Available online http://amq.aiqua.it ISSN (online): 2279-7335 Alpine and Mediterranean Quaternary, Vol. 31 (Quaternary: Past, Present, Future - AIQUA Conference, Florence, 13-14/06/2018), 5 - 9 A GEODATABASE OF LATE PLEISTOCENE - HOLOCENE PALAEO SEA-LEVEL MARKERS IN THE GULF OF NAPLES Vincenzo Amato 1 , Pietro P.C. Aucelli 2 , Gaia Mattei 2 , Micla Pennetta 3 , Angela Rizzo 2 , Carmen M. Rosskopf 1 , Marcello Schiattarella 4 1 GeoGisLab, Dipartimento Bioscienze e Territorio, Università degli Studi del Molise, Isernia, Italy 2 Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie (DiST), Università degli Studi di Napoli Parthenope, Napoli, Italy 3 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell'Ambiente e delle Risorse (DiSTAR) Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Napoli, Italy 4 Dipartimento delle Culture Europee e del Mediterraneo (DiCEM), Università degli Studi della Basilicata, Matera, Italy Corresponding author: M. Pennetta ABSTRACT: During the Late Pleistocene and Holocene periods, the Italian coasts have undergone a very articulated geological and geomorphological evolution, due to the complex and differentiated interaction of endogenous and exogenous dynamics. Aim of this study is to implement a geodatabase concerning the geomorphological, stratigraphic, biological and archaeological palaeo sea-level proxies located in the Gulf of Naples, in order to provide a catalogue of the most representative markers and an overall picture of ancient shore- lines positions since the Late Pleistocene. KEYWORDS: Relative sea level changes, palaeo sea-level markers, Gulf of Naples, southern Italy 1. INTRODUCTION The sea level variations that have occurred during the Late-Pleistocene and the Holocene along the Italian coasts obviously have deeply controlled coastal dynam- ics and morphology, causing cliff erosion, barrier beach and lagoon system migration, marine ingression, etc. In order to determinate past sea-levels, the identification of a number of sea-level indicators is required. Archaeo- logical proxies are largely used for the Holocene, espe- cially for the historical period (Auriemma & Solinas, 2009; Morhange & Marriner, 2015; Pennetta et al., 2016; Vacchi et al., 2016), while depositional and ero- sional proxies, such as speleothems, beach and la- goonal/marshy sediments, notches, abrasion platforms and marine terraces, along with associated biological indicators such as Lithophaga perforations are in gen- eral useful proxies for ancient Pleistocene shorelines (Benjamin et al., 2017). In this study, we present preliminary results of a wider research project aimed to inventory the palaeo- sea level markers along Campania (southern Italy) coasts. In detail, a geodatabase of the geomorphologi- cal, sedimentary, biological and archaeological palaeo sea-level proxies recorded in the Gulf of Naples (Campania Region, southern Italy) has been imple- mented by collecting via literature and proper studies the main palaeo sea-level markers. The main aim of this study is to provide a free application of the collected proxies by releasing a Google xml file available for dif- ferent stakeholders interested in the management, sci- entific data analysis and/or preservation of the proxies. 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS The geodatabase has been implemented in a GIS environment by compiling two main attribute tables con- nected by a joint tool. The first table identifies the sites and the position where the palaeo sea-level proxies are located, specifying an ID number and the geographic coordinates. In the second table, the proxies are classi- fied as archaeological, biological, depositional and ero- sional, and the height of each proxy, below or above the present sea-level, is indicated. The geodatabase further- more provides information about the state of conserva- tion and site conditions of the proxies, and its illustration by a representative photo. 3. RESULTS The Gulf of Naples coastline is characterised by different coastal types, including high rocky, low sandy and volcanic coasts. The locations of detected palaeo- sea level proxies are indicated in Figure 1. Each proxy is indicated by a number and an aster- isk. The colour of the asterisk identifies the proxy type, the colour of the square that surrounds the asterisk, in- stead, the period: Late Pleistocene (green square) and Holocene (yellow square). Table 1 summarizes the data of collected proxies: ID number, proxy type, proxy age, and the ancient sea level height evaluated for each marker. Furthermore, for proxies reported by previous studies references are added. The proxies referring to the Holocene period are mainly represented by coastal archaeological ruins, while tidal notches are the main markers of Late Pleistocene sea level positions. https://doi.org/10.26382/AIQUA.2018.AIQUAconference 4. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION The comparative analysis of the main palaeo-sea level proxies has resulted in a homogeneous framework of the Gulf of Naples coasts, for a time lapse ranging from the Late Pleistocene to the present-day. At this time, the database contains only the markers referred to highstand phases, even if it is not excluded in the future to implement the database also with lowstand markers that, in the Gulf, are almost always below the present sea level. Totally, the database contains 47 sea level proxies, of which 7 related to the Pleistocene and 40 related to the Holocene. The analysis of the Late Pleistocene-Holocene sea level markers included in the geodatabase has given evidence on the stability or non-stability of the investi- gated coastal sectors and, thus, on the entity of local vertical ground movements. These local movements are particularly significant in this sector, as it is located in a region of the Italian Tyrrhenian side where the volcano- tectonics significantly influenced the local sea level variations since the Late Pleistocene. The Late Pleistocene proxies recognizable along the coasts of Naples Gulf are exclusively positioned in the eastern sector. The erosional proxies located along the Sorrento Peninsula and Capri coasts testifies a tec- tonic stability, though Ferranti & Antonioli (2007) use a change in elevation of the tidal notch to evaluate a mi- nor tectonic slips along the Capri main faults. On the contrary, the depositional proxy located in the Sarno plain is a witness of a subsiding trend, that has charac- terised this sector since the Last Interglacial. Considering the Holocene sea level markers, it is 6 Fig. 1 - Location and type of main collected palaeo sea - level proxies in the Gulf of Naples. - - - - - - ->>> Tab. 1 - Table of main collected palaeo sea-level proxies in the Gulf of Naples containing: progressive ID; position of each site; typology and specific type of proxy; age in years before present; H, height above/below the present sea level; references. Amato V. et al. 7 Palaeo sea-level markers in the Gulf of Naples possible to state that along the high rocky coasts of Sorrento peninsula and Posillipo (Naples) the Late Holo- cene sea level rise led to the submersion of archaeo- logical sites located at the base of the active sea cliffs. Anyway, in Sorrento peninsula the submersion has to be ascribed to eustatic effect, in Naples the eustatic effect is coupled with local subsidence of volcano- tectonic origin (Aucelli et al., 2017a; b). In the Sorrento peninsula, the deposition of volcani- clastic products of the 79 AD Vesuvius eruption en- hanced local and short-term shoreline progradation. Along the sandy low coasts (Sarno), although slightly subsiding or stable, the increase of fluvial inputs, due to Late Holocene climatic oscillations and land use changes, caused the progradation of the shorelines and the aggradation of the ground level, while the prograda- tion of the barrier-lagoonal system was favoured by the 79AD Vesuvius volcaniclastic deposits. In the cases of the volcanic coasts (from Pozzuoli Bay to Naples), the vertical ground movements due to volcano-tectonic fac- tors are the main responsible for their submersion. In the Pozzuoli sector, archaeological sites were affected by short-term uplift. 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