Morphometric analysis of the shells of the Genus Bolivina from the Gulf of Gela (Sicilian Channel, Italy): a valid classification instrument?

Calcareous plankton high resolution biostratigraphy from the Middle Miocene of the Mediterranean area.

Holocene millennial-scale productivity variations in the Sicily Channel (Mediterranean Sea)

[1] The calcareous nannofossil assemblages of Ocean Drilling Program Hole 963D from the central Mediterranean Sea have been investigated to document oceanographic changes in surface waters. The studied site is located in an area sensitive to large-scale atmospheric and climatic systems and to high- and low-latitude climate connection. It is characterized by a high sedimentation rate (the achieved mean sampling resolution is <70 years) that allowed the Sicily Channel environmental changes to be examined in great detail over the last 12 ka BP. We focused on the species Florisphaera profunda that lives in the lower photic zone. Its distribution pattern shows repeated abundance fluctuations of …

Astronomic forcing on the planktonic oraminifera assemblage in the Piacenzian Punta Piccola sectio (southern Italy)

Millenial-scale paleoenviromental changes in the central Mediterranean during the Last Interglacial: comparison with European and North Atlantic records.

Abstract The environment of the central Mediterranean Sea is investigated on the basis of high-resolution planktonic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossil data (mean sampling resolutions of about 80 and 160 yr, respectively). MIS 5 is characterized by warm, oligotrophic and stratified waters, while coccolithophore communities developed a vertical zonation that, in today's oceans, is typical of the low-latitude gyres. The temperate-subtropical configuration of planktonic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossil assemblages is repeatedly transformed into a temperate-subpolar one during the suborbital cooling episodes C25-C18. A comparison with European pollen sequences and North Atlantic cor…

Variability in the vertical structure of the water column and paleoproductivity reconstruction in the central-western Mediterranean during the Late Pleistocene.

Abstract A sedimentary sequence spanning Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6 to MIS 2 in core LC07, recovered in the central Mediterranean, has been investigated in order to produce a high-resolution paleoceanographic reconstruction. The changes in productivity deduced from calcareous plankton relative abundances and independently confirmed by the Ba XS fluctuations are linked to the stability of the water column which is mainly controlled by the water mass temperature. During glacial intervals, productivity was generally enhanced. Oligotrophic and warmer water masses with a deepened seasonal thermocline can be inferred for most of MIS5. The magnetic properties of the sediment show increased occur…

Astronomic forcing on the planktonic foraminifera assemblage in the Piacenzian Punta Piccola section (southern Italy)

[1] A high-resolution quantitative analysis of the calcareous planktonic assemblages (planktonic foraminifers and calcareous nannofossils) at the Punta Piccola section (at the base of which, the global standard stratotype-section and point of the Piacenzian stage is defined) provided a more accurate biostratigraphy for the Mediterranean middle Pliocene (2.6–3.6 Ma). In particular, an astronomically calibrated age of 2.87 Ma was estimated for the Pliocene first occurrence of Neogloboquadrina atlantica instead of the younger previously proposed age of 2.72 Ma. Spectral analysis performed on the Globigerinoides species (spp.) planktonic foraminifera assemblage along with cross-spectral analysi…

Different key roles of mesoscale oceanographic structures and ocean bathymetry in shaping larval fish distribution pattern: A case study in Sicilian waters in summer 2009

Fish larvae data collected in year 2009 were used to examine the effects of particular environmental conditions on the structure of larvalassemblages in two oligotrophic Mediterranean areas (the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea and the Strait of Sicily). For this purpose, relationships with environmental variables (temperature, salinity and fluorescence), zooplankton biomass, water circulation and bathymetry are discussed. Hydrodynamic conditions resulted very differently between two study areas. The Southern Tyrrhenian Sea was characterized by moderate shallow circulation compared to the Strait of Sicily. In this framework, distribution pattern of larval density in the Tyrrhenian Sea was mainly dri…

The Messinian-Pliocene boundary in the north Italy regions

HOLOCENE MARINE SEDIMENTS IN THE HISTORICAL CENTRE OF PALERMO

Geoeventi in Sicilia. La Storia geologica dell’area centro-mediterranea raccontata dai geositi, testimoni del tempo.

A multidisciplinary approach to reveal the Sicily Climate and Environment over the last 20 000 years

Abstract We present a thorough review of the knowledge on the climate and environment in Sicily over the last 20 000 years, taking into account results of several studies carried using terrestrial and marine records. We obtain a coherent framework of the most important changes succeeded in the island, even if some points need further investigation. All the reconstructions of surface temperatures of the seas and the air surrounding Sicily point out severe climatic conditions during the last glacial period. The steppe- and semisteppe-like vegetation pattern testifies, together with additional evidence from geochemical data of lacustrine evidence, markedly arid conditions. Fi-nally, significan…

Calcareous Nannofossil and Planktonic Foraminifera Biostratigraphy of selected Piacenzian-Gelasian Laminites from Southern Italy

Here we present the biostratigraphic and chronostratigraphic framework of a number of selected diatomaceous laminated intervals from the Crotone Basin (Calabria, Southern Italy). These layers, which we consider correlative to the Eastern Mediterranean Sapropel Layers, range in age from the early Piacenzian to the Gelasian, and show surprising thicknesses, suggesting that they were probably laid down in a landlocked, overfed basin. Specifically, a thick laminite from the surroundings of Cropani (Catanzaro) can be ascribed to nannofossil biozone MNN 16a and planktonic foraminifera biozone MPL 4b (lower Piacenzian) according to the Mediterranean calcareous plankton biostratigraphic zonations. …

Calcareous nannofossil surface sediment assemblages from the SicilyChannel (central Mediterranean Sea): palaeoceanographic implications.

Quantitative analysis of 67 calcareous nannofossil assemblages from surface sediments recovered in a wide area across the Sicily Channel has been carried out in order to improve the interpretation of palaeontological data based on this planktonic group in a key area for Mediterranean palaeoceanographic studies. The investigation focused on three case studies that demonstrate the high potentiality of such a combined approach, taking into account the recent distribution of taxa or groups of taxa on the sea floor and the palaeontological record. The distribution of reworked specimens over the northern Sicily Channel sea floor validates the role of southern Sicily as a source region for reworke…

YTTRIUM AND REE SIGNATURE RECOGNIZED IN CENTRAL MEDITERRANEAN SEA (ODP SITE 963) DURING THE MIS 6 – MIS 5 TRANSITION

The Mediterranean Sea acts as a miniature ocean with the development of its own conveyor belt. It constitutes an ideal location to study and forecast how the marine environment responds to rapid climatic change. Here we present a palaeoenvironmental study carried out on the sediments of ODP Site 963, recovered in the Sicily Channel, the sill which divides the western from the eastern Mediterranean basin. We focused on the transition between the penultimate glacial (MIS 6) and the last interglacial (MIS 5), between approximately 130 and 115 kyr BP. A novel approach is proposed, taking into account centennial-scale geochemical data on major elements, selected trace elements, and yttrium and R…

High-resolution integrated stratigraphy in the Middle Miocene Upper Globigerina Limestone and Blue Clay Formations (Malta Island)

Holocene marine depositional event in the Centre of Palermo

Final Report of the Oceanographic Survey NextData201. Project NEXTDATA WP-1.5 : Paleoclimatic Data from Marine Sediments

The retrieval of series of proxy data on the past climate will serve to acquire a deeper understanding of the climate system and a more accurate prediction of its future development, as a priority task for the scientific community. In particular, the analysis of climate data of the past is an essential tool for studying the dynamics of the earth's climatic system in conditions different from present ones, and irreplaceable for testing the validity of medium- and long-term forecasting models. The determination of the influence of anthropogenic impacts on the planet’s environment is predicated on a clear understanding of the natural ways in which the earth's climate responds to the complex se…

Calcareous nannofossil and planktonic foraminifera biostratigraphy of selected Pliocene and Pleistocene laminites from Southern Italy.

Ambiente e clima della Sicilia durante gli ultimi 20 mila anni

Environment and Climate in Sicily over the last 20, 000 years. (IT ISSN 0394-3356, 2010). A series of recent studies shed light on the central Mediterranean, and Sicily, climate and environment, starting from the last glacial maximum (about 20 ka cal BP). In the present paper, we examine most of these works, in order to unravel environmental changes of the past, mainly in terms of temperature, atmospheric pattern, precipitation, vegetation and faunal associations. The climate of the last glacial maximum was characterised by very low temperature and by repeated northerlies penetration, even during summer. Low precipitation values led to a steppe- or semisteppe-like vegetation pattern, domina…

Foglio 607 Corleone

Coccolithophores in Water Samples and Fossil Assemblages in Sedimentary Archives of the Mediterranean Sea: A Review

Study of benthic foraminifera in the Continental Shelf of the Gulf of Gela (Sicilian Channel) and their possible use as bioindicators

Millennial-scale paleoenvironmental changes in the central Mediterranean during the Last Interglacial: comparison with European and Mediterranean records

Calcareous Nannofossil Biostratigraphy of the Central Mediterranean Basin during the last 430 000 years

Quantitative analyses on over 2300 samples were carried ut on late Quaternary calcareous nannofossil assemblages from a central Mediterranean Sea sedimentary sequence (ODP Site 963A). Our results indicate that Emiliania huxleyi dominated the assemblages between 0 and 45.7 kyr BP; Gephyrocapsa muellerae between 45.7 and 177.3 kyr BP; small Gephyrocapsa between 177.3 and 263.5 kyr BP; Gephyrocapsa caribbeanica from 263.5 kyr BP down to the basal sample of our investigation, at about 430 kyr BP A comparison with similar reports from Atlantic Ocean sites indicates that the boundaries of the acme intervals identified in this study fall within the same Marine Isotopic Stages as the Atlantic Ocean…

Foglio 619, Santa Margherita di Belice

Impact of Freshwater Inflow From the Volturno River on Coastal Circulation

The coastal area located in front of the Volturno river's estuary (Gulf of Gaeta, central-eastern Tyrrhenian Sea) has been synoptically sampled during seven surveys, between June 2012 and October 2014. The vertical profiles of temperature and salinity have been acquired on a high resolution nearly-regular grid, in order to describe the spatial and temporal variability of the water masses characteristics. Moreover, to provide a first assessment of the steady circulation at small scale, the three-dimensional velocity field associated to each survey has been obtained through the full momentum equations of the Princeton Ocean Model. The data analysis has shown the entire water column characteri…

Fogli 609-596, Termini Imerese-Capo Plaia

Il Servizio Geologico Nazionale ha unificato i Fogli 609 "Termini Imerese" e 596 "Capo Plaia" in un unico Foglio denominato 609/596 "Termini Imerese-Capo Plaia" allo scopo di uniformare i rilievi e raccoglierne la descrizione in un unico volume delle Note Illustrative. Il Foglio 609/596 "Termini Imerese-Capo Plaia" della Carta Geologica d’Italia in scala 1:50.000 è stato realizzato nell’ambito del Progetto CARG con i fondi della Legge 67/88 - Legge 226/99 con una convenzione tra Servizio Geologico Nazionale ora ISPRA) e Regione Siciliana. Le aree ricadono interamente nella Provincia di Palermo, comprendono la fascia marina del Golfo di Termini Imerese fino al promontorio di Capo Plaia, la r…

Yttrium and REE signature recognized in Central Mediterranean Sea (ODP Site 963) during the MIS 6–MIS 5 transition

Abstract The Mediterranean Sea acts as a miniature ocean with the development of its own conveyor belt. It constitutes an ideal location to study and forecast how the marine environment responds to rapid climatic change. Here we present a palaeoenvironmental study carried out on the sediments of ODP Site 963, recovered in the Sicily Channel, the sill which divides the western from the eastern Mediterranean basin. We focused on the transition between the penultimate glacial (MIS 6) and the last interglacial (MIS 5), between approximately 130 and 115 kyr BP. A novel approach is proposed, taking into account centennial-scale geochemical data on major elements, selected trace elements, and yttr…

Evidence for a link between the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and annual asthma mortality rates in the US

AbstractAn association between climatic conditions and asthma mortality has been widely assumed. However, it is unclear whether climatic variations have a fingerprint on asthma dynamics over long time intervals. The aim of this study is to detect a possible correlation between climatic indices, namely the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and Pacific Decadal Oscillation, and asthma mortality rates over the period from 1950 to 2015 in the contiguous US. To this aim, an analysis of non-stationary and non-linear signals was performed on time series of US annual asthma mortality rates, AMO and PDO indices to search for characteristic periodicities. Results revealed that asthma death rates evalu…

Astronomic forcing on the planktonic foraminifera assemblage in the Piacenzian Punta Piccola section (Southern Italy).

Calcareous plankton Biostratigraphy and Chronostratigraphy of selected Pliocene and Pleistocene laminites from Southern Italy

Studio delle tanatocenosi a foraminiferi bentonici nel Golfo di Gela

THE EFFECT OF HEAVY METALS ON BENTHIC FORAMINIFERA IN THE GULF OF GELA (SICILIAN CHANNEL)

Benthic foraminifera are very sensitive to oceanographic parameter variations, to which they rapidly response through changes in the abundance and/or richness of their associations and in morphological variations of their shell. Many studies have used benthic foraminifera as bioindicators. We investigated recent benthic foraminiferal assemblages in the Gulf of Gela (Sicilian Channel, Mediterranean Sea), examining their relative abundance, specific richness and morphological abnormalities, to highlight a possible correlation with oceanographic features and the concentration of heavy metals in sediments. Sediment was sampled in summer 2006 using box corers in four stations at increasing dista…

ASTROCHRONOLOGY OF LATE MIDDLE MIOCENE MEDITERRANEAN SECTIONS

Holocene millennial-scale productivity variations in the Sicily Channel (Mediterranean Sea)

This study analyzes coccolithophore abundance fluctuations (e.g., Emiliania huxleyi, Gephyrocapsa specimens, and Florisphaera profunda) in core MD01-2444 sediment strata retrieved at the Iberian Margin, northeastern Atlantic Ocean. Coccolithophores are calcareous nannofossils, a major component of the oceanic phytoplankton, which provide information about past ecological and climatological variability. Results are supported by data on fossil organic compounds (sea surface temperatures, alkenones, and n-hexacosan-1-ol index) and geochemical analyses (benthic ?13Ccc and planktonic ?18Occ isotopes). Three scenarios are taken into account for this location at centennial-scale resolution over th…

Lo stato dell’ambiente marino nell’area del Canale di Sicilia in prossimità del SIN di Gela.

Viene illustrata in questa nota l’attuale condizione in cui si trova lo stato dell’ambiente marino nell’area del Canale di Sicilia immediatamente a ridosso della costa merdionale delle Sicilia dal Golfo di Gela alla costa iblea. Lo stato dell’ambiente in oggetto viene valutato in base alla distribuzione di alcuni metalli in tracce normalmente ritenuti fra i più significativi per gli scopi prefissati, esaminati lungo la colonna d’acqua e nei sedimenti superficiali di fondale. I risultati ottenuti, illustrati anche attraverso un’indagine statistica multivariata, indicano un arricchimento superficiale della colonna d’acqua in lantanio che può essere ascritto tanto ad un’origine litogenica, qua…

Core description collected during Oceanographic Survey NextData2013 (12 – 19 September 2013)

First data on oceanography, phytoplankton density and nutrient distribution of the western Libyan sea area (August, 2006)

(Table 1) Geochemistry of ODP Site 160-963 sediments

The Mediterranean Sea acts as a miniature ocean with the development of its own conveyor belt. It constitutes an ideal location to study and forecast how the marine environment responds to rapid climatic change. Here we present a palaeoenvironmental study carried out on the sediments of ODP Site 963, recovered in the Sicily Channel, the sill which divides the western from the eastern Mediterranean basin. We focused on the transition between the penultimate glacial (MIS 6) and the last interglacial (MIS 5), between approximately 130 and 115 kyr BP. A novel approach is proposed, taking into account centennial-scale geochemical data on major elements, selected trace elements, and yttrium and R…

Carta Geologica d’Italia alla scala 1:50.000 del Foglio 608 “Caccamo”. Progetto CARG.

Foglio 594 Partinico