational coastal systems by applying the
sequence stratigraphy approach to the S1 core (Fig. 2),
even though radiometric datings are not available for the
lower part of the core. We propose that the base of the S1
reaches the Late Pleistocene Highstand (MIS 5), where the
more open marine lithofacies occur. In this interval, about
7 m thick, two main sequences were individuated, with the
lower not complete downwards. The following estuarine/
delta deposits (about 3 m thick) correspond to a lowstand
system, formed during the prolonged sea-level fall (MIS4–
MIS2 interval) that reached -120 m during the Last Glacial Maximum, c. 20 ky BP (Siddall et al. 2006; Lambeck
et al. 2011; Waelbroeck et al. 2002; Caruso et al. 2011).
This is a very condensed interval characterized at the base
by erosion, meteoric diagenesis and reworking of coastal
sediments. The subsequent Holocene marine transgression
is testified by lagoon deposits (transgressive system), followed by a very short progradation phase associated to
flood tidal delta/washover fan sediments (highstand system); the latter are topped by a new sequence boundary
corresponding to an erosional surface. In the upper 12 m, a
fourth sequence was individuated corresponding to a beach
dune prograding system, still active at present. On the
whole, the third and fourth sequences clearly record the
Holocene sea-level rise (MIS1).
4.2 The offshore data
4.2.1 The C101 and C1213 cores
The C1213 core (Fig. 5) entered a marine succession
whose textures and biological assemblage give indication
of a progressively shallowing upward environment in the
lower 170 cm (A) and of an increasingly deep environment
in the uppermost 320 cm (C). Between them a 15 cm thick,
well-sorted, fine sand deposit with shell fragments (B) is
included, being underlain by a sharp irregular surface.
The A unit is composed of two fining upward horizons:
the lower one (sub-unit A1) includes at the base a poorly
sorted, mud-sustained deposit with bryozoans, sponges and
mollusk shells; the upper one (sub-unit A2) shows at the
base a mud-sustained, poorly sorted bed made by rhodolitbearing pebbles, bryozoans and mollusk shells.
The C unit consists, from the base to the top, of a 60-cmthick, mud-sustained, poorly sorted heterometric bioclastic
sand, whose grains are fining upwards, and of a homogeneous marine mud which holds two volcaniclastic deposits:
the deepest one (sub-unit C1) is a 15-cm-thick, dark-grey
ash deposit dispersed within an olive-grey muddy matrix,
slightly bioturbated and bounded by blunt surfaces; the
shallowest (sub-unit C2) is 45 cm thick and is made up of
coarse white and grey pumiceous lapilli, above a sharp and
regular surface; these distinctive lithofacies match well
with analogous tephra found in several cores in the Salerno
Gulf and respectively correlated to the AD 79 Vesuvius
Plinian eruption and to the 2.7–3.3 ky BP Somma-Vesuvius activity (AP eruptions; Insinga et al. 2008).
The B unit displays textures and bioclastic content
typical of a lower shoreface deposit; therefore, it registers
the shallowest marine environment within the core sediment record. Based on its stratigraphic position and lithologic features it can be related to the LGM lowstand, i.e. to
the stage of maximum retreat of the shoreline. On the basis
of lithofacies analysis and stratigraphic markers it is possible to infer to the base of the core a relative age as old as
MIS 3, since it passes through the lower shoreface deposit
(B) relative to the maximum glacial lowstand condition
(MIS 2) and reaches a former deposit that stands for a midshelf environment (A2) and inner-shelf environment (A1).
The C101 core (Fig. 5) entered a marine succession
mostly consisting of fine siliciclastic deposits. The basal
unit (A) is constituted of mud deposits that include several
thin layers of well-sorted silt and lenses of fragmented
shells (mainly mollusks and echinoids). A 17-cm-thick
volcaniclastic deposit (sub-unit A1) occurs between 281 and
302 cm, composed of normally graded, fine to very fine
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Fig. 5 Sedimentological logs of the offshore cores C1213 and C101.
Graphic columns illustrate the lithological characteristics of the two
cores divided in units on the base of grain sizes, textures, organogenic
components and sedimentary structures (see key legend). The three
columns on the right represent: the depositional environment, as
derived by vertical evolution of lithostratigraphic characteristics; the
systems tract as deduced by the seismic data interpretation (FSST
falling stage systems tract, LST lowstand systems tract, TST
transgressive systems tract, MFS maximum flooding surface, HST
highstand systems tract) and the marine isotope stages (MIS)
interpretation. The three blue lines evidence the correlated intervals
between the two cores. Location of C1213 and C101 cores is also
shown in the upper right (stratigraphy of C1213 from ISPRA, 2009
modified). See the text for further information
black ash which well correlates to the analogous deposit
(sub-unit C1) occurring in C1213 core, on the base of its
lithologic features and stratigraphic position. According to
Iorio et al. (2004), Insinga et al. (2008) and Sacchi et al.
(2009), these tephra, settled in the Salerno Gulf shelf owe
its origin to the 2.7–3.3 BP Somma-Vesuvius activity
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(AP eruptions). Nevertheless, the occurrence of parallel
lamination toward the top deposit, the concentration of shell
fragments and the dubious age dating at 4.4 ky cal BP at
293 cm bsf (Table 2), let us to infer that this volcaniclastic
deposit underwent reworking processes in this sector of the
shelf.
The upper unit (B) starts from 195 to 164 cm bsf with
the tephra layer (sub-unit B1) correlated to the AD 79
Vesuvius eruption composed of angular and sub-angular
white to grey pumice lapilli laying on a basal erosive
contact. This unit is overlain by a normally graded and
reworked deposit consisting of pumice lapilli and ash, mud
supported, with fragmented organism shells up to 149 cm
bsf, thus evidencing synsedimentary reworking processes
(Buccheri et al. 2002; Sacchi et al. 2005) soon after the AD
79 eruption. Between 149 cm and the core top, the unit B is
mainly composed of mud deposits with some thin wellsorted silty layers and widespread presence of shells,
mainly mollusks, sometimes fragmented.
According to the recognized lithofacies, the depositional
conditions have changed at the core site from a mid to an
outer shelf environment characterized by fine-grained
sedimentation with current influxes able to selected the silt
sediment and to break and drag the organism shells. On the
basis of the 14C datings (Table 2) the sediment-core is
representative of the whole Holocene marine sedimentation, since about 11.2 ky cal BP.
surrounding shelf margin. From the seafloor downwards,
they are as follows:
•
•
•
•
4.2.2 Seismic data
The very high resolution (VHR) seismic acoustic profile
CSal 5 was shot off the Sele River mouth, up to 40 m of
depth, 2.9 km off the shoreline; the CSal 2 VHR profile
was shot off in between the Tusciano and Picentino river
mouths, up to 20 m of depth, 1.9 km from the coastline.
The GNS12 uniboom profile was run off the Capo di
Fiume-Solofrone streams at a depth of 20 m, 3.6 km
distant from the Paestum coast (Figs. 1, 6).
The seismic lines go far off the present-day sand bars
that lie within 10 m below s.l. (ISPRA 2009). Some evident stratigraphic horizons can be traced beneath the seafloor, across the plain margins and bear a meaningful
stratigraphic reference over the Salerno Gulf and the
Table 2
•
a shallow unit beneath the seabed, 8–10 m thick, with
typical discontinuous reflectors possibly due to fluid
escape and plastic deformation features or sediment
undulations (Urgeles et al. 2011). Between 40 and 70 m
below s.l., in the central and northern sector of the Bay.
The unit is bounded at the base by a regular and
conformable marine reflector that lies halfway between
the AD 79 Vesuvius tephra and the present-day seabed,
thus not older than about 1 ky (ISPRA 2009);
the conformable, isochronous, marine reflector related
to the Vesuvius AD 79 Plinian eruption, traceable from
about 22 m of depth, far beyond the shelf break and
largely reported in recent literature on the offshore;
the diachronic unconformity (LPu) associated to the
increasing land exposure, following the sea-level retreat
since MIS 5.1; it truncates the top of the Late
Pleistocene prograding units, and marks a progressively
longer hiatus landwards. It matches locally with the
ravinement surface, that records the landward shift of
the wave base erosion during the following phase of
sea-level rise. In this case the paralic lithosomes are
missing (Cattaneo and Steel 2003);
a set of gentle-dipping prograding lithosomes with
sigmoidal reflections above the LPu (4 in the CSal 2; at
least 1 in the CSal 5, Fig. 6), stacking in a retrogressive
arrangement towards the most recent one. The four
prograding set off the TP coast lie 70, 45, 30 and 23 m
deep b.s.l and are, respectively, 6.8, 4.3, 3.1 and 2.5 km
far from the present-day shoreline;
a laterally continuous prograding unit (Fig. 6), truncated at the top by the LPu, and mostly consisting of a
Late Pleistocene Falling Stage Systems Tract (FSST) in
the mid-shelf and of a lowstand prograding wedge
(LST), seaward (Plint and Nummedal 2000).
The Uniboom profile shows three prograding units
alternating with onlapping units below the LPu (Fig. 7).
This stratigraphic pattern was formerly interpreted as
due to a forced regression of the coastal units driven by the
Late Pleistocene, fourth order sea-level drop following
the Tyrrhenian highstand stage (Budillon et al. 1994).
14
C dating results of the analyzed samples in C101 core
Sample depth (cm)
Lab. DSA
Radiocarbon age
(years BP)
Calibrated
age (1 r)
Calibrated age
BP (years BP)
d13C (%)
C101 (-45)
-811
860 ± 31
1158–1219 AD
792–631
4±1
C101 (-293)
-802
3,911 ± 38
2469–2396 BC
4,419–4,346
0±1
C101 (-358)
-804
5,520 ± 45
4445–4420 BC
6,395–6,370
1±1
Mixed planktonic foraminifera shells were used as material to be dated
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Fig. 6 Line drawings of the subbottom chirp seismic profiles CSal5
(above) and CSal2 (below). For location see Fig. 1. The units were
identified on the base of the internal reflectors’ terminations and on
their stacking patterns and represents the stratigraphic architecture of
the shelf record from MIS 5 to the present-day (see text for details)
The peak of the retreat accounts for the growth of a shelfmargin and a mid-shelf littoral body. The latter is shore
parallel and was at least 100 km long, during the last
maximum lowstand phase (LST) (Budillon et al. 2011). At
present, the external front of the two lowermost prograding
wedges lie at a depth of 85 and 110 m, respectively. They
are 700 and 1,200 m wide, as far as may be seen in the
profiles, and both attain a vertical thickness of about 30 m.
The inner portion of the oldest wedge is masked by the
acoustic shadowing due to the overlying, gas rich, sediments and presumably extends further towards the coast.
123
5 Discussion
The inland and offshore stratigraphic investigations in the
Sele Plain–Salerno Gulf area were aimed at identifying the
coastal prisms within the shelf and the alluvial-coastal
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Fig. 7 Line drawing of the Uniboom profile at 300 J. For location see Fig. 1, and text for details. Modified from Budillon et al. (1994)
plain as well as at detailing their shifts through time and
space, in steps with the relative sea-level changes of the
Late Pleistocene–Holocene (Fig. 8). We base this discussion on both literature data (Budillon et al. 1994; ISPRA
2009; Amato et al. 2011; Amato et al. 2012) as well as on
the identification, offshore and inland, of the transgressive
and regressive phases of the Holocene shorelines. Moreover, well dated tephra layers and 14C ages, allowed us to
identify the main lowstand and highstand phases of the
palaeo-sea levels. In particular, the inland data show that,
before the sedimentation of the Holocene prism, a condensed succession (see Fig. 2), including erosive features
linked to a large hiatus developed. This hiatus is here
referred to the eustatic minimum (MIS 2) of the LGM, and,
probably, to MIS 3 and 4. Moreover, a highstand phase was
probably driven by the eustatic maximum of the Last
Interglacial (MIS 5).
The offshore data (seismic lines and cores) show,
beneath the Post Glacial sediment wedge, three coastal
prisms linked to relative lowstand phases interposed to two
short relative rising sea-level phases, testified by onlapping
set of reflectors above the coastal deposits.
Therefore, based on absolute depth of the toplap surfaces, the three lowstand phases were tentatively referred to
MIS 5.4, MIS 4 and MIS 2, while the two short relative
highstand phases to the MIS 5.3 or 5.1 and to the MIS 3. In
addition, the inland data (cores and outcrops) allowed the
Last Interglacial sea-level rise to be detailed: in fact, the
remnants of the MIS 5.5 beach deposits of the GP can be
referred to the bottom of the S1 core at ca. 29 m depth
(26 m below s.l.; S2 lithofacies). So, during the Last
Interglacial, while in the GP areas developed beach
deposits, the bottom of the S1 core show marine lithofacies. Moreover, two further short lowstand phases are
recognizable in the lower part of the S1 core. They could
be tentatively related with the MIS 5.4 and MIS 5.2 low
palaeo-sea levels. In fact, the CP1 lithofacies, recognized at
-23 and -20 m a.s.l, testify to two short emersion periods
that could be referred to such marine stages. In the time
span corresponding to MIS 4, MIS 3, and MIS 2, the inland
data recorded a very condensed succession. Mouths of
estuarine/delta environment, marked by several erosonial
surfaces and by oxided horizons. According to Lambeck
and Chappel (2001) and Pirazzoli (1996), during this period the shoreline was progressively shifted seawards,
reaching the present 120/130 m b.s.l. during the Last
Glacial Maximum of MIS 2.
In the offshore, at the transition between the LGM and
the Post Glacial period the sets of gentle-dipping sigmoidal
reflections, in backstepping above the LPu (Fig. 6), testify
phases of delta front progradation that occurred despite the
rapid sea-level rise (18–6 ka; Lambeck and Chappel 2001).
Indeed, the stacking pattern of reflectors and the reciprocal
stratigraphic position let them to be referred to as the
Transgressive System Tract. The offlap break of each
reflector within the prograding set gives an indication of
the wave-cut terrace depth associated with the toplap termination (and thus coastal sediment bypass) and may be
indicative of a 10–20 m higher sea level. This assumption
is mostly qualitative and derives from the local wave
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Fig. 8 Interpretative geological section across the cores, based on seismic profiles and showing the land–sea correlation of the lithofacies and their chronology. The red dashed line shows the
sea-level trends from MIS 5 to the present. In particular, the land–sea stratigraphical correlation allowed the identification of the MIS 5.5, MIS 5.3 and MIS 5.1 highstands as well as the MIS 4,
MIS 3 and MIS 2 lowstands, the Holocene highstand that originated migrating landward barrier-lagoon systems and finally the Holocene progradational trend that generated migrating seaward
barrier-lagoon systems. Note that during the Holocene it is possible to identify a first phase of landward migration of the transitional (beach and barrier-lagoon) systems during early-middle
Holocene, followed by a seaward migration of the above systems during the late Holocene. The dashed green line represents the correlation of the 79 AD tephra through the cores
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123
climate (assumed that it has been constant through time)
over a ky-based temporal scale, which may deepen the
theoretical depth of closure (Immenhauser 2009) to an
effective one, as deep as k/2 (k being the wave length
period during exceptional storm condition).
Along the Salerno Gulf coast the theoretical depth of
closure in fair-weather conditions does not exceed 8–10 m
(Budillon et al. 2006; Ferrante et al. 2011). It is believed that
normal regression may even occur during transgressive
stages if fluvial sediment supply overcomes the coastal
accommodation space (e.g., Cattaneo and Steel 2003) in a
time span of rapidly changing morphoclimatic conditions
(Einsele 1996). Nevertheless, delta front off the Tusciano
River mouth is surprisingly thicker than the prograding delta
front relative to MIS 2 off the Sele river mouth. This evidence may be accounted for by the observation that during
the Glacial Maximum peak the Sele River flowed directly
along the slope. Indeed, a net of channel features is still
preserved on the seabed slope, possibly due to fluvial bedload yield, as gravity and inertia flows from the former river
mouth. As a consequence, a deep detached fan-delta grew up
at the slope foot of the Salerno Valley (Fig. 9) and only a thin
delta front formed south of the river mouth, where a large,
smoothly deepening shelf was present at that time, acting as
base level for the delta front foreset progradation.
This marked seaward delta front could have favored the
formation of the barrier-lagoon system. In fact, the Holocene landward prograding of the latter could have started as
spit bars attached to the delta fronts, to evolve subsequently
as coastal bars, before being fixed by dune vegetation, just
when the rate of sea-level rise decreased.
During these regressive trends and in the early Holocene
sea-level rise, a high amount of organic matter accumulated as a result of the seaward and landward migrations of
the barrier-lagoon system. The consequent free methane
gas in the sediments masks the acoustic signal along vertical confines, even at low pore pressure concentration
(Garcı́a-Gil et al. 2011) and fluid-escape features within
shallow shelf marine unit (Trincardi et al. 2004) are often
linked to the external front of the biogenic shallow-gascharged sediment, as recorded in seismic lines (CSal5 in
Figs. 6, 7). Therefore, gas-bearing sediments may be
associated to estuarine and lagoonal depositional environment, tracing the boundary of high organic content in the
muddy facies.
As to the Holocene, the inland data allow a better correlation and the identification of the transition from the low
to highstand, the Maximum Flooding (MF) surfaces, or MF
zones, and the progradational phase. The chronology of the
transition is established by 14C ages that fix the transgression at the beginning of the Holocene, the MF at ca. 5,5 ky
BP, while, starting from this moment, the Sele Plain prograded until it reached the present shoreline.
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Fig. 9 Salerno Gulf–Sele Plain palaeogeographical sketches from
MIS 5.5 to the present-day, showing the supposed shoreline position
and some palaeoenvironmental interpretations, derived by inland and
offshore stratigraphical data. 1) lagoon deposits, 2) sandy beach
deposits, 3) MIS 5 beach and dune deposits, 4) travertine deposits, 5)
pro-delta deposits, 6) black dashed lines indicate presumed palaeochannels of the Sele and Tusciano rivers, created during the sea-level
falls, 7) cores cited in the text
The normal regression trend of the shoreline was more
accentuated during historical times (last 2,500 years)
because it was supported by the emplacement of the distal
fall deposits related to Neapolitan volcanoes eruptions,
mainly the AD 79 event, and by the increasing maninduced impact on vegetation and on alluvial-coastal
sectors.
Data correlation allows some palaeogeographical and
palaeoenvironmental aspects to be detailed for the Holocene transgression and progradation phases. In particular,
at the beginning of the Holocene, the transgression was fast
and favored the landward migration of the barrier-lagoon
system, up to the maximum ingression that occurred at ca.
5,5 ky BP and reached the position of the Laura palaeoridges. Then, the barrier-lagoon system migrated mainly
seaward. The presence of lagoons during the early Holocene is confirmed by pollen data from the Sele Plain as well
as from very similar vegetation associations characterizing
the Holocene climatic optimum of other Tyrrhenian alluvial-coastal plains (Aiello et al. 2008). A different age of
the passage from a retrogradational to aprogradational
trend can be inferred for the sector of the plain between the
Tusciano and Picentino rivers, on the base of the CSal2
seismic profile. Here, the backstepping of the shore persisted until approximately 3.0 ky BP, probably due to the
different vertical tectonic behaviour of the plain, during
Holocene times. In fact,according to Pappone et al. (2012)
and Vilardo et al. (2009), the dx sector of the Sele plain
is undergoing subsidence, while the sx sector should be
tectonically stable or slightly uplifting.
6 Final remarks
To summarize the above data presentation and interpretation we have assembled in Fig. 9 the main late Quaternary
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paleogeographical features of the Sele plain/Salerno valley,
tentatively, reconstructed through the correlation of inland
and offshore data.
Starting from MIS 5.5, when the shoreline had reached
the GP, at ca 4 km inland with a palaeo-sea level of
11/13 m above s.l., the shoreline strongly prograded, until
reaching 120/130 m below s.l. (Lambeck and Chappel
2001) during the eustatic minimum of MIS 2. This longtime lasting of sea level fall was interrupted by three short
rise periods which could be tentatively referred to MIS 5.3,
5.1 and MIS 3. In fact, if the palaeo-shorelines of MIS 5.3
and 5.1 can be located some km seawards from the S1 core,
as suggested by seismic data, two sea-level falls were
recognized in the lower part of the S1 core, at ca 20 m
below s.l. (CP lithofacies layers). These layers, testifying a
short emersion, could have formed during the MIS 5
lowstand phases, as supposed by seismic offshore data, that
show shore deposits at ca. 80 m below s.l. As to the
Holocene, the palaeo-shorelines of the maximum transgressive phase can be located ca. 1.5 km inland, in proximity of the Laura palaeoridge, when the barrier-lagoon
system was at its maximum retrogradation stage, approximatively at 5.5 ky BP. Then, the shoreline prograded and
the barrier-lagoon system migrated seaward, reaching the
present position. The Sterpina dune system can be related
to this moment when the stasis of the progradation allowed
the formation of the pre 2.5 ky Sterpina I ridge and then the
sin AD 79 Sterpina II ridge (Amato et al. 2012; Alberico
et al. 2011).
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