The loess-paleosol sequence at Monte Netto: a record of climate change in the Upper Pleistocene of the central Po Plain, northern Italy

Purpose At the northern fringe of the Po Plain (northern Italy), several isolated hills exist, corresponding to the top of Late Quaternary anticlines. These hills were thoroughly surveyed for their soils and surficial geology, furnishing detailed archives of the palaeoenvironmental evolution of the area. A new, thick and complex loess-paleosol sequence, resting upon fluvial/fluvioglacial deposits, exposed in a quarry at the top of the Monte Netto hill was studied in detail to elucidate its significance. Materials and methods Highly deformed fluvial and fluvioglacial deposits, probably of Middle Pleistocene age, are exposed in a clay pit at Monte Netto, underneath a 2- to 4-m-thick loess-paleosol sequence. A geopedological, sedimentological and micropedological investigation of the sequence shows a distinctive difference between the B horizons forming the sequence, while luminescence and radiocarbon age determinations and the occurrence of Palaeolithic lithic assemblages elucidate the chronology of the sequence. Results and discussion The pedosedimentary sequence consists of several loess layers showing different degrees of alteration; loess deposition and weathering occurred, according to optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and AMS-14C dating as well as archaeological materials, during the Upper Pleistocene. The lower part of the section consists of strongly weathered colluvial sediments overlying fluvial and fluvioglacial sediments. A tentative model of the exposed profiles involves the burial of the anticline, which forms the core of the hill, by loess strata since Marine Isotopic Stage (MIS) 4 and their subsequent weathering (and truncation) during subsequent interstadials. The degree of weathering of buried B horizons increases from the top of the sequence toward the bottom, suggesting a progressive decrease in the intensity of pedogenesis. Finally, the highly rubified paleosol at the top of the hill is regarded as a buried polygenetic soil or a vetusol, developed near the surface since the Middle Pleistocene. Conclusions The palaeopedological, geochronological and geoarchaeological analyses permit to define the phases and steps of development of the Monte Netto pedosedimentary sequence; the lower part of the sequence is dated to the Mid-Pleistocene, whereas loess accumulation occurred between MIS 4 and MIS 2. Moreover, analyses help to clarify the climatic and environmental context of alternating glacial and interstadial phases, during which the sediments where deposited, deformed and weathered

Late Holocene onset of intensive cultivation and introduction of the falaj irrigation system in the Salut oasis (Sultanate of Oman)

This paper discusses the time and steps of the introduction of intensive agriculture and evolution of irrigation systems to sustain crops in the palaeo-oasis of Salut in the northern Sultanate of Oman. Various geoarchaeological methods allow reconstructing the exploitation of the natural resources of the region and technological development of irrigation methods since the Mid-Holocene. Intensive agriculture started during the Bronze Age and continued with some spatial and intensity fluctuations up to the Islamic period. Cultivations were initially sustained by surface irrigation systems and later replaced by a dense net of aflaj, the typical surface/underground system adopted in the Levant, Arabian Peninsula and western Asia to collect water from deep piedmont aquifers and redistribute it to the fields located in the lowlands. Our results indicate that the aflaj were in use for a long period in the palaeo-oasis formed along Wadi Sayfam and surrounding the citadel of Salut. Uranium-Thorium dating of calcareous tufa formed in the underground tunnels of the aflaj suggests that they were used between ∼540 BCE and ∼1150 CE. After ∼1150 CE Wadi Sayfam were abandoned and the size of the oasis shrank substantially. During the late Islamic period, a surface aqueduct descending from the piedmont of Jabal Shams secured water supply. Our work confirms that in arid lands archaeological and historical communities were able to actively modulate their response to climate changes by using a variety of technological strategies

Inside the "African Cattle Complex": Animal Burials in the Holocene Central Sahara

Cattle pastoralism is an important trait of African cultures. Ethnographic studies describe the central role played by domestic cattle within many societies, highlighting its social and ideological values well beyond its mere function as 'walking larder'. Historical depth of this African legacy has been repeatedly assessed in an archaeological perspective, mostly emphasizing a continental vision. Nevertheless, in- depth site-specific studies, with a few exceptions, are lacking. Despite the long tradition of a multi-disciplinary approach to the analysis of pastoral systems in Africa, rarely do early and middle Holocene archaeological contexts feature in the same area the combination of settlement, ceremonial and rock art features so as to be multi- dimensionally explored: the Messak plateau in the Libyan central Sahara represents an outstanding exception. Known for its rich Pleistocene occupation and abundant Holocene rock art, the region, through our research, has also shown to preserve the material evidence of a complex ritual dated to the Middle Pastoral (6080-5120 BP or 5200-3800 BC). This was centred on the frequent deposition in stone monuments of disarticulated animal remains, mostly cattle. Animal burials are known also from other African contexts, but regional extent of the phenomenon, state of preservation of monuments, and associated rock art makes the Messak case unique. GIS analysis, excavation data, radiocarbon dating, zooarchaeological and isotopic (Sr, C, O) analyses of animal remains and botanical data are used to explore this highly formalized ritual and lifestyles of a pastoral community in the Holocene Sahara

The derna DAMS collapse erased a century of urban sprawl

The catastrophic failure of two dams occurred between September 10th and 11th, 2023, resulting in 30 million cubic meters of water and debris destroying a large part of the city of Derna, along the northern coastline of Northeastern Libya. The flood caused over 10,000 fatalities and displaced thousands of people from the city. The dams failed due to heavy rainfall caused by Storm Daniel, which impacted large parts of the Mediterranean basin. Here, we present the geomorphological context of this calamitous event and its effects on Derna's urban sprawl over the last century. Old maps and aerial photographs have allowed the reconstruction of Derna's settlement evolution over the past century. The city of Derna is located in a coastal area on a large alluvial fan formed by the Wadi Derna. Water flows intermittently here during heavy rains. The watershed is extensive (575 square kilometers), but the river is relatively short, with minimal runoff times. Over the years, two dams (Abu Mansur and Derna dams) upstream of the city were constructed to control soil erosion and prevent flooding. The heavy rains impacting the Cyrenaica coastline resulted in a flash flood along the wadis flowing from the mountains and crossing the city of Derna. The destruction was closely connected to the urban sprawl, primarily affecting areas of the city built in the last 70 years. The most recent urban expansion of Derna took place in the lower parts of the alluvial fan. Additionally, high-resolution remote-sensing data allows for the assessment of the geomorphological effects of the event and the quantification of the volumes involved through DEM of Difference analysis

Remote sensing and geomorphometry application in riverscapes evolution in the south-eastern Arabian Peninsula (Sultanate of Oman)

Riverscapes in arid and semi-arid environments serve as crucial archives, enabling us to understand the landscape evolution and the active and fossil geomorphological processes that shape the Earth's surface. Such environmental contexts are generally wide, and these settings are routinely investigated with remote sensing tools. We selected two distinct study areas from the south-eastern margin of the Arabian Peninsula (Sultanate of Oman) to detect climate and tectonic imprints over landform development: 1) Jebel Akhdar (JAK), and its surrounding areas, located in the Al-Hajar Mountains (to the North), is a wide anticline formed by the Late Cretaceous obduction of the Semail Ophiolite and the associated time-equivalent tectonics, followed by the Cenozoic tectonic events; and 2) Jebel Qara (JQA), situated in the Dhofar Mountains (to the South), is placed along the Gulf of Aden transform margin, featuring transtensional faults giving rise to stepped escarpments and grabens. The extant landscapes of both regions are characterized by a network of narrow and deep canyons that incised limestone massifs, while the surrounding plain areas show the development of important alluvial fan systems. The application of remote sensing is essential for investigating the development of fluvial systems at a regional scale, combined with field survey to validate specific sites of interest, thereby understanding the geomorphological evolution at various scales. Specifically, remote sensing techniques include the processing of satellite imagery and the comparison with the available historical imagery and maps to detect changes in geomorphic processes. Remote sensing and field survey allow the recognizing of different geomorphological features; the dominant ones are represented by elements and landforms related to structural setting, fluvial activity, and karst processes. The associations of the abovementioned landforms make it possible to assess the structural influence on drainage and karstic network development. Data collected from remote sensing implements the geomorphometric quantification of geomorphological processes, mostly considering changes in topography and river network analyses. The most meaningful morphometric indices applied (such as drainage divide stability, normalized steepness index, knickpoint detection, and swath profiles...) suggest their values strongly vary along faults in JAK, highlighted even with the alignment of knickpoints; while, in JQA, values show little changes in correspondence of faults and knickpoints are controlled both by karst and structural settings. In this way, the combination of remote sensing and morphometrical analyses permits to quantify the central role of litho-structural influence on the development of riverscapes in the south-eastern Arabian Peninsula. This approach facilitates the identification of the primary geomorphological processes that have shaped the landscape in arid and semi-arid contexts of the Sultanate of Oman, making it a versatile method that can be applied to understand the riverscapes evolution processes in analogous regions

Sinonimie della successione sedimentaria quaternaria nel foglio 121 "Brescia"

<p>Appendice III, allegato alle note illustrative del Foglio geologico n. 121 "Brescia"</p&gt

Preliminary analyses on the characterisation of pigments from cosmetic shells from SE Arabia

Malacofauna, both marine and terrestrial, found in archaeological and geological excavations is considered a cultural heritage to be preserved and studied. Such findings can often be analysed in different fields, such as geology and chemistry. In these cases, the fruitful collaboration of different areas of research also provides useful information for historians and archaeologists. The present study is focusing on the marine shells found in burial contexts and containing greenish or blackish pigments and interpreted as eye make-up, which are quite common findings from pre-Islamic archaeological contexts (mostly dating to the Iron Age, ca. 300-400 BC) from Southeast Arabia. The set of samples consists of 37 shells, both bivalves and gastropods, the latter being much less abundant; some of them contains abundant pigments, others show only a thin patina of pigment on the surface. The pigments observed have a predominantly green colouration, other shells, although fewer in number, show a black-brown colouration. The aim of the investigation is to study pigments found inside shells to characterize their mineralogical composition and to identify the occurrence of organic binders. The samples are investigated using micro-invasive techniques to find out the nature of the pigments. In particular, SEM-EDX analyses have been performed on micro-samples taken from the shells with the highest pigment content (9 specimen) to observe the morphology of shells’infilling and inform ton their elemental composition. ATR/FTIR analysis carried out on the same micro-samples will inform on the molecular composition of pigments, thus detecting the possible presence of organic material subsequently analysed by GC-MS. The project will also apply other techniques such as the use of XRD will allow information on the crystalline phases contained in the samples to be obtained. It will also be interesting to apply LIBS analysis to obtain not only elementary pigment information but also stratigraphic information to make an in-depth study. In particular, the LIBS technique, which does not require sampling, will be applied on those samples (which are the most numerous, i.e. 28) that only have pellicular remains of pigments