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The study of fossil coastlines is one of the most widely used methods to unravel the vertical movements of the Earth's solid surface. All along the coast of the Calabrian Subduction Arc, well preserved Pleistocene marine terrace sequences document a protracted uplift history. Although Pleistocene vertical movements have been extensively explored, the Holocene history is not well understood. Numerous uplifted coastlines of the Holocene period have been studied along the Tyrrhenian side of Calabria, but the Ionian coastal sector is considerably under-studied. Our new data from the coast of the Crotone Peninsula fill this crucial data-gap. AMS 14C dating of seventeen sea level markers, elevated above the current mean sea level, show ages between 2300 and 7000 Cal. Yr BP. The elevation of the markers was corrected for the paleo sea level using the most updated GIA models ICE-6G (VM5a) and ICE-7G (VM7). We found that a coastline dated to 7 ka shows uplift rates of 0.8 mm/yr, consistent with late Pleistocene uplift rates (≈0.8 mm/yr). In contrast, a 2.3 ka coastline was uplifted by only 1 m, resulting in lower uplift rates of ≈0.5 mm/yr. However, there are clues that the abandonment of this younger coastline may have occurred with a rapid uplift pulse. Reconstructing the past vertical movements of the Crotone Peninsula reveals an unsteady uplift history. At some times fast uplift rates are required, while for other periods, lasting as long as 3–4 kyr, the uplift rate is slower or zero. An uplift history consisting of periods of accelerated uplift, or even coseismic pulses, would also explain the difference in uplift rates between short term (<5 ka) and long term (>5 ka) markers through a metric we have defined as uplift rate sensitivity. Understanding the details of this uplift history has social relevance. The co-seismic uplift hypothesis requires further investigation but if confirmed would likely affect the seismic and tsunami hazard of the Crotone Peninsula. Similarly, the unsteady uplift rate would cause a risk given the current rapid rate of global sea level rise. Periods of sustained vertical stability would increase the risk of flooding even in areas characterized by long-term uplift and thus considered safe. • Holocene sea-level markers along the Ionian coast of Calabria (Crotone Peninsula) document active unsteady uplift. • Holocene and Pleistocene vertical velocity fields differences along the Ionian coast of Calabria. • New Holocene sea-level markers along the Ionian coast of Calabria (Crotone Peninsula) suggest seismic hazard re-assessment. • Spatio-temporal variability of the uplift field in Calabria could be explained through the concept of uplift rate sentitivity [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multidisciplinary micro-paleontological study of a sediment core (SK19) drilled in the coastal area of Lake Shkodra, northern Albania, integrated with archaeological data from the Projekti Arkeologjikë i Shkodrës (PASH), provides compelling evidence for a long-term relationship between Shkodra's natural environment and its inhabitants. Charophyte and ostracod data recovered from SK19 combined with those already studied from the distal core SK13 (Mazzini et al., 2015), reveal important information concerning the changing characteristics of the water body through time. In particular, the ostracod fauna display a truly Balkanic character with eight taxa endemic to the area. Palaeoenvironmental analysis of the two cores indicates that a wide marshland extended towards the present eastern coast of the lake, fed discontinuously both by surface- and ground-water, beginning sometime before 12,140 cal yrs BP. For about 7000 years ostracods do not record any significant changes, whereas the Characeae record in the proximal zone displays important variations. Those variations do not match any of the climatic oscillations revealed in previous studies by δ 18 O or pollen data, thereby implicating human activities. Ostracods and charophytes indicate that permanent shallow waters occurred in the Shkodra basin only around 5800 cal yrs BP. Historical sources of the Roman Empire indicate a swamp (the Palus labeatis ), crossed by the River Morača, which flowed into the River Buna. Evidence for local fires, whether natural or anthropogenic, is recorded in SK13, scattered between 4400 and 1200 yrs BP. From 4400 to 2000 yrs BP, during the Bronze and Iron Age, hill forts ringed the marsh and burial mounds marked its edges. But around 2000 cal yrs BP, a dramatic change in the water body occurred: the disappearance of Characeae. Possibly fires were used for the elimination of natural vegetation and the subsequent cultivation of olive and walnut trees, causing an increase on organic matter input into the lake and thus, resulting on the disappearance of the Characeae due to higher turbidity in lake waters. This change occurred shortly after the arrival of the Romans. At 1200 cal yrs BP the marshland evolved into the large shallow lake we know today. This change is marked in the ostracod assemblages of both cores and agrees with trends in aquatic and riparian plants and may have allowed or encouraged exponential population growth beginning in the early-middle Medieval period and peaking in the late Medieval, as indicated in PASH settlement data. The use of different but complementary methods, drawn from palaeontology and archaeology, allowed reconstruction of Shkodra's past landscapes, linking the natural evolution of a Mediterranean lacustrine basin to regional population and settlement dynamics. This is the first research project to explore the relationship between natural and cultural landscapes and environmental change in northern Albania, forming the basis for further, more detailed studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revue de Micropaleontologie is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revue de Micropaleontologie is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revue de Micropaleontologie is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract: In this paper the ostracod assemblages recovered from several brackish Late Miocene Italian deposits have been analysed from a palaeobiogeographical perspective. During late Tortonian-early Messinian it is possible to recognize in Italy rich ostracod assemblages characterized by a wide contingent of taxa with central European or Mediterranean affinity, while only few brackish and freshwater ostracods show Paratethyan affinity. The recognized composition of the ostracod assemblages matches the palaeogeographic setting of the palaeo-Mediterranean/Paratethys at that moment. In fact during late Tortonian-early Messinian the palaeo-Mediterranean and Paratethysian domains were divided and, even if the connection via the present Marmara Sea-Strimon Basin was still open, the different salinity between them represented an ecological barrier, preventing faunal exchanges. Since normal aquatic migration was impossible, it must be assumed that the Paratethyan-like taxa entered the palaeo-Mediterranean area via passive dispersal by aquatic birds. On the contrary, the ostracod assemblages from the Italian Lago-Mare deposits show the absolute predominance of Paratethyan taxa, which, according to the known palaeogeographic setting during the late Messinian Lago-Mare event, could actively migrate from the Paratethys domain, colonizing the palaeo-Mediterranean, whose endemic fauna was severely impoverished by the Messinian salinity crisis and the following water dilution. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In the Crete Island, late Messinian Lago-Mare facies are not well known. At present, the occurrence in Crete of the uppermost Messinian post evaporitic deposits is a matter of debate. According to several authors, the well-known late Messinian Lago-Mare facies does not occur in Crete. In this paper the preliminary results obtained from the biostratigraphical analysis of some sections sampled in the Messarà Plain will be shown. Nearby Faneromeni and Ano Akria villages, the Miocene/Pliocene boundary is well exposed. There, gypsum-bearing clay, laminated microcrystalline gypsum and gypsum-rudites characterize the evaporitic deposits of the Messinian stage. In these areas, above the Messinian evaporite, post-evaporitic fine-laminated polychrome clays, with intercalations of sandstones and conglomerates, have been found. In both the Faneromeni and Ano Akria area, the Pliocene grey clays and conglomerates rest unconformably on the uppermost Messinian post-evaporitic deposits. A 20cm-spaced sampling has been performed in both the sections, for more than 100 samples collected. The results of the micropaleontological analysis performed on the Faneromeni and Ano Akria sections point to the occurrence of ostracod assemblages containing: Loxocauda limata (Schneider in Agalarova et al.), Loxocauda sp., Cytherura pyrama Schneider, Cyprideis anlavauxensis Carbonnel, Cyprideis agrigentina Decima, Amnicythere palimpsesta (Livental), Amnicythere propinqua (Livental), Amnicythere accicularia (Olteanu), Amnicythere costata (Olteanu), Amnicythere multituberculata (Livental), Amnicythere sp. D (Miculan in Bassetti et al.), Amnicythere sp. 2 Gliozzi and Grossi, Amnicythere sp., Euxinocythere (Maeotocythere) praebaquana (Livental in Agalarova et al.), Mediocytherideini indet., Pontoniella pontica (Agalarova), Camptocypria sp. 1 Gliozzi and Grossi, Caspiocypris sp., Zalanyiella venusta (Zalanyi), Tyrrhenocythere sp., Loxoconcha rhombovalis Pokorny, Loxoconcha eichwaldi Livental, Loxoconcha sp. A (Miculan in Bassetti et al.), Loxocorniculina djafarovi (Schneider in Suzin). In the analysed samples, reworked planktonic foraminifers and well-preserved charophyte gyrogonites have been also found. The ostracod assemblages found in the Messarà Plain belong to the Loxocorniculina djafarovi Zone (sensu Carbonnel, 1978), which characterizes the uppermost Messinian deposits of the whole Mediterranean Basin. At that time, the well-known Lago-Mare biofacies was also widespread on the Crete Island. The presence of Paratethyan ostracods in the post-evaporitic Messinian deposits of both Faneromeni and Ano Akria sections suggests that in the Crete Island the latest Messinian sedimentation took place in brackish water palaeoenvironments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Late Miocene Italian brackish Loxoconchidae are herein discussed and illustrated. Three genera and two subgenera have been recognized in the brackish Italian basins: Loxoconcha, Loxocorniculina, Loxoconchissa (Loxoconchissa) and Loxoconchissa (Loxocaspia). Taking into account the diagnostic characters of several Loxoconchidae genera, in this paper Loxocorniculina is raised at a generic rank, Loxocaspia is confirmed as a subgenus within genus Loxoconchissa and several new species are established: Loxoconchissa (Loxoconchissa) kinoi nov. sp., Loxoconchissa (Loxocaspia) cosentinoi nov. sp., Loxoconchissa (Loxocaspia) nuda nov. sp., Loxoconchissa (Loxocaspia) punctata nov. sp., Loxoconchissa (Loxocaspia) reticulata nov. sp., Loxoconchissa (Loxocaspia) tuberosa nov. sp. and Loxoconchissa (Loxocaspia) velonae nov. sp. Loxocorniculina is a typical Paratethyan genus which widespread into the Palaeo-Mediterranean during the late Messinian Lago-Mare event. Loxoconchissa was known to be widespread only in the Paratethyan realm and in this paper it is signalled for the first time in the Late Tortonian-early Messinian of Italy. The palaeobiogeography of these genera is discussed and the observed continuous distribution of Loxocorniculina against the disjunct distribution of Loxoconchissa leads to suggest that this latter genus underwent a passive dispersal via aquatic birds. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Biochronology is the most widely used method for organizing the successions of continental vertebrate faunas in geological time and for allowing the correlation of continental deposits. However, due to the fragmentary nature of the paleontological record and the diachronicity of first and last occurrences of vertebrate taxa in different areas (i.e., bioevents), it is difficult to precisely define the temporal boundaries between biochronological units. That is why it is crucial to calibrate biochronological data with independent proxies wherever possible. Here, thanks to an interdisciplinary approach that combines sedimentology and stratigraphy, vertebrate paleontology, micropaleontology (ostracods), palynology, and geochronology, we provide a chronological framework and a paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the paleontological site of Pantalla (Central Italy). The combination between biochronological/biostratigraphic and geochronological (U-series/ESR dating and paleomagnetism) data allows us to refer the site to c. 2.2 Ma, i.e., in the transition phase between the Middle and Late Villafranchian in the European biochronological scheme. We reconstruct the environment as a fluvial area with a frequently flooded wet floodplain and marked (probably seasonal) variations of the water level of the channel river. The depositional system was surrounded by a conifer-dominated forest, which is suggestive of a glacial phase. • Pantalla is a paleontological site yielding well-preserved terrestrial mammals. • Geological and paleontological data are combined in an interdisciplinary approach. • A chronological and paleoenvironmental framework of Pantalla is provided. • Age of the site (c. 2.2 Ma) is close to the Middle-Late Villafranchian transition. • The environment was a fluvial area with a frequently flooded wet floodplain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Late Miocene brackish ostracods and molluscs collected in three Italian basins show noticeable differences in their taxonomic composition, despite their capability of dispersing across wide geographic areas. In the Venetian-Friulian Basin (northern Italy), the upper Tortonian sediments contain oligotypic ostracod assemblages including Hemicyprideis dacica dacica, Hemicytheria pejinovicensis, and Loxoconcha cf. L. josephi and few gastropods referable to Planorbidae and Stenothyroides, which are typical of the central Paratethys. In central Italy, the brackish ostracods and molluscs recovered from upper Tortonian-lower Messinian deposits from four Tuscan basins (Volterra-Radicondoli, Velona, Baccinello-Cinigiano, and Valdelsa) display high affinity at a generic level but strong endemicity at a specific level. At Cessaniti (southern Italy), the upper Tortonian unit contains oligotypic brackish ostracods and molluscs: Mediocytherideis (Sylvestra) posterobursa, Cyprideis ruggierii, Loxoconcha cf. L. biformata, and Zonocypris membranae quadricella characterise the ostracod fauna, while Granulolabium bicinctum and Hydrobia frauenfeldi are the dominant molluscs. The recovered ostracods have a strong affinity with brackish species from central and eastern Palaeo-Mediterranean areas, whereas the molluscs present a Paratethyan origin. Despite the fact that the basins are all brackish and partly coeval, the systematics of these assemblages highlights the absence of common species among the three studied areas. Geochemical analyses (stable isotopes and trace elements) are performed on ostracods, and 87Sr/86Sr ratios are established in molluscs and echinoids. The results suggest brackish environments with different compositions and origins of solutes in the three different areas. The Tuscan basins are characterised by brackish waters, with NaCl-enriched waters coming from aquifers of Triassic evaporite bedrock. The brackish deposits of the Venetian-Friulian Basin and Cessaniti are true marginal marine environments, although the northern basin may have been influenced by both the Paratethyan Sava Basin and the northern portion of the Palaeo-Mediterranean water bodies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Two possible alternative interpretations of the claimed Zanclean age () of two historical lithostratigraphic units of the Northern Apennines, usually referred to as Late Messinian in age and recording the so called Lagomare final event of the Messinian salinity crisis (MSC), are here discussed. The wrong age attribution of the Colombacci and “tetto” Fms. is ruled out based on data from the Maccarone and other sections showing that the Colombacci-Argille Azzurre Fm. boundary is basin wide synchronous and coincident with the Miocene-Pliocene boundary as far as it has been formally defined in the Eraclea Minoa GSSP. Alternatively, the opportunity of emending the Zanclean GSSP to a stratigraphically lower horizon recording the first evidence of marine influences in the Mediterranean following the MSC peak, seems not suitable, as (1) the marine signature of uppermost Messinian deposits is weak and still controversial and (2) no significant bio- and magnetostratigraphic events, well chronologically defined and recognizable at a global scale appear to be available to such a purpose. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]