Late-Pleistocene and Holocene deposition along the coasts and continental shelves of the Italian peninsula

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to outline the depositional and erosional processes that occurred on the coasts and shelves at the margins of the Italian mainland during the late Quaternary sea-level fluctuation. This fluctuation dramatically controlled sedimentary processes through the rapid shift of shoreline position, changes in palaeotopography, and in the size and amounts of sediment derived from the continent. The sea-level fluctuation described occurred during the last 23–25,000 years, and it has been subdivided into three main phases: (1) the final part of the last sea-level fall, the low-stand, and the beginning of the sea-level rise; (2) the sea-level rise; (3) the present highstand. Each phase will be discussed in its general aspects and with reference to some case histories. The marine data mainly derive from high-resolution seismic surveys and from grab, core, and vibracorer samples. The land data consist of stratigraphic, morphological and archaeological records. Analyses carried out on the collected sediments are mostly mineralogical, grain size, microfauna and ¹⁴C analyses.