A multidisciplinary approach for reconstructing the stratigraphic framework of the last 40ka in a bathyal area of the eastern Tyrrhenian Sea

Five cores from the southern Tyrrhenian and Ionian seas were studied for their tephra and cryptotephra content in the 4.4-2.0 ka time interval. The chronological framework for each core was obtained by accelerator mass spectrometry 14 C dating, the occurrence of distinct marker tephra and stratigraphic correlation with adjacent records. Tephrochronology allowed us to correlate the analyzed deposits with tephra markers associated with Somma-Vesuvius (79 AD), Ischia Island (Cretaio), Mt Etna (FG, FL and FS) and Campi Flegrei (Astroni-Agnano Monte Spina) events. For the first time in the marine setting, a large single glass data set is provided for the Late Holocene Etnean marker beds including the FS tephra (ca. 4.3 ka). Moreover, unknown deposits from Lipari (ca. 2.2-2.0 ka) and Vulcano (3.6-3.3 ka) are also recognized at more distal sites than previously reported. These results contribute to improve the high-resolution tephrostratigraphic framework of the central Mediterranean Sea. They also provide new insights into the chemical composition and dispersal pattern of tephras that can be used as inter-archive tools for regional and 'local' stratigraphic correlations and for addressing paleoclimate research.

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“…(); C106 and C45 in Munno and Petrosino (); CET 1 in Morabito et al . (); MSK‐12C4 in Cosentino et al . (); TIR2000‐C01 in Di Roberto et al .…”

Section: Data Set and Analytical Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Late Holocene tephra record of the central Mediterranean Sea: Mapping occurrences and new potential isochrons for the 4.4–2.0 ka time interval

Insinga

Petrosino

Alberico

et al. 2019

J Quaternary Science

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“…(), the Y‐5 isotopic composition from SIN‐SAP 98 GCI01 and BAN89 09GC cores (eastern Mediterranean Sea). Layers 7 and 18 from the CET1 core (Central Tyrrhenian Sea – Morabito et al ., ; Petrosino et al ., ) were analyzed for comparison in this work. The green bar in A, E and H points to the Sr isotopic composition of feldspar from S4, S16 and S21 for which the Nd isotopic composition has not been determined [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 72%

“…The distal horizon is correlated with the tephra marker Y‐3 (ca. 30 ka – Morabito et al ., and references therein) as further suggested by our trace elements pattern (Figure H; Supporting Information S1, Figs S2F and S3F). Trace elements reproduce the wide compositional variation already observed by Albert et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…150 ka at Roccamonfina (Rouchon et al ., ) and Campania products from uncertain sources, older that 90 ka, are recorded on‐land as widespread deeply altered ignimbrite deposits (Rolandi et al ., ; Belkin et al ., ). The Campania tephra marker record, on the other hand, is very rich, as testified by the finding of distal tephra layers with a chemical composition typical of Campania products both in lacustrine (Monticchio Lakes: Wulf et al ., , ; SGM: Munno and Petrosino, ; Ascione et al ., ) and marine (Tyrrhenian Sea: Paterne et al ., 1986, ; Morabito et al ., ; Petrosino et al ., ; Ionian Sea: Keller et al ., ; Insinga et al ., ; Adriatic Sea: Siani et al ., ; Bourne et al ., , ) sedimentary sequences.…”

Section: Campania Volcanic Activity From Late Middle Pleistocene To Pmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The San Gregorio Magno lacustrine basin (Campania, southern Italy): improved characterization of the tephrostratigraphic markers based on trace elements and isotopic data

Petrosino

Arienzo

Mazzeo

et al. 2019

J Quaternary Science

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Central–southern Italy is one of the most suitable areas in the world for tephrostratigraphic studies, owing to the numerous volcanic sources with explosive activity during the Pleistocene. This work presents a systematic investigation of the chemical (trace elements) and isotopic (Sr and Nd) compositions of the main tephra markers within lacustrine sediments of the San Gregorio Magno Basin (Campania, southern Italy). This study: (i) provides full geochemical (trace elements and isotopes) characterization of eight significant Upper Pleistocene marker layers (X‐6, X‐5, C‐22, MEGT/Y‐7, CI/Y‐5, C‐10, Y‐3, NYT/C2) widely dispersed over the Mediterranean area; (ii) proposes a new tephra marker for Marine Isotope Stage 7, dated to 240 ka; and (iii) refines the correlations of tephra levels belonging to the investigated sequence. This study highlights that in most cases the Nd isotope composition of the glass and Sr isotope composition of the coexisting minerals are more reliable than 87Sr/86Sr of the glass, and hence is more helpful as a further tool for tephrostratigraphic correlations, as recently proposed in the literature. Moreover, this study is a first step towards the construction of a complete geochemical database for future tephra investigations in the Mediterranean area. Copyright © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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“…The various outcomes of the project, summarised in earlier sections of this paper, constitute not only a legacy, but also a spring-board for further work, because it is clear that there is ample capacity for further development of the tephra lattice, with the promise of even finer chronological finesse in the future. One reason for this optimistic viewpoint is the recent proliferation of new records containing multiple, well-preserved tephra layers, including cryptotephras, which have been reported from, for example, the Tyrrhenian Sea (Morabito et al, 2014), the Ionian Sea (Insinga et al, 2014), the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara (Çaḡatay et al, 2015). This suggests that cryptotephra layers are far more abundant and widely dispersed than previously assumed, while some marine repositories, in places where sedimentation has been continuous and undisturbed, preserve rich, stratigraphicallyordered archives of past volcanic activity.…”

Section: Future Prospectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The RESET project: constructing a European tephra lattice for refined synchronisation of environmental and archaeological events during the last c. 100 ka

Lowe

Ramsey

Housley

et al. 2015

Quaternary Science Reviews

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a b s t r a c tThis paper introduces the aims and scope of the RESET project (RESponse of humans to abrupt Environmental Transitions), a programme of research funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (UK) between 2008 and 2013; it also provides the context and rationale for papers included in a special volume of Quaternary Science Reviews that report some of the project's findings. RESET examined the chronological and correlation methods employed to establish causal links between the timing of abrupt environmental transitions (AETs) on the one hand, and of human dispersal and development on the other, with a focus on the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic periods. The period of interest is the Last Glacial cycle and the early Holocene (c. 100e8 ka), during which time a number of pronounced AETs occurred. A long-running topic of debate is the degree to which human history in Europe and the Mediterranean region during the Palaeolithic was shaped by these AETs, but this has proved difficult to assess because of poor dating control. In an attempt to move the science forward, RESET examined the potential that tephra isochrons, and in particular non-visible ash layers (cryptotephras), might offer for synchronising palaeo-records with a greater degree of finesse. New tephrostratigraphical data generated by the project augment previously-established tephra frameworks for the region, and underpin a more evolved tephra 'lattice' that links palaeo-records between Greenland, the European mainland, sub-marine sequences in the Mediterranean and North Africa. The paper also outlines the significance of other contributions to this special volume: collectively, these illustrate how the lattice was constructed, how it links with cognate tephra research in Europe and elsewhere, and how the evidence of tephra isochrons is beginning to challenge long-held views about the impacts of environmental change on humans during the Palaeolithic.

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A multidisciplinary approach for reconstructing the stratigraphic framework of the last 40ka in a bathyal area of the eastern Tyrrhenian Sea

Cited by 47 publications

References 111 publications

The Late Holocene tephra record of the central Mediterranean Sea: Mapping occurrences and new potential isochrons for the 4.4–2.0 ka time interval

The Late Holocene tephra record of the central Mediterranean Sea: Mapping occurrences and new potential isochrons for the 4.4–2.0 ka time interval

The San Gregorio Magno lacustrine basin (Campania, southern Italy): improved characterization of the tephrostratigraphic markers based on trace elements and isotopic data

The RESET project: constructing a European tephra lattice for refined synchronisation of environmental and archaeological events during the last c. 100 ka

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