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ARTICLE IN PRESS

Quaternary International 145–146 (2006) 30–54

Markers of the last interglacial sea-level high stand along
the coast of Italy: Tectonic implications

Luigi Ferrantia,Ã, Fabrizio Antoniolib, Barbara Mauzc, Alessandro Amorosid,
Giuseppe Dai Prab, Giuseppe Mastronuzzie, Carmelo Monacof, Paolo Orru` g,

Marta Pappalardoh, Ulrich Radtkei, Pietro Rendaj, Paola Romanoa,
Paolo Sanso` k, Vladimiro Verrubbib

aDipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Universita` di Napoli Federico II, Largo S. Marcellino 10, 80138 Napoli, Italy
bENEA, Special Project Global Climate, via Anguillarese 301, 00060 S.M. di Galeria Roma, Italy
cDepartment of Geography, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZT, UK
dDipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Universita` di Bologna,Via Zamboni 67, 40127 Bologna, Italy
eDipartimento di Geologia e Geoﬁsica, Universita` di Bari, Via Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
fDipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Universita` di Catania, Corso Italia, 55 95129 Catania, Italy
gDipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Universita` di Cagliari, Via Trentino 51, 09127 Cagliari, Italy
hDipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Universita` di Pisa, Via S. Maria, 53, 56126 Pisa, Italy
iGeographisches Institut, Universita¨t zu Ko¨ln, D-52913, Ko¨ln, Germany

jDipartimento di Geologia e Geodesia, Universita` di Palermo, Corso Tukory 131, 90134 Palermo, Italy
kDipartimento di Scienza dei Materiali, Universita` di Lecce, Via per Arnesano, Lecce 73100, Italy

Available online 19 September 2005

Abstract

A compilation of the Marine Isotope Substage (MIS) 5.5 high stand ($125 Ka) sites spanning the coastline of Italy allows a
picture of the vertical displacement pattern affecting the Central Mediterranean coasts since the Late Pleistocene to be drawn. For
each of the 246 listed sites, the accurate elevation of the high stand is deﬁned through well-known markers. Coupled with a reﬁned
age assessment locally supported by new radiometric dating, these markers provide robust constraints on deformation. Signiﬁcant
alongshore differences in site elevation between +175 and À125 m a.s.l. resulted from the interplay of regional and local tectonic
processes, including faulting and volcanic deformation. Whereas most of Sardinia’s coasts and the northern Tyrrhenian Sea coasts
are tectonically stable, the central Tyrrhenian Sea coasts display stable promontories, subsiding plains, and localized centres of weak
uplift. Subsidence of the plains is related to extensional faulting locally enhanced by volcano-tectonic collapse, and weak uplift
arising from magmatic processes. Rapid uplift of southern Calabria, northeast Sicily and the Jonian sea coasts probably reﬂects the
extent of deep crustal delamination. The central Adriatic Sea shows weak thrust-related uplift, but foreland ﬂexure in northern
Adriatic and possibly southwestern Sicily results in locally intense regional subsidence. The rapidly uplifting regions are well
correlated with the sectors of higher seismic release and surface horizontal motion documented by geodetic velocities. In this light,
the MIS 5.5 marker indicates with a relatively high spatial resolution the vertical component of tectonic displacement and provides
insight into the long-term tectonic processes of the Central Mediterranean orogen.
r 2005 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

ÃCorresponding author. The Marine Isotope Substage (MIS) 5.5 coincides
E-mail address: lferrant@unina.it (L. Ferranti). with the last interglacial, and its geochronology is based
on orbital tuning of high-resolution deep-sea oxygen
isotope stratigraphy. According to this stratigraphy the

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