Ecogeomorphology and vulnerability in a Mediterranean ria-type coast (La Maddalena Archipelago, NE Sardinia, western Mediterranean)

This paper presents a map describing the main geomorphological and sedimentological features, hydrodynamics, benthic habitat distributions and human impact on the coastal and marine areas of the Archipelago of La Maddalena (NE Sardinia, western Mediterranean). This cartography is based on an interdisciplinary sea-land approach, with the aim being to support sustainable and successful beach management in the face of a changing climate and environment, thereby contributing to the achievement of the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (13, 14 and 15). In the Main Map (1:14,000 scale), the static and dynamic features of the beach systems and adjacent inner shelf are divided into thematic sections that include the geomorphological elements, hydrodynamics, sedimentological distributions, benthic habitat (mainly Posidonia oceanica meadow) and anthropogenic impacts. The map establishes a fundamental, multidisciplinary benchmark that is able to provide substantial scientific support to policymakers in relation to future vulnerability-assessment activities and the definition of land-management strategies

Haplotype affinities resolve a major component of goat (<i>Capra hircus</i>) MtDNA D-loop diversity and reveal specific features of the Sardinian stock

Goat mtDNA haplogroup A is a poorly resolved lineage absorbing most of the overall diversity and is found in locations as distant as Eastern Asia and Southern Africa. Its phylogenetic dissection would cast light on an important portion of the spread of goat breeding. The aims of this work were 1) to provide an operational definition of meaningful mtDNA units within haplogroup A, 2) to investigate the mechanisms underlying the maintenance of diversity by considering the modes of selection operated by breeders and 3) to identify the peculiarities of Sardinian mtDNA types. We sequenced the mtDNA D-loop in a large sample of animals (1,591) which represents a non-trivial quota of the entire goat population of Sardinia. We found that Sardinia mirrors a large quota of mtDNA diversity of Western Eurasia in the number of variable sites, their mutational pattern and allele frequency. By using Bayesian analysis, a distance-based tree and a network analysis, we recognized demographically coherent groups of sequences identified by particular subsets of the variable positions. The results showed that this assignment system could be reproduced in other studies, capturing the greatest part of haplotype diversity. We identified haplotype groups overrepresented in Sardinian goats as a result of founder effects. We found that breeders maintain diversity of matrilines most likely through equalization of the reproductive potential. Moreover, the relevant amount of inter-farm mtDNA diversity found does not increase proportionally with distance. Our results illustrate the effects of breeding practices on the composition of maternal gene pool and identify mtDNA types that may be considered in projects aimed at retrieving the maternal component of the oldest breeds of Sardinia.</br

Haplotype Affinities Resolve a Major Component of Goat (Capra hircus) MtDNA D-Loop Diversity and Reveal Specific Features of the Sardinian Stock

Goat mtDNA haplogroup A is a poorly resolved lineage absorbing most of the overall diversity and is found in locations as distant as Eastern Asia and Southern Africa. Its phylogenetic dissection would cast light on an important portion of the spread of goat breeding. The aims of this work were 1) to provide an operational definition of meaningful mtDNA units within haplogroup A, 2) to investigate the mechanisms underlying the maintenance of diversity by considering the modes of selection operated by breeders and 3) to identify the peculiarities of Sardinian mtDNA types. We sequenced the mtDNA D-loop in a large sample of animals (1,591) which represents a non-trivial quota of the entire goat population of Sardinia. We found that Sardinia mirrors a large quota of mtDNA diversity of Western Eurasia in the number of variable sites, their mutational pattern and allele frequency. By using Bayesian analysis, a distance-based tree and a network analysis, we recognized demographically coherent groups of sequences identified by particular subsets of the variable positions. The results showed that this assignment system could be reproduced in other studies, capturing the greatest part of haplotype diversity

Cartografia sedimentologica e geologico-marina nell’arcipelago di La Maddalena - Bocche di Bonifacio Sardegna Nord-Orientale - Italia

Vengono esposti i risultati dell'attività di ricerca geologico marina e sedimentologica sulle aree marine costiere e di piattaforma continentale interne ed adiacenti aii'Arcipelego di La Maddalena e Bocche di Bonifacio realizzata con lo scopo di redarre cartografia geologico marina e sedimentologica in scala 1:25.000 e 1:10.000 (DEMURO 1990,DEMURO et alii2000 e 2003a). Le informazioni riportate sulla cartografia prodotta si riferiscono alla mappatura e al rilevamento realizzati durante le campagne a terra e in mare svolte dagli anni '90 al 2004, organizzate dal Gruppo di Geologia Marina dell'Università di Cagliari nell'ambito di diversi progetti di ricerca. Gli studi fino ad oggi condotti hanno riguardato soprattutto le indagini sedimentologiche dei fondali marini e dei litorali compresi tra Punta di Li Francesi e Capo Ferro - Sardegna nord-orientale (DEMURO et alii 2002, DEMURO 2003). Le ricerche sono state svolte con l'ausilio di mezzi navali del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, mezzi dell'Università di Cagliari, del Corpo Forestale e di Vigilanza Ambientale e della Marina Militare. I primi studi costieri sono stati eseguiti contestualmente alle indagini sedimentologiche dei fondali ma limitati aile sole ricerche sulla provenienza e trasporto dei sedimenti oltre che alla definizione regionale di unità morfologico-strutturali e alla evoluzione pleistocenico-olocenica della piattaforma continentale (DEMURO 1990). Successivamente, le indagini sono passate a fasi di maggior dettaglio mediante la realizzazione di cartografia sedimentologica della fascia costiera integrata da raccolta di dati morfostrutturali, ecografici e sismici, stratigrafici, micropaleontologici, ecc.) (DEMURO et alii 2003b). Nell'ambito di questa seconda fase sono stati approfonditi gli aspetti riguardanti lo studio di paleo-linee di riva e di beachrocks mappate e campionate a diverse profondità (DEMURO et alii 1997 e 2003). Sulla base dei primi risultati, geologici, sedimentologici e geomorfologici è stata effettuata una zonazione delle coste e dei fondali marini in scala 1:25.000 e 1:10.000 di sei aree campione. Le carte evidenziano la distribuzione dei sedimenti (tessitura, composizione, provenienza, direzioni di trasporto) e delle principali geometrie dei corpi deposizionali olocenici. Sono in corso di approfondimento studi e mappature di dettaglio con l'obiettivo di pubblicare un Atlante corredato 12 Carte Tematiche

Atlante delle coste della Sardegna Nord Orientale - Italia

Vengono esposti i risultati dell’attività di ricerca, sulle aree marine costiere e di piattaforma continentale interne ed adiacenti all’Arcipelego di La Maddalena (Bocche di Bonifacio), realizzata con lo scopo di redigere cartografia geologico marina, sedimentologica e geomorfologica in scala 1:25.000 e 1:10.000 (DeMuro 1990, DeMuro et alii 2000 e 2003a). Le informazioni riportate sulla cartografia prodotta si riferiscono alla mappatura e al rilevamento realizzati durante le campagne a terra e in mare svolte tra il 1990 e il 2005, organizzate dal "Coastal and Marine Geology Group" nell’ambito di diversi progetti di ricerca. Gli studi fino ad oggi condotti hanno riguardato soprattutto le indagini sedimentologiche dei fondali marini e dei litorali compresi tra Punta di Li Francesi e Capo Ferro – Sardegna nord-orientale (DeMuro et alii 2002, DeMuro 2003). Le ricerche sono state svolte con l’ausilio di mezzi navali del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, mezzi dell’Università di Cagliari, del Corpo Forestale e di Vigilanza Ambientale e della Marina Militare. I primi studi costieri sono stati eseguiti contestualmente alle indagini sedimentologiche dei fondali ma limitati alle sole ricerche sulla provenienza e trasporto dei sedimenti oltre che alla definizione regionale di unità morfologico-strutturali e alla evoluzione pleistocenico-olocenica della piattaforma continentale (DeMuro 1990). Successivamente, le indagini sono passate a fasi di maggior dettaglio mediante la realizzazione di cartografia sedimentologica della fascia costiera integrata da raccolta di dati morfostrutturali, ecografici e sismici, stratigrafici, micropaleontologici, ecc.) (DeMuro et alii 2003b). Nell’ambito di questa seconda fase sono stati approfonditi gli aspetti riguardanti lo studio di paleo-linee di riva e di beachrocks mappate e campionate a diverse profondità (DeMuro et alii 1997 e 2003c). Sulla base dei primi risultati, geologici, sedimentologici e geomorfologici è stata effettuata una zonazione delle coste e dei fondali marini in scala 1:25.000 e 1:10.000 di sei aree campione. Inoltre sui sistemi di spiaggia delle aree in studio è stato avviato il monitoraggio basato su una rete di caposaldi. L'obiettivo è quello di definire il regime e la tendenza evolutiva (stabilità, avanzamento, arretramento) delle principali spiagge galluresi. Le carte evidenziano la distribuzione dei sedimenti (tessitura, composizione, provenienza, direzioni di trasporto) e delle principali geometrie dei corpi deposizionali olocenici. Sono in corso di approfondimento studi e mappature di dettaglio con l’obiettivo di pubblicare un Atlante corredato da 10 Carte Tematiche digitali che rappresenta una banca dati aggiornabile di facile lettura. © Università degli Studi di Cagliari Contenuti soggetti a copyright, è vietata la diffusione e la commercializzazione

Distribution of the marine and transitional deposits (holocene) and geomorphological map of the coastal area between Punta Arenas and Rio Quema Angusta - Peninsula Brunswick. Patagonia - Strait of Magellan – Chile (1:50,000 scale map) map 6/12 first edition

The 6th map of the Coastal Atlas of the Strait of Magellan (1:50,000 scale) refers to sheets 84 and 101 of the Chilean I.G.M., and was made using the preliminary cartography by E.NA.P. (Empresa Nacional de Petroleo) and the Chilean I.G.M., aerial photos by S.A.F. (Servicio Aerofotogrammetrico Fuerza Aerea de Chile) and T.M. and M.S.S. Landsat satellite images. This research is aimed mainly at locating and mapping the marine and transitional terraces in Patagonia, along the eastern coasts of the Strait of Magellan, between Punta Arenas and Cabo Froward. Methodologicaly, we followed both the criteria of several more recent cartographic works produced by Programma Nazionale Ricerche in Antartide (Magellan Project), as well as the general criteria internationally adopted in coastal geological cartography. The coastal cartography of Quaternary deposits in the area south of Punta arenas (Tierra del Fuego - Strait of Magellan - Chile) is part of a wider ongoing research program that started in 1991 on the recent evolution of the Strait of Magellan. To this purpose, within the Programma Nazionale di Ricerche in Antartide (P.N.R.A.) (National Research Programme in Antarctica), 3 campaigns were carried out on land. The first was in 1991 and dealt with the sedimentology and geology of coastal Pleisto-Holocene deposits, while the second and the third, in 1994 and 2003 that is after the cartographic and geomorphological data had been processed, were intended as a check of the cartography of the old coastlines and postglacial, Quaternary, prevalently marine deposits. Moreover, the study also involves the the project RAS-PVS (Regione Autonoma Sardegna - Paesi in Via di Sviluppo - Cartografia Geologico - Morfologica delle Coste dello Stretto di Magellano). Among the objectives that developed during the research is the publication of an Atlas of the coasts of the Strait of Magellan on geological and geomorphological elements, prevalently Holocenic, that can be useful to formulate an evolutionary hypothesis of the Strait in very recent times. The Atlas is at present being refined while its publication depends exclusively on the obtaining of funds to print the maps in colour. The Atlas is configured not only as a theme cartography of the evolutionary characteristics of the Late Pleistocene-Holocene sea, but also as a cartographic document of geomorphologic and evolutionary elements of the continental and transitional deposits underlying the marine deposits. Three thematic general maps at the 1:200,000 scale on the eastern region of the Strait of Magellan have already been published (Brambati et Al., 1995a; De Muro et Al, 1995; Di Grande et Al., 1995). Marine and transitional deposits. Marine and transitional deposits and forms regularly occupy the coastal belt from Punta Arenas to Cabo Foward. They are mainly represented by gravel, sand and silt deposits, or more rarely, by simple erosion surfaces. Four main orders of terraced sequences have been mapped. The first, and oldest, was found regularly between altitudes of 18 and 25 meters. Sand and silt deposits prevail here. Because of its stratigraphic position and by radiocarbon dating this first order was referred to the Lower Holocene without the exclusion that its base may belong to the Upper Pleistocene, while the depositional environment is transitional. The Second Order, is distributed between 6 and 11 metres, and is mainly represented by fossiliferous gravel deposits; sands and silts are also present. It regularly covers most of the coastal stretch and extends in the backland at the level of the main fluvial and lacustrine depressions. At times, it presents well-preserved complex sedimentary structures of paleobeach environments (berms, spits and/or bars). The age of formation of the marine deposit, by C14 dating, is on average between 6,OOO and 7,OOO years B.P. The Third Order strictly follows the present beach, between altitudes of 3 and 5 metres, at the foot of the Second Order terrace. It is made up of gravels and sands and refers preferably to a marine environment. At a slightly lower elevation, presence of small, terraced (Fourth order), marine remnants, younger than in the Third Order, was rarely noticed. Conclusion The 6th map of the Coastal Atlas of the Strait of Magellan provides a zoning of the area distribution of the most significant deposits, forms and processes relating to the coastal belt between Punta Arenas and Rio Quema Angusta - Peninsula Brunswick. From the Map it can be seen that the morphogenesis of the area was strictly controlled by the processes associated with the advance and retreat of the Magellan Glacier, and subordinately, by the main morphodynamic event represented by post deglaciation marine ingression. The Holocene paleogeographic evolutionary picture of the Patagonia-Tierra del Fuego area, is mainly controlled by the imposing phenomenon of glacio-isostasy, though it cannot be ruled out that the morphogenesis subsequent to deglaciation may have been affected by mild neo-tectonic movements. As previously observed (DeMuro et Al., 1995b), marine ingressions that produced terracing of the coasts and backland presumably depend on prevalently positive movements of the whole coastal system, related to the final deglaciation of the region. It is deduced that parallelly following deglaciation, a strong parallel uplift of the mean sea level was produced with initially transgressive stratigraphic effects. Isostatic rebound, that probably occurred rather late compared to post-glacial transgression, is superimposed with very complex and articulate phenomena, that are under study at present and will be the subject of future works. From an examination of map n. 6/12 of the Atlas of the coasts of the Strait of Magellan, it emerges that all marine and transitional terraces that have been found are later than the last glaciation, and are superimposed on its products with clear angular discordance and sharp erosive truncation. This is deduced both from the stratigraphy of the outcrops and from strata geometry and C14 dati