Palaeoenvironmental evolution of the Plio-Pleistocene Molise Periadriatic Basin (Southern Apennines, Italy): insight from Montesecco Clays

Vito Bracone(*), Alessandro Amorosi(**), Pietro Aucelli(***), Giuliano Ciampo(****), Valentino Di Donato(****) & Carmen Rosskopf(*)
(*) Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie per l'Ambiente e il Territorio, University of Molise, C. da Fonte Lappone, 86090 Pesche (Isernia), Italy. Corresponding author: V. Bracone, e-mail: vito.bracone@unimol.it; tel: +390874/404168. (**) Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e Geologico-Ambientali, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy. (***) Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Ambiente, University of Naples "Parthenope", Napoli, Italy. (****) Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, University of Naples "Federico II", Napoli, Italy.

Integrated sedimentological and micropalaeontological analyses of Montesecco Clays cropping out along the Molise Apennines foothills allow to reconstruct the depositional setting and major palaeoenvironmental changes within the Molise Periadriatic Basin (Apenninic foredeep) during the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene. Sedimentological and palaeocological data from four reference stratigraphic sections document an overall shallowing-upward tendency within Montesecco Clays, which is also confirmed by compositional data analysis of microfaunal assemblages. Lower Montesecco Clays (Ururi and Trigno sections) accumulated from the middle epibathyal/bathyal to lower circalittoral zone, while upper Montesecco Clays (Guglionesi and Colle Favaro-Petacciato sections) contain a microfauna indicative of an outer circalittoral to infralittoral environment. As documented by previous subsurface data, the palaeoecological analysis suggests increasing depths in the Molise Periadriatic Basin from NW to SE.

Sedimentology, Palaeoecology, Montesecco Clays, Plio-Pleistocene, Southern Apennines, Italy.