GNGTS 2014 - Atti del 33° Convegno Nazionale

GNGTS 2014 S essione 1.1 87 The complete terraced sequence of the remaining orders outcrops only along the Campo Piale horst, where the terraces VII, VIII and IX show inner edges at elevations of 285 m, 345 and 415 m a.s.l. Terrace X, the oldest and highest order of the whole flight of fluvial-coastal deposits, extending at elevations ranging from ~ 480 m to ~ 520 m upstream of Piano di Matiniti horst. These terraces are represented by wave-cut platforms directly resting on the crystalline substratum and covered by silts and reddish continental sands. North of the Campo Piale horst, on the hangingwall of the Pezzo-Scilla Fault, the assignment of terraces to distinct orders is more complex. In this area only three terraced surfaces have been recognized: the terrace I shows a clear continuity parallel to the coastline; a second surface, with inner edges at elevations between 70 m and 90 m a.s.l., as been attributed to the terrace III outcropping on the Villa S. Giovanni area, suturing the western end of the Pezzo-Scilla Fault; a third surface, with inner edges at elevations among 100 m and 140 m a.s.l., has been attributed to the V order (MIS 5.5, 125 ka) by geomorphological correlations (see Miyauchi et al ., 1994; Jacques et al ., 2001). As regards the age attribution, the finding of Strombus Bubonius in the Reggio Calabria area (Bonfiglio, 1972; Dumas et al ., 1987) and the absolute dating obtained by thermoluminescence (TL) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) methods (Balescu et al ., 1997), perfectly constraint the age of the terraced deposits between 60 and 330 ka. In particular, an age of around 60 ka has been attributed to the sandy deposits of the lowest terrace (I order), outcropping in the Acciarello place near Villa S. Giovanni (Balescu et al ., 1997), while the morphological correlation of the terrace V with the Strombus Bubonius deposits (see also Miyauchi et al. , 1994; Dumas and Raffy, 2004), has allowed to correlate this last to the MIS 5.5 (125 ka). This allowed us to correlate the other orders of terrace with the other positive peaks of eustatic curve occurred between the MIS 3.3 and the MIS 9.3. Terraces II and VI order cannot be correlated with positive peaks (see also Dumas and Raffy, 2004) and for this reason the terrace II has been attributed to the MIS 4 (74 ka), while the terrace VI has been attributed to the MIS 6.5 (167 ka). The Sicilian side. Along to the Sicilian side of the Straits of Messina, among Capo Peloro, Ganzirri and Faro Superiore, on the structural high bounded by the Mortelle to the north and by the Ganzirri Faults to the south, six orders of terraces have been recognized (Fig. 1). ����� Their inner edges range in elevation from 30 m to 170 m a.s.l. (Fig. 3). ��� �������� �������� ��� The terraced deposits are characterized by marls, sands and marine gravels thick up to 30 m lying unconformably on the Messina Gravels and Sands Fm. and covered by silts, sands and continental gravels, up to 20 m thick. ��� ������ �� ������ �� ������� ������ ��� ������ ��� �� ��� �������� �� ��� �������� ������ The series is tilted of ~10-15° toward the south, due to the activity of the Mortelle fault. The lowest (I, II and III order) terraces only outcrop on the Capo Peloro area, west of the Pantano Piccolo area, with inner edges situated at elevations of 30 m, 45 m and 60 m a.s.l., respectively. On the terrace III the Granatari Cemetery is built. The terrace IV largely outcrops with inner edges southwards decreasing from 110 m to 75 m a.s.l. In this terraced deposits Fig. 3 – Correlation between the altimetric position of the inner edges of marine terraces in the Sicilian side of the Straits and the high stands of the eustatic curve of Waelbroek et al. (2002), modified for uplift rate of 0.9 mm/yr.