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Quantitative analyses of ostracod assemblages from three cores recovered on the Tyrrhenian shelf (Gaeta and Salerno Gulfs) have been applied to construct palaeobathymetric curves. Palaeoclimatic curves obtained from planktonic foraminifera, calcareous nanoplankton, pteropods and pollen are available for the same cores, in addition to sedimentological, mineralogical, geochemical (δ18O, 14C, C/N, CaCO3) and volcanological data with regard to the two cores from the Salerno Gulf. The palaeobathymetric curves reflect the climatic events through the Late Pleistocene–Holocene interval. The climatic events of the Last Glacial (and within it, the Last Glacial Maximum), the Late Glacial (with Oldest Dryas, Bolling-Allerod, Younger Dryas events) and Postglacial have been recognised. The palaeobathymetric curves are also in agreement with palaeoclimatic curves of planktonic assemblages and pollen.

The Campania Plain is a wide coastal plain characterized by a huge quaternary sedimentary record more than two thousand meters thick. In order to analyze the most superficial portion of the infilling succession an 80 m-long core was drilled in the northern sector of the plain. The upper part of the core is entirely made up of an ignimbrite formation (Campania Ignimbrite, 39 ka), lying unconformably above marine sediments alternating with volcanic products. Macro- and micro-paleontological analysis together with tephrostratigraphy and 39Ar/40Ar dating allowed the paleoenvironmental evolution of the studied area to be reconstructed. The paleogeography during OIS 7 and 5 was characterized by the presence of lagoon systems. These are now located 28 km inland from the present coastline and buried at –40 and –18 m with respect to the present sea level, as a consequence of tectonic subsidence. Two major periods of volcanic activity were recorded in the core prior to Campania Ignimbrite emplacement, confirming the existence of important phases of volcanic activity in the plain during the end of the Middle Pleistocene. The SME multiproxy record represents the first continuous record of volcanic products emplaced in the last 200 ka north of the Campania volcanic sources

Several boreholes were studied in detail through different analytical methods in order to highlight the Holocene relative sea-level changes and the paleogeographical evolution of the southern sector of the Sele river coastal plain (Tyrrhenian Sea, southern Italy). Stratigraphic and paleontological analyses identified a transition from floodplain strata to brackish water, lagoon and upper shoreface deposits. The present setting of the outermost plain strip was interpreted as the result of a barrier-lagoon system which first migrated landward and then seaward during the Holocene. After being exposed to continental conditions during the Last Glacial regression, the study area gradually reached brackish water conditions at the beginning of the Holocene. Shortly before 6.7 ka cal BP the coastline reached its maximum retreat, reaching 1.6 km inland from the present shore. Subsequently, the barrier-lagoon system mainly prograded until marshy conditions were established, which partially persisted until very recent times. Four biological sea-level markers were sampled, and their ages, constrained by AMS 14C dating, span between 6.77 and 7.98 ka cal BP. Altitudes (m above mean sea level) of the collected samples were corrected taking into account the uncertainties of the vertical position with respect to the palaeo sea level. Vertical tectonic displacements were evaluated through the comparison between relative sea-level data and the Holocene predicted sea-level curve, as well as with the available morphotectonic and stratigraphic data. The results suggest negligible rates of vertical tectonic displacements during the Holocene, at least along the southern sector of the Sele river coastal plain.