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The continental margin areas of Antarctica are key sectors to understand the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) behavior during glacial and interglacial period. Only few intervals of well-preserved foraminifera were recovered. This affects the validation of models about the evolution of the ice sheet/shelf and doesn’t permit the construction of reliable age models. The preliminary study of one core (KI13-C2) and two box-cores (KI13-bc3 and HLF16-5b) is presented here, with the aim to evidence the occurrence of a carbonate-rich interval also on the Hallett Ridge deposited during the late MIS2. This occurrence can be correlated with the other ones identified in cores collected along the WRS continental slope providing insights about a large-scale break-up of the Ice Shelf/sea ice.

In order to understand the growth and retreat of glaciers in response to the glacial-interglacial changes, subglacial marine sedimentary sequences have been studied extensively in the continental shelf areas of the Ross Sea. The purpose is to comprehend the glaciomarine sedimentation change on the continental slope of eastern Pennell-Iselin Bank in the Ross Sea, using three gravity cores (C1, C2, C3) and three box cores (BC1, BC2, BC3) collected from sites (RS14-1, 2, 3), respectively, across the continental slope to the eastern side of the Pennell-Iselin Bank during XXIX° (2014) PNRA expedition (Rosslope Ⅱ project). Several sedimentological (grain size, magnetic susceptibility), elemental (XRF), geochemical (biogenic opal, total organic carbon, total nitrogen, C/N ratios, CaCO3), and isotopic (δ13C and δ15N of organic matter) parameters were measured along sediment cores with AMS 14C dating of bulk sediments. Core-sediments consist mostly of hemipelagic sandy clay or silty clay with scattered IRDs (Ice-Rafted Debris). A comparison of sediment properties between box cores and the top of gravity cores reveals that the loss of sediment during sampling is trivial. Sediment colors of gravity cores alternate between brown and gray downward. Based on the variation patterns of sediment properties, sediment lithology was divided into different units (A and B), and subunits (B1 and B2). AMS 14C dates and sediment properties assign Unit A, Unit B1, and Unit B2 to interglacial, deglacial, and glacial conditions, respectively. Unit A represents the Holocene and interglacial sediments deposited mainly by the suspension settling of biogenic particles with IRDs in the open marine condition. Unit B1 reflects the deglacial sediments with an increase in IRDs showing the transition of sediment properties from Unit B2 to Unit A by the retreat of subglacial ices. Unit B2 is characterized by different sediment properties, mainly supplied by the continuously lateral melt-water plume or distal part of debris flow originating from the front of grounding floes in the subglacial continental shelf under the ice shelf during the glacial period. Thus, Unit B contains mostly reworked and eroded sediments from the continental shelf with scattered IRDs. The influence of subglacial continental shelf sedimentation in terms of melt-water transport and/or distal stage of debris flow was limited as far as to the middle slope areas (Site 2) during the deglacial and glacial periods. The deeper Site 1 remains in seasonally open marine conditions during the glacial period, due to the peaks of biogenic opal and TOC contents. Keywords: sediment property, subglacial activity, continental slope, Ross Sea

We are investigating the effects of earthquakes and tsunamis on the sedimentary record in the Ionian Sea through the analysis of turbidite deposits. A comparison between radiometric dating and historical earthquake catalogs suggests that turbidite emplacement triggered by great earthquakes represents over 90% of the deposits in this region. Seismo-turbidite beds can be correlated with major earthquakes such as the AD 1908 Messina, AD 1693 Catania, AD 1169 Eastern Sicily and AD 365 Crete earthquakes.

Four sediment cores (ANTA99-cJ3, ANTA95-98C, KI13-C1 and KI13-C2) and two box cores (KI13-bc2 and KI13-bc4), collected in the different geological settings of the Joides Basin-Central Basin area (Ross Sea, Southern Ocean), were studied in the framework of the Italian Antarctic Project ROSSLOPE (Past and present sedimentary dynamic in the ROSS Sea: a multidisciplinary approach to study the continental SLOPE). In this work we consider only the time interval spanning from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to the Present in order to investigate the palaeoclimatic and palaeoceanographic evolution of the western Ross Sea during the last deglaciation phase. Based on the abundance pattern of diatom and foraminiferal assemblages as well as different geochemical and sedimentological properties (organic carbon, grain size, biogenic silica and CaCO3 content), we propose a climatic and environmental reconstruction of the last glacial/interglacial transition in this regions of the Southern Ocean.

This study focuses on the investigation of the palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental changes which occurred during the last glacial and interglacial time interval and of the influence of palaeoceanographic alterations recorded in the continental shelf and continental slope of the western Ross Sea (WRS). A great deal of physical (paleomagnetism, magnetic susceptibility, grain size), chemical-geochemical (organic carbon, biogenic silica and CaCO3content, major and trace elements) and biological (diatoms and foraminifera assemblages) analyses were performed on sediments of four gravitycores and two box cores collected in the WRS. C 14 dating measurements were done on the organic matter from selected samples. Theuncorrected ages of the superficial sediments of each box core was used to correct the ages of the corresponding core. Here we present the mainresults obtained from diatom analyses performed on:• Core ANTA99-cJ3: the core was collected by R/V ITALICA during the PNRA Antarctic cruise of 1999 in the Joides Basin.• Cores ANTA95-98C, KI13-C1, KI13-C2, box cores KI13-bc4 and KI13-bc2: cores and box cores are located in the slope-basin area of theCentral Basin (unofficial name). Core ANTA95-98C was collected by R/V ITALICA during Antarctic summer 1995 in the framework of the ItalianPNRA Project, while core KI13-C1, KI13-C2 and the three box cores were collected during the KOPRI ANA03B cruise on board the IBRV ARAONin February 2013 through a joint project between Korea and Italy (K-PORT and PNRA/ROSSLOPE Projects).

The Ross Sea is one of the most important region of the Southern Ocean since it is involved in the formation of dense, saline and super-cooled water masses (the High Salinity Shelf Water – HSSW and the Ice Shelf Water - ISW). These water masses descend into the deep ocean to form Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) which plays a key role in the global thermohaline circulation and, in turn, in the global climate system. Four marine sediment cores and two box cores have been selected along a transect, considering the possible preferential path of the HSSW, passing across the Joides Basin Trough, on the continental shelf (cores ANTA99-cJ5 and ANTA99-cJ3), and reaching the Central Basin, a confined depositional system located at the mouth of Joides Basin (cores ANTA95-c98, KI13-c1 and box cores KI13-bc4, KI13-bc2). Core ANTA99-cJ5 was partly studied within the ESF-PNRA HOLOCLIP (Holocene climate variability at high-southern latitudes: an integrated perspective) Project, while all other cores have been analysed in the framework of the PNRA-ROSSLOPE (Past and present sedimentary dynamic in the ROSS Sea: a multidisciplinary approach to study the continental SLOPE) Project. Multidisciplinary analyses were performed in order to study the past oceanographic and climatic evolution of the Western Ross Sea occurred during the post-LGM deglaciation phases. Both cores collected in the Joides Basin are characterized by diatomaceous mud with high abundance of Chaetoceros Hyalochaete resting spores (CRS) at the base of the sequence that indicate the beginning of the glacial retreat. The subsequent up-core increase in Fragilariopsis curta suggests the establishment of seasonal sea ice associated with the Ross Ice Shelf retreat. The cores collected on the continental slope are, instead, characterized by gravelly-silty-sand to clayey silt with mixed-age diatom species that are present at the base of the sequence with high relative abundance of Eucampia antarctica spores which could be linked with sea ice. On the other hand the upper part of the core is rich in post-glacial diatom species with an increase in F. kerguelensis which suggests open ocean conditions with reduced sea ice presence. A comparison between the diatom assemblages identified in the cores allowed us to suggest a paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the Western Ross Sea area after LGM, and to highlight the glacial/interglacial transition on the basis of diatom’s species abundance variations through the cores.

Swath bathymetry and seismic reflection profiles collected by the Italian Antarctic Program (PNRA WEGA and MOGAM projects), combined with Australian (CSIRO) oceanographic measures (Williams et al., 2010) and benthic fauna sampling (Post et al., 2010), in the offshore of the George Vth Land, document evidence of bottom water cascading currents and turbidity currents inside continental slope canyons. The continental slope is incised by canyons heading to shelf edge sills and bounding sedimentary ridges of Miocene age. Dense shelf water forms in coastal polynya and is exported off the shelf break to form the Adélie Land branch of the Antarctic Bottom Water (ALBW, Rintoul et al., 2008). This bottom water is detected by CTD and mooring measurements up to about 3200m of depth, in the Jussieu canyon and further to the west. The speed of the ALBW is enough to transport fine sand and silt from shallow to deep water as documented by sea bed sediments. Similar bottom currents activity is recorded also during Quaternary glacial and interglacials (Caburlotto et al., 2009, Macrì et al., 2005) with source in the George V Land rocks and in the continental shelf (Damiani et al., 2006). The meandering charater of the Jussieu canyon and the sediment wave field on its eastern ridge, would suggest that they likely formed under the action of downslope, continous, bottom current, since the early Pliocene (Escutia et al., 2010). Caburlotto A., Lucchi R.G., De Santis L., Macrì P., Tolotti R. 2010. Sedimentary processes on the Wilkes Land continental rise reflect changes in glacial dynamic and bottom water flow. International Journal of Earth Sciences, 99(4), 909-926. Damiani D., Giorgetti G., Memmi Turbanti I. 2006. Clay mineral fluctuations and surface textural analysis of quartz grains in Pliocene–Quaternary marine sediments from Wilkes Land continental rise (East-Antarctica): Paleoenvironmental significance. Marine Geology, 226,81-295. Escutia C., Brinkhuis H., Klaus A. & Expedition 318 Scientists 2011. Proc. Intergrated Ocean Drilling Program, 318. Macrì P., Sagnotti L., Dinares-Turrel J., Caburlotto A. 2005. A composite record of Late Pleistocene relative geomagnetic paleointensity from the Wilkes Land Basin (Antarctica). Physics of the Earth and Planetary interiors, 151, 223-242. Post A.L., O’Brien P.E., Beaman R.J., Riddle M.J., De Santis L. 2010. Physical controls on deep water coral communities on the George v Land slope, East Antarctica 2010. Antarctic Science, 22 (4), 371-378. Rintoul S.R. 1998. On the origin and influence of Adelie Land bottom water. In: Ocean, Ice and Atmosphere: Interactions at the Antarctic Continental Margin. American Geophysical Union, Washington DC, 151-171.

The Ross Sea, located between Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land in Antarctica, is one of the main drainage of the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS). Reflection seismic data acquired by many countries during several decades have provided insights into the history of the Ross Sea and the AIS evolution. However the majority of the existing seismic data are concentrated in the shelf area, where hiatus formed by grounding ice sheet erosion multiple events prevent to reconstruct the entire sedimentary sequences depositional evolution. On the outer shelf and upper slope, the sedimentary sequences are relatively well preserved. The main purpose of this study is the investigation of the Cenozoic Antarctic Ice Sheet evolution through the seismic sequence analysis of the outer shelf and slope of the Central Basin, in the Ross Sea. The data used are the new multi-channel seismic data, KSL12, were acquired on the outer shelf and upper slope of the Central Bain in February 2013 by Korea Polar Research Institute. The reflection seismic data, previously collected by the Italian Antarctic Program (PNRA) and other data available from the Seismic Data Library System (SDLS) are also used for velocity tomography and seismic sequence mapping. The seismic data were processed by a conventional processing flow to produce the seismic profiles. Preliminary results show well-developed prograding wedges at the mouth of glacial troughs, eroded by a major glacial unconformity, the Ross Sea Unconformity 4 (RSU-4), correlated to a main event between early- and mid-Miocene. The velocity anomalies shown along KSL12-1 can be interpreted as showing the occurrence of gas and fluids, diagenetic horizons and sediment compactions. The isopach maps of each sequence show the variation of thickness of the sediments depocenter shift. The seismic sequence stratigraphy and acoustic facies analysis provide information about different phases of ice sheet’s advance and retreat related to the AIS Cenozoic dynamics.

Marine diatoms are sensitive to water-mass distribution and their physical-chemical and biotic preferences affect their biogeographical distribution. In sedimentary records, although altered by secondary processes such as dissolution, they track the primary signal formed in surface water. This make them the major biostratigraphic and environmental markers in the Southern Ocean as they record sea-surface temperatures, sea ice and other parameters usefull for paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic reconstructions (Jordan et al. 2010; Leventer et al., 2010; Crosta, 2011; Escutia et al., 2011). We present three case studies of diatom biostratigrapy and paleoceanographic reconstructions performed on Antarctic sediments recovered from: 1) Pleistocene-Holocene sequences in the Ross Sea and Wilkes Lands, with evidences of glacial/deglacial-interglacial phases (PNRA and IMAGES-CADO Projects in Atlantic and Australian Sectors) (Caburlotto et al., 2010; Tolotti et al., 2013) and 2) Late Eocene-Early Miocene sequences in Prydz Bay, with preliminary micropaleontological results and biostratigraphy related to the greenhouse/ice-house transition (ODP Project in the Indian Sector) (Lagabrielle et al., 2009; Suto et al., 2012). Jordan W.J. & Stikley C.E. 2010. Diatoms as indicators of paleoceanographic events. In: Smol J.P. & Stoermer E.F. Eds., The Diatoms: Applications for the Environmental and Earth Sciences., II Edition., 424-452. Escutia C., Brinkhuis H., Klaus A. & IODP Expedition 318 Scientists. 2011. IODP Expedition 318: From Greenhouse to Icehouse at the Wilkes Land Antarctic Margin. Scientific Drilling, 12, 15-23. Caburlotto A., Lucchi R.G., De Santis L., Macrì P. & Tolotti R. 2010. Sedimentary processes on the Wilkes Land continental rise reflect changes in glacial dynamic and bottom water flow. International Journal of Earth Sciences, 99(4), 909 – 926. Crosta X. 2011. Marine diatoms in polar and sub-polar environments and their application to Late Pleistocene paleoclimate reconstruction. IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 14, 1-18. Leventer A., Crosta X. & Pike J. 2010. Holocene marine diatom records of environmental change. In: Smol J.P. and Stoermer E. F. Eds., II Edition., 401-423. Lagabrielle Y., Goddéris Y., Donnadieu Y., Malavieille J. & Suarez M. 2009. The tectonic history of Drake Passage and its possible impacts on global climate. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 279, 197–211. Suto I., Kawamura K., Hagimoto S., Teraishi A. & Tanaka Y. 2012. Changes in upwelling mechanisms drove the evolution of marine organisms. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 339-341, 39–51. Tolotti R., Salvi C., Salvi G. & Bonci M.C. 2013. Late Quaternary climate variability as recorded by micropalaeontological diatom data and geochemical data in the western Ross Sea, Antarctica. Antarctic Science, 25(6), 804–820.

In the framework of national (PNRA) and international (ESF HOLOCLIP project - Holocene climate variability at high-Southern latitudes: an integrated perspective) projects, several marine cores were retrieved from the Antarctic continental margin, in the Indian sector of the Antarctic Ocean (CB2010 A, George V Basin; WEGA 26PC12, WEGA 17PC02, WEGA 11GC03, Wilkes Basin) and in the Western Ross Sea (cJ5, Joides Basin; c20, Cape Hallett; c43, Wood Bay). By using 210Pb activities measured at the EPOC (Univ. Bordeaux I) and 14C measurements (Univ. Trieste), a tentative age scale was achieved indicating that the temporal frame of the cores spans the last centuries (CB2010 A) to the whole Holocene (cJ5). Here we present the main results achieved from the chemical elemental analysis performed by ICP-AES technique on the above mentioned cores, in order to point out specific environmental features such as oxic and anoxic conditions, bioproductivity, lithogenic content of the sediments. Several major and trace elements were measured (Al, Ba, Be, Ca, Co, Cu, Dy, Eu, Fe, K, La, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, Sc, Sr, Ti, V, Y, Yb, Zn), including some Rare Earth Elements and some relevant chemical paleomarkers such as Ba, Mo and Mn. At this purpose, a devoted method for sample mineralization was developed, consisting in an acidic (HF+HNO3+HCl) digestion in microwave oven, aiming to destroy the silicic as well as the organic matrix. Afterwards, the samples were treated with H3BO3, in order to neutralize possible remaining HF, whose presence is not recommended for ICP-AES measurements. The method performances were tested on certified marine sediment materials (MESS-3) showing recoveries always within the certified uncertainty. The obtained elemental stratigraphies allowed pointing out interesting environmental features. As an example, considering the cJ5 core, the trend of the Ba/Al concentration ratio and Baexcess content, still debated markers of paleoproductivity were shown to finely match the one of Fragilariopsis curta relative abundance along the Holocene, suggesting that, once corrected for the crustal contribution, Ba can be used as a specific marker of bioproductivity at this site.

Sediment cores and box cores collected in two coastal areas of the north-western Ross Sea (Antarctica) highlight the possibility of studying the Late Holocene period in detail. In this work we propose a study on two box cores collected in the Cape Hallett and Wood Bay areas during the 2005 PNRA oceanographic cruise. This study is performed within the framework of the PNRA-ESF HOLOCLIP Project. The data set includes: magnetic susceptibility, X-ray analyses, 210Pb, 14C dating, diatoms and foraminifera assemblages, organic carbon, and grain-size analyses. Furthermore XRF core scanner analyses, colour analysis from digital images, and major, minor and trace element concentration analyses (ICP-AES) are performed. Data show that the box core sediments represent a very recent sedimentation in which it is possible to observe the parameter variability probably linked to climate variability/changes: estimated sedimentation rate testifies to the box cores very short time record (a few hundred years).

In the Ross Sea (Antarctica), sedimentation is controlled by the dynamics of the ice shelves, fluctuations of the ice sheets extensions (Eastern and Western) and volcanic activity from several volcanic complex of the Victoria Land. Marine sediments consisting of alternated glacigenic, biogenic and volcanic deposits can be interpreted in terms of changes in paleoclimate and paleoenvironment conditions. In this project we present a multidisciplinary study (comprising tephrostratigraphy, petrology, paleomagnetism, rock magnetism, TIC/TOC geochemistry, Ar/Ar dating, palinology and integrated biostratigraphy of forams and calcareous nannoplankton) of the sediments recovered in selected cores from Ross Sea during 1999 and 2000 cruises and stored in the Italian archive at Museo Nazionale dell’Antartide (Trieste). Results provide new data on local and/or global changes of paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental conditions over the past 50 Ka. Furthermore, the study of the recovered volcanic deposits adds new information about the poorly known, recent volcanic activity in the Victoria Land area.

In this study, particular attention has been paid to sea ice evolution in northwestern Ross Sea since seasonal sea ice variability is crucial to accurately reconstruct the main paleoclimatic variations and to confidently predict future climate changes. Indeed, sea ice influences global climate dynamics through several physical oceanic and atmospheric processes such as albedo, energy balance, latitudinal thermal gradient and bottom water formation. This study is part of the ESF PolarCLIMATE HOLOCLIP (Holocene climate variability at highsouthern latitudes: an integrated perspective) Project that aims to bring together the sediment core, the ice core and the modelling scientific communities with the intention of understanding the processes linking different components of the Antarctica climate system. Diatom analyses were carried out on three sediment cores collected from the northwestern Ross Sea and covering the Holocene period. Core c20 from Cape Hallett and core c43 from Wood Bay were both collected at coastal sites, while core cJ5 from Joides Basin area was retrieved in a more open environment. Diatom counts suggest that in coastal sites the sea ice duration increased over the last 4 ka BP (thousand of years before present), while in the open ocean site conversely sea ice increased between 10-6 ka BP and subsequently slightly decreased between 6-1 ka BP. Diatom records in c20 and c43 cores are similar to other coastal core records from East Antarctica, while cJ5 diatom record shows more similar environmental conditions to the core from the Polar Front Zone. Since integrating proxies from different realms (marine and glacial) could provide us a more complete view of the climate and environmental changes occurring during the Holocene, a comparison was performed between the sea ice diatom Fragilariopsis curta relative abundances in the three sediment cores and the sea-salt Na records (a potential proxy of sea ice extend/persistence) from Talos Dome and Taylor Dome ice cores. Significant positive correlations indicate that the two coastal cores and Taylor Dome bear more local to regional signal, while core cJ5 and TALDICE conversely bear a more global signal.

dynamics of the ice shelves, fluctuations of the ice sheets extensions (Eastern and Western) and volcanic activity from several volcanic complex of the Victoria Land. Marine sediments consisting of alternated glacigenic, biogenic and volcanic deposits can be interpreted in terms of changes in paleoclimate and paleoenvironment conditions. We present a multidisciplinary study of the sediments recovered in selected cores from Ross Sea during 1999 and 2000 cruises and stored in the Italian archive at Museo Nazionale dell’Antartide (Trieste). The study is based on tephrostratigraphy, petrology, paleomagnetism, rock magnetism, TIC/TOC geochemistry, Ar/Ar dating, palinology and integrated biostratigraphy of forams and calcareous nannoplankton of the sediments. Results provide new data on local and/or global changes of paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental conditions over the past 130 Ka. Furthermore, the study of the recovered volcanic deposits adds new information about the poorly known, recent volcanic activity in the Victoria Land area.

Sediment cores and box cores collected in two coastal areas of the northwestern Ross Sea (Antarctica) highlight the possibility of studying the Late Holocene period in detail. In this work we propose a study on two box cores and two gravity cores collected in the Cape Hallett and Wood Bay areas during the 2005 PNRA oceanographic cruise. The two sites are feed by Eastern Antarctic Ice Shelf (EAIS) and previous studies have highlighted a complex postglacial sedimentary sequence, also influenced by local morphology. This study is performed within the framework of the PNRA-ESF PolarCLIMATE HOLOCLIP (Holocene climate variability at high-southern latitudes: an integrated perspective) Project. The data set includes: magnetic susceptibility, X-ray analyses, 210Pb, 14C dating, diatoms and foraminifera assemblages, organic carbon, and grain-size analyses. Furthermore XRF core scanner analyses, colour analysis from digital images, and major, minor and trace element concentration analyses (ICP-AES) are performed. Data show that the box core and upper core sediments represent a very recent sedimentation in which it is possible to observe the parameter variability probably linked to climate variability/changes: these variation will be compared with isotopic record form ice cores collected form the same Antarctic sector.

The Ross Sea continental slope presents morphological peculiarities which are in part structural, in part due to the advances and retreats of the ice cap, and in part influenced by the interaction between bottom waters that come from the continental shelf and currents driven by circum-Antarctic circulation. The inlets that are located at E and W of the Iselin Bank represent two of the major supply conduits of cold and dense bottom water towards the circum-Antarctic water today, as well as the pathways of sediment from the continental shelf to the deep ocean. In particular, depositional and erosive features characterize the continental slope to the E of Iselin Bank. The Hillary Canyon and its channel-levee system is the dominant feature in this area. Existing seismic and sedimentary data, which are at rare intervals, show that the canyon was active from the late Miocene on. XRD and XRF core scanner analyses have been performed on three cores from this area. XRD powder analyses on the whole-rock showed that the mineralogy is mainly represented by quartz and feldspars (both plagioclase and Kfeldspars) with subordinate clay minerals/micas. Different source areas could be distinguished in both ways, within a single core and in a comparison between the different cores by interpreting the Al, Si, Ti, Zr content as well as the Ca/K and Ba/Sr ratios.

Geological disciplines are increasingly applied to archaeological research. Their potentialities are able to cover numerous fields of research, since they can become very interesting tools to define the ancient environments, the origin of the human settlements and the natural and anthropic processes which occurred through the evolution of the territory. Elaiussa Sebaste (Mersin region, South-Eastern coast of the Turkey), which was an important coastal town from the II century BC to VII century AD, may represent a noteworthy field of application of geological disciplines. This site was one of the main trading harbours of the Mediterranean (from the Augustan to the Byzantine era) growing in the Augustan period and maintaining its prestige until the late Empire and the Byzantine era. Actually it was the intersection of the most important shipping and land routes among Syria, Egypt and the Anatolian peninsula. The evolution of the coastal environment around this town has been continuously modified by men along its history. The most evident modification occurred North and South the promontory of Elaiussa-Sebaste bay, i.e. the construction of two harbours, which have been subsequently buried by not well defined events. The definition of the geological processes controlling the evolution of the coastal area during the last 3000 years, should become essential to reconstruct the succession of the palaeoenvironments of Elaiussa Sebaste, including the decline of the harbours.With regard to this topic, the geomorphologic analysis reveals the complex interactions among tectonics, erosion and sedimentation in this coastal area in both, emerged and in ancient times submerged settings facing the archaeological site. During the summer 2012, a geological survey allowed us to drill nine boreholes along the land-to-sea transects in both harbours. Preliminary observations indicate the stratigraphic evolution from restricted to open marine coastal environments. Sedimentology, palaeontology, palynology and sediment geochemistry are applied to study the stratigraphical sequences of boreholes and archaeological excavations. We plan obtain an evolutionary model which might consist of natural (pre-harbour) deposits, covered by low hydrodynamic sediments, which were deposited in the harbour “container”, and finally overlaid by other ones responsible of the harbours burial. Radiocarbon dating will precisely define the chronology of these events. We emphasize the role of the palynological analyses which will be addressed to the reconstruction of the evolution of the vegetation, identifying its climatic/environmental changes through the time, also in relation with the human activities in the site.