Search results for "Sea-level change"
showing 8 items of 8 documents
Quaternary marine and continental unconformity-bounded stratigraphic units of the NW Sicily coastal belt
2017
In the coastal sector of NW Sicily, the regional correlation of relevant unconformities recognised within the Quaternary sedimentary successions allowed the mapping of seven unconformity-bounded stratigraphic units (UBSUs). The regional unconformities are marine or subaerial erosional surfaces, as well as non-depositional surfaces, locally marked by paleosoils. The erosional surfaces were produced from marine abrasion, surface water overland/concentrated flow, river erosion, karst solution, mass movement, or wind erosion. The main lithofacies of the Quaternary UBSUs consist of: (a) marine and coastal bioclastic calcarenites, (b) aeolian sandstones, (c) river deposits, (d) colluvial deposits…
Millstones as indicators of relative sea-level changes in northern Sicily and southern Calabria coastlines, Italy
2011
Abstract New data are presented for late Holocene relative sea-level changes in two coastal sites of Sicily and Calabria, southern Italy. Reconstructions are based on precise measurements of submerged archaeological remains that are valuable indicators of past sea-level position. The archaeological remains are millstone quarries carved on sandstone coastal rocks and nowadays partially submerged which, to the authors’ knowledge, are used for the first time as sea-level markers. Millstones of similar typology are located on the coast of Capo d’Orlando (northern Sicily) and Capo dell’Armi (southern Calabria). When the archeologically-based sea-level position is compared with the shoreline elev…
Vermetid reefs in the Mediterranean Sea as archives of sea-level and surface temperature changes
2011
Vermetid reefs are among the most important bioconstructions in the Mediterranean Sea, with a distribution restricted to the warmest part of the basin. Their structure, and vertical and geographical distribution make them good biological indicators of changes in sea level and sea-surface temperature over the last two millennia.
Plio-Quaternary coastal landscape evolution of north-western Sicily (Italy)
2023
We present and discuss the results of a geomorphological and geological study aimed at reconstructing the Plio-Quaternary evolution of the NW Sicily coastal belt, a low strain rate region in the central Mediterranean Sea. We performed morphometric and field analysis of Quaternary marine terraces extracting more than 300 shoreline location points subdivided into six orders. The obtained dataset was validate by investigating the morphological changes along topographic profiles and comparing the extracted locations and elevations with the stratigraphic boundaries in the Plio-Quaternary units. We distinguished two contiguous coastal sectors characterized by different paleo-shoreline elevations …
8000 years of coastal changes on a western Mediterranean island: A multiproxy approach from the Posada plain of Sardinia
2018
Abstract A multi-proxy palaeoenvironmental investigation was conducted to reconstruct the Holocene history of coastal landscape change in the lower Posada coastal plain of eastern Sardinia. In the Mediterranean region, coastal modifications during the Holocene have been driven by a complex interplay between climate, geomorphological processes and human activity. In this paper, millennial-scale human-sea level-environment interactions are investigated near Posada, one of the largest coastal plains in eastern Sardinia. Biostratigraphic and palynological approaches were used to interpret the chrono-stratigraphy exhibited by a series of new cores taken from the coastal plain. This new study elu…
Submerged speleothems and sea level reconstructions: a global overview and new results from the Mediterranean Sea
2021
This study presents a global overview of the submerged speleothems used to reconstruct paleo sea levels and reports new results from two stalactites collected in the Mediterranean Sea. Coastal cave deposits significantly contributed to the understanding of global and regional sea-level variations during the Middle and Late Quaternary. The studied speleothems cover the last 1.4 Myr and focused mainly on Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 1, 2, 3, 5.1, 5.3, 5.5, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3 and 7.5. The results indicate that submerged speleothems represent extraordinary archives that can provide detailed information on former sea-level changes. The two stalactites collected in the central Mediterranean Sea, at Fa…
Coastal erosion in the archaeological area of Selinunte
2010
Coast erosion is a widespread phenomenon and is a considerable issue for the dwellers of coastal areas today. Our study is based on the archaeological area of Selinunte in which we have noticed a process of erosion in progress. In this area we have considered a particular portion of the coast, around 8 km long, since our purpose is the individuation of anthropic elements such as ports, and natural elements, such as rivers. In this area we have set some point of reference using historical and recent cartography in a 1:25.000 scale dating back to 1971, a regional technical paper in a 1: 10.000 scale from 1994, and aerial pictures from 2000 and 2008, all of which we have geo-related starting f…
Sea-level changes during the last 41,000 years in the outer shelf of the southern Tyrrhenian Sea: Evidence from benthic foraminifera and seismostrati…
2011
Abstract An integrated high resolution study based both on a seismostratigraphic approach and on a sedimentary core (VIB 10), collected in the outer shelf (127 m depth) from the southern Tyrrhenian Sea (Gulf of Termini, Sicily), provides new data about climatic, eustatic and paleoenvironmental changes during the last ∼41,000 years. The results based on the interpretation of a seismic profile, on benthic foraminifera assemblages and on δ18O records, allowed recognition of two drastic sea-level falls during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and the Younger Dryas (YD). The short deglacial event, between LGM and YD, known as Bolling/Allerod, played an important role in the sea-level rise that prod…