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Sedimentary Geology 127 (1999) 85110

Composite sedimentary record of falling stages of Pleistocene

glacio-eustatic cycles in a shelf setting (Crotone basin, south Italy)
F. Massari a, , M. Sgavetti b , D. Rio a , A. DAlessandro c , G. Prosser d
a

Dipartimento di Geologia, Paleontologia e Geofisica, Universita` di Padova, Via Giotto 1, 35137 Padova, Italy
b Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Universita
` di Parma, Viale delle Scienze 78, 43100 Parma, Italy
c Dipartimento di Geologia e Geofisica, Universita
` di Bari, Campus universitario, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
d Centro di Geodinamica, Universita
` della Basilicata, Palazzo Auletta, Via Anzio, 85100 Potenza, Italy
Received 22 June 1998; accepted 18 March 1999

Abstract
A thick Pleistocene shelf and nearshore cyclical succession was deposited in the S. Mauro sub-basin of the Crotone
basin (southern Italy). The regressive units of the cycles are mostly represented by coastal siliciclastic and bioclastic
prograding wedges showing a clinoform geometry. These are separated by blanket-like deposits of high lateral persistence
recording major transgressive episodes. The aim of this paper is (1) to describe facies patterns and depositional setting
of two prograding wedges, particularly focussing on their polycyclic internal architecture, (2) to analyze these units
within a sequence-stratigraphic framework, and (3) to speculate on the possible origin of the small-scale cyclicity.
The two wedges analyzed in this paper consist of a number of shingles. Individual shingles consist of two physically
connected units: (1) a relatively thin package of sigmoid clinoforms, grading into (2) a volumetrically dominant package
of oblique-tangential clinoforms with toplap terminations. The shingles are bounded by seaward-dipping surfaces with
sigmoid clinoform geometry, which are ravinement surfaces updip, passing into conformable flooding surfaces downdip.
The wedges are thus organized into high-frequency, small-scale sequences, each comprising transgressive, highstand and
falling-stage systems tracts. As a whole, individual prograding wedges are interpreted as forced-regressive units, as the
shoreline was subject to an overall shift basinwards and downwards along a low-angle trajectory, in spite of the repeated
minor relative sea-level rises. Tectonic subsidence, and particularly the syndepositional growth of gentle synclines, are
thought to have been the key factors allowing the preservation of these forced-regressive units. Progradation of the
wedges took place in a high-energy wave climate characterized by high frequency of storms and very efficient alongshore
redistribution of sediments. Recurrent, storm-driven, offshore currents led to intense reworking of sediments on the
topset platform and gravity spreading on the foreset slope of the prograding wedges. Well-oxygenated conditions over
the shelf due to intensified storm activity during glacial periods may have enhanced the rate of production of skeletal,
foramol-type carbonates. It can reasonably be assumed that progradation took place from a line source and that the sand
bodies are to be regarded as coastal prograding bodies. In spite of active syndepositional tectonics, the cycles can be
correlated to Pleistocene high-amplitude sea-level oscillations. The older of the two wedges can be correlated, through
bio-magnetostratigraphy, to the major climatic transition which occurred from the marine oxygen-isotope stage 25 to 2422
(Rio et al., 1996). The younger probably developed during the sea-level fall that ended with substage 18.2, as suggested
by sequence- and bio-stratigraphic data. The prograding wedges are thus interpreted to record long-lived sea-level falls
of fourth-order cycles. Due to the particular depositional setting, we are inclined to exclude authigenic mechanisms in
Corresponding

author. E-mail: massari@geol.unipd.it

0037-0738/99/$ see front matter 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 0 3 7 - 0 7 3 8 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 0 2 5 - 1

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F. Massari et al. / Sedimentary Geology 127 (1999) 85110

the origin of small-scale cyclicity. Although the concomitance and interaction of different controlling factors may be
taken into account, it is tempting to ascribe this cyclicity to minor eustatic changes punctuating long-lived, erratic falling
stages, possibly accompanied by climate-driven fluctuations of sediment supply. Shelf-perched and shelf-edge prograding
units consisting of foramol-type carbonates are apparently a common falling-stage to lowstand depositional feature in the
Mediterranean area during the Late Pliocene and Pleistocene. 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Pleistocene; glacio-eustasy; shallow-water cycles; forced regression; composite prograding wedges; shingles;
high-energy wave climate; oxygen-isotope record; erratic sea-level fall; minor eustatic changes

1. Introduction
Late-Early Pleistocene to Late Pleistocene sealevel cycles, as recorded by the 18 O composition of the calcite in foraminifera (Shackleton,
1987), are characterized by fluctuating, long-lived
glacial buildups, terminated typically by large and
abrupt shifts from glacial to interglacial conditions
(Broecker and van Donk, 1970; Broecker, 1984;
Raymo, 1997). These sea-level fluctuations may
combine with basin subsidence and sediment supply
to produce sedimentary cycles with facies distribution and sequence architecture that differ from those
predicted by current sequence-stratigraphic models
(Piper and Perissoratis, 1990, 1991; Aksu et al.,
1992; Tesson et al., 1993; Naish and Kamp, 1997).
Specifically, well-developed Pleistocene prograding
units recording sea-level falls, sometimes punctuated
by short-term landward shifts in coastal onlap, have
been illustrated in various settings (Aksu et al., 1992;
Posamentier et al., 1992; Tesson et al., 1993; Trincardi et al., 1996; Trincardi and Correggiari, 1999).
In a recent paper, using bio-magnetostratigraphic
constraints, we documented the correlation with the
standard oxygen-isotope scale of Lower to middle
Pleistocene mixed siliciclasticcarbonate cycles, developing in the small, tectonically active S. Mauro
sub-basin of the Crotone basin, southern Italy (Rio
et al., 1996). The development and preservation of
these deposits resulted from differential tectonic subsidence and high rates of sediment supply. In this paper we illustrate in detail (1) facies patterns and depositional setting of the coastal prograding units which
make up the most part of these cycles, particularly focussing on the composite internal stratal architecture
of two of them, (2) the analysis of these units within
a sequence-stratigraphic conceptual framework, and
(3) the possible origin of the small-scale cyclicity.

The nearshore to shelf setting of the investigated

succession is similar to that of the classical Pleistocene cycles of the Wanganui basin of New Zealand
(Kamp and Turner, 1990; Carter et al., 1991; Abbott,
1997; Abbott and Carter, 1997; Naish and Kamp,
1997), although significant differences in the cycles
internal architecture can be highlighted.

2. S. Mauro sub-basin
The Calabrian segment of the Apennines, corresponding to the rear of the Calabrian accretionary wedge (Fig. 1), recently evolved from Early
Pleistocene compression, through middle Pleistocene strike-slip faulting, to Late Pleistocene extension and isostatic adjustments (Scheepers, 1994).
Within this setting, the evolution of the Crotone
basin was controlled by oblique sinistral movements along two confining NW-trending crustal
shear zones (RossanoSan Nicola and PetiliaSostri
Zones, Fig. 1) (Van Dijk, 1991). Small sub-basins
originated within the Crotone basin during the Early
Pleistocene, one of which is located in the S.
Mauro Marchesato area. This sub-basin, bounded
by M. Fuscaldo and Scandale synsedimentary faults
(Fig. 2), evolved in a dextral transtensile bend of an
overall NNE-oriented extensional stress field, which
caused enhanced differential subsidence and displacements of active depositional sites, as recorded
by angular stratal relationships and unconformities.
Syndepositional NE- to NNE-trending folds with
very low amplitude are sub-parallel to boundary faults
and are more accentuated close to them, suggesting
a genetic relationship with fault movements. Their
geometries closely resemble those which developed
in the hanging-wall of listric extensional faults with
staircase trajectory (Gibbs, 1984; Ellis and McClay,

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87

Fig. 1. Geological setting of study area (shown by rectangle), with indications of main geological units of southern Italy (adapted from
Van Dijk, 1994). Evolution of the Crotone basin was controlled by two NW-trending crustal shear zones, RossanoSan Nicola and
PetiliaSostri zones.

1988; Xiao and Suppe, 1992). They may result from

hanging-wall deformation related to listric fault geometries in a dextral transtensile tectonic setting.
Change in along-strike displacement led to variability in stratigraphic style, some segments being characterized by growth folds creating sediment wedges
thinning towards the fault, and other segments typified by rollover geometries (e.g. section AA0 in
Fig. 2), with thickening and diverging stratigraphy
towards the fault zone (cf. Gawthorpe et al., 1997).
This tectonic setting is also supported by presence of
minor normal faults crossing the succession, related
to nearly NWSE extension.

The infill of the S. Mauro Marchesato subbasin represents a relatively expanded sedimentary
record of the upper-Lower Pleistocene and middle
Pleistocene (we follow Berggren et al., 1995 in
placing the Earlymiddle Pleistocene boundary at
the MatuyamaBrunhes reversal). Five stratigraphic
units are recognized (Fig. 3), informally named
Cutro 1 and Cutro 2 (Cutro group), S. Mauro 1,
S. Mauro 2 and S. Mauro 3 (S. Mauro group) (Rio
et al., 1996). Relatively high rates of subsidence and
sediment supply, combined with deposition in shallow-water environments sensitive to even minor relative sea-level changes, resulted in a stack of high-fre-

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quency unconformity-bounded cycles, particularly

in Cutro 2 and the S. Mauro group (Rio et al.,
1996). The arkosic composition of siliciclastic sands
of the S. Mauro group suggests provenance from
the nearby uplifting granitic Sila massif, presumably
through short-headed, high-gradient streams.
Although the large-scale stratigraphic organization of the succession is strongly influenced by
tectonics, chronological constraints from calcareous
nannofossil biostratigraphy and magnetostratigraphy
indicate that the transgressive episodes within Cutro
2, S. Mauro 1 and S. Mauro 2 are synchronous with
marine oxygen-isotope stages (MIS) 33 to 19; the
match between corresponding physical cycles and
the global oxygen-isotope curve provides convincing evidence that the cycles are the result of global
eustasy (Rio et al., 1996).
The S. Mauro group includes a wide range of sediments ranging from outer-shelf muds to braided-river
conglomerates. S. Mauro 1 consists of a complex prograding unit, followed by a mud-dominated, dominantly aggrading interval (S. Mauro 2). Two major
transgressions are recognized in this interval. In the
younger of them the MatuyamaBrunhes boundary is
recognized, allowing a correlation with MIS 19 (Rio
et al., 1996). MIS 19 muds include an ash layer traceable throughout the study area. Above this stage, correlation of the sedimentary cycles with marine isotope
stages could not be carried out because of the lack
of rigorous chronological constraints. A progressive
slowing-down of the subsidence rate during the late
stage of basin filling led to an upward increase in the
amounts of lagoonal and fluvial deposits (Fig. 3), and
increasing incompleteness of the cycles. As a whole,
therefore, the S. Mauro group shows an overall backstepping to progradational vertical stacking pattern of
the cycles probably reflecting the long-term trend of
regional subsidence.

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The infill of the S. Mauro sub-basin was followed

by late-middle Pleistocene to Recent uplift, which
led to the formation of a number of marine terraces.
The oldest one of these (not mapped in Fig. 2) is
ascribed to MIS 7 (Gliozzi, 1987; Cosentino et al.,
1989) or MIS 9 (Palmentola et al., 1990). If the
second case were true, the average uplift rate in the
Late Pleistocene would have been ca. 0.4 m=ky.

3. Prograding composite wedges

In the S. Mauro group the bulk of the sediment
volume is represented by prograding units, which
are mainly sand-dominated wedges with clinoform
geometry (Figs. 3 and 4). They are bounded at the
top by discontinuity surfaces overlain by aggrading, blanket-like deposits of high lateral persistence,
showing evidence of base-level rise. The latter range
from generally thin, fossiliferous, coarse shoreface
deposits, erosively underlain in the upper cycles by
fluvial incised-valley fills grading upwards into lagoonal muds, to conformable marine offshore mudstones (especially in most subsiding areas at the top
of S. Mauro 1, e.g. Valle di Manche section).
Two wedges are particularly prominent within the
S. Mauro group (Fig. 4), each prograding for almost
5 km down depositional dip. The lower one (A in
Figs. 3 and 4) comprises S. Mauro 1 unit. The upper
one (B in Figs. 3 and 4) is located in the lower part
of S. Mauro 3.
3.1. Internal organization
Wedges A and B (Fig. 4) have a composite internal architecture. Each wedge consists of a number of
physically connected shingles, details of which are
shown in Figs. 59 and described in Table 1. Due

Fig. 2. Simplified geological map of study area. To the west, S. Mauro sub-basin is bounded by the N-directed dextral oblique-slip M.
Fuscaldo fault, which forms a releasing bend in the S. Mauro area; to the east, it is bounded by the dextral oblique-slip Scandale fault,
characterized by major extensional component. Both faults were active during sedimentation, and movements along them took place in a
NNE-oriented extensional stress field. Syndepositional NE- to NNE-trending folds with very low amplitude are sub-parallel to boundary
faults and are more accentuated close to them, suggesting genetic relationship with fault movements. The Cutro group is dated to Early
Pleistocene and S. Mauro group to late-Early Pleistocene and middle Pleistocene. AA0 , BB0 and CC0 : geological sections (traces
in map) illustrating effects of syndepositional tectonics (note vertical exaggeration). Section BB 0 shows that the depocentre active
during deposition of S. Mauro 1 and S. Mauro 2 shifted westwards during deposition of S. Mauro 3. For the sake of clarity internal
unconformities of composite wedges are omitted in section CC0 .

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Fig. 3. Generalized stratigraphic section of study area, with indication of bio- and magnetostratigraphy, and correlation with standard
oxygen isotopic scale. A and B represent composite wedges studied here.

F. Massari et al. / Sedimentary Geology 127 (1999) 85110

Fig. 4. Dip-oriented cross-section along the eastern side of the basin fill, from Scandale fault to T.S. Margherita, showing stacked cycles of S. Mauro 1, S. Mauro 2 and
lower part of S. Mauro 3. Note general geometry of wedges A and B and their internal subdivision into a number of shingled units. Flanks of broad gravel-filled incised
valley at the top are not apparent, as section is sub-parallel to palaeoflow direction. Vertical scale is enlarged.

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Fig. 5. Photo and sketch of segment of lower composite wedge in S. Mauro S section (see Fig. 2 for location) showing unconformable
contact (arrow) of two shingled units, draped by coarse shoreface deposits. Section is oblique to depositional dip of clinoforms.

to erosional termination of the outcrops of S. Mauro

group on the basinward side, only a conservative
estimate of the number of shingles can be made.
Six shingles are recognized within wedge A and five
within wedge B.
3.2. Depositional setting
A number of features suggest that the prograding
units were deposited as strike-fed coastal lithosomes
developed in a high-energy wave climate: (1) the
largely bioclastic composition of some shingles, including well rounded shell remains, with evidence of
intrabasinal source located on topset platforms; (2)

textural features of the sands, which are commonly

very well sorted, especially in the topset of the units,
pointing to efficient winnowing by wave action; (3)
sedimentary structures observed in the topset beds,
all indicative of a high-energy wave-dominated setting (Fig. 7). Strike-oriented trough cross-beds suggest a genetic link with very efficient longshore
drift. Wave megaripples, offshore-directed trough
cross-beds and swaley cross-beds suggest the activity of high-energy waves and storm-driven flows.
All these features indicate active wave-reworking
and efficient along-shore redistribution of sediments.
The arkosic composition of siliciclastic sands suggests provenance from the nearby rising granitic

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93

Fig. 6. (a) Sketch from photomosaic showing internal organization of upper composite wedge, as seen in Valle di Manche section, oriented slightly oblique to depositional
dip of clinoforms (see Fig. 2, section CC0 , for location). Note enlarged vertical scale. This wedge is internally subdivided into shingled units by prominent, seaward-dipping
surfaces with sigmoid clinoform geometry, updip portions of which are erosional unconformities mantled by shoreface deposits. Wedge is capped by a regional unconformity,
above which shoreface sands of another cycle are variably eroded by a broad incised valley infilled with braided-river deposits. These in turn are capped by a transgressive
sheet. (b) Wedge segment showing detail of geometry of unconformity surface (arrows) at junction of two shingled units. (c) Detail of unconformity (ravinement surface)
between two shingled units. Contact is marked by erosional gutters and is overlain by three closely spaced coarse fossiliferous bands, interlayered with fine sand. Hoe 67 cm
long for scale.

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Fig. 7. Vertical facies sequence of upper prograding wedge (reconstructed from a number of partial sections measured in the southern
part of the study area). Note that palaeocurrent pattern in topset beds is comparably much more variable than in foreset beds, where dip
of trough cross-bedded intrasets approximates clinoform dip.

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Fig. 8. Details of siliciclastic units of upper composite wedge. (a) Trough cross-bedding and mud-draped wave megaripples in upper part of topset beds. Hoe 67 cm long
for scale. (b) Swaley cross-stratification in topsets. (c) Rhythmic pattern of foreset beds due to recurrent physical emplacement of event beds and intervening bioturbation,
mainly echinoid meniscate traces. (d) Echinoid meniscate traces on a stratification surface of foreset beds.
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Table 1
Facies scheme of composite wedges
Stratal architecture

Light-brown to yellowish,
prograding,
upward-shallowing wedges
up to 45 m thick, with basal
contact changing from
sharp-erosional (locally
marked by intraclast and=or
shell lags) to gradational
basinwards. Grain size from
silt=fine sand to granuleand rarely pebble=cobble
gravel; sand predominates.
Sorting good to moderate,
best in fine sand. Coarsest
deposits (up to pebbles and
cobbles) typically occur in
most basinward located
units. Composition from
purely siliciclastic (arkosic
sands, with clasts of quartz
and granite in the coarser
fractions) to mixed, with
locally high bioclastic
content especially in wedge
A (Fig. 9a,b).

Wedges A and B display

composite internal
architecture consisting of a
number of shingles. Within
individual shingles an early,
thin package of sigmoid
clinoforms recording a
short-way progradation
accompanied by slight
landward encroaching of
coastal onlap, is physically
connected with a
volumetrically dominant
package of
oblique-tangential
clinoforms with toplap
terminations. The shingles
are bounded by
seaward-dipping sigmoid
surfaces (Fig. 6) which are
unconformable updip,
becoming conformable at
the asymptotic toe of the
shingles. These surfaces are
blanketed updip by
fossiliferous sheets of
gravelly sand 13 m thick,
grading downdip into
offshore marine muds.

Stratal architecture of individual shingles (Fig. 7)

Faunal=floral elements

Topset beds

Foreset beds

Toeset and bottomset beds

Sandy to gravelly topset

beds are preserved only at
the top of the packages of
sigmoid clinoforms. A
topmost division, commonly
removed by subsequent
erosion, shows strike- and
downdip-oriented trough
cross-bedding, planar
lamination and wave
megaripples (Figs. 7 and
8a). Local storm-wave shell
pavements. This division
grades downwards into a
commonly preserved swaley
cross-bedded (Figs. 7 and
8b) and planar-laminated
division with abundant
echinoid meniscate traces.

Regularly stratified
decimetre-thick layers
(Fig. 7) ranging in grain size
from fine sand to granule
gravel, locally with thin
muddy interbeds increasing
in thickness and abundance
downdip. Dip angles from
less than 10 to 16 (Fig. 9d)
according to grain size and
gradient of the substrate.
Beds mostly
planar-laminated (Figs. 7
and 8c). Normal grading
may occur in both fine- and
coarse-grained layers,
inverse grading occasionally
in the latter. Typical
rhythmic pattern due to
recurrent physical
emplacement of event beds
and intervening bioturbation
(Fig. 8c). Shells mostly
convex-up, locally
imbricated with low to high
imbrication angles. Local
convolute patterns. Rare sets
of scour-based backset beds
(Fig. 7) recording upslope
migration of hydraulic
jumps (Massari, 1996).
Abundant echinoid
meniscate traces (Fig. 8d)
locally associated with thin
tubes of polychaetes and
escape burrows.

Foreset beds merge

asymptotically downdip into
heavily to completely
bioturbated toesets and
bottomsets (Fig. 7),
interbedded with downdip
increasing amounts of bluish
mud. Some layers are
crossed by sparse
Thalassinoides burrows and
densely penetrated in the
upper part by sub-horizontal
to slightly oblique,
unwalled, non-branching
burrows 0.5 cm in diam.
Downdip increase in mud
content suggests that the
energy of the system was
lowest in the toeset and
bottomset, allowing settling
of fines from suspension.

Arctica islandica is
abundant in wedge A.
Skeletal content of highly
bioclastic units consists of
disarticulated, whole or
broken and commonly
abraded molluscan shells,
bryozoa, serpulids, echinoid
fragments, branches of
corallines and rhodoliths, in
a matrix of comminuted
bio-debris (foramol-type
skeletal concentrations)
(Fig. 9b). Skeletal
assemblages are ecologically
mixed, with the imprints of
various taphonomic
processes and evidence of
initial residence above the
fair-weather wave base
before later transport and
redeposition. Elements
exhumed from the substrate
are mixed with
shallow-water coeval
elements. Details on the
faunal and floral elements
can be found in
Appendix A.

F. Massari et al. / Sedimentary Geology 127 (1999) 85110

General features of the

composite wedges

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Fig. 9. (a) Segment of highly bioclastic unit with clinoform geometry, about 15 m high (lower composite wedge). Planar erosional top surface (arrow) is mantled by
siliciclastic shoreface sands. (b) Detail of foreset beds: small rhodoliths and fragments of bivalves in a matrix of comminuted bioclastic debris. (c) Progressive angular
unconformity on southern wall of Timpone S. Margherita (see Fig. 2, section BB0 , for location). (d) Steep-inclined foreset beds (upper composite wedge).
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Sila massif, presumably through short-headed, highgradient streams. However, sedimentary structures
and stratal geometries indicate that coastal processes
played a dominant role in longshore redistribution
of sediments and straightening of the coast, so that
localized and discrete deltaic protuberances of the
shoreline were most probably absent. Progradational
advance of the shoreline across the shelf led to
decreasing shelf width and increasing exposure to
open-water waves, and coastal systems consequently
became more wave-influenced, with maximization of
storm reworking (Einsele, 1993; Galloway and Hobday, 1996). Frictional coupling between the wind
and the water surface during recurrent storms caused
coastal setup and water to be driven offshore, leading
to intense reworking of sediments on the topset platform and gravity spreading of sediment-laden flows
on the foreset slope of the prograding units (cf. Saito,
1991; Laptas, 1992; Tesson et al., 1993; Chiocci and
Orlando, 1996; Hanken et al., 1996; HernandezMolina et al., 1998; Pomar and Tropeano, 1998;
Chiocci and Romagnoli, 1999).
In the case of richly bioclastic units, there is clear
evidence that foramol-type deposits were produced
on a shallow-water platform located in topset position. Wave action reworked and comminuted skeletal
material temporarily resident above the fair-weather
wave base, while redeposition by sediment gravityflows on to the foreset slope below fair-weather wave
base produced amalgamated, densely packed concentrations. The above processes generated a characteristic type of multiple-event skeletal concentrations with
an important lag component (sensu Kidwell, 1991).
Undoubtedly the studied prograding bodies are
quite peculiar units, as they cannot be compared
to the usual coarsening-upwards units resulting from
the progradation of a beach face, nor may they be defined as a sort of deltaic unit. They are significantly
different from typical shoreface prograding units,
which commonly show much lesser dip angles of
clinoforms (on average 0.3 according to Walker and
Plint, 1992). Main differences include the length and
steep inclination of clinoforms, importance of sediment gravity flows on the foreset slopes, and depth
attained by toeset beds, which extend into the offshore zone, well below the fair-weather wave base.
We will use the term coastal prograding wedges as
they were most probably connected to the shoreline

and shaped by coastal processes. Comparable midshelf and shelf-margin prograding deposits emplaced
during falling and lowstand Pleistocene stages on the
Tyrrhenian Sea margin were interpreted by Trincardi
and Field (1991) to have formed by coastal progradation as beachshoreface complexes. Units with
comparable internal architecture were referred to as
infralittoral prograding wedges=prisms by Pomar
and Tropeano (1998) and Hernandez-Molina et al.
(1998).
3.3. Surfaces bounding the shingled units
The surfaces with sigmoid clinoform geometry
bounding the shingled units (Figs. 5 and 6) are unconformably blanketed updip by fossiliferous sheets
of gravelly sand 13 m thick. These fine progressively
downdip into conformable offshore muds. The coarse
deposits generally consist of sheet-like granule- to
pebble-conglomerates with a sandy matrix, containing sparse to densely packed skeletal remains (pectinids, echinoids) and locally bored pebbles and pedorelics. From the pebble-strewn erosional surfaces,
subvertical burrows (probable Cylindrichnus), sometimes surrounded by thin polychaete burrows, locally
penetrate deeply downwards into the sandy substrate.
The unconformable surfaces are locally marked
by erosional gutters up to 20 cm deep (Fig. 6c),
or shallow scours (Fig. 5) with high width=depth
ratio, up to 2.1 m deep. The gutters sometimes display vertical walls and are infilled with the coarsest
available elements, commonly with normal grading.
The infills of the scours range in grain size from
granule sand with sparse pebbles to medium sand,
and in composition from siliciclastic to richly bioclastic. They consist of a number of scour-based,
bipartite beds, 2040 cm thick. The lower divisions
of the beds are massive or normally graded, poorly
sorted, with chaotic fabric, and contain abundant
mud clasts, well-rounded pebbles (mostly quartz
and granite), sparse pedorelics (small reworked calcrete nodules), and sometimes variably fragmented,
abraded and bio-eroded shells (including pectinids
and Arctica islandica, mostly with concave-up
valves) and rhodoliths. The upper divisions are planar- to low-angle-laminated, better sorted, sandy to
granular, and locally mud-draped. They may show
good imbrication of small bioclasts with a dominant

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mode indicating basinward flow, and a subordinate

opposite mode. Some layers show echinoid meniscate traces or mud-draped wave ripples at the top.
The above bipartite pattern suggests deposition by
highly turbulent and highly concentrated flows and
final reworking by traction=oscillatory processes.
The scour infills commonly grade upwards into
extensive, 12 m thick blankets of planar- to lowangle-laminated, well-sorted sand.
3.3.1. Interpretation
The deposits veneering the unconformity surfaces
are coarse lags resulting from reworking of former
deposits during phases of active shoreface retreat.
The unconformities are therefore ravinement surfaces. Their correlative downdip conformities, mantled by silty muds, may be regarded as marine flooding surfaces in distal position. The relatively steep
gradients of landward-migrating shoreface envelopes
were controlled by the dip angles of underlying beds,
and probably also by high rates of relative sea-level
rise. The shallow, broad erosional lows infilled with
coarse deposits suggest that the ravinement process
related to shoreface retreat may have been accompanied by localized scour. A variable erodibility of
the substrate may have been controlled by differential cementation achieved during a previous stage of
subaerial exposure (cf. Trincardi and Field, 1991). A
certain degree of cementation is also suggested by
the evidence of limited effects of erosion during the
stages of shoreface retreat along the surfaces bounding the shingled units, and subsequently along the
major unconformity surfaces bounding the composite wedges. Actually the only clearly recognizable
erosional effect, except for the above mentioned
scours, is the common removal of the uppermost part
of the topset of the shingled units.

4. Sequence stratigraphy of composite wedges

Geometry and stratal architecture of the studied
wedges and their relationships with the substrate
indicate that progradation took place on to the shelf
and that no shelf-margin units are present in the
preserved part of the infill of S. Mauro sub-basin.
Several authors have drawn attention to the importance of shelf and nearshore prograding deposits

99

forming during relative sea-level falls, and have discussed the significance of these deposits within a sequence-stratigraphic framework (Plint, 1988, 1991;
Walker and Plint, 1992; Hunt and Tucker, 1992,
1995; Helland-Hansen and Gjelberg, 1994; Naish
and Kamp, 1997, among others).
In our study area, we recognized two different
scales of cyclicity.
(1) On the larger scale, the two composite wedges
are thought to record accretionary forced regressions (sensu Helland-Hansen and Gjelberg, 1994) of
fourth-order sequences. The interpretation in terms
of forced-regressive wedges stems from the evidence
that the shoreline was subject to an overall shift basinwards and downwards along a low-angle trajectory,
in spite of repeated minor relative sea-level rises, and
that coarsest deposits occur within the most distal
parts of the composite wedges (T.S. Litano section).
The major discontinuities bounding the wedges at the
top are interpreted as fourth-order sequence boundaries. These are draped by aggrading blanket-like
deposits showing high lateral persistence and lack of
backstepping patterns, which record major episodes
of relative sea-level rise.
(2) On the scale of individual shingled units
(Fig. 10), the sigmoid packages of clinoforms reflect progradation concomitant with the creation of
accommodation. Oblique, offlapping packages reflect progradation in a setting of slowly decreasing
accommodation. The basinward and downward displacement of the shoreline during this stage is proved
by the physical lowering of the toplap surface and
the fact that subsequent shoreface retreat producing
a ravinement surface starts from a point located significantly downdip along the front of the prograding
body. Blanket deposits covering erosional unconformities between shingled units reflect minor, highfrequency events of relative sea-level rise. The unconformities are ravinement surfaces which removed
any evidence of previous subaerial exposure. Their
correlative downdip conformities, mantled by silty
muds, are marine flooding surfaces in distal position.
The attribution of a sequence-stratigraphic significance to the shape of clinoforms (sigmoid versus
oblique) is shared by Christie-Blick (1991) and Helland-Hansen (1993). The latter regards the clinoform
shape as an indirect criterion for estimating the ratio
of accommodation to supply.

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F. Massari et al. / Sedimentary Geology 127 (1999) 85110

Fig. 10. Scheme of development of shingles as component units of prograding composite wedges (terminology is that suggested by
Helland-Hansen and Gjelberg, 1994).

Following the nongenetic, descriptive nomenclature of Helland-Hansen and Gjelberg (1994), the
blanket deposits covering the shingle-bounding sigmoid unconformities should be ascribed to non-accretionary transgression, the packages of sigmoid clinoforms to normal regression and the packages of
oblique-tangential clinoforms to accretionary forcedregression. Thus, the composite wedges are organized
into higher-order, small-scale depositional sequences.
If reference is simply made to the stratal architecture,
without genetic implications, it may be stated that
each small-scale sequence consists of transgressive,
highstand and falling-stage systems tracts (Fig. 11).
A similar partitioning into minor cycles has been
recognized by Somoza et al. (1997) in an Upper Pleistocene major progradational wedge of the Gulf of
Cadiz, Spain, using high-resolution seismic profiles.
The lack of an intervening zone of sediment bypass between sigmoid and oblique packages of the

shingled units indicates a continuum between the

two systems tracts (Fig. 10) (Ainsworth and Pattinson, 1994; Naish and Kamp, 1997). This stratal
arrangement is different from the model of Plint
(1988) (see also Posamentier et al., 1992), in which
a temporary increase in the rate of relative sea-level
fall leads to a basinward jump in the position of the
shoreline and a separation of the falling-stage from
the highstand unit.
In the study area, the successive shingles of composite wedges are physically adjacent to one another
without a downstepping pattern, due to episodic rises
of coastal onlap between the successive phases of
forced regression. The subsidence rate is thought to
play a critical role in determining the presence or
not of a downstepping pattern. The architecture of S.
Mauro composite wedges, and particularly the shingled pattern of offlapping deposits occurring above
ravinement surfaces, is similar to that described by

F. Massari et al. / Sedimentary Geology 127 (1999) 85110

101

Fig. 11. Reconstructed and partly idealized pattern of stratal architecture of lower composite wedge. Landwards, it pinches out against a
growing structure related to the Scandale boundary fault. Progradation is punctuated by minor transgressive events. Clinoforms rapidly
evolve from sigmoid to oblique-tangential configuration within individual shingled units (TST D transgressive systems tract; HST D
highstand systems tract; FRST D forced regressive systems tract; DWS D downward shift of facies tracts. All labels refer to higher-order
cycles within composite wedge) (approximate scale on left).

Dominguez et al. (1992) in the upper Cenozoic shallow-water depositional systems of Brazil.
The term FRWST (forced-regressive wedge systems tract) was originally attributed to forced-regressive wedges detached from the HST and occurring
as a series of downstepped, disjoined, sharp-based
shoreline wedges (Hunt and Tucker, 1992; see also
Posamentier et al., 1992). Although our architectural setting is different, we do not see good reasons
for using another term (we only would simplify
the acronym into FRST). Naish and Kamp (1997)
suggest regressive systems tract (RST) as a more
appropriate term for describing forced-regressive deposits physically attached to the HST and marked by
gradational lower contact. We agree with them that
this stratal architecture may be a common feature of
PlioPleistocene sequences. However, we actually
share the opinion of Mellere and Steel (1995) that
the nature of the lower contact and the attached or
detached relationship with respect to the HST are

not the sole key features for defining a forced-regressive wedge. Other criteria are regarded as critical,
such as the evidence that the shoreline is driven
basinwards along a downward-directed trajectory
(Helland-Hansen and Gjelberg, 1994), the downward
shift of facies in successive clinoform segments, and
the progressive basinward coarsening of sediments
resulting from the lowering of base level.

5. Can composite wedges be correlated with the

oxygen-isotope record?
For the Pleistocene, the history of sea-level fluctuations is largely known, since an independent highresolution proxy of sea-level change is available in
the form of the global oxygen-isotope record. Consequently, correlations may be established between the
different systems tracts and the successive phases of
the sea-level cycle, provided that a firm chronostrati-

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F. Massari et al. / Sedimentary Geology 127 (1999) 85110

graphic and depositional framework can be deduced

from available bio- and magnetostratigraphic constraints combined with palaeo-environmental observations (Naish and Kamp, 1997). Data of this quality
are available here, at least concerning the lower composite wedge. Bio- and magnetostratigraphic data
(Rio et al., 1996; and summarized in Fig. 3) demonstrate that this body is bounded at the base and top
by two transgressive horizons correlated with MIS
25 and MIS 21, respectively. Thus wedge A may be
correlated with the shift from MIS 25 to MIS 22.
Indeed, the period of development of the lower composite wedge includes interglacial MIS 23. However,
the sedimentary expression of this stage cannot be
distinguished from other minor transgressions which
punctuate the overall regressive pattern of the lower
composite wedge. Moreover, this oscillation is only a
minor interglacial stage on a longer-term fall. Abbott
and Carter (1994) found that MIS 23 was too small
to produce a discrete cycle.
We may argue, therefore, that the major facies
break associated with the base of wedge A correlates
with the onset of the MIS 2422 interval, which is
known to correspond to a major transition of the
Earths climatic system, marking the gradual onset
of the glacialinterglacial 100-ky cycles (Prell, 1982;
Ruddiman et al., 1989). The physical expression of
this transition is a major fall of sea level, possibly
enhanced by synsedimentary tectonics, reflected by
a change from the muddy sedimentation of the Cutro
group to the sand-dominated sedimentation of the S.
Mauro group. The abundance of Arctica islandica is
particularly significant, as this species is considered a
typical element of boreal cold-water faunas entering
the Mediterranean during glacial intervals.
Correlation of the upper part of the S. Mauro
succession, including wedge B, with the oxygen-isotope record is comparably much less constrained.
Palynological data (R. Bertoldi and L. Caprara, pers.
commun., 1998), indicate that the record of MIS 19
is bipartite, in accordance with the indications of
low-latitude stack of Bassinot et al. (1994). In addition, the progradation of the overlying sand wedge
developed in concomitance with a marked shift towards arid vegetational conditions, most probably
corresponding to the cooling period from 19.1 to
18.4, and terminates with a horizon showing evidence of a mitigation of these conditions together

with physical evidence of a transgression (recorded

by a locally preserved fossiliferous lag in a silty,
deeply burrowed matrix), which might correlate with
substage 18.3 (Fig. 3).
Wedge B developed as a prograding unit above
this transgressive horizon and is in turn overlain by
the deposits of another cycle that have been eroded
to a variable extent, and locally completely removed,
by a broad incised valley (Figs. 3, 4 and 6). The
latter was infilled with braided river deposits, in turn
grading upwards into lagoonal and marine deposits;
these contain P. lacunosa (Fig. 3), hence are older
than late MIS 12, as the extinction of this marker is
known to have occurred in the late MIS 12 (Thierstein et al., 1977). Fluvial deposits represent the first
important record of continental sedimentation in the
basin. Although the deep erosion at their base was
probably enhanced by tectonics, it is tempting to correlate this base-level fall with the marked sea-level
drop indicated by substage 16.2. Furthermore, the
lateral persistence and importance of the transgressive deposits overlying the fluvial complex matches
quite well with the pronounced and abrupt termination VII at about 0.6 Ma (Fig. 3). It may therefore be
concluded that wedge B probably developed during
the sea-level fall ending with substage 18.2.
Sediments associated with major (fourth-order)
unconformities were arguably deposited during
the most pronounced deglaciations and interglacial
stages (e.g. MIS 21, 19, 17.3, 15.5). The known
rapidity of the corresponding transgressions is confirmed by the general lack of backstepping patterns.
Other indirect lines of evidence, independent of
the above data, suggest that wedge progradation
took place during the stages of sea-level fall. The
wedges are identified as strike-fed coastal lithosomes developed in a high-energy, storm-dominated
wave climate characterized by a high efficiency of
along-shore redistribution of sediments. Actually,
frequency of storms tends to be higher during fall
and lowstand (Einsele, 1993), and wave-dominated
sand bodies pointing to linear sources are regarded
by Trincardi and Field (1991), Miall (1997) and
Chiocci et al. (1997) as typical of shelf-perched
falling-stage and lowstand shelf-margin deposits.
The large volumetric predominance of the sand
stored within the prograding wedges with respect to
sediments involved in other systems tracts is consis-

F. Massari et al. / Sedimentary Geology 127 (1999) 85110

tent with the statement of Hays et al. (1976), who

found that, for Pleistocene 100-ka cycles, the sealevel fall occupied 8590% of the total cycle period.
Actually, Pleistocene successions are volumetrically
dominated by falling-stage and lowstand deposits,
whereas the available accommodation volume for
HST sedimentation is limited (see also Field and
Trincardi, 1991; Thorne and Swift, 1991; Chiocci
et al., 1997; Somoza et al., 1997; Trincardi and
Correggiari, 1999).
The progradation potential of highly bioclastic
foramol-type units, typical of wedge A, may have
been enhanced during the falling stage due to higher
opportunity of multiple reworking and redeposition
(Henrich et al., 1995; Simone, 1996), provided by
enhancement of storm activity during the glacial
time (Einsele, 1993; Galloway and Hobday, 1996;
Chiocci and Orlando, 1996) and possibly increased
rate of carbonate production.

6. Origin of higher-order cycles

A number of hypotheses may be examined for
the origin of higher-order cycles. Authigenic mechanisms are generally defined as intrinsic to sedimentation in a given depositional system: the typical case
is the deltaic setting, where cyclicity may arise from
repeated switching of input points of terrigenous
sediment. We believe that such a setting, and consequently the incidence of authigenic controls, may
be ruled out, as we argued above that progradation
took place from a line source, and developed in a
high-energy wave climate resulting in active alongshore redistribution of sediments and straightening
of the coast. In addition, the length of the shoreline was limited by the geometry of the S. Mauro
sub-basin, which was a relatively narrow corridor
bounded by structural highs. Furthermore, it should
not be forgotten that the depositional system was
not strictly siliciclastic, as in some shingled units the
intrabasinal biogenic sediment is predominant.
Although short-term pulsating tectonic events
(10100,000 yr) may significantly affect sedimentation processes (Peper et al., 1992), the incidence
of such a mechanism is regarded as improbable in
the origin of higher-order cycles, considering that
facies associations tend to regularly succeed one

103

another downdip through repeated and predictable

cycles of deposition, and that the amplitude of relative sea-level changes recorded by small-scale cycles
is larger than that of commonly observed tectonically
induced motions. Differential load-driven subsidence
was certainly active, but in the absence of growth
faults it is difficult to imagine a pulsating effect.
Changes in the rate of sediment supply are largely
controlled by environmental factors such as relief, climate and drainage of the hinterland. These
changes generally lead to variations in accommodation comparable to those produced by sea-level
fluctuations, as stressed by Schlager (1993), and, in
principle, transgressive events may result from significant decreases in sediment supply rates. However,
the falling-stage systems tracts of shingled units cannot be produced by changes in supply regime. They
require relative falls in sea level that are faster than
the long-term subsidence (Schlager, 1993).
Especially during Pleistocene times postdating
MIS 25, the onset and developments of glacial conditions were characterized by superimposed higherorder perturbations, as indicated by the sawtooth
pattern of the relative limbs of the oxygen-isotope
record (e.g. Imbrie et al., 1984). Although it is generally agreed that the oxygen-isotope record is not
a linear function of sea level (Shackleton, 1987), it
is however largely recognized, at least for the last
growth of continental ice sheets, that sea-level fall
was punctuated by a number of minor stillstands
and interstadial reversals, as shown by data of raised
marine terraces (Mesolella et al., 1969; Bloom et al.,
1974; Dodge et al., 1983) and seismic analysis of
some margins (e.g. Somoza et al., 1997).
In conclusion, although concomitant causes of
different nature may have interacted, it is tempting
to ascribe the generation of the small-scale cyclicity to minor eustatic changes punctuating long-lived,
erratic falling stages, possibly accompanied by climate-driven fluctuations of supply.

7. Factors controlling geometry, internal

organization and preservation of prograding
units
The sedimentary record of the S. Mauro sub-basin
is clearly influenced by differential structural growth,

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F. Massari et al. / Sedimentary Geology 127 (1999) 85110

Fig. 12. Outline of stratal architecture of lower composite wedge in NE part of study area, illustrating role of oversteepened shelf
gradients generated by syndepositional tectonics and collapse scars in controlling direction of progradation (approximate scale in centre).

causing pronounced variations in accommodation,

bathymetry and gradients in the shelf and nearshore
areas, and strongly modulating the stratal and facies
patterns of the prograding wedges (Figs. 2 and 9c).
Actually, the cycles and their component units show
thicknesses and degree of preservation depending
on variable accommodation space allowed by syndepositional tectonics. However, they fail to show
significantly contrasting sedimentation patterns.
Sedimentation took place within the narrow faultbounded S. Mauro sub-basin. This confined setting,
together with a high rate of sediment influx, could
explain the large extent of wedge progradation.
Abnormal submarine topographic gradients on
the flanks of growing folds or near-boundary faults
influenced progradation directions (Fig. 12) and constrained the progradation into rapidly deepening waters, leading to relatively high clinoform dips, up to
16 (Fig. 9d). Steep clinoform angles (up to more
than 30) are reported in the literature as a response
to the steep gradient of the substrate, especially in
the case of tectonic control of sedimentation (Kamp
and Nelson, 1987; Kamp et al., 1988; Obrador et al.,
1992; Laptas, 1992; Hanken et al., 1996).
Syndepositional tectonics partly controlled the nature of the basal contacts (abrupt vs. gradational) of

clinoform packages, sometimes also changing downlap contacts into contacts of apparent onlap. Tectonic
oversteepening of shelf gradients may have also
favoured gravity detachment processes, leading to
collapse scars on the flanks of growing folds and
near boundary faults (Fig. 12).
The preservation potential of forced-regressive
wedges depends on conditions preventing cannibalization of the deposits which formed in the early
stages of relative sea-level fall and limiting the depth
of erosion due to shoreface retreat during transgressive events. Generally, preservation is regarded as
possible only where depressions, steep gradients or
morphologic steps are present in the shelf surface
and subsidence rate is sufficiently high (Trincardi
and Field, 1991; Field and Trincardi, 1991; Saito,
1991; Chiocci and Orlando, 1996). In our study area,
the preservation of falling-stage units was essentially
due to the creation of sediment sinks as a result of
the growth of gentle synclines, coupled with a relatively high rate of regional subsidence, high rate of
sediment influx, and sediment compaction. Another
critical factor is represented by the high asymmetry of the relative sea-level curve, with long-lasting,
stepwise falls emplacing large volumes of sediment,
and extremely rapid rises (Trincardi and Correggiari,

F. Massari et al. / Sedimentary Geology 127 (1999) 85110

1999). A high rate and short duration of relative

sea-level rise during major transgressive episodes,
enhanced by a relatively high subsidence rate, certainly prevented strong erosion and reworking, so
that most of the prograding units remained below
the level of subsequent erosion. Areas affected by
the highest subsidence rate could also escape emergence at the end of the falling-stage progradation.
This for instance may be documented in the Valle di
Manche section, where a ravinement surface at the
top of the lower composite wedge is lacking and is
replaced by a conformable drowning surface.
Of all the above concurrent causes favouring the
preservation of falling-stage and lowstand units the
most critical factor is certainly the structural control,
as stressed by Chiocci et al. (1997). A comparison
of the Pleistocene records of the S. Mauro sub-basin
and Wanganui Basin (New Zealand) (Kamp and
Turner, 1990; Carter et al., 1991) is illustrative of
the importance of this control. Due to the low rates
of subsidence of the shelf area, the Wanganui Basin
shows an onshore stratigraphic record dominated by
shallow-water transgressive and highstand deposits,
and characterized by large stratigraphic gaps during
the stages of sea-level fall and lowstand. On the
other hand, a series of prograding clinoform wedges
developed during glacial stages at the shelf margin.

8. Other examples of prograding PlioPleistocene

units with high bioclastic content in the
Mediterranean area
Prograding wedges with similar characteristics to
those described above, and particularly with high
bioclastic content, have been observed in other sites
of the Crotone basin, and are relatively common in
the Upper Pliocene to Pleistocene of southern Italy,
Sicily and islands in the Mediterranean, particularly
in falling-stage and lowstand systems tracts. They
have been reported in the Apulian foreland of the
Apennines (DAlessandro and Massari, 1997; Pomar
and Tropeano, 1998), in the Caltanissetta basin of
Sicily (Catalano et al., 1992; Vitale, 1996; Likorish
and Butler, 1996; Vitale, 1998) and in the coastal
grabens of Rhodes, Greece (Hanken et al., 1996).
In most of the above examples, the wedges
are attached to structural highs and prograde with

105

high-angle clinoforms on to a steep-gradient substrate, commonly subject to syndepositional deformation. Skeletal material is copiously produced in
nearby shoreface platforms and then dispersed, essentially by storm-driven offshore-directed flows,
and deposited on the prograding front. The units
may generally be correlated over large areas, even in
settings characterized by high tectonic activity.
Similar observations derive from seismic data
concerning falling-stage and lowstand downlapping
sedimentary units existing along the Mediterranean
Sea margins (Trincardi and Field, 1991; Chiocci,
1994; Chiocci and Orlando, 1996; Chiocci et al.,
1997; Chiocci and Romagnoli, 1999). These units
have consistently offshore-dipping bedding surfaces,
a composition dominated by intrabasinal sediments,
and a good lateral along-slope continuity, pointing to
progradation from a line-source.
It is therefore suggested that, in the presence of
suitable conditions of high rates of subsidence and
sediment supply, prograding units of this kind are a
typical element of the falling and lowstand systems
tracts of PlioPleistocene glacio-eustatic cycles in
the Mediterranean area.

9. Conclusions
A number of conclusions stem from the above
analysis.
(1) The Pleistocene infill of the small S. Mauro
sub-basin (southern Italy) shows a clear cyclicity and
mostly consists of prograding coastal sandgravel
wedges with clinoform geometry, locally highly bioclastic (skeletal, foramol-type carbonates), separated
by major unconformities recording major transgressive episodes. On the basis of bio-magnetostratigraphy the cycles in the lower part of the succession
are correlated to the standard oxygen-isotope record
(Rio et al., 1996), and, in spite of active syndepositional tectonics, they can be demonstrated to
be genetically related to Pleistocene fourth-order
high-amplitude sea-level oscillations. Two of the
prograding wedges show composite internal architecture. The older one built out during the major
climatic transition and related sea-level fall which
occurred from MIS 25 to MIS 22 (Rio et al., 1996).
The younger wedge most probably developed dur-

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F. Massari et al. / Sedimentary Geology 127 (1999) 85110

ing the sea-level fall that culminated with substage

18.2.
(2) The composite wedges consist of shingled
units bounded by seaward-dipping surfaces with a
sigmoid clinoform geometry which represent ravinement surfaces updip, and conformable flooding surfaces downdip. Within individual shingles, an early,
relatively thin package of sigmoid clinoforms recording short-lived progradation accompanied by slight
landward encroachment of coastal onlap, is followed by a volumetrically dominant package of
oblique-tangential clinoforms with toplap terminations, physically attached to the former, recording
the basinward and downward displacement of the
shoreline. The wedges are thus organized into highfrequency, small-scale depositional sequences, each
comprising transgressive, highstand and falling-stage
systems tracts.
(3) The prograding units developed in a highenergy wave climate. The dominant processes were
represented by highly efficient longshore drift, reworking of sediments in the topset shoreface by recurrent storm-driven offshore flows following coastal
setup, and gravity resedimentation on to the foreset slope of prograding bodies. Given this setting, we can reasonably assume that accretionary
forced regressions occurred along the entire shoreline and originated coastal prograding bodies. Intensified storm mixing during glacial periods, and the
resulting well-oxygenated conditions over the shelf
may have enhanced the rates of productivity and
the progradation potential of skeletal, foramol-type
carbonates.
(4) Concerning the origin of the small-scale
cyclicity, authigenic mechanisms linked to shift of
sediment input points seem to be excluded by the
above setting. Although the concomitance of different controlling factors cannot be excluded, it is
tempting to ascribe the generation of the small-scale
cyclicity to minor eustatic changes punctuating longlived, erratic falling stages, possibly accompanied by
climate-driven fluctuations of supply.
(5) The syndepositional growth of synclines, coupled with a relatively high regional subsidence, exerted a critical influence on the preservation potential
of falling-stage units.
(6) Comparable Upper Pliocene to Pleistocene
shelf-perched and shelf-edge strike-oriented pro-

grading units, commonly with high contents of

foramol-type skeletal carbonates, are known in several Mediterranean areas, both on land and on modern margins, suggesting that they are a typical element of the falling and lowstand systems tracts
of PlioPleistocene glacio-eustatic cycles in these
areas.

Acknowledgements
Helpful critical suggestions concerning some aspects of the manuscript were provided by F. Chiocci.
To Tim Naish, Fabio Trincardi and an anonymous
referee I owe important reviews of the manuscript.
I am particularly indebted to A. Miall for his positive comments, editing work, and kind support. S.
Castelli is acknowledged for careful photographic
work, N. Michelon and F. Todesco for accurate execution of drawings, and Gabriel Walton for revision
of the English text. Financial support was provided
by the Italian Ministry of University and Scientific Research, grant 40%. This is contribution 1 of
the National MURST Project Interazioni clima, eustatismo e tettonica nella sedimentazione: il caso del
Quaternario italiano e confronti con altri intervalli ed
aree (principal investigator D. Rio).

Appendix A
A.1. Bioclastic units of the lower composite wedge
The macrobenthic material of richly bioclastic units in the
lower composite wedge consists of three types of components.
(i) Mud-related or mixed-related faunal elements predominantly disarticulated, broken (commonly with smoothed fractures), abraded, and partly bioeroded (Entobia, Maeandropolydora, algal borings) or encrusted by celleporiform or laminar
bryozoa, red algae or tubeworms. The following species have
been recognized: Dentalium rectum, Nucula nucleus, Pecten
jacobaeus, Glans aculeata, Cerithium varicosum, Xenophora
crispa, Nassarius prismaticus, N. cabrierensis, N. serraticosta,
Caryophyllia sp., Pseudamussium septemradiatum, Pododesmus
glaucus, Neopycnodonte sp., Astarte sulcata, Glossus humanus,
Aporrhais serresianus, Phalium laevigatum, Ranella olearia,
Fusinus rostratus, Arca tetragona, Limopsis, Turritella tricarinata pliorecens, Turritella turbona, Alvania cimicoides, Galeodea echinophora, Trophon muricatus, Flabellum sp. Biocoenotic characters indicate circalittoral and sometimes also
epibathyal (Aporrhais serresianus, Ranella olearia) biotopes.

F. Massari et al. / Sedimentary Geology 127 (1999) 85110

They are regarded as non-coeval, as their preservational state
and taphonomic signature indicate exhumation after burial and
reworking in a high-energy, shallow-water environment, contrasting with their biocoenotic characters indicating circalittoral
and sometimes also epibathyal biotopes. They form a skeletal
lag particularly abundant in close proximity to the Scandale
boundary fault, active during sedimentation, where they mark
significant erosion of the substrate.
(ii) Parautochthonous components showing variable state
of preservation, fragmentation and abrasion, but usually only
slightly or not abraded. The following species have been recognized: Diplodonta apicalis, Pteromeris corbis, Digitaria digitaria, Gonilia calliglipta, Goodallia triangularis, Plagiocardium
papillosum, Gibbula magus, Echinocyamus pusillus, Chlamys
varia, Glycymeris glycymeris, Astarte fusca, Venus casina,
Clausinella fasciata. Shells are generally disarticulated, sometimes articulated (closed or semi-closed), occasionally encrusted
by bryozoa. Elements of this group most probably settled in
the infralittoral zone. Although partly exhumed and worked by
currents and waves, they are thought not to have been eventually
transported outside their original biotope.
(iii) Allochthonous components, typical of infralittoral biocoenoses settling on substrates ranging from mixed to sandy and
even rocky (e.g. Chama). The following species have been recognized: Chama gryphoides, Arctica islandica, Aporrhais pespelecani, Acanthocardia tuberculata, Spisula subtruncata, Panopea
glycymeris, Calliostoma conulus, Homalopoma sanguineum, Bittium reticulatum, Rissoa monodonta, Rissoa variabilis, Alvania
cancellata, Caecum trachea, Tornus subcarinatus, Monophorus
perversus, Chlamys multistriata, Corbula gibba, Cerithium vulgatum, Trochidae. Skeletals are in all states of abrasion and
fragmentation, commonly bioeroded (Entobia, Oichnus) and encrusted (bryozoa, red algae, polychaetes). These elements, although presumably coeval, are thought to have been exhumed
and repeatedly reworked in a high-energy environment, and later
transported outside their original biotope.
Skeletal assemblages appear ecologically mixed, with the
imprints of various taphonomic processes, depending on source
and history of the shells, reworking and seafloor exposure. An
abundance of abraded and fragmented shells attests to initial
residence above the fair-weather wave base before the later
transport and redeposition. The non-coeval (lag) component is
always significant and probably derives from erosion of the
highly bioclastic bed packages of Cutro 2. Exhumation and
erosion of older elements are also documented by the local
presence of reworked early-cemented Thalassinoides burrows
bored by Maeandropolydora spp., Caulostrepsis cretacea and
small Gastrochaenolites isp., and encrusted by laminar bryozoa.
A.2. Coarse fossiliferous deposits blanketing unconformity
surfaces between shingled units of composite wedges
The skeletals show taphonomically complex histories and may
include in the same assemblage autochthonous, parautochthonous
and allochthonous elements. Evidence of storm-related blanketing followed by exhumation and encrustation=bio-erosion may
sometimes be found. In one case, rapid burial of Glycymeris

107

bimaculata, Modiola sericea, Aequipecten opercularis and Arctica islandica all with valves unworn, partly still articulated and
closed, was followed by exhumation. Later, the exhumed shells
were encrusted by epibionts like Anomia ephippium and Pododesmus patelliformis.

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