The submerged paleolandscape of the Maltese Islands: Morphology, evolution and relation to Quaternary environmental change

Micallef, Aaron; Foglini, Federica; Bas, Tim Le; Angeletti, Lorenzo; Maselli, Vittorio; Pasuto, Alessandro; Taviani, Marco

doi:10.1016/j.margeo.2012.10.017

Cited by 85 publications

(81 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…The submerged landscape is mainly composed of flat to gently sloping terrain and comprises coastal landforms, such as fault-related scarps, palaeo shore platforms, palaeo shoreline deposits and slope-failure deposits, as well as terrestrial landforms, such as river valleys, alluvial plains, karstified limestone plateaus and sinkholes (Micallef et al, 2013).…”

Section: The Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Boulder accumulations related to extreme wave events on the eastern coast of Malta

Biolchi

Furlani

Antonioli

et al. 2016

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. The accumulation of large boulders related to waves generated by either tsunamis or extreme storm events have been observed in different areas of the Mediterranean Sea. Along the eastern low-lying rocky coasts of Malta, five sites with large boulder deposits have been investigated, measured and mapped. These boulders have been detached and moved from the nearshore and the lowest parts of the coast by sea wave action. In the Sicily-Malta channel, heavy storms are common and originate from the NE and NW winds. Conversely, few tsunamis have been recorded in historical documents to have reached the Maltese archipelago.We present a multi-disciplinary study, which aims to define the characteristics of these boulder accumulations, in order to assess the coastal geo-hazard implications triggered by the sheer ability of extreme waves to detach and move large rocky blocks inland.The wave heights required to transport 77 coastal boulders were calculated using various hydrodynamic equations. Particular attention was given to the quantification of the input parameters required in the workings of these equations, such as size, density and distance from the coast. In addition, accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14 C ages were determined from selected samples of marine organisms encrusted on some of the coastal boulders. The combination of the results obtained both by the hydrodynamic equations, which provided values comparable with those observed and measured during the storms, and radiocarbon dating suggests that the majority of the boulders have been detached and moved by intense storm waves. These boulders testify to the existence of a real hazard for the coasts of Malta, i.e. that of very high storm waves, which, during exceptional storms, are able to detach large blocks of volumes exceeding 10 m 3 from the coastal edge and the nearshore bottom, and also to transport them inland. Nevertheless, the occurrence of one or more tsunami events cannot be ruled out, since radiocarbon dating of some marine organisms did reveal ages which may be related to historically known tsunamis in the Mediterranean region, such as the ones in AD 963, 1329, 1693 and 1743.

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Section: The Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Boulder accumulations related to extreme wave events on the eastern coast of Malta

Biolchi

Furlani

Antonioli

et al. 2016

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

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“…The occurrence of the base of the continental escarpment at a depth of 120 -130 m substantiates that this feature potentially represents the shoreline of the Maltese archipelago during the LGM, when the parts of the continental shelf now located at a depth of ,130 m were emerged and affected by subaerial processes (Lambeck et al 2011;Micallef et al 2013). On the continental shelf, we observe a wide variety of terrestrial and marine geomorphological features of different origin that were emerged during the LGM: karst features (sinkholes and karst pavement), features related to slope instability (block slides), fluvial features (former river incision and alluvial plains) and coastal features (palaeoshorelines and their deposits).…”

Section: Geomorphology Of the Submerged Palaeolandscape Of The Maltesmentioning

confidence: 56%

“…The emergence of the Maltese Islands occurred in the early Messinian (Pedley et al 2002), although in the last 125 ka the archipelago has largely been tectonically stable (Pedley et al 2002;Galea 2007;Serpelloni et al 2007;Furlani et al 2013). The Last Glacial Maximum shoreline of the Maltese archipelago is thus believed to coincide with the 130 m isobath (Micallef et al 2013), which is consistent with the figure reported for Mediterranean stable coastlines by Lambeck et al (2011). This is key to the ensuing geomorphological interpretations of the submerged landscapes of the Maltese Islands.…”

Section: Regional Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is not always a simple task because it requires the evaluation of the degree of marine modification undergone by the former landscape in response to a variety of processes associated with marine transgression. Nevertheless, the current boom in multibeam bathymetric mapping is providing the very basic tool required for rapid reconstruction of extensive areas of the seafloor with the accuracy required for geo-archaeological and prehistoric investigations (Westley et al 2011;Micallef et al 2013).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Late Quaternary coastal landscape morphology and evolution of the Maltese Islands (Mediterranean Sea) reconstructed from high-resolution seafloor data

Foglini

Prampolini

Micallef

et al. 2015

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Abstract:The current strong motivation to explore those traces of the archaeological and prehistoric human heritage that presently lie submerged on the continental shelf requires large-scale and precise underwater mapping. One Mediterranean sector deserving particular attention is the Sicily Channel, which is critical for a better understanding of the Africa-Europe migratory routes and early civilization patterns due to its large expanses of shallow seabed that were partially or totally exposed at times of lower relative sea levels. We have focused our attention on the submerged continental margin of the Maltese archipelago. A detailed bathymetric map is here presented, and is discussed in terms of features interpretable as former subaerial landforms and inundated by sealevel rise following the Last Glacial Maximum lowstand at approximately -130 m. Our datasets combine multibeam surveys, Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR)-derived digital terrain models (DTMs), Chirp sub-bottom profiler records and bottom samples acquired between 2009 and 2012. The main features identified are former river incisions, alluvial plains, karst landscapes (sinkholes, limestone plateaus), slide deposits and palaeoshorelines. This study provides a detailed topographical reconstruction of the palaeolandscape of this key region that is relevant to any future archaeological exploration of the Maltese offshore area.

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“…Most of the geomorphological features identified on the seafloor -including landslide deposits -are terrestrial in origin and were emerged during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), when the sea level was about 130 m lower than at present [9,10]. The CRE dating confirmed that also the block slides, which largely characterize the north-west coast of the Island of Malta, developed in subaerial conditions, whilst their accumulations were partially submerged and hidden by the sea during by the post-glacial marine transgression [8].…”

Section: Geomorphological Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geomorphological evolution of coastal landslides in Malta: integration of terrestrial and marine datasets

Soldati¹,

Prampolini²,

Vandelli³

2017

Proceedings of the 33rd Romanian Geomorphology Symposium

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Abstract-The paper shows the main results of multidisciplinary research carried out in the Island of Malta aiming at the integration of terrestrial and marine datasets. Identification, mapping, monitoring and dating of landsides, including submerged ones, have enabled to define a time frame for the development of landslides and to reconstruct the geomorphological evolution of the investigated areas. This has provided useful means for landslide susceptibility and hazard mapping, which is crucial for north-west coast of Malta.

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The submerged paleolandscape of the Maltese Islands: Morphology, evolution and relation to Quaternary environmental change

Cited by 85 publications

References 49 publications

Boulder accumulations related to extreme wave events on the eastern coast of Malta

Boulder accumulations related to extreme wave events on the eastern coast of Malta

Late Quaternary coastal landscape morphology and evolution of the Maltese Islands (Mediterranean Sea) reconstructed from high-resolution seafloor data

Geomorphological evolution of coastal landslides in Malta: integration of terrestrial and marine datasets

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