Elda Russo Ermolli

Late Quaternary buried lagoons in the northern Campania plain(southern Italy): evolution of a coastal system under the influence of volcano-tectonics and eustatism

The Campania Plain is a wide coastal plain characterized by a huge quaternary sedimentary record more than two thousand meters thick. In order to analyze the most superficial portion of the infilling succession an 80 m-long core was drilled in the northern sector of the plain. The upper part of the core is entirely made up of an ignimbrite formation (Campania Ignimbrite, 39 ka), lying unconformably above marine sediments alternating with volcanic products. Macro- and micro-paleontological analysis together with tephrostratigraphy and 39Ar/40Ar dating allowed the paleoenvironmental evolution of the studied area to be reconstructed. The paleogeography during OIS 7 and 5 was characterized by the presence of lagoon systems. These are now located 28 km inland from the present coastline and buried at –40 and –18 m with respect to the present sea level, as a consequence of tectonic subsidence. Two major periods of volcanic activity were recorded in the core prior to Campania Ignimbrite emplacement, confirming the existence of important phases of volcanic activity in the plain during the end of the Middle Pleistocene. The SME multiproxy record represents the first continuous record of volcanic products emplaced in the last 200 ka north of the Campania volcanic sources

Using Tephrochronology and palynology to date the MIS 13 lacustrine sediments of the Mercure basin (Southern Apennines – Italy)

The paper deals with the chronostratigraphy of the lacustrine infilling of the Mercure basin, an intramontane depression of the Southern Apennines, located along the Calabria-Lucania boundary.A preliminary tephrochronologic investigation and pollen analyses were carried out on the infilling succession exposed along V-shaped tributary valleys of the Mercure river. Lithological and chemical features of the thickest and best preserved tephra layer were fully characterised, and single crystal 40Ar/39Ar dating was performed yielding an age of 514±16 ka. Pollen analyses revealed the occurrence of warm and humid interglacial conditions that were correlated to MIS 13 on the basis of the age determination. The chemical compositions of glasses indicate that the Sabatinian volcanic field is the most probable source of the investigated tephra layer. Although chemical features support a correlation with the Tufo Giallo della Via Tiberina multiphase eruption that occurred between 561 and 548 ka, the integration of tephrochronology and pollen analysis points to a younger age, falling within MIS 13. We propose a correlation with one of the four explosive events that occurred in the Latial district from 514 to 449 ka. The Mercure tephra layer, owing to its age and great distance from the presumed source, represents a valid correlating tool for MIS 13 in central-southern Italy.

New morphostratigraphic and chronological constraints for the Quaternary paleosurfaces of the Molise Apennine (southern Italy)

New morphostratigraphic and chronological constraints for the Quaternary paleosurfaces of the Molise Apennine (southern Italy) The Molise Apennines feature numerous relicts of paleosurfaces, mostly of erosional origin, which represent the remnants of gently-rolling ancient landscapes now hanging at different altitudes above the local base-levels of erosion. Their genesis can be related to prolonged periods of relative tectonic stability alternating with periods of uplift, or to the interplay between steady tectonic uplift and climatic fluctuations. Four orders of paleosurfaces were recognized: I (> 1,100 m a.s.l.), II (900-1,000 m a.s.l.), III (750-850 m a.s.l.), IV (600-720 m a.s.l.). The most ancient orders (I and II) are cut into the bedrock and are located at the top of the Matese and Montagnola di Frosolone massifs. The youngest paleosurfaces (III—IV), partially cut into Quaternary deposits, are found along the valley flanks of the main river systems and within the Boiano, Carpino, Isernia and Sessano intramontane basins. The present study deals with the dating of the Sessano Basin Paleosurface (SBP) which is related to the IV order and is cut into the basin infill. The 40Ar/39Ar age of a tephra layer (437 ± 1.9 ka), intercalated at the top of the succession, supported by archaeo-stratigraphic, palynological and paleopedological data, allowed the SBP surface to be constrained to 350-300 ka. The SBP chronological position represents an important morphostratigraphic marker: it is the first ante quem and post quem date that allows the chronological position of the other orders of paleosurfaces to be better constrained.

Quaternary evolution of the Southern Apennines coastal plains: a review

Abstract The Quaternary evolution of the main coastal basins located along the southwestern margin of the Southern Apennines has been reconstructed by integrating the huge amount of existing stratigraphical and geomorphological data. The information produced in the last twenty years has shed new light on the recent (late Middle Pleistocene to Present) history of the Campanian and Sele plains or basins. During the early Quaternary, the analysed coastal basins originated as half-grabens in response to opening processes active since the late Tortonian in the southern Tyrrhenian back-arc basin. In some of these basins (e.g. the Campanian Plain), volcanism has also played an important role. In the inner sectors of the coastal basins, the complex interplay between block faulting, sedimentary inputs and glacioeustatic fluctuations gave rise to relative sea-level change and related coastline migrations, leading to the formation of the present-day coastal plains. In the Sele Plain basin, the construction of the present-day landscape mainly resulted from the substantial ceasing of subsidence in the final part of the Middle Pleistocene. Conversely, a strong contribution to the recent evolution of the Campanian Plain has been provided by abundant volcaniclastic aggradation, able to hinder the effect of the vertical motions that occurred in the last 100 ka.

Human-Environment Interactions in the Southern Tyrrhenian Coastal Area: Hypotheses from Neapolis and Elea-Velia

This chapter focuses on human-environment interactions in two archaeological sites of the Greco-Roman period located along the western coasts of southern Italy. In both areas the landscape was characterized by a rich vegetation cover. The chapter concerned different aspects of both the natural and human landscape and involved researchers in geological, environmental and archaeological sciences. The main goal was to reconstruct the ways and times of environmental changes and to understand their causes. For this purpose three steps in the evolution of these two coastal sectors were chosen, representing the main detectable changes in the environmental features. The first step concerns the landscape setting prior to Greek colonization in the first millennium BC; the second step concerns the Greco-Roman period; while the third step focuses on the Late Ancient period, from the third century AD onwards. Keywords:archaeological site; Elea-Velia ; Greco-Roman period; human-environment interactions; Neapolis