GeolCarp_Vol68_No1_43

GEOLOGICA CARPATHICA

, FEBRUARY 2017, 68, 1, 43 – 56

doi: 10.1515/geoca-2017-0004

www.geologicacarpathica.com

Quaternary evolution of the Southern Apennines

coastal plains: a review

NICOLETTA SANTANGELO, PAOLA ROMANO

†

, ALESSANDRA ASCIONE

and ELDA RUSSO ERMOLLI

Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell’Ambiente e delle Risorse – Università di Napoli Federico II, Italy;

nicsanta@unina.it, ascione@unina.it, ermolli@unina.it

†

ad memoriam — This paper is dedicated to the beloved memory of our friend and collegue Paola Romano who unfortunately left us too early

(Manuscript received January 20, 2016; accepted in revised form November 30, 2016)

Abstract: The Quaternary evolution of the main coastal basins located along the southwestern margin of the Southern

Apennines has been reconstructed by integrating the huge amount of existing stratigraphical and geomorphological data.

The information produced in the last twenty years has shed new light on the recent (late Middle Pleistocene to Present)

history of the Campanian and Sele plains or basins. During the early Quaternary, the analysed coastal basins originated

as half-grabens in response to opening processes active since the late Tortonian in the southern Tyrrhenian back-arc basin.

In some of these basins (e.g. the Campanian Plain), volcanism has also played an important role. In the inner sectors of

the coastal basins, the complex interplay between block faulting, sedimentary inputs and glacioeustatic fluctuations gave

rise to relative sea-level change and related coastline migrations, leading to the formation of the present-day coastal

plains. In the Sele Plain basin, the construction of the present-day landscape mainly resulted from the substantial ceasing

of subsidence in the final part of the Middle Pleistocene. Conversely, a strong contribution to the recent evolution of the

Campanian Plain has been provided by abundant volcaniclastic aggradation, able to hinder the effect of the vertical

motions that occurred in the last 100 ka.

Keywords: Southern Italy, Campania Plain, Sele Plain, palaeogeography, Pleistocene–Holocene.

Introduction

Coastal plains are the result of the complex interaction between

sedimentary inputs, tectonics and eustatism. In Italy, their

evolution is also strictly controlled by the geological history of

the Alpine–Apennine orogenic system. The coastal plains

located along the Adriatic and Ionian seas (eastern flank of the

Apennine orogenic system) originated during the end of the

Miocene and the beginning of the Pliocene as foredeep basins

(Ricci Lucchi 1986; Ciaranfi et al. 1992). During the Quater-

nary, they evolved under predominantly glacioeustatic and

climatic control (Amorosi et al. 1999 a, b; Kent et al. 2002;

Amorosi et al. 2004). The coastal plains located along the

western flank of the chain originated during the Pliocene and

the Early Pleistocene (Antonioli et al. 1988; Brancaccio et al.

1991, 1995; Nisi et al. 2003). They represent the inland, sedi-

ment filled, portions of large grabens or half-grabens formed

in response to back-arc extensional processes, which on a larger

scale, led to the opening of the Tyrrhenian basin (Elter et al.

1975; Scandone 1979; Patacca et al. 1990). The sedimentary

history of these coastal basins has been characterized by

a gene ral tendency to subside, which allowed deposition,

during Quaternary times, of thousands of metre-thick sedi-

mentary successions. Depending on the relative intensity of

subsidence and sedimentation, as well as on glacioeustatic

fluctuations, the coastal plains have repeatedly been invaded

or abandoned by the sea. The Tiber and the Campanian plains

have also been affected by severe volcanic activity (Ippolito

et al. 1973; Locardi et al. 1976; Aprile & Ortolani 1978;

Brancaccio et al. 1991, 1995; Milli 1997; Amorosi & Milli

2001; Acocella & Funiciello 2006) that further conditioned

their evolution and sedimentary history.

The long-term evolution of the coastal basins located along

the Campanian sector of the Southern Apennines, namely the

Campanian and Sele plains, is the main focus of this paper.

In particular, we provide an accurate revision and critical

synthesis of all data published in the last twenty years. The last

synthesis on this matter, in fact, goes back to the 1990s

(Brancaccio et al. 1991); since then several studies based on

various data sets (stratigraphical, structural, volcanological,

geophysical) have been carried out. New insights mainly come

from detailed stratigraphical data from two chronological

intervals, the Middle Pleistocene and the Late Pleistocene–

Holocene. In particular, two palaeo-environmental proxies

have been analysed and re-interpreted: (1) the distribution of

the main geomorphological features, such as marine and fluvial

terraces, ancient emerged or submerged coastal morphologies

etc.; (2) the distribution, nature and facies of the main marine

and continental successions covering this time interval.

Age and facies of the marine sediments allowed the location

of submerged and emerged areas to be defined, whereas

palaeontological and palynological data were used to give

SANTANGELO, ROMANO, ASCIONE and RUSSO ERMOLLI

GEOLOGICA CARPATHICA

, 2017, 68, 1, 43 – 56

insights into the evolution of palaeo-environments and climate.

Our synthesis allowed new palaeogeographical recon structions

for the Campanian and Sele coastal plains to be produced for

the most significant time intervals between 1.8 Ma and 6 ka.

In particular, the presented palaeogeographical schemes have

been reconstructed on the basis of the spatial distribution of

emerged/submerged areas and the main landscape and

environmental features for six selected time spans, with

a particular focus on tectonically and/or glacioeustatically

controlled coast line migrations.

Geological and geomorphological setting

The Southern Apennine is a NE-oriented orogenic belt,

which developed from Miocene to Quaternary times as a result

of interaction between the Adriatic promontory of the African

plate and the Sardinia – Corsica block of the European plate

(e.g., Channel et al. 1979; Dewey et al. 1989; Mazzoli &

Helman 1994; Cello & Mazzoli 1999; Turco et al. 2012 and

references therein). Starting from the late Tortonian, thrust

sheet emplacement in the Southern Apennines occurred parallel

to the extension that led to the opening of the Tyrrhenian back-

arc basin, and to the drowning of the innermost portions of the

orogenic belt (e.g., Malinverno & Ryan 1986; Patacca et al.

1990; Sartori 1990, 2003 and references therein; Doglioni et

al. 2004). Since Early Pleistocene times, active extension

caused formation of large, thousands of metre-deep peri-

Tyrrhenian basins (e.g., Sartori 1990; Savelli & Schreider

1991), namely — from the N to the S — the Garigliano Plain –

Gaeta Gulf, the Campanian Plain, the Sele Plain – Salerno Gulf

and the Policastro Gulf. Uplift of the horst blocks separating

the basins, coeval to the basin subsidence, is indicated by

flights of raised marine terraces (e.g., Caiazzo et al. 2006 and

references therein; Fig. 1A).

Large amounts of surface, subsurface and offshore data

indicate that the Southern Apennines peri-Tyrrhenian grabens

share a common, large-scale structural setting. In fact, they

consist in half-grabens bounded towards the NW by roughly

NE–SW trending master fault systems. The latter control the

asymmetrical — northward thickening — basin fills and lower

the carbonate successions, cropping out in the adjacent horst

blocks, down to 3000 – 4000 m depth (e.g., Bartole et al. 1984;

Moussat et al. 1986; Mariani & Prato 1988; Argnani et al. 1989;

Ascione et al. 1997; Bruno et al. 1998; Florio et al. 1999; Milia

et al. 2003; Caiazzo et al. 2006; Milia & Torrente 1999; 2015

and references therein). The largest Southern Apennines

peri-Tyrrhenian basin, namely the Campanian Plain, is further

dissected by S and SW-dipping fault zones (e.g., Florio 1998;

Bruno et al. 2000; Casciello et al. 2006; Milia & Torrente

2013, 2015), which define the boundaries of two distinct

sub-basins: the Volturno Plain and the Gulf of Naples (Fig. 1A).

In the northern half-grabens, volcanism locally occurred

during the Early Pleistocene in the Campanian Plain and, star-

ting from the Middle Pleistocene, intense volcanism affected

the Garigliano Plain and various areas of the Campanian Plain

(e.g., Radicati di Brozolo et al. 1988; Brocchini et al. 2001;

Rolandi et al. 2003).

The Campanian Plain is a 35 km-wide alluvial-coastal plain

with a very flat topography and maximum elevation ranging

between 35 and 50 m above sea level (a.s.l.). It is bounded by

carbonate ridges and includes, in its central part, the volcanic

districts of the Phlegrean Fields and Somma-Vesuvius, which

separate the Volturno river plain to the North from the Sarno

river plain to the South (Fig. 1A). The geological and geomor-

phological evolution of the Campanian Plain has been exten-

sively studied by several authors (e.g., D’Erasmo 1931;

Ippolito et al. 1973; Aprile & Ortolani 1978; Brancaccio et al.

1991, 1995; Brocchini et al. 2001; Aprile et al. 2004; Putignano

et al. 2007). In particular, stratigraphical studies based on

interpretation of shallow (≤100 m deep) boreholes have

allowed reconstruction of the recent evolution of both the

northern (Romano et al. 1994; Barra et al. 1996) and southern

sectors (Bellucci 1994, 1998) of the plain.

Surface and subsurface information indicates that exten-

sional tectonics and associated strike-slip motions have

affected the Campanian Plain area since the beginning of the

Early Pleistocene (Brancaccio et al. 1991; Cinque et al. 1993).

Extensional processes caused the subsidence and consequent

submersion of large portions of the Campanian Plain, as

inferred from the recovery of Early Pleistocene marine sedi-

ments on top of Mesozoic or Miocene rocks in deep wells

(e.g., Trecase, Castelvolturno, Villa Literno and Cancello

wells; Fig. 1B; Ippolito et al. 1973; Bernasconi et al. 1981,

Balducci et al. 1983; Brancaccio et al. 1991; Brocchini et al.

2001; ViDEPI 2009). From the Middle Pleistocene, strong

subsidence led to the submersion of the entire plain (Brancaccio

et al. 1991; Hippolyte et al. 1994) while during the Late

Pleistocene, volcanism started intense activity in different

source areas of the Campanian Plain. The onset of volcanic

activity is recorded at Ischia (Gillot et al. 1982) and the

Phlegrean Fields (Rosi & Sbrana 1987) in the first part of

the Late Pleistocene, and at Somma-Vesuvius in the later part

of the Late Pleistocene (Brocchini et al. 2001; Di Renzo et

al. 2007).

The Sele Plain (Fig. 1A) rests on Quaternary sediments that

accumulated within a coastal half-graben, which extends in

the offshore with the deep Salerno Gulf. The Sele Plain –

Salerno Gulf structure is described by Sacchi et al. (1994) for

the offshore sector and by Cinque et al. (2009) for the faults

running both near the coast and on land. The logs of Mina,

Milena, Margherita Mare and Sele (Fig. 1B; Brancaccio et al.

1991; ViDEPI 2009) account for the deep stratigraphy of the

basin infill, although the age of its lowest terms and, conse-

quently, the beginning of the collapse are not well defined.

However, most authors agree on the assumption that the pres-

ent-day morphostructural setting is due to Quaternary exten-

sional tectonics. On land, the first phases (1.5 Ma) of collapse

generated a high-energy relief, the growth of which is testified

by the deposition of epiclastic conglomerates, preserved in

both the northeastern horst block (Picentini Mts.) and its pied-

mont (Capaldi et al. 1988; Cinque et al. 1988, 1991, 2009;

QUATERNARY EVOLUTION OF THE SOUTHERN APENNINES COASTAL PLAINS, ITALY

GEOLOGICA CARPATHICA

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in the palaeogeographical schemes of Fig. 3, where past posi-

tions of the coastline are outlined.

The late Early Pleistocene (Calabrian stage, 1.80 – 0.78 Ma)

Most of the data covering this time interval are rather scat-

tered and mainly come from the reinterpretation of deep well

logs (Fig. 1B; Cellole Aurunci, Castelvolturno, Cancello, Villa

Literno, Parete and Trecase in the Campanian Plain; Mina,

Milena, Margherita Mare and Sele in the Sele Plain – Salerno

Gulf. Ippolito et al. 1973; Brancaccio et al. 1991; Brocchini

et al. 2001; ViDEPI 2009) drilled both onshore and offshore

during the 70’s. The hypothetical morphology of the Tyrrhe-

nian coastline was already characterized by the presence of

two gulfs (Fig. 3A), although they were probably less pro-

nounced than at present. In the basins, in fact, the coastline

was located westward with respect to its modern position

and the promontories separating the basins were wider than

at present.

These hypotheses are based on the presence, in the Sele

Plain – Salerno Gulf half-graben, of marine sediments, not

older than the Gelasian (2.58 –1.8 Ma), between 2000 and

990 m depth in the Mina borehole (Cinque et al. 2009). Sub-

sidence of the western portion of this basin was accompanied

by deposition in its inner portion, namely at the toes of the

Picentini Mts., of the thick epiclastic Eboli Conglomerates,

dated from 1.5 to 0.9 Ma (Brancaccio et al. 1987, 1991; Cinque

et al. 1988).

The presence of a gulf in the northern part of the Campanian

Plain is testified by the marine and transitional (delta facies;

ViDEPI 2009) deposits drilled in the Castelvolturno and

Cellole wells (Figs. 1B and 3A). Marine silts and clays, not

older than the Emilian substage (1.5–1.2 Ma), have been

drilled down to 2400 m depth in the Castelvolturno well

(Fig. 1B; Brancaccio et al. 1991). In the central part of this

coastal basin, continental volcanic deposits (mainly lavas),

encountered by the Parete borehole down to 1800 m depth and

by the Villa Literno well down to about 2900 m (Fig. 1B),

testify to the presence of an ancient volcanic centre, known in

the literature as the Parete volcano (Fig. 3A). In the Parete

well, the base of the volcanic deposits has a K/Ar age of

1.8 Ma (Di Girolamo et al. 1976).

In the southern part of the Campanian Plain, the thick conti-

nental conglomerate deposits found in the Trecase well above

the basal dolostones and aged older than 1.24 Ma (Brocchini

et al. 2001; Fig. 1B), suggests a strong erosional phase follo-

wing the first uplift phases which affected the Sorrento ridge

horst block during the Early Pleistocene (Caiazzo et al. 2006).

According to these authors, the extensional faulting caused

a strong vertical fragmentation, which led to the development,

along NW–SE to N–S trending faults, of a horst-and-graben

structure. Slope and alluvial sediments were then deposited

along the main footslopes and in newly created structural

basins (i.e. the Agerola basin). The absence of Early Pleisto-

cene marine terraces all along the Sorrento Peninsula (Caiazzo

et al. 2006) and the Licosa promontory, in northern Cilento

(Cinque et al. 1994; Iannace et al. 2001; Fig. 1A), suggests

that during that time span these headlands were wider and had

different shapes. However, the presence of Early Pleistocene

marine terraces on Capri island (Fig. 1A; Barattolo et al. 1992)

and the flight of Early Pleistocene (Santernian and Emilian

substages, 1.8 –1.2 Ma) marine terraces in the Mt. Bulgheria

area (Fig. 1A; Ascione & Romano 1999), proves that the

Tyrrhenian coastline had reached both the western part of the

Sorrento – Capri ridge and the southern Cilento in the early

part of the Early Pleistocene.

The early Middle Pleistocene (0.78 – 0.40 Ma)

Following a strong phase of block faulting at the beginning

of the Middle Pleistocene, the coastal promontories reached

a perimeter quite similar to their present state (Fig. 3B). Raised

marine terraces, Middle Pleistocene in age, are noteworthy in

the Sorrento Peninsula headland (Cinque & Romano 1990;

Caiazzo et al. 2006) and in the southern part of the Cilento

promontory (Ascione & Romano 1999).

The marine deposits, found in the Trecase borehole above

the conglomerate layers (down to 1490 m depth) and dated

1.24 – 0.90 Ma through nannofossils (Brocchini et al. 2001),

provide evidence for a strong subsidence phase at the

beginning of this interval, which caused the flooding of

the southern part of the Campanian Plain (Fig. 3B). In the

northern part of the plain (Volturno Plain, Castelvolturno

well; Brancaccio et al. 1991; Fig. 1A and B) marine sands and

clays, drilled between 1000 and 150 m depth, indicate the

persistence of a marine environment during the early Middle

Pleistocene. Regional stratigraphical data indicate that sub-

sidence also affected the perimeter zone of this basin, as testi-

fied by fluvial-lacustrine sequences recovered in the main

feeding river valleys (Corniello & Russo 1990; Brancaccio et

al. 1995).

In the Sele Plain, block faulting caused the uplift of the inner

portion of the graben, as testified by the deformation and rela-

tive uplift of the Eboli Conglomerate Unit and the coeval

subsidence of blocks to the W and SW of that area (Fig. 2A).

At that stage, a pronounced gulf existed (Fig. 3B) in which the

deposition of the marine/transitional Battipaglia–Persano Unit

occurred (Amato et al. 1991; Cinque et al. 2009; Fig. 2A).

These deposits are mainly made up of gravels and clays and

reach a minimum thickness of 250 m. Although not directly

dated, they can be ascribed to the Middle Pleistocene on the

basis of their stratigraphical position. The Battipaglia–Persano

Unit, in fact, covers the Eboli Conglomerate Unit (1.5 – 0.9 Ma)

and underlies littoral deposits related to MIS 5.5 (Fig. 2A).

The younger part of this succession was investigated in detail

with numerous new drillings, palaeo-ecological analyses and

correlation with many pre-existing shallow borehole logs

(Cinque et al. 2009). It is composed of several coastal para-

sequences, recording various regressions and transgressions.

Based on pollen data and relative chronology criteria, these

relative sea-level fluctuations are tentatively framed between

MIS 9 and 5.5 (Fig. 2A and B).

SANTANGELO, ROMANO, ASCIONE and RUSSO ERMOLLI

GEOLOGICA CARPATHICA

, 2017, 68, 1, 43 – 56

that no borehole has reached the base of this unit, its minimum

thickness is estimated to be ca. 50 metres. The lower portion

of this unit has been ascribed to the latest Middle Pleistocene–

Late Pleistocene based on the

230

Th/

234

U age of Cladocora

coespitosa fragments (0.126 ± 0.011 Ma; Romano et al. 1994)

sampled at its top (S. Marcellino borehole, section D–D’ in

Fig. 4). It is mainly made up of silts and sands with remnants

of shells, but the log data do not allow a better definition of the

sedimentary environment and, consequently, of the bathy-

metry. The reconstructed cross sections of Fig. 4 also show

that, at the top of these marine sediments, a continental volca-

nic unit is present (number 5 in Fig. 4). This unit, which is

mainly made up of pyroclastic sands and ashes and subordi-

nately of tuffs and lavas, reaches a maximum thickness of

about 40 metres in the surroundings of Aversa and San

Marcellino (cross section D–D’ in Fig. 4), where it also shows

a dome-like shape. In this portion of the plain, it is covered by

the Campanian Ignimbrite Formation (CI), the most ancient

product of the Phlegrean Fields volcanic district, aged 39 ka

(number 3 in Fig. 4; for its description see section 3.4). Moving

towards both the NW and NE of the Aversa – S. Marcellino

area, the two volcanic units are separated by marine sediments

mainly made up of sands, silts and clays with fossil remains,

which locally include peaty-clay layers of a probable transi-

tional environment. This unit, the top of which is found

at depths ranging from –30 to –10 m a.s.l., has tentatively

been ascribed to MIS 3.3, on the basis of its stratigraphical

position.

An 80-m deep core (SME core, Santangelo et al. 2010;

Figs. 1A and 5), drilled near Caserta in the northeastern sector

of the Campanian Plain, made it possible to better define the

features of the marine and volcanic successions lying below

the CI deposits. On the basis of macro- and micro-palaeonto-

logical data, palynological and tephrostratigraphical informa-

tion and direct dating, the authors identified four stratigraphic

units, defined their depositional environment and constrained

their age (Fig. 5). The lower lagoon environment (Unit 1 in

Fig. 5), with its top located at – 40 m a.s.l., has been ascribed

to MIS 7 thanks to the 142 ka

Ar/

Ar age of a tephra layer

sampled two metres above its top. These data indicate that at

around 150 ka the coastline was close to the SME borehole

site, placing it 28 km inland with respect to its present position

(Fig. 3C).

A strong phase of volcaniclastic aggradation (Unit 2 in Fig. 5)

occurred in the northern sector of the Campanian Plain from

142 ka to 130 ka, together with the sea level fall related to

MIS 6, and produced a temporary emersion of that area.

Subsequently, and probably as a consequence of tectonic sub-

sidence, the coastline reached again the SME borehole area

Fig. 5. Inferred coastline fluctuations along the SME record. The grey

bars in the coastline progradation/retrogradation plot indicate the

periods of sea level high stands. 1 — Campanian Ignimbrite Forma-

tion, 39 ka; 2 — palaeosoil; 3 — continental deposits, mainly volcanic

in nature; 4 — lagoon and marine (emerged/submerged beach) depo-

sits. Modified after Santangelo et al. (2010).

QUATERNARY EVOLUTION OF THE SOUTHERN APENNINES COASTAL PLAINS, ITALY

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(see Section 3.3), allowing deposition of lagoon and infra-lit-

toral sediments (Unit 3 in Fig. 5). This unit was constrained to

MIS 5.5 thanks to tephrostratigraphic correlation with the X-5

tephra marker layer (Keller et al., 1978), aged 105 ka. This

attribution is also supported by pollen analyses, which high-

lighted in these levels a warm and humid vegetation including

Zelkova, a tree that disappeared from central Italy during the

last glacial period (Follieri et al. 1986). Based on their

stratigrahical position, Unit 3 deposits can be correlated to the

marine sediments drilled at -80 m a.s.l. in the central part of

the plain and dated to 126 ± 11 ka (San Marcellino borehole;

Romano et al. 1994).

These new chronological and stratigraphical constraints

show that during MIS 7 and MIS 5 the northern Campanian

Plain was characterized by the presence of a pronounced gulf

with lagoon systems located on its eastern flank (present day

Caserta Mts area; Figs. 3C and 3D). This palaeolandscape was

affected by two significant volcanic events at 140 and 130 ka

that allowed either temporary (SME area) or definitive emer-

sion (Aversa-San Marcellino area) of several sectors of the

gulf. In particular, strong volcanic activity at the end of the

Middle Pleistocene is testified by the eruptive event recorded

by the tephra layer (Sep 8 in Santangelo et al. 2010) with an

age, constrained between 156 and 128 ka, that slightly over-

laps the age of the Taurano Ignimbrite (157.4 ±1 ka; De Vivo

et al. 2001) cropping out on the eastern margin of the Campa-

nian Plain.

Aprile et al. (2004) correlated to the Taurano Ignimbrite the

pyroclastic deposits found in the subsurface of the southeast-

ern part of Campanian Plain (present day Sarno Plain) on top

of marine sediments. Such sediments (the top of which stands

at -35 m a.s.l.; Aprile & Toccaceli 2002) have been related to

MIS 7 by Cinque & Irollo (2004) and are very close to the

inner boundary of the plain, thus indicating that also the south-

eastern sector of the Campanian Plain, as the northern one,

was entirely submerged in the late part of the Middle Pleisto-

cene. The thick succession of sands, drilled from 700 to 365 m

depths in the Trecase borehole (Fig. 1B), should be ascribed to

this same time interval (Brocchini et al. 2001). These sands,

deposited in a marginal marine environment with a transition

to a shore environment, rest on tephritic lavas aged 0.3 ±0.045

Ma, testifying to the presence of effusive centres in the

south-central portion of the Campanian Plain between 0.4 and

0.3 Ma.

More recent beach and transitional deposits, occurring in

the subsurface of the present-day Sarno Plain, have been cor-

related by Barra et al. (1991) to the Last Interglacial period.

Such deposits (the top of which is found at –23 m a.s.l.), allow

the Last Interglacial coastline position to be identified at about

13 kilometres inland with respect to the present-day shoreline

(Barra et al. 1991; Cinque 1991).

In the Sele coastal half-graben, the beach and lagoon depos-

its of the Battipaglia-Persano Unit experienced some uplift (up

to about 30 m) at the end of the Middle Pleistocene (Fig. 2A).

Both stratigraphical and geomorphological evidence indicates

that the western part of the plain was also affected by fault

activity, which resulted in both terracing of deposits of the

Battipaglia-Persano Unit, and westward migration of the

coastline. At 0.13 Ma (Fig. 3D) the coastline was located

about 3.5 kilometres inland with respect to the present one, as

testified by the sedimentary succession of the Gromola Unit

(Fig. 2A and 2B; Russo et al. 1992; Cinque et al. 2009; Aucelli

et al. 2012). This transgression first advanced with transitional

(lagoon to palustrine) deposits and then with sandy beaches

(Fig. 2B). The back-barrier domains were eventually filled up

with marshy and fluvio-palustrine sediments when the sea-rise

stopped and aeolian sands were finally accumulated on the

coastal ridge. Some isoleucine datings and stratigraphical evi-

dence suggest that the Gromola ridge incorporates two peaks

of MIS 5 (5.3 and 5.1).

From the Last Interglacial to the Holocene p.p. (0.10 – 0.06 Ma)

Data collected in recent decades fundamentally confirm

that, in terms of vertical motions, the behaviours of the Cam-

panian and Sele plains during the last 100 ka were different

(e.g., Brancaccio et al. 1991 and references therein). A slight

uplift of the Sele Plain after the end of the Last Interglacial is

inferred from the occurrence of MIS 5.5 back-barrier terraces

at 11 ÷ 14 m a.s.l., and coeval shoreface and dune sediments up

to 13 and 23 m a.s.l., respectively (Fig. 2B; Aucelli et al.

2012). Conversely, the Campanian Plain basin was still under-

going subsidence, the pattern of which is nowadays better

defined. In the southeastern part of the Campanian Plain, such

subsidence is inferred by the lowering, down to –23 m a.s.l., of

the top of the Last Interglacial deposits (Barra et al. 1991;

Cinque 1991). In the northern part of the Campanian Plain, the

elevation difference between the 126 ka marine deposits

drilled in the S. Marcellino area (Romano et al. 1994) and the

basically coeval lagoon sediments of Unit 3 of the SME core

(Santangelo et al. 2010; Fig. 5), which stand at –80 and

–18 m a.s.l. respectively, suggests that different rates of sub-

sidence have affected the eastern and central sectors of this

part of the plain since the Last Interglacial. In the SME core,

the abrupt transition between Unit 3 and Unit 4, marked by

barren pyroclastic deposits (Fig. 5), suggests that a new

important eruptive phase supplied the volcaniclastic material,

which caused the final emersion of the SME area. The alterna-

tion of pyroclastic deposits and palaeo-soils suggests that

several eruptions took place in that area from 105 ka to 39 ka,

when the catastrophic eruption of the CI occurred.

The Last Glacial regression (60 – 15 ka) and the CI eruption

represent the main events which have affected the palaeo-

landscape of the study area during the Late Pleistocene

(Fig. 3E and F).

The extremely violent explosive CI eruption (Di Girolamo

1968; Di Girolamo et al. 1973, 1984; Barberi et al. 1978;

Deino et al. 1994; De Vivo et al. 2001) covered the entire

Campanian Plain with the emplacement of pyroclastic flow

deposits tens of metres thick. This unit is clearly identified

from the onshore stratigraphic record all over the plain

(Romano et al. 1994; Aprile et al. 2004; Fig. 4) and in the

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GEOLOGICA CARPATHICA

, 2017, 68, 1, 43 – 56

offshore area. In the eastern part of the northern Campanian

Plain, the CI covers older volcanic deposits (e.g., SME core

log; Fig. 5) while towards the coast it rests on marine sands

and clays related to MIS 3 (Romano et al. 1994; Fig. 4).

Milia and Torrente (2003) interpreted a thick seismically

chaotic unit recognized in the Bay of Naples as the CI. This

unit, with a thickness up to 135 metres, is identified in the

central part of the continental shelf and its top lies between

150 and 100 m below the sea level. Both at the base and the

top, it is bounded by erosional surfaces characterized by

incised valleys, indicating a subaerial environment for this

eruption (Milia 1998, 2000).

These data indicate that most of the Campanian Plain was

located above the sea level at the moment of the CI emplace-

ment. This was possible thanks to the progressive sea level

drop during the Last Glacial period (Fig. 3E). Data from

several authors indicate that the sea level at 37 ka was about

80 metres lower than at present and reached a minimum of

–120 m at about 20 ka (Bintanija et al. 2005; Siddall et al.

2005; Caputo 2007).

According to Romano et al. (1994) and Amorosi et al.

(2012), deep valley incision down to 30 metres occurred

immediately after the CI deposition in the northern part

of the Campanian Plain. This down-cutting phase was likely

enhanced by the huge thickness of unconsolidated pyroclastic

material emplaced instantaneously in that area. The following,

further sea-level fall occurred at the Last Glacial Maximum,

and caused additional river downcutting. Comparable evi-

dence is available from the subsurface of the southeastern

part of the Campanian Plain, namely in the present-day Gulf

of Naples onshore area. In the northern part of this area,

valley fill deposits, consisting in alluvial sediments with peat

layers, occur on top of the CI (Pescatore et al. 1984; Bellucci

1994, 1998) whereas in the southern part (present-day

Sarno Plain), the top surface of the CI is dissected by a valley

shaped morphology, the bottom of which stands at around

30 m below the sea level in the Pompeii area (Cinque &

Irollo 2004).

Based on new data from recent offshore geological surveys

(ISPRA 2015), it was possible to outline the coastline shape

during the LGM (Fig. 3E). It was located tens of kilometres

westward with respect to the present one, allowing the connec-

tion of Ischia and Capri islands to the continent.

Re-emergence of volcanic activity at the present-day

Somma-Vesuvius volcano occurred only after the CI eruption

(Brocchini et al. 2001; Di Renzo et al. 2007). Magma rose

along and at the intersection of linear and curved tectonic and

volcano-tectonic elements. It gave rise to a number of small

lava and scoria edifices termed “lava ridges”, identified on top

of the CI by Di Vito et al. (1998). One of these tephritic centres

lies above the CI deposits in the subsurface of the area around

the Trecase well, as shown by the tephritic lava sequence

encountered between 250 and 200 m depth in this well

(Fig. 1B; Brocchini et al. 2001). In addition, the chemical

composition of the 290–275 m-deep fallout level of the

Trecase well is comparable to that of the deposits of the Codola

eruption that is aged 33 ka (Giaccio et al. 2008), and testifies

to the onset of the Somma volcano activity.

The progressive growth of the Somma-Vesuvius and

Phlegrean Fields volcanic edifices, during the Late Pleisto-

cene-Holocene, caused the final separation of the Campanian

Plain into two main zones: the Volturno Plain to the NW and

the Sarno Plain to the SW (Fig. 3F). Combined geomorpho-

logical and stratigraphical evidence of latest Pleistocene

(post-CI) or Holocene faulting at the boundaries of such plains

(Cinque et al. 2000; Irollo et al. 2005), indicates that these

areas were subject to subsidence until very recent times.

The latest Pleistocene – early Holocene (ca. 15–6 ka) sea

level rise promoted the rapid flooding of the lower Volturno

Plain, leading to a generalized widening of the shelf. Based on

subsurface data, the lower transgressive portion of the latest

Pleistocene–early Holocene succession, which reflects the

sedimentary evolution of a back-stepping estuary system, is

bounded on top by a wave ravinement surface overlain by

transgressive barrier sands (Amorosi et al. 2012). Since

ca. 6.5 ka, the turnaround from transgressive to ‘regressive’

(highstand) conditions marked the onset of the present

Volturno river delta and the late Holocene progradation of

3– 6 kilometres of the adjacent coastal plain (Barra et al. 1996;

Amorosi et al. 2013). Deceleration of the post-glacial sea level

rise is testified by middle –late Holocene prograding deposits

of prodelta and delta front/strandplain facies, capped by modern

alluvial, delta plain and coastal plain deposits (Amorosi et al.

2012; Sacchi et al. 2014).

In the Sarno Plain, at the Holocene transgressive maximum,

the sea formed a beach ridge (Messigno, 5600 and 4500 yr B.P.)

more than 2 kilometres inland from the present-day shore,

whereas progradation of the plain, due to high volcanic supply

during the following highstand, resulted in a new beach ridge

formation (Bottaro-Pioppaino, 3600 yr B.P.), 0.5 kilometres

seaward of the Messigno ridge (Barra et al. 1989; Cinque 1991).

The Sele Plain was not directly affected by the devastating

CI eruption, with the exception of the Salerno – Fratte and

Pontecagnano areas (Pappone et al. 2009). The landscape

evolution was mainly dominated by fluvial dissection during

the Last Glacial regression. During this period (probably in the

late part of it), the deposition of alluvial sediments took place

along the lower Tusciano River course. The load carried by the

Sele River probably fed the deposition of less inclined valley

floor beds, nowadays found under similar Holocene deposits

(Budillon et al. 1994).

After the marine regression of MIS 4 and largely before the

Holocene optimum, the southernmost part of the plain was

affected by deposition of calcareous tufa (Amato et al. 2009;

Cinque et al. 2009).

The deposition of the Campolongo Unit (Fig. 2B; Cinque et

al. 2009) in the lower Sele Plain dates from the late part of the

Post Glacial transgression and the following period of high-

stand. The early Holocene part of the Campolongo Unit shows

a clear transgressive trend, while the late Holocene part has

a progradational trend (Fig. 2B). This last transgression was

pre-announced by lagoon deposits, basal part of which has

QUATERNARY EVOLUTION OF THE SOUTHERN APENNINES COASTAL PLAINS, ITALY

GEOLOGICA CARPATHICA

, 2017, 68, 1, 43 – 56

been

C dated to around 9000 yr B.P. The ingression peak

recorded at around 5300 yr B.P. caused the formation of the

innermost part of the composite Laura coastal ridge, up to 1.5

kilometres from the present-day coastline (Fig. 2B). The beach

deposits, forming the most internal part of the composite

Sterpina coastal ridge (generally located at some 250 metres

from the modern shore), have ages ranging from the 6th cen-

tury B.C. to about 2000 years ago (Cinque et al. 2009; Amato

et al. 2013).

Conclusion

The present study, by means of an accurate revision and

critical synthesis of all data published in the last twenty years,

provides a comprehensive framework of the Quaternary geo-

morphological evolution of the main coastal plains of the

Southern Apennines. It focuses, in particular, on tectonically

and glacio-eustatically controlled coastline migrations.

During the Early Pleistocene, the studied plains were

strongly subsiding and, up to the first part of the Middle

Pleistocene, the coastline was located in the innermost part of

the basins, at the foot of the main border carbonate massifs.

Starting from the late part of the Middle Pleistocene, the tec-

tonic behaviour of the Sele Plain changed to uplift. The shape

of the present-day landscape mainly resulted from the substan-

tial ceasing of subsidence in this period. Conversely, the Cam-

panian Plain was affected by significant subsidence all through

the Middle and Late Pleistocene and a strong contribution to

its recent evolution has been provided by important volcani-

clastic aggradation. The subsidence rates were not homo-

geneous all over the plain, and recent data suggest that, in the

last 130 ka, periods of relative tectonic stability alternated

with moments of increasing subsidence that occurred mainly

after the main volcanic events. Huge explosive events occurred

between 150 and 130 ka, strongly influencing the coastline

position during MIS 7 and 5, and between 105 and 39 ka.

An outstanding phase of volcaniclastic aggradation occurred

at about 39 ka, when the tens of metres thick CI pyroclastic

flow deposit was emplaced. In response to the dramatic CI

eruption, the Campanian Plain was completely emerged and

affected by fluvial downcutting, also induced by the sea level

lowering of the Last Glacial regression. At this stage, the

palaeolandscape was characterized by a coastline located at its

most westerly position, never reached during the Pleistocene.

During the Holocene, in concomitance with the peak of the

post-glacial transgression, lagoon and swamp systems formed

in both plains some kilometres inland from the present

coastline.

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