Geology of the middle and upper Pleistocene marine and continental terraces of the northern Tavoliere di Puglia plain (Apulia, southern Italy)
TL;DR: In this paper, a detailed geological survey of the middle-late Pleistocene terraces has been performed in this area and a new geologic map, at 1:150,000 scale, is described.
Abstract: The Tavoliere di Puglia is a large alluvial plain located in southern Italy (Foggia Province, Apulia Region). From a geological perspective view, it represents the northern part of the Bradanic trough located between the southern Apennine Chain and the Apulian Foreland. A detailed geological survey of the middle-late Pleistocene terraces has been performed in this area and a new geologic map, at 1:150,000 scale, is here described. Criteria to distinguish these units are based on the recognition of basal unconformity surfaces: seven different synthems (UBSU, Unconformity-bounded Stratigraphic Units) have been discriminated. The data are presented in a synthesis map in which the geometrical relationships between the different sedimentary units are shown. New results for this sector of the Bradanic trough are significantly different from previous literature data. Furthermore, the map allows a reliable reconstruction of the Tavoliere di Puglia paleogeography during the Late Quaternary. Moreover, a detailed ma...
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors present new data about the morphological and stratigraphic evolution and the rates of fluvial denudation of the Tavoliere di Puglia plain, a low-relief landscape representing the northernmost sector of the Pliocene-Pleistocene foredeep of the southern Apennines.
Abstract: We present new data about the morphological and stratigraphic evolution and the rates of fluvial denudation of the Tavoliere di Puglia plain, a low-relief landscape representing the northernmost sector of the Pliocene-Pleistocene foredeep of the southern Apennines. The study area is located between the easternmost part of the southern Apennine chain and the Gargano promontory and it is characterized by several orders of terraced fluvial deposits, disconformably overlying lower Pleistocene marine clay and organized in a staircase geometry, which recorded the emersion and the long-term incision history of this sector since mid-Pleistocene times. We used the spatial and altimetric distribution of several orders of middle to late Pleistocene fluvial terraces in order to perform paleotopographic reconstruction and GIS-aided eroded volumes estimates. Then, we estimated denudation rates on the basis of the terraces chronostratigraphy, supported by published OSL and AAR dating. Middle to upper Pleistocene denudation rates estimated by means of such an approach are slightly lower than 0.1 mm yr-1, in good agreement with short-term data from direct and indirect evaluation of suspended sediment yield. The analysis of longitudinal river profiles using the stream power erosion model provided additional information on the incision rates of the studied area. Middle to late Quaternary uplift rates (about 0.15 mm yr-1), calculated on the basis of the elevation above sea level of marine deposits outcropping in the easternmost sector of the study area, are quite similar to the erosion rates average value, thus suggesting a steady-state fluvial incision. The approach adopted in this work has demonstrated that erosion rates traditionally obtained by quantitative geomorphic analysis and ksn estimations can be successfully integrated to quantify rates of tectonic or geomorphological processes of a landscape approaching steady-state equilibrium. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
39 citations
TL;DR: The roles of the biogenic formations and their important biotic and physical dynamics support the adoption of strategies for conservation of Mediterranean S.spinulosa reefs, according to the aims of the Habitat Directive.
Abstract: Bio-constructions by Sabellaria worms play a key functional role in the coastal ecosystems being an engineer organism and for this reason are the object of protection. The most widespread reef building species along Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts is S. alveolata (L.), while the aggregations of S. spinulosa are typically limited to the North Sea coasts. This paper constitutes the first detailed description of unusual large S. spinulosa reefs in the Mediterranean Sea. Defining current health status and evaluating the most important threats and impacts is essential to address conservation needs and design management plans for these large biogenic structures. Present knowledge on Mediterranean reefs of S. alveolata is fragmentary compared to Northeast Atlantic reefs, and concerning S. spinulosa, this paper represents a focal point in the knowledge on Mediterranean reefs of this species. A one-year study on temporal changes in reef structure and associated fauna is reported. The annual cycle of S. spinulosa reef shows a spawning event in winter-early spring, a period of growth and tubes aggregation from spring-early summer to autumn and a degeneration phase in winter. The variations exhibited in density of the worm aggregation and the changes in the reef elevation highlight a decline and regeneration of the structure over a year. The many ecological roles of the S. spinulosa reef were mainly in providing a diversity of microhabitats hosting hard and sandy bottom species, sheltering rare species, and producing biogenic structures able to provide coastal protection. The Mediterranean S. spinulosa reef does not shelter a distinctive associated fauna; however the richness in species composition underscores the importance of the reef as a biodiversity hot-spot. Finally, the roles of the biogenic formations and their important biotic and physical dynamics support the adoption of strategies for conservation of Mediterranean S.spinulosa reefs, according to the aims of the Habitat Directive.
33 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a large reef of S. spinulosa has been discovered along the northern Gargano coast at Torre Mileto (Adriatic Sea, southern Italy).
30 citations
TL;DR: The experimental data reveal that the clayey sediments of the most polluted top layer do not follow the classical geotechnical correlations for normally consolidated deposits, which seems to open interesting perspectives about the effects of pollutants on the geotehnical behaviour of the investigated sediments.
Abstract: This paper reports the results of the first geomechanical laboratory experiments carried out on the polluted submarine clayey sediments of the Mar Piccolo in Taranto (South of Italy). The study had to face with extreme difficulties for the very soft consistency of the sediments and the contaminants. The mineralogy, composition and physical properties of the sediments were analysed, along with their compression and shearing behaviour. The investigation involved sediments up to about 20 m below the seafloor, along three vertical profiles in the most polluted area of the Mar Piccolo, facing the Italian Navy Arsenal. The experimental results were used to derive a preliminary geotechnical model of the site, necessary for the selection and design of the most sustainable in situ mitigation solutions. Moreover, the experimental data reveal that the clayey sediments of the most polluted top layer do not follow the classical geotechnical correlations for normally consolidated deposits. This seems to open interesting perspectives about the effects of pollutants on the geotechnical behaviour of the investigated sediments.
24 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used microscopy to trace the source areas of their lithoclastic and bioclastic components and identify taxa that are present in the beach sands as shell fragments or other remains.
Abstract: Abstract Beach sands from the Rosa Marina locality (Adriatic coast, southern Italy) were analysed mainly microscopically in order to trace the source areas of their lithoclastic and bioclastic components. The main cropping out sedimentary units were also studied with the objective to identify the potential source areas of lithoclasts. This allowed to establish how the various rock units contribute to the formation of beach sands. The analysis of the bioclastic components allows to estimate the actual role of organisms regarding the supply of this material to the beach. Identification of taxa that are present in the beach sands as shell fragments or other remains was carried out at the genus or family level. Ecological investigation of the same beach and the recognition of sub-environments (mainly distinguished on the basis of the nature of the substrate and of the water depth) was the key topic that allowed to establish the actual source areas of bioclasts in the Rosa Marina beach sands. The sedimentological analysis (including a physical study of the beach and the calculation of some statistical parameters concerning the grain-size curves) shows that the Rosa Marina beach is nowadays subject to erosion.
18 citations
References
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29 Jan 1996
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a case study of oil and gas fields in Fluvial Reservoirs using sequence-stratigraphy and tectonic control of fluvial sedimentation.
Abstract: 1 Introduction.- 2 Historical Background.- 3 Concepts of Scale.- 4 Methods of Architectural-Element Analysis.- 5 Lithofacies.- 6 Architectural Elements Formed Within Channels.- 7 Architectural Elements of the Overbank Environment.- 8 Fluvial Styles and Facies Models.- 9 The Stratigraphic Architecture of Fluvial Depositional Systems.- 10 Fluvial Depositional Systems and Autogenic Sedimentary Controls.- 11 Tectonic Control of Fluvial Sedimentation.- 12 What Does Fluvial Lithofacies Reveal About Climate?.- 13 Sequence Stratigraphy.- 14 Stratigraphic and Tectonic Controls on the Distribution and Architecture of Fluvial Oil and Gas Reservoirs.- 15 Case Studies of Oil and Gas Fields in Fluvial Reservoirs.- 16 Future Research Trends.- References.- Author Index.
1,789 citations
01 Jan 2012
715 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, structural signatures comparing the central Adriatic Sea and the Puglia region were found, and the geometry and the kinematics of the frontal accretionary wedge and related foreland changed from that moment on between the two areas.
Abstract: The Apenninic foreland shows two distinct structural signatures comparing the central Adriatic Sea and the Puglia region. During the Pliocene-Pleistocene the central Adriatic underwent high subsidence rates due to the eastward rollback of the hinge of the west dipping Apenninic subduction. The Puglia region and the Bradanic foredeep are located southward along strike in the same foreland, but, in contrast with the central Adriatic, after Pliocene-early Pleistocene subsidence they underwent uplift since the middle Pleistocene. The geometry and the kinematics of the frontal accretionary wedge and related foreland changed from that moment on between the two areas. At the front of the central northern Apennines, off scraping and subsidence continued, whereas the foredeep and foreland of the southern Apennines were buckled. Those differences are interpreted as being due to the larger subduction hinge rollback rate since middle Pleistocene of the central Adriatic lithosphere (70 km thick) with respect to the thicker Puglia (110 km). The different thicknesses of the continental crust and lithosphere were inherited from the Mesozoic rifting that disrupted the Adriatic plate. The different thicknesses appear to have controlled the variable degree of flexure of the lithosphere and its asthenospheric penetration rate. The Tremiti E–W alignment is the right-lateral lithospheric transfer zone of those different tectonic regimes. The consequent different dip of the subduction in the two sections (steeper west of Puglia) could also explain the lower elevation of the southern Apennines, compared to their central-northern sector.
383 citations