Origin of the Gabbro-Peridotite Association from the Northern Apennine Ophiolites (Italy)

The Northern Apennine ophiolites are remnants of the MiddleJurassic–Early Cretaceous lithosphere from the LigurianTethys. New trace element and Nd–Sr isotope investigationswere performed on: (1) the rare gabbros associated with thesubcontinental mantle rocks from the External Liguride ophiolites;(2) the gabbro–peridotite association from the poorlyknown ophiolitic bodies from Cecina valley (Southern Tuscany).Clinopyroxenes from the External Liguride and Cecina valleygabbros have similar trace element compositions, which are consistentwith formation from normal mid-ocean ridge basalt (N-MORB) magmas.Sm–Nd mineral isochron ages are 179 ± 9 Ma foran External Liguride gabbro and 170 ± 13 Ma and 173·5± 4·8 Ma for two different gabbroic bodies fromthe Cecina valley ophiolites. These ages are interpreted todate the igneous crystallization of the gabbros and are slightlyolder than the oldest pelagic sediments of the Ligurian Tethys.Initial     

Recrystallization of dolomite: evidence from the Monterey Formation (Miocene), California

Dolomites from the upper calcareous-siliceous member of the Miocene Monterey Formation exposed west of Santa Barbara, California, were analysed for geochemical, isotopic and crystallographic variation. The data clearly document the progressive recrystallization of dolomite during burial diagenesis in marine pore fluids. Recrystallization is recognized by the following compositional and crystallographic variations. Dolomites have decreasing δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C compositions, decreasing Sr contents and increasing Mg contents with increasing burial depths and temperatures from east to west in the study area. δ¹⁸O values vary from 5·3‰ in the east to − 5·5‰ PDB in the west and are interpreted to reflect the greater extent and higher temperature of dolomite recrystallization in the west. δ¹³C values correlate with δ¹⁸O and decrease from 13·6‰ in the east to − 8·7‰ PDB in the west. Sr concentrations correlate positively with δ¹⁸O values and decrease from a mean of 750 ppm in the east to a mean of 250 ppm in the west. Mol% MgCO₃ values inversely correlate with δ¹⁸O values and increase from a minimum of 41·0 in the east to a maximum of 51·4 in the west. Rietveld refinements of powder X-ray diffraction data indicate that the more recrystallized dolomites have more contracted unit cells and increased cation ordering. The fraction of the Ca sites in the dolomites that are occupied by Ca atoms increases slightly with the approach to stoichiometry. The fraction of the Mg sites occupied by Mg atoms strongly correlates with mol% MgCO₃. Even in early diagenetic, non-stoichiometric dolomites, there is little substitution of Mg in Ca sites. During recrystallization, the amount of Mg substituting for Ca in Ca sites decreases even further. Most of the disorder in the least recrystallized, non-stoichiometric dolomites is related to substitution of excess Ca on Mg sites.     

Pollen record from Colle Curti and Cesi: Early and Middle Pleistocene mammal sites in the Umbro–Marchean Apennine Mountains (central Italy)

The palynological record from the Colle Curti and Cesi continental deposits has been examined in order to identify the main palaeofloristic and vegetational changes between 0.99 and 0.6–0.7 Ma. These data show a progressive increase in aridity, as well as a progressive decrease in temperature, which are associated with the transition in dominance from the 41 to 100 ka cyclicity in the Milankovitch orbital record during the Middle Pleistocene. The disappearance of Tsuga, recorded during the lower part of the Brunhes Chron, also has been related to a shift in global aridity. During the successive open vegetational phases (glacials), Chenopodiaceae and Artemisia progressively increase, whereas Cyperaceae decrease. Forest phases (interglacials) are successively dominated by Tsuga, Abies with Picea and, finally, Pinus; but all lack significant expansion of broad‐leaved deciduous taxa. Palynological and sedimentological data, in addition to taphonomic interpretations, demonstrate the occurrence of several hiatuses in the lower parts of the interglacials. These hiatuses are considered to represent the palaeoenvironmental response to climatic changes affecting local sedimentological and geomorphological conditions. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Salt Waters of the Northern Apennine Foredeep Basin (Italy): Origin and Evolution

The salt waters from the Emilia-Romagna sector of the Northern Apennine Foredeep have been investigated using major and trace element and stable isotope (δ²H, δ¹⁸O, δ³⁷Cl, δ⁸¹Br and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio). Ca, Mg, Na, K, Sr, Li, B, I, Br and SO₄ vs. Cl diagrams suggest the subaerial evaporation of seawater beyond gypsum and before halite precipitation as primary process to explain the brine’s salinity, whereas saline to brackish waters were formed by mixing of evaporated seawater and water of meteoric origin. A diagenetic end-member may be a third component for mud volcanoes and some brackish waters. Salinization by dissolution of (Triassic) evaporites has been detected only in samples from the Tuscan side of the Apennines and/or interacting with the Tuscan Nappe. In comparison with the seawater evaporation path, Ca–Sr enrichment and Na–K–Mg depletion of the foredeep waters reveal the presence of secondary processes such as dolomitization–chloritization, zeolitization–albitization and illitization. Sulfate concentration, formerly buffered by gypsum-anhydrite deposition, is heavily lowered by bacterial and locally by thermochemical reduction during burial diagenesis. From an isotopic point of view, data of the water molecule confirm mixing between seawater and meteoric end-members. Local ¹⁸O-shift up to +11‰ at Salsomaggiore is related to water–rock interaction at high temperature (≈150°C) as confirmed by chemical (Mg, Li, Ca distribution) and isotopic (SO₄–H₂O) geothermometers. ³⁷Cl/³⁵Cl and ⁸¹Br/⁷⁹Br ratios corroborate the marine origin of the brines and evidence the diffusion of halogens from the deepest and most saline aquifers toward the surface. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio suggests a Miocene origin of Sr and rule out the hypothesis of a Triassic provenance of the dissolved components for the analyzed waters issuing from the Emilia-Romagna sector of the foredeep. Waters issuing from the Tuscan side of the Apennines and from the Marche sector of the foredeep show higher ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios because of the interaction with siliciclastic rocks.     

Rheological behaviour of the crust in Southern Apennine (Italy): results from a thermal and seismological study

To add information on the brittle/ductile transition of the Southern Apennine, we investigated a rheological profile of the crust along a WSW–ENE‐oriented cross‐section running from Neapolitan Volcanic Zone to Apulia foreland. The rheological model was obtained computing a thermal modelling and constrained by a relocalization of earthquakes of the area. Results show that the area is characterized by horizontal rheological variations, with two horizons interlayered with ductile horizons, that are quite predominant with respect to vertical ones. The horizontal stratification of lithospheric rheology has important geodynamic consequence and could provide new insights to better understand the tectonic processes which have played a major role to construct the Southern Apennine belt. Results of this study suggested that well‐constrained rheological models, built integrating information from both relocated earthquakes and thermal state, could give important hints on the mechanical behaviour of the crust and its related tectonic processes.     

Decline and recovery of the Aptian carbonate factory in the southern Apennine carbonate shelves (southern Italy): Climatic/oceanographic vs. local tectonic controls

In interpreting the inception and demise of different carbonate depositional systems, climatic-oceanographic variations together with sea-level oscillations are commonly considered key elements. However, local tectonic controls cannot be ruled out. In attempts to discriminate among the main factors controlling the evolution of the southern Apennine mid-Cretaceous carbonate system, detailed facies analyses have been performed on Aptian–Albian carbonate successions in the Matese Group (southern Apennines). Since the mid Aptian, the analysed successions testify to a tectonically-driven topography, replacing the previous large tropical shallow-water domain with subdomains characterised by diversified sedimentological trends. Nevertheless, around the middle part of the Aptian, the studied successions register palaeoecological signals that cannot be linked exclusively with tectonic disturbance because of the coeval appearance of analogous signals at a global scale, including a significant change in biological assemblages and an outbreak of organisms indicative of stressful conditions in the water mass.Upper Bedoulian strata clearly record open marine settings characterised by a significant richness of the benthic communities. The biota included rudists, gastropods and echinoids plus many different benthic foraminifers and green algae. Rudists considered to be typically “tropical” forms (the caprinid Offneria nicolinae (Mainelli) and Offneria murgensis Masse, the requieniid Lovetchenia Masse and the monopleurid Agriopleura Kühn) characterise thick subtidally deposited strata in which large coral colonies and mollusc shells contributed to occasional storm-related skeletal concentrations.The analysed Gargasian strata show impoverished biota: caprinids totally disappear, both as in situ and storm-related layer components, and hermatypic corals are drastically reduced. Muddy lithofacies prevail in intertidal metric cycles in which cyanobacterial consortia, both in the form of dense laminae and coalescent oncoids, orbitolinids and small gastropods (cerithiids) suggest restricted, nutrient-rich water. Large oncoids of Bacinella irregularis/Lithocodium aggregatum and mollusc (mostly chondrodontids and gastropods) shell fragments significantly contribute to storm-related coarse skeletal intercalations, in which oligotrophic condition-adapted forms (e.g., hermatypic corals) are reduced or absent. This pattern suggests generalised conditions of stress in the water mass and in more marginal open areas.During the mid-Aptian interval, characterised by the flourishing of assemblages adapted to mesotrophic–eutrophic conditions, the southern Apennines shallow-water domain shows a progressive reduction of the previous mainly aragonite-dominated chlorozoan assemblages and an increase of calcite-dominated skeletal components, including rudists with thickened calcitic outer shell layers. Cyanobacteria and polychaetes characteristically marked the first phases of recovery in the shallow-water domains, rapidly evolving into more complex and differentiated assemblages. The outbreak of nerineid and acteonid gastropods seems to be related to a flourishing of cyanobacterial mats and related microphytae and also to the presence of polychaetes tubes (Thartarella cocumeriformis (Wahlman)). Moreover, the grazing activity of the nerineids favoured the flourishing of oyster-like bivalves. Among the rudists, the persistence and radiation of species adapted to a wide range of temperatures, such as Requieniidae and Monopleuridae as well as the first elevator Radiolitidae suggests some kind of oceanographic change (e.g., seawater chemistry and/or temperature).On the basis of the features described above, we propose the existence of a complex environmental scenario in which cooler conditions, presumably coupled with meso/eutrophic and locally oligophotic conditions, related to climatic/oceanographic global changes, cooperated in modifying the carbonate factory characterisation in a tectonically controlled setting.     

Hybrid event bed character and distribution linked to turbidite system sub‐environments: The North Apennine Gottero Sandstone (north‐west Italy)

This study documents the character and occurrence of hybrid event beds (HEBs) deposited across a range of deep‐water sub‐environments in the Cretaceous–Palaeocene Gottero system, north‐west Italy. Detailed fieldwork (>5200 m of sedimentary logs) has shown that hybrid event beds are most abundant in the distal confined basin‐plain domain (>31% of total thickness). In more proximal sectors, hybrid event beds occur within outer‐fan and mid‐fan lobes (up to 15% of total thickness), whereas they are not observed in the inner‐fan channelized area. Six hybrid event bed types (HEB‐1 to HEB‐6) were differentiated mainly on basis of the texture of their muddier and chaotic central division (H3). The confined basin‐plain sector is dominated by thick (maximum 9·57 m; average 2·15 m) and tabular hybrid event beds (HEB‐1 to HEB‐4). Their H3 division can include very large substrate slabs, evidence of extensive auto‐injection and clast break‐up, and abundant mudstone clasts set in a sandy matrix (dispersed clay ca 20%). These beds are thought to have been generated by highly energetic flows capable of delaminating the sea floor locally, and carrying large rip‐up clasts for relatively short distances before arresting. The unconfined lobes of the mid‐fan sector are dominated by thinner (average 0·38 m) hybrid event beds (HEB‐5 and HEB‐6). Their H3 divisions are characterized by floating mudstone clasts and clay‐enriched matrices (dispersed clay >25%) with hydraulically fractionated components (mica, organic matter and clay flocs). These hybrid event beds are thought to have been deposited by less energetic flows that underwent early turbulence damping following incorporation of mud at proximal locations and by segregation during transport. Although there is a tendency to look to external factors to account for hybrid event bed development, systems like the Gottero imply that intrabasinal factors can also be important; specifically, the type of substrate available (muddy or sandy) and where and how erosion is achieved across the system producing specific hybrid event bed expressions and facies tracts.     

Late Miocene fish otoliths from the Colombacci Formation (Northern Apennines,Italy): implications for the Messinian ‘Lago‐mare’ event

A fish otolith assemblage from the Messinian ‘Lago‐mare’ deposits of the Colombacci Formation cropping out in the Montecalvo in Foglia Syncline, Marche, central Italy, is described. The assemblage displays a low diversity and consists of seven taxa belonging to three families: the Gobiidae, Myctophidae and Sciaenidae. Sciaenid otoliths are the most abundant elements representing 88% of the entire assemblage. The palaeoecological analysis reveals a coastal shallow marine environment strongly influenced by continental outflow. The low diversity and high abundance of the euryecious sciaenids are indicative of a very simplified food web, which probably represented an ecological response to the fluctuating environmental parameters and available food resources. The fish remains documented here provide an unambiguous evidence that normal marine conditions were present in the Mediterranean, at least in the upper part of the ‘Lago‐mare’ event, and unquestionably demonstrate that the marine refilling preceded the Mio‐Pliocene boundary. These findings clearly demonstrate that fishes, because of their mobility and migratory behaviour, represent a useful tool for the large‐scale interpretation of the environmental conditions of the Messinian Mediterranean water body. The necessity of a new scenario of palaeoenvironmental evolution for the post‐evaporitic Messinian of the Mediterranean is also discussed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Structural analysis of the ‘Internal’ Units of Cilento, Italy: New constraints on the Miocene tectonic evolution of the southern Apennine accretionary wedge

Based on the structural analysis of the ‘Internal’ Units cropping out in the Cilento area (southern Italy), this article provides new geodynamic constraints on the Miocene tectonic evolution of the southern Apennine accretionary wedge. The studied sedimentary successions, forming part of the tectonically superposed Nord-Calabrese (in the hanging-wall) and Parasicilide Units, are characterized by three superposed fold sets. The analysis of the attitudes of the main structures allowed us to unravel the shortening directions experienced by the accretionary wedge in the Miocene time. The reconstructed deformation sequence, characterized by initial NW-SE shortening and subsequently by west-east and NE-SW shortening, is related to the inclusion of the studied successions into the accretionary wedge and to their subsequent tectonic emplacement on top of outer domains of the foreland plate. Accretionary wedge overthickening and uplift, probably associated with footwall imbrication involving carbonate units of the foreland plate, was followed by wedge thinning, which also enhanced the creation of accommodation space in wedge-top basin depocentres.     

Late Quaternary multiple incised valley systems: An unusually well‐preserved stratigraphic record of two interglacial valley‐fill successions from the Arno Plain (northern Tuscany,Italy)

Un‐fragmented stratigraphic records of late Quaternary multiple incised valley systems are rarely preserved in the subsurface of alluvial‐delta plains due to older valley reoccupation. The identification of a well‐preserved incised valley fill succession beneath the southern interfluve of the Last Glacial Maximum Arno palaeovalley (northern Italy) represents an exceptional opportunity to examine in detail evolutionary trends of a Mediterranean system over multiple glacial–interglacial cycles. Through sedimentological and quantitative meiofauna (benthic foraminifera and ostracods) analyses of two reference cores (80 m and 100 m long) and stratigraphic correlations, a mid‐Pleistocene palaeovalley, 5 km wide and 50 m deep, was reconstructed. Whereas valley filling is chronologically constrained to the penultimate interglacial (Marine Isotope Stage 7) by four electron spin resonance ages on bivalve shells (Cerastoderma glaucum), its incision is tentatively correlated with the Marine Isotope Stage 8 sea‐level fall. Above basal fluvial‐channel gravels, the incised valley fill is formed by a mud‐prone succession, up to 44 m thick, formed by a lower floodplain unit and an upper unit with brackish meiofauna that reflects the development of a wave‐dominated estuary. Subtle meiofauna changes towards less confined conditions record two marine flooding episodes, chronologically linked to the internal Marine Isotope Stage 7 climate‐eustatic variability. After the maximum transgressive phase, recorded by coastal sands, the interfluves were flooded around 200 ka (latest Marine Isotope Stage 7). The subsequent shift in river incision patterns, possibly driven by neotectonic activity, prevented valley reoccupation guiding the northward formation of the Last Glacial Maximum palaeovalley. The applied multivariate approach allowed the sedimentological characterization of the Marine Isotope Stage 7 and Marine Isotope Stage 1 palaeovalley fills, including shape, size and facies architecture, which revealed a consistent river‐coastal system response over two non‐consecutive glacial–interglacial cycles (Marine Isotope Stages 8 to 7 and Marine Isotope Stages 2 to 1). The recurring stacking pattern of facies documents a predominant control exerted on stratigraphy by Milankovitch and sub‐Milankovitch glacio‐eustatic oscillations across the late Quaternary period.     

Early‐middle Holocene land snail shell stable isotope record from Grotta di Latronico 3 (southern Italy)

This paper compares stable isotope (δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C) records of early–middle Holocene land snail shells from the archaeological deposits of Grotta di Latronico 3 (LTR3; southern Italy) with modern shell isotopic data. No substantial interspecific variability was observed in shell δ¹⁸O (δ¹⁸Os) of modern specimens (Pomatias elegans, Cornu aspersum, Eobania vermiculata, Helix ligata and Marmorana fuscolabiata). In contrast, interspecific shell δ¹³C (δ¹³Cs) variability was significant, probably due to different feeding behaviour among species. The δ¹⁸Os values of living land snails suggest that species hibernate for a long period during colder months, so that the signal of ¹⁸O‐depleted winter rainfall in their δ¹⁸Os is lost. This suggests that δ¹⁸Os and δ¹³Cs values of Pomatias elegans from this archaeological succession provide valuable clues for seasonal (spring–autumn) climatic conditions during the early–middle Holocene. The δ¹⁸Os values of fossil specimens are significantly lower than in modern shells and in agreement with other palaeoclimatic records, suggesting a substantial increase of precipitation and/or persistent changes in air mass source trajectories over this region between ca. 8.8 cal ka BP and 6.2–6.7 ka ago. The δ¹³Cs trend suggests a transition from a slightly ¹³C‐enriched to a ¹³C‐depleted diet between early and middle Holocene compared to present conditions. We postulate that this δ¹³Cs trend might reflect changes in the C3 vegetation community, potentially combined with other environmental factors such as regional moisture increase and the progressive decrease of atmospheric CO₂ concentration. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tectonic vs. gravitational morphostructures in the central Eastern Alps (Italy): Constraints on the recent evolution of the mountain range

Deep-seated gravitational slope deformations (DSGSDs) influence landscape development in tectonically active mountain ranges. Nevertheless, the relationships among tectonics, DSGSDs, and topography are poorly known. In this paper, the distribution of DSGSDs and their relationships with tectonic structures and active processes, surface processes, and topography were investigated at different scales. Over 100 DSGSDs were mapped in a 5000 km² sector of the central Eastern Alps between the Valtellina, Engadine and Venosta valleys. Detailed lineament mapping was carried out by photo-interpretation in a smaller area (about 750 km²) including the upper Valtellina and Val Venosta. Fault populations were also analysed in the field and their mechanisms unravelled, allowing to identify different structural stages, the youngest being consistent with the regional pattern of the ongoing crustal deformation. Finally, four DSGSD examples have been investigated in detail by geological and 2D geomechanical modelling.DSGSDs affect more than 10% of the study area, and mainly cluster in areas where anisotropic fractured rock mass and high local relief occur. Their onset and development is subjected to a strong passive control by mesoscopic and major tectonic features, including regional nappe boundaries as well as NW–SE, N–S and NE–SW trending recent brittle structures. The kinematic consistency between these structures and the pattern of seismicity suggests that active tectonics may force DSGSDs, although field evidence and numerical models indicate slope debuttressing related to deglaciation as a primary triggering mechanism.     

Gabbro-derived granulites from External liguride units (northern Apennine,Italy): implications for the rifting processes in the western Tethys

In Santonian-Early Campanian sedimentary melanges of the External Liguride units (northern Apennine), slide blocks of subcontinental mantle and MOR basalts are associated with lithologies derived from the continental crust. One of these sedimentary melanges, the Mt. Ragola complex, is characterized by the close association of mantle ultramafic, mafic and quartzo-feldspathic granulites. Mafic granulites show a wide compositional range. They generally display a marked metamorphic layering, but undeformed rocks which preserve a gabbroic fabric are found locally. The most frequent lithologies are Al-spinel gabbronorites, generally containing minor olivine, and Fe-Ti oxidebearing gabbronorites. Troctolites, olivine gabbronorites and anorthosites were also recovered. Relics of primary textures as well as mineral and bulk-rock compositional variations indicate a comagmatic intrusive origin for the protoliths of the mafic granulites. This intrusive mafic complex underwent a subsolidus reequilibration under granulite facies conditions, at 0.6–0.9 GPa and 810–920°C, and was derived from crystallization at intermediate levels of tholeiite-derived liquids, possibly affected by crustal contamination. Its primary features are similar to those of the upper zone of the Ivrea layered complex. The gabbroic protolith for the granulites of External Liguride units were probably crystallized into the extending Adria lithosphere in relation to the initial stages of the opening of the western Tethys.     

Stable isotope and fluid inclusion studies of carbonate deposits from the Tolfa Mountains mining district (Latium,central Italy)

Carbon and oxygen isotope analyses were made of representative samples of calcite and quartz from the carbonate deposits in the Tolfa Mountains mining district. Measurements were also made of hydrogen isotope compositions, filling temperatures and salinities of fluid inclusions in these minerals. There are three stages of mineralization at Tolfa. In stage I, characterized by calc-silicate hornfels, the carbonates have relatively high ¹⁸O values of 14.5 to 21.6 suggesting a rather low water/rock ratio. ¹³C values of –0.3 to 2.1 indicate that appreciable decarbonation or introduction of deep-seated carbon did not occur. Stage II is marked by phanerocrystalline carbonates; ¹⁸O values of 13.1 to 20.0 and ¹³C values of 0.7 to 5.0 identify them as hydrothermal veins rather than marbles. D values of –56 to –50 for inclusion fluids suggest a possible magmatic component to the hydrothermal fluid. Filling temperatures of coarse-grained samples of Calcite II are 309° to 362° C with a salinity range of 5.3 to 7.1 weight percent NaCl. Calculated ¹⁸O values of 11–12 for these fluids are again indicative of low water/rock ratios. The sparry calcites of stage III have ¹⁸O and ¹³C values of 8.1 to 12.9 and –1.7 to 3.2, respectively. D values of inclusion fluids are –40 to –33, clearly heavier than in earlier stages and similar to values of modern local ground waters. A salinity measurement of <0.1 weight percent NaCl in a sample of Calcite III is compatible with a relatively unaltered ground water origin for this fluid. Precipitation of the sparry calcite took place at much lower temperatures, around 160° C. For quartz, ¹⁸O values of 9.3 to 12.4 and D values for inclusions of –53 to –28 are consistent with its late occurrence and paragenetic link with associated carbonates.     

Multiple hydro‐fracturing by boron‐rich fluids in the Late Miocene contact aureole of eastern Elba Island (Tuscany,Italy)

In eastern Elba Island (Tuscany, Italy), a shallow crustal level felsic, tourmaline‐bearing, dyke‐sill swarm of Late Miocene age is associated with abundant tourmaline‐quartz hydrothermal veins and metasomatic masses. Development of these veins and masses in the host rocks demonstrates multiple hydro‐fracturing by magmatic, boron‐rich saline fluid. Tourmalines in felsic dykes are schorl, whereas in veins and metasomatic masses, tourmaline composition ranges from schorl‐dravite through dravite to uvite. This compositional shift is evidence for an increasing contribution to the magmatic boron‐rich fluids by a Mg‐Ca‐Ti‐rich external component represented by biotite‐rich and amphibolite host rocks. This system can be envisaged as an exposed proxy of the high temperature hydrothermal system presently active in the deepest part of the Larderello‐Travale geothermal field (Tuscany).     

Molluscan successions from the Holocene tufa of St Germain‐le‐Vasson,Normandy (France) and their biogeographical significance

A detailed molluscan succession from a 10 m thick deposit of Holocene tufa at St Germain‐le‐Vasson, Normandy, provides the most complete record from northern France and has shed new light on the historical biogeography of several species of land snail. The succession has been reconstructed from four profiles and a chronology provided by accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon dating of charcoal, wood and shell. The onset of tufa formation occurred after 9700±90 yr BP and persisted until 4213±77 yr BP. The tufa appears to have accumulated at a remarkably constant rate (14.4–16.5 cm 100 yr^?1), except for the upper levels, where the rate increases fourfold. The succession has been divided into six local molluscan zones. An early assemblage consisting of ecologically tolerant species and those indicative of marshy grassland is replaced by a sequence of shade‐demanding taxa, reflecting the encroachment of woodland. Shaded conditions persist until the end of the sequence but the most hygrophilous elements decline after 5422±60 yr BP (zone 5), a change also reflected in the tufa lithology by the development of silty grey horizons. Notable species recovered from the tufa include Acicula fusca, Vertigo substriata, V. alpestris, V. moulinsiana (all rare or unknown living in northern France). Hygromia limbata, a twentieth century introduction to Britain, was previously thought to be a relatively recent arrival in northern France, but its record at St Germain shows that it has been present in Normandy since 6500 yr BP. Azeca goodalli, another shade‐demanding species, appeared at St Germain much later, just after 4420±65 yr BP. Several other species present in the tufa, such as Pomatias elegans, no longer live on the site, adding to the evidence for a distributional decline in Normandy and elsewhere. Perhaps the most noteworthy record is that of Leiostyla anglica, between about 8500 yr BP and 5000 yr BP, because this constitutes its only Holocene occurrence from mainland Europe. Following this discovery it seems likely that further Holocene sites with L. anglica may be found along the western seaboard of Europe connecting populations in Iberia with those of the British Isles. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Orbital forcing recorded in subtidal cycles from a Lower Miocene siliciclastic–carbonate ramp system (Central Italy)

Metre-scale siliciclastic–carbonate cycles are the basic depositional motif of the lower Miocene Guadagnolo Formation outcropping in the central Apennines. The mechanisms which formed the mixed-lithology cycles are still a matter of debate. The mixed siliciclastic–carbonate system discussed in this paper provides a new case study to illustrate the role of orbital forcing in controlling the facies evolution and cyclic stacking of small-scale sequences deposited on the outer sector of a ramp. Two sections are discussed that display mixed siliciclastics and carbonates arranged in upward-shallowing cycles. Each cycle shows an upward decrease in the terrigenous input and a parallel increase in benthic fauna. Time-series analyses indicate the cyclic carbonate-terrigenous pattern to be largely controlled by orbital forcing in the Milankovitch frequency band. Coupling of climate change and sea-level fluctuations in tune with orbital cycles are proposed as driving mechanisms.     

Trace element distribution within olivine-bearing gabbros from the Northern Apennine ophiolites (Italy): evidence for post-cumulus crystallization in MOR-type gabbroic rocks

The trace element distribution in three selected olivine-bearing gabbros from the Northern Apennine ophiolites has been determined. These rocks consist of euhedral plagioclase and olivine, and subhedral to poikilitic clinopyroxene. Fe-Ti-oxides, titanian pargasite, orthopyroxene and apatite occur as interstitial accessory minerals. Plagioclase, clinopyroxene and accessory minerals were analysed for rare earth (REE) and selected trace elements by secondary ion mass spectrometry. Both plagioclase and clinopyroxene are compositionally zoned. The plagioclase rims have slightly lower anorthite component and higher light REE (LREE), Ba and K than the cores. Likewise, the clinopyroxene rims show a slight Mg and Cr decrease, and a marked increase in Zr, REE and Y relative to the core. The rims of plagioclase and clinopyroxene, Fe-Ti-oxides, apatite and titanian pargasite most likely formed through post-cumulus fractional crystallization of interstitial liquid. It is argued that such interstitial liquid had an exotic component, probably related to the infiltration of highly evolved, slightly LREE enriched liquid in the cumulate pile. On the basis of mass balance calculations, we show that Fe-Ti-oxides play an important role in the Ti budget of the whole rock, as does apatite for LREE. Received: 15 January 1998 / Accepted: 22 September 1998