The Holocene record of environmental changes in the ‘Stagno di Maccarese’ marsh (Tiber river delta, central Italy)

The Holocene ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 22 (12) ◽  
pp. 1461-1471 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Giraudi
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Beach Ridges ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Tiber River ◽  
Environmental Variations ◽  
Holocene Record ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Ird Events

The stratigraphic study of the Stagno di Maccarese, carried out on the sediments exposed in about 7 km of trenches excavated in an area of approximately 1.5 km2, has shown that in the course of the Holocene many environmental variations have taken place. The complex evolution of the marsh is demonstrated by the variations in water salinity and the presence of erosion surfaces and soils between the sediments. In the early Holocene, the area studied was an isolated marsh with water having variable salinity, and it was only about 6000 cal. yr BP that it was encompassed in the system of inner delta marshes. In the delta environment, the water of the marsh was oligohaline until about 9th–8th centuries bc, brackish from 9th–8th centuries bc to about 600 yr BP, and later oligohaline until the 19th century drainage. A number of environmental variations are connected with local phenomena, such as erosion of the beach ridges and Tiber floods, but the others can be correlated chronologically with climatic events recorded at regional and global scale. The millennial variations seem to be connected with changes in insolation, while abrupt variations can be correlated chronologically with the IRD events dated at 8200, 5900, 4200, 2800, 1400 and 500 cal. yr BP.

Regional to global correlation of Eocene–Oligocene boundary transition successions using biostratigraphic, geophysical and geochemical methods

2019 ◽  
Vol 157 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-100
Author(s):  
Brooks B. Ellwood ◽  
Lawrence Febo ◽  
Laurie Anderson ◽  
Rebecca T. Hackworth ◽  
Guy H. Means ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Geophysical Methods ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Multiple Correlation ◽  
Southeastern Usa ◽  
Global Correlation ◽  
Extinction Event ◽  
Oxygen Stable Isotope ◽  
Stratotype Section

AbstractRegional to global high-resolution correlation and timing is critical when attempting to answer important geological questions, such as the greenhouse to icehouse transition that occurred during the Eocene–Oligocene boundary transition. Timing of these events on a global scale can only be answered using correlation among many sections, and multiple correlation proxies, including biostratigraphy, lithostratigraphy, geochemistry and geophysical methods. Here we present litho- and biostratigraphy for five successions located in the southeastern USA. To broaden the scope of correlation, we also employ carbon and oxygen stable isotope and magnetic susceptibility (χ) data to interpret these sections regionally, and correlate to the Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) near Massignano in central Italy. Our results indicate that approaching the Eocene–Oligocene boundary, climate warmed slightly, but then δ18O data exhibit an abrupt c. +5 ‰ positive shift towards cooling that reached a maximum c. 1 m below the boundary at St Stephens Quarry, Alabama. This shift was accompanied by a c. −3 ‰ negative shift in δ13C interpreted to indicate environmental changes associated with the onset of the Eocene–Oligocene boundary planktonic foraminiferal extinction event. The observed cold pulse may be responsible for the final extinction of Hantkeninidae, used to define the beginning of the Rupelian Stage. Immediately preceding the boundary, Hantkeninidae species dropped significantly in abundance and size (pre-extinction dwarfing occurring before the final Eocene–Oligocene extinctions), and these changes may be the reason for inconsistencies in past Eocene–Oligocene boundary placement in the southeastern USA.

Constraining the onset of the Holocene “Neoglacial” over the central Italy using tephra layers

2012 ◽  
Vol 78 (2) ◽  
pp. 236-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Zanchetta ◽  
Carlo Giraudi ◽  
Roberto Sulpizio ◽  
Michel Magny ◽  
Russell N. Drysdale ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Climatic Changes ◽  
Common Method ◽  
Chemical Analyses ◽  
High Mountains ◽  
Central Apennines ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Tephra Layers ◽  
Apennine Chain

AbstractA study of six tephra layers discovered in different deposits between 1600 and 2700 m a.s.l. in the Apennine chain in central Italy allowed precise stratigraphic constraints on environmental and climatic changes between ca. 4.5 and 3.8 cal ka BP. Chemical analyses allowed the correlation of these tephra layers with the eruptions of Agnano Mt Spina (AMST) from Phlegrean Field and Avellino (AVT) from Somma–Vesuvius. Major environmental changes in the high mountains of the Central Apennines occurred just after the deposition of the AMST and predate the deposition of the AVT. At this time, renewed growth of the Calderone Glacier occurred, marking the onset of the Apennine “Neoglacial”. The presence of the AMST and AVT enabled us to make a precise, physical correlation with other archives in central Italy. Synchronization of records between sites showed that the period intervening the deposition of the AMST and AVT layers coincided with environmental changes that were not always exactly in phase. This highlights the fact that stratigraphic correlations using only radiocarbon chronologies (the most common method used for dating archives during the Holocene) could produce erroneous correlation of events, giving rise to oversimplified paleoclimatic reconstructions.

Palaeoproductivity and environmental changes during the Holocene in central Italy as recorded in two crater lakes (Albano and Nemi)

2002 ◽  
Vol 88 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Guilizzoni ◽  
A. Lami ◽  
A. Marchetto ◽  
V. Jones ◽  
M. Manca ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Crater Lakes ◽  
The Holocene

The sediments of the ‘Stagno di Maccarese’ marsh (Tiber river delta, central Italy): A late-Holocene record of natural and human-induced environmental changes

The Holocene ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (8) ◽  
pp. 1233-1243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo Giraudi
Keyword(s):  
Water Level ◽  
Brackish Water ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Coastal Marsh ◽  
Freshwater Marshes ◽  
Environmental Variations ◽  
Tiber Delta

The environmental evolution, inferred from the sedimentary sequence, that has occurred during the last three millennia in a drained coastal marsh in the Tiber delta is presented. The stratigraphy of the sediments has been revealed through excavation of 7 km of trenches in an area of about 1.5 km2. The most evident environmental variations are represented by the transformation of freshwater marshes into brackish-water marshes, around the ninth–eighth centuries bc, and from brackish-water to freshwater marshes during the fourteenth–fifteenth centuries ad. The change in the water salinity was produced by the opening and closure of an inlet connecting the marshes and the sea because of the evolution of the delta. Other environmental variations are reflected in the fluctuations in the water level of brackish marshes: in a general trend towards an increase in water level, probably caused by the late-Holocene sea level increase, some phases of water decrease in the range of 10–20 cm occurred. The majority of the environmental changes were largely produced by erosion and sedimentary events connected with Tiber delta variations induced both by human impact and climate. The lower water levels were contemporary with glacial advances in the Alps and the Apennine chains. At least one of the five decreases of the water level was contemporaneous with a marine regression documented in Italy.

scholarly journals A Late Glacial to Holocene record of environmental change from Lake Dojran (Macedonia, Greece)

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 5743-5785 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Francke ◽  
B. Wagner ◽  
M. J. Leng ◽  
J. Rethemeyer
Keyword(s):  
Late Glacial ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Humid Climate ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Erosion Processes ◽  
Environmental Variations ◽  
Age Model ◽  
Balkan Region ◽  
Holocene Record

Abstract. A Late Glacial to Holocene sediment sequence (Co1260, 717 cm) from Lake Dojran, located at the boarder of the F.Y.R. of Macedonia and Greece, has been investigated to provide information on climate variability in the Balkan region. A robust age-model was established from 13 radiocarbon ages, and indicates that the base of the sequence was deposited at ca. 12 500 cal yr BP, when the lake-level was low. Variations in sedimentological (TOC, CaCO3, TC, N, S, grain-size, XRF, δ18Ocarb, δ13Ccarb, δ13Corg) data were linked to hydro-acoustic data and indicate that warmer and more humid climate conditions characterized the remaining period of the Younger Dryas until the beginning of the Holocene. The Holocene exhibits significant environmental variations, including the 8.2 ka and 4.2 ka cooling events, the Medieval Warm Period, and the Little Ice Age. Human induced erosion processes in the catchment of Lake Dojran intensified after 2800 cal yr BP.

scholarly journals A Late Glacial to Holocene record of environmental change from Lake Dojran (Macedonia, Greece)

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 481-498 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Francke ◽  
B. Wagner ◽  
M. J. Leng ◽  
J. Rethemeyer
Keyword(s):  
Late Glacial ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Humid Climate ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Erosion Processes ◽  
Environmental Variations ◽  
Age Model ◽  
Balkan Region ◽  
Holocene Record

Abstract. A Late Glacial to Holocene sediment sequence (Co1260, 717 cm) from Lake Dojran, located at the boarder of the F.Y.R. of Macedonia and Greece, has been investigated to provide information on climate variability in the Balkan region. A robust age-model was established from 13 radiocarbon ages, and indicates that the base of the sequence was deposited at ca. 12 500 cal yr BP, when the lake-level was low. Variations in sedimentological (H2O, TOC, CaCO3, TS, TOC/TN, TOC/TS, grain-size, XRF, δ18Ocarb, δ13Ccarb, δ13Corg) data were linked to hydro-acoustic data and indicate that warmer and more humid climate conditions characterised the remaining period of the Younger Dryas until the beginning of the Holocene. The Holocene exhibits significant environmental variations, including the 8.2 and 4.2 ka cooling events, the Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age. Human induced erosion processes in the catchment of Lake Dojran intensified after 2800 cal yr BP.

The Tiber river delta plain (central Italy): Coastal evolution and implications for the ancient Ostia Roman settlement

The Holocene ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
pp. 1105-1116 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Bellotti ◽  
G. Calderoni ◽  
F. Di Rita ◽  
M. D’Orefice ◽  
C. D’Amico ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Central Italy ◽  
River Mouth ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
River Delta ◽  
Seventh Century ◽  
Delta Plain ◽  
Tiber River ◽  
Military Posts ◽  
Historical Accounts ◽  
The Town

Geomorphologic, stratigraphic, faunistic, palynological and carbon isotope analyses were carried out in the area of the Tiber river mouth. The results depict a complex palaeoenvironmental evolution in the area of the Roman town of Ostia, ascertain the changes of the Tiber river delta over the last 6000 years and support a re-interpretation of some archaeologic issues. The wave-dominated Tiber delta evolved through three distinct phases. In the first step (5000–2700 yr BP) a delta cusp was built at the river mouth, which was located north of the present outlet. Subsequently (2700–1900 BP), an abrupt southward migration of the river mouth determined the abandonment of the previous cusp and the progradation of a new one. The third step, which is still in progress, is marked by the appearance of a complex cusp made up of two distributary channels. The transition from the first to the second evolution phase occurred in the seventh century bc and was contemporary to the foundation of Ostia, as suggested by historical accounts. However, the oldest archaeological evidence of the town of Ostia dates to the fourth century bc, when human activity is clearly recorded also by pollen data. We suggest that the first human settlement (seventh century bc) consisted of ephemeral military posts, with the aim of controlling the strategic river mouth and establishing the Ostia saltworks. Only after the fourth century bc the coastal environment was stable enough for the foundation and development of the town of Ostia.

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