0000000000660582
AUTHOR
Isabella Raffi
The Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) of the Serravallian Stage (Middle Miocene)
The Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the Base of the Serravallian Stage (Middle Miocene) is defined in the Ras il Pellegrin section located in the coastal cliffs along the Fomm Ir-Rih Bay on the west coast of Malta (35°54'50"N, 14°20'10"E). The GSSP is at the base of the Blue Clay Formation (i.e., top of the transitional bed of the uppermost Globigerina Limestone). This boundary between the Langhian and Serravallian stages coincides with the end of the major Mi-3b global cooling step in the oxygen isotopes and reflects a major increase in Antarctic ice volume, marking the end of the Middle Miocene climate transition and the Earth's transformation into an "Icehouse" climate sta…
The Calabrian Stage redefined
The name Calabrian was introduced in the geological literature by the French stratigrapher Maurice Gignoux in 1910, and later described in his important monograph (633 pages) "Les formations marines pliocènes et quaternaires de l'Italie du sud et de la Sicile" published in 1913. Detailed data were provided on several sections (Santa Maria di Catanzaro, Caraffa, Monasterace, Palermo) and on their fossil content. The Calabrian Stage has commonly been used for over fifty years as the oldest subdivision of the Quaternary, notably in the time scales of Berggren & van Couvering (1974) and Haq & Eysinga (1987). However, after the GSSP for the Pliocene/Pleistocene boundary (P/P) was approved by INQ…
Pliocene sapropels in the northern Adriatic area: chronology and paleoenvironmental significance
Abstract A detailed stratigraphic and paleoenvironmental study was carried out ona marine section from the Marecchia Valley in the Northern Apennines. The section consists predominantly of deep-water hemipelagic clays intercalated with 15 thick, laminated sapropels (M1–M15). Based on biostratigraphic (calcareous nannoplankton and planktonic foraminifera) and magnetostratigraphic results, the Marecchia Valley section is interpreted as being middle to late Pliocene in age, extending from the upper part of the Gauss Chron to the lower part of the Matuyama Chron. The high resolution stratigraphy allows us to correlate, for the first time, these northern Italian sapropels with sapropels previous…