Extending the tephra and palaeoenvironmental record of the Central Mediterranean back to 430 ka: A new core from Fucino Basin, central Italy

Giaccio, Biagio; Leicher, Niklas; Mannella, Giorgio; Monaco, Lorenzo; Regattieri, Eleonora; Wagner, Bernd; Zanchetta, Giovanni; Gaeta, Mario; Marra, Fabrizio; Nomade, Sébastien; Palladino, Danilo M.; Pereira, Alison; Scheidt, Stephanie; Sottili, Gianluca; Wonik, Thomas; Wulf, Sabine; Zeeden, Christian; Ariztegui, Daniel; Cavinato, Gian Paolo; Dean, Jonathan R.; Florindo, Fabio; Leng, Melanie J.; Macrì, Patrizia; Niespolo, Elizabeth; Renne, Paul R.; Rolf, Christian; Sadori, Laura; Thomas, Camille; Tzedakis, Polychronis C.

Abstract

Here we present the first tephrostratigraphic, palaeomagnetic, and multiproxy data from a new ∼98 m-deep sediment core retrieved from the Fucino Basin, central Italy, spanning the last ∼430 kyr. Palaeoenvironmental proxy data (Ca-XRF, gamma ray and magnetic susceptibility) show a cyclical variability related to interglacial-glacial cycles since the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 12-MIS 11 transition. More than 130 tephra layers are visible to the naked eye, 11 of which were analysed (glass-WDS) and successfully correlated to known eruptions and/or other equivalent tephra. In addition to tephra already recognised in the previously investigated cores spanning the last 190 kyr, we identified for the first time tephra from the eruptions of: Tufo Giallo di Sacrofano, Sabatini (288.0 ± 2.0 ka); Villa Senni, Colli Albani (367.5 ± 1.6 ka); Pozzolane Nere and its precursor, Colli Albani (405.0 ± 2.0 ka, and 407.1 ± 4.2 ka, respectively) and Castel Broco, Vulsini (419–490 ka). The latter occurs at the bottom of the core and has been 40Ar/39Ar dated at 424.3 ± 3.2 ka, thus providing a robust chronological constrain for both the eruption itself and the base of the investigated succession. Direct 40Ar/39Ar dating and tephra geochemical fingerprinting provide a preliminary radioisotopic-based chronological framework for the MIS 11-MIS 7 interval, which represent a foundation for the forthcoming multiproxy studies and for investigating the remaining ∼110 tephra layers that are recorded within this interval. Such future developments will contribute towards an improved MIS 11-MIS 7 Mediterranean tephrostratigraphy, which is still poorly explored and exploited.

Citation

Giaccio, B., Leicher, N., Mannella, G., Monaco, L., Regattieri, E., Wagner, B., …Tzedakis, P. C. (2019). Extending the tephra and palaeoenvironmental record of the Central Mediterranean back to 430 ka: A new core from Fucino Basin, central Italy. Quaternary Science Reviews, 225, Article 106003. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.106003

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 14, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Oct 25, 2019
• Publication Date: Dec 1, 2019
• Deposit Date: Oct 29, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 26, 2020
• Journal: Quaternary Science Reviews
• Print ISSN: 0277-3791
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 225
• Article Number: 106003
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.106003
• Keywords: Archaeology; Archaeology; Global and planetary change; Geology; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and systematics
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2986089
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379119307292?via%3Dihub
• Additional Information: This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: Extending the tephra and palaeoenvironmental record of the Central Mediterranean back to 430 ka: A new core from Fucino Basin, central Italy; Journal Title: Quaternary Science Reviews; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.106003