Sedimentological and morpho-evolution maps of the 'Bosco Pantano di Policoro' coastal system (Gulf of Taranto, southern Italy)

This paper presents the results of a sedimentological study performed to characterize the ‘Bosco Pantano di Policoro e Costa Ionica Foce Sinni’ coastal system, in Basilicata (southern Italy), as part of the PROVIDUNE LIFE Project. The study was focused on the morpho-sedimentological characterization of both the emerged and submerged sectors of the beach system developed along a 3.5 km-long segment of the Ionian coast. A multitemporal comparison of historical aerial photos of the studied coastline concerning the last 100 years was executed. A geomorphological survey was carried out along 36 topographic profiles (each up to 200-m long); these were coupled with bathymetric profiles, reaching a depth of 213 m. Both topographic and bathymetric profiles were measured on three occasions (July, October, December 2010). Textural and compositional analyses of sediments were also performed. The results of this study were synthesized in a series of maps illustrating a schematic geological outline of the study area, a reconstruction of the Sinni river course and shoreline changes from 1908 to 2010 (1:2,400 scale), significant topographic (1:1,300 scale) and bathymetric (1:5,000 scale) profiles, three bathymetric charts (1:31,000 scale) and morpho-sedimentological features of both the coastal and nearshore sectors (1:15,000 scale). This study provides a geological background that is crucial for any intervention planning, as well as for any coastal zone management projects. The results should be also used in order to protect coastal habitats, which is the ultimate goal of the LIFE project

Depositi carbonatici infrapleistocenici di tipo foramol in sistemi di scarpata (Salento – Italia meridionale)

Along the eastern Salento coast (Southern Italy), Cretaceous to Quaternary carbonates crop out on a 100 m high escarpment that connects a wide and relatively flat area to the Otranto Strait (Ionian Sea). Along the escarpment, faulted and tilted Cretaceous and Eocene limestones record deposition in shallow-marine and marginal carbonate environments. Younger carbonates disconformably overlie this substratum and they formed when the region was partially submerged. Accordingly, Priabonian to Messinian carbonates which crop out along the escarpment were interpreted as slope deposits linked to reef systems developed on the margin of the top area, while lower Pleistocene carbonates cropping out at the base of the same escarpment were considered coastal in origin and formed during the uplift of the region. Stratigraphic and sedimentologic studies carried out on these lower Pleistocene carbonates demonstrate that also these deposits should be considered as slope deposits. The studied carbonates are foramol-type ones and discontinuously crop out along the lower part of the escarpment. They show a variable thickness (from a few meters up to several tens) and often exhibit a fan morphology; they correspond to small isolated bodies (up to a few km2 wide) developed in some indentations of the escarpment, and are composed of coarse skeletal grains mainly deposited via slumpings or grain flows. Successions are characterized by long clinobeds cut by slump scars downward passing to gullies; backsets, slumps and chaotic deposits fill these erosional features. Clinobeds are alternatively made up of molechfor and rodhalgal facies which respectively record resedimentation by grain flows of shallow marine carbonates developed on top of the region and along-slope carbonate production. Depositional systems correspond to small shallow-marine aprons whose discontinuous distribution along the escarpment (inside indentations) should be considered an original feature. The idea that these deposits record the Sicilian sea-level along the escarpment should be abandoned as they are not coastal deposits. The studied deposits should be correlated to the Calcarenite di Gravina Formation which in other areas of the Apulian Foreland (which the Salento region belongs to) are considered as the deposits linked to the subsidence induced by the estward migration of the south- Apennines orogenic system. The Quaternary uplift of the Salento region should be begun after the deposition of the studied slope deposits, as indicated also by a series of middle-upper Pleistocene marine terraces which start at heights higher than those ones of the studied deposits

Integration of persistent scatterer interferometry and ground data for landslide monitoring: the Pianello landslide (Bovino, Southern Italy)

We present an example of integration of persistent scatterer interferometry (PSI) and in situ measurements over a landslide in the Bovino hilltop town, in Southern Italy. First, a wide-area analysis of PSI data, derived from legacy ERS and ENVISAT SAR image time series, highlighted the presence of ongoing surface displacements over the known limits of the Pianello landslide, located at the outskirts of the Bovino municipality, in the periods 1995–1999 and 2003–2008, respectively. This prompted local authorities to install borehole inclinometers on suitable locations. Ground data collected by these sensors during the following years were then compared and integrated with more recent PSI data from a series of Sentinel-1 images, acquired from March 2014 to October 2016. The integration allows sketching a consistent qualitative model of the landslide spatial and subsurface structure, leading to a coherent interpretation of remotely sensed and ground measurements. The results were possible thanks to the synergistic operation of local authorities and remote sensing specialists, and could represent an example for best practices in environmental management and protection at the regional scale

Murge and Pre-murge in southern Italy: the last piece of Adria, the (almost) lost continent, attempting to became an aUGGp candidate (MurGEOpark)

In 2019, the executive of the Alta Murgia National Park (southeastern Italy) decided to propose its territory as possible inclusion in the network of the UNESCO Global Geoparks. Since then, in cooperation with the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (Aldo Moro University of Bari) and SIGEA, it is working to candidate the area as an aUGGp (called “MurGEOpark”). The MurGEOpark comprises the Alta Murgia area, where a Cretaceous sector of the Apulia Carbonate Platform crops out, and the adjacent Pre-Murge area, where the southwestward lateral continuation of the same platform, being flexed toward the southern Apennines mountain chain, is thinly covered by Plio-Quaternary foredeep deposits. The worldwide geological uniqueness is that the area is the only in situ remnant of the AdriaPlate, the old continent almost entirely squeezed between Africa and Europe. In such a contest, AltaMurgia is a virtually undeformed sector of Adria (the Apulia Foreland), while other territories of theplate are, and/or were, involved in the subduction/collision processes. In the MurGEOpark, the crustof Adria is still rooted to its mantle, and the Cretaceous evolution of the continent is spectacularlyrecorded in Alta Murgia thanks to the limestone succession of one of the largest peri-Tethyancarbonate platform (the Apulia Carbonate Platform). The MurGEOpark comprises also the Pre-Murge area, which represents the outer south-Apennines foredeep, whose Plio-Quaternaryevolution is spectacularly exposed thanks to an “anomalous” regional middle-late Quaternary uplift.The international value of the proposal is enriched by the presence of several geological singularities such as two paleontological jewels of very different age: a Neanderthal skeletonpreserved in speleothems within a karst cave, and one of the largest surfaces in the world withupper Cretaceous dinosaur tracks (about 25.000 footprints). Moreover, the close relationships between man and geology are spectacularly documented in the MurGEOpark: among the others, the use and conservation of water in a karst area, the prehistoric and ancestral choices ofurbanization, karst caves traditionally used as religious sites, etc. All these examples demonstratehow the MurGEOpark could offer a good opportunity to spread the geological culture to a wide and diverse audienc

Stratigraphy of the mid-Cretaceous shallow-water limestones of the Apulia Carbonate Platform (Murge, Apulia, southern Italy)

The geological mapping of the 438 Sheet «Bari» (scale 1:50.000),located in the northern part of the Murge area (Apulia, southern Italy), offered the opportunity to revise the local stratigraphy of the mid-Cretaceous carbonate succession belonging to the Calcare di Bari Fm. Despite the flat topography, the strong urbanization and a widespread cover of «terra rossa» soils prevented the study of a continuous and undisturbed succession, several fragmentary lithostratigraphic and biostratigraphic data have been collected and correlated along many stratigraphic sections. This correlation allowed us to reconstruct a 470 m-thick composite section mostly made up of mud-supported shallow-water limestones and dolomites. This thickness is considerably lower than about 1000 m estimated before in the same area for the same time interval. In agreement with the previous edition of the Geologic Map of Italy few stratigraphic intervals showing a rich content in rudist assemblages and an interval of dolomitic breccias have been used as reference layers and successfully used for lithostratigraphic correlations. New biostratigraphic data show the first record of «primitive» orbitolinid assemblages and other important index taxa which refer the lower and the middle part of the studied succession to the Albian in disagreement with the previous attribution to the Cenomania

Integrated Geomorphological and Geospatial Analysis for Mapping Fluvial Landforms in Murge Basse Karst of Apulia (Southern Italy)

An integrated geomorphological and geospatial study was performed in order to map fluvial landforms in a sector of Lama Lamasinata close to the town of Binetto in the Murge Basse karst (metropolitan area of Bari, Apulia, Southern Italy). This study describes a combined approach, based on geomorphological fieldwork and topographical position index (TPI)-based landform classification, aimed at identifying the main landforms in an anthropically-modified environment, which suffered a progressive transformation of original morphologies. The resulting geomorphological map of fluvial features was then compared with the available cartography in order to highlight the main strength of the applied methodology in mapping fluvial landforms. Moreover, semi-automatic landform classification was performed for the entire catchment of the Lama Lamasinata in order to evaluate the usefulness of the approach for the fast and objective delimitation of widespread geomorphological elements of the Murge area such as flat-bottomed valleys with steep- or gently-dipping flanks and relict incised valleys. We demonstrated that such an approach can efficiently support land use planning in an area affected by hydrogeological hazards

Integrated Geological and Digital Surveys to Know, Preserve and Promote a Geoheritage: the Sea Cliff of Vignanotica Bay (Gargano Promontory, Southern Italy)

The sea cliff of Vignanotica Bay (Gargano Promontory, Southern Italy) is a site that, for its peculiar geological features, can be considered a witness of geodiversity and that, as such, should be evaluated as geosite. Since it is necessary to first know, then enhance, and finally protect a geosite, here we propose a modern method of study aimed at the understanding and dissemination of geological knowledge to a wide audience of non-experts. The cliff, located in the Gargano National Park, was investigated using both stratigraphic-sedimentological and digital methods. The former method, realised using macrofacies and microfacies analysis, allowed us to study features of a deep-marine environment, characterised by subaqueous slides (slumpings). The latter method allowed us to achieve a virtual 3D model of the entire sea cliff, highlighting many geological features, often difficult to observe since they are exposed along high vertical walls. The combined use of these methods led to a complete characterisation of the cliff, useful both to promote geological knowledge and to preserve the site

3D modelling of the Tremiti salt diapir in the Gargano offshore (Adriatic Sea, southern Italy): constraints in the Tremiti Structure development

The reinterpretation of public seismic profiles, the stratigraphic review of hydrocarbon exploration well logs in the Adriatic offshore of Gargano (Apulia, southern Italy), and the use of Surfer® (Golden Software, Inc.) and MoveTM (Midland Valley Ltd.) softwares, allowed us to obtain the Two Way Times (TWT) contour map and the 3D model of the upper Trias salt surface of the Tremiti diapir. The obtained 3D model of the Tremiti diapir shows two types of shape indicating at least as many modes of salt emplacement: single flap and piercing. Inherited faults were used by salt, which promoted the contemporaneous development of piercing and single flap in the same diapiric body. In addition, the sea floor deformations suggest that the diapirism, which mostly developed during Plio-Pleistocene time, is probably still active. Despite the NW-SE shortening due to the regional EW dextral shearing, that likely triggered halokinesis, the upward growth rate of the diapir was able to promote dip-slip kinematics, which locally hid the strike-slip one