Annamaria Correggiari

Bio: Annamaria Correggiari is an academic researcher from National Research Council. The author has contributed to research in topics: Holocene & Quaternary. The author has an hindex of 20, co-authored 41 publications receiving 1949 citations. Previous affiliations of Annamaria Correggiari include Ariès.

Late Quaternary transgressive erosion and deposition in a modern epicontinental shelf: The Adriatic semienclosed basin

Abstract: The Adriatic Sea is a modern epicontinental basin where the late Quaternary transgressive systems tract shows substantial variations within two contrasting shelf domains, separated by a 250-m-deep remnant basin: a lowgradient shelf in the north, and a steeper margin in the south. Four differentiated sedimentary responses reflect contrasting physiographic domains and differences in the ratio between oceanographic regime and sediment input during relative sea-level rise. The progressive widening of the Adriatic epicontinental shelf, up to seven times its low-stand extent, also determines variations in the style of transgressive deposition by controlling major changes in oceanographic circulation.

Styles of Failure in Late Holocene Highstand Prodelta Wedges on the Adriatic Shelf

Abstract: On the continental shelves of the northern Mediterranean basin, the late Holocene highstand systems tract (HST) prograded un- der the influence of major rivers, after the attainment of the present sea-level highstand (about 5.5 cal kyr BP). On the Adriatic shelf, the thickness distribution of the late Holocene HST reflects the location of major deltas on the western side of the basin and the geostrophic cir- culation, which prevents a more uniform sediment dispersal toward the center of the basin. Very high sediment accumulation rates (1 to 10 cm/year) resulted in the construction of a HST depocenter up to 35 m thick. This shore-parallel depocenter is affected by failure of limited displacement over as much as 40% of its extent. Gas impregnation is common in the topset region and occurs at very shallow levels (a few meters) below the sea floor. Five areas are characterized by a variety of sea-floor and subsurface crenulations. Although locally some of these crenulations have an intriguingly regular geometry, sediment failure is the most plausible mechanism for their formation. Sediment failure better explains the large variety of geometries that characterizes the coastal mud prism of the late Holocene HST. Furthermore, we observe that these crenulations occur only where the downlap surface at the base of the HST is disrupted and affected by geometries that are con- sistent with fluid escape processes. This relationship suggests that the basal surface acts as a weak layer for sediment failure. Failure occurred in variable water depths from the northern slope of the modern Po prodelta (10-20 m water depth) to the narrow shelf offshore Bari (40-110 m water depth). In all these areas the proximal part of the HST prodelta wedge is intensely gas-charged. The thickness and age of the sediment sections affected by failure are slightly differ- ent from place to place but appear everywhere younger than 5.5 cal kyr BP. Where failure affects the entire HST the detachment occurs on the downlap surface at its base. Failure geometries characterize the head region whereas compressional features, such as pressure ridges and mud diapirs, dominate in the toe region, ranging in depth between 70 and 110 m. Where failure is limited to the upper few meters of the HST, there is a clear lithologic change (decrease in carbonate fraction and grain size) across the basal surface. This lithological change reflects a switch in sediment supply from local Apennine rivers (below) to Po- derived mud; this change occurred at the onset of the Little Ice Age, documenting the indirect control of short-term climate change and hu- man impact on sediment architecture. The deformations affecting the late Holocene HST in the various areas show differences in internal geometry, but appear everywhere to be characterized by limited downward displacement and can be attri- buted to shear-dominated retrogressive failure. It is suggested that some degree of consolidation occurred immediately after mobilization, possibly induced by the escape of fluids. Nowhere has failure evolved into disintegration and flow, likely because the type of cyclic loading that triggered it was not prolonged over a long enough interval. Short-lived radionuclides in the uppermost stratigraphic layers, which postdate the failure in the area offshore Ortona, allowed us to quantify systematic changes in sediment accumulation rates as a func- tion of the underlying deformed sea floor. In areas of wavy sea floor, troughs show sediment accumulation rates of greater than 16 mm/yr, a figure that is fourfold the rate measured on the flanks of the troughs.

Source of 1755 Lisbon earthquake and tsunami investigated

Abstract: On November 1, 1755, the city of Lisbon was completely devastated by the combined effect of a tremendous earthquake, tsunami waves, and fire. The 1755 Lisbon earthquake was the most destructive cataclysm recorded in western Europe since the Roman Republic, with an estimated earthquake magnitude Mw ∼8.5 [Martins and Mendes Victor, 1990] and estimated tsunami magnitude of Mt= Mw= 8.5. The earthquake was felt as far away as Great Britain and Finland. The tsunami hit many coastal cities along southwest Iberia and North Africa, causing heavy destruction in Tanger and Casablanca.

River Discharge to the Coastal Ocean: A Global Synthesis

Abstract: Foreword 1. Introduction 2. Runoff, erosion and delivery to the coastal ocean 3. Temporal variations 4. Human impacts Appendices. Global River Database: Appendix A: North and Central America Appendix B: South America Appendix C: Europe Appendix D: Africa Appendix E: Eurasia Appendix F: Asia Appendix G: Oceania References Index.

Morphodynamics of deltas under the influence of humans

Abstract: A consistent database was established to characterize key environmental factors known to control delta morphology. The database includes the location, basin morphology, fluvial and sediment discharge to the deltas, delta morphology, ocean energy, and shelf depth reached by the sub-aqueous delta. Fifty-one deltas were selected to cover the global parameter range of rivers entering all major oceans and coastal seas. Seasonal satellite images of the deltas were processed (IKONOS, SPOT, LANDSAT, and MODIS). Predictive statistical relationships were obtained, suitable for hypothesis testing or to constrain/verify numerical models used to simulate the evolution of coastal systems. The area of a delta is best predicted from average discharge, the total sediment load feeding the delta, and the offshore accommodation space. The gradient of a delta plain, measured from the apex of the delta to the coast along the main channel, is best predicted with a ratio of sediment supply to sediment retention, sediment concentration used as a proxy of delta plain sedimentation, and mean water discharge. Widths of distributary channels form a lognormal distribution, with the cumulative width of the river mouths directly related to the maximum discharge, tidal and wave energy. The grain size of topset deposits scales with the river length. Hundreds of millions of people occupy deltas and human engineering is now a major influence on the growth and evolution of many deltas, through control of the flow path of distributary channels, and mitigation of the seasonal flood wave with concomitant change in the delivery of sediment load. More and more deltas are moving away from their pre-Anthropocene morphology, as influenced by pristine sediment supply and sediment dispersal.