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Multibeam bathymetric data revealed the occurrence of atrain of bedforms along a gully system in the Gulf of Palermo, Southern Tyrrhenian Sea. The observed gullies, located in the westernmost sector of the Gulf of Palermo, incise the outer shelf at a depth of 120 m and converge at the Zafferano Canyon, connecting to the Palermo Basin at a the depth of 1300 m. Bedforms develop along these gullies and along the thalweg of the canyon, displaying an average wavelength of 200 m, with maximum values of 340 m. Their gully floor location combined with their wave length, upslope asymmetry and crescent shape point to a possible cyclic steporigin of these bedforms. Preliminary numerical modeling suggest that, assuming that these bedforms were formed by cyclic steps in turbidity currents, these flows might have been few meters thick and have had velocities in the range of 0.2-1.5 m/s.

In the framework of the Vector National Italian Project (VulCost line), aimed to study the role of the morphology and the geology of the Ionian Calabrian margin in the coastline evolution, an oceanographic cruise was planned to collect geophysical data along two canyon systems: Caulonia and Marina di Gioiosa. The survey explored the continental shelf and slope from a depth of 15 m to more than 1150 m, using Multibeam Echosounder to investigate the seafloor topography. This work provides an outline of the erosive feature of the slope, shaped mostly by seasonal river input and by the connection to the structural and geological characteristics of the margin, made interesting by a narrow shelf and steep slope and influenced by a recent Quaternary tectonic, cause of the crustal regional seismicity. The collected data allowed us to perform a first characterisation of the geo-morphological peculiarities of the study area, constituting the base for the evaluation of the coastal zone evolution.

Integrated stratigraphy and structural analysis carried out in the Madonie Mts. (Northern Sicily) is aimed to the description of a syn-sedimentary tectonic event, recorded in a small infra-pliocene basin restricted to the Lascari Syncline core. The onset and evolution of the basin was driven by transpressive tectonics, generating a lens-shaped, deep and narrow tectonic depression, bounded by steep and high, tectonically controlled slopes, also reflected in the present-day topography of the area. During the genesis of the basin, the tectonic control interferes with a dramatic sea level oscillation during the Messinian-Early Pliocene time interval. In this paper, the syn-tectonic deposits of the Lascari basin are studied using both stratigraphicsedimentology methods and the structural analysis, also considering the deformations affecting the underlying bedrock. The EW trending Lascari Syncline, where the Pliocene syn-tectonic basin is hosted, belongs to a system of north verging folds, deforming the pre-existing, originally flat thrusts , generated in Langhian-Serravallian time at shallower crustal levels. The growth geometry that characterizes the stratal pattern of the Pliocene succession and its basal angular unconformity suggest that the activity of the transpressional event, generating the basin, started at least during the Messinian continuing through the Early Pliocene. The geometry and the style of deformation of the northward vergent structures, recognized in the study area, are coherent with other, coeval tectonic features of the NW portion of the Sicilian Fold and Thrust Belt, previously recognized by other Authors. A similar genesis and tectonic evolution can be therefore hypothesised for other Messinian-Pliocene basins, occurring in the same region. Basins generated in a transtensional tectonic framework are widely described in the international literature; here we describe an example of a sedimentary basin, generated at the core of syncline related to transpressional tectonics.

18 pages, 13 figures, 1 table, We present here for the first time a morpho-structural study of the submarine sector of the Ustica volcanic edifice, located in the south-western Tyrrhenian Sea, considered as an inactive volcanic system, middle Pleistocene in age. The main aim of this research study is to unravel the submarine dynamics along the slope sectors of the Ustica volcano, in order to provide new insights on one of the most tectonically active regions of the Central Mediterranean during the Quaternary. We analysed and interpreted an integrated seismo-acoustic data set consisting of multibeam swath-bathymetry, sub bottom profiles, single-channel seismic reflection records, all of them acquired during the last two decades. The seismostratigraphic analysis indicates that the Ustica volcano is composed by a sequence of lava flows and pyroclastic products, whose geometry can be interpreted as the consequence of combined upward growing and northward shifting of the volcanic centers. The mapped geomorphological elements distributed along the submerged slopes were classified based on their specific morphogenetic process. The achieved results reveal that volcanic, tectonic, oceanographic and gravity processes interacted in shaping the complex current physiography of the volcanic edifice, which is characterized by extremely uneven submarine flanks. The northern region is characterized by the widespread occurrence of well-preserved cones, probably linked to the last submarine volcanic activity of the area. Along the eastern sector, elongate gullies and linear furrows locally incise the shelf break and develop downward producing slope failures. Furrows and gullies represent the main conduits for flushing sediments through various types of flows and mass wasting, from the shallow sectors to the bathyal plain. Along the southern and eastern region slope failures processes carve almost totally of the shelf edge and mainly propagate through retrograding collapses. Further on, the southern region is mainly shaped by E-W and N-S trending fault escarpments that may have triggered the largest slope failures of the area. The main results of this study contribute to improve the understanding of the geological processes and geodynamic activity between the Northern Sicily Continental Margin and the Tyrrhenian Basin and represent a baseline for assessing the geo-hazard potential on the Ustica Island, We acknowledge the CARG Project (Geological Maps of Italy) funded by the ISPRA-Italian Geological Survey and the Italian National Research Projects MaGIC (Marine Geological Hazard along the Italian Coast) funded by the Italian Civil Protection Department.-- With the funding support of the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S), of the Spanish Research Agency (AEI)

A three-stage evolution has characterized the Sicilian Fold and Thrust Belt (SFTB) during the last 15 My: two main thin-skinned shortening events involving mainly Meso-Cenozoic carbonate units, followed by thick-skinned thrusting involving Plio-Pleistocene deposits in the frontal area as well as the crystalline basement in the inner and deeper sector of the chain. We investigated the northern Sicily continental margin, by using differently-penetrative seismic reflection data and new field surveys, which revealed, both offshore and onshore, north-vergent compressional structures that affected the tectonic edifice during Quaternary time. These structures, correlated with the kinematic setting pointed out by seismicity and GPS measurements, could disclose an important change in distribution and orientation of deformation in the frame of the Africa-Europe convergence. Our hypothesis is that the most recent tectonic processes in the northern Sicily continental margin are representative of a jump of the deformation from the frontal area of the SFTB in the Sicily Channel to the inner sector in the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea. This study is in agreement with recent interpretations about a change in the subduction polarity in the central Mediterranean orogenic system, as a consequence of the ongoing collision of the African promontory with the thinned continental to oceanic sectors (Algerian and Tyrrhenian basins) of the European plate. The seismic activity associated with the north-vergent thrust could have implication for the assessment of the seismic risk in the Central Mediterranean and understanding of active structures in marine areas that could be responsible for tsunami hazard.

Geomorphological Tools for Mapping Natural Hazards.-- 12 pages, 7 figures, supplemental material https://doi.org/10.1080/17445647.2020.1866703.-- Software: The geomorphological main map and the Figures in the text were compiled using GLOBAL MAPPER, Surfer and Quantum-G GIS Software and redesigned to print with Adobe Illustrator, In this paper we present geomorphological hazard mapping of the San Vito Peninsula offshore (Sicilian margin of Tyrrhenian Sea), characterised by a very narrow continental shelf and a very dipping, tectonically active continental slope, no far from a seismogenic belt. The data set consists of morpho-bathymetric models achieved by means of multibeam survey and scattered high resolution seismic profiles. The morpho-bathymetric study highlighted some potential sites of geomorphological hazards, the most representative of which are: (i) two canyons developing from the upper slope off San Vito Cape down to the Erice basin; (ii) a dense network of small incisions across the upper slope; (iii) a very active landslide, developed onland and extending in the continental shelf close to the Scopello village. The geomorphological features that can generate submarine hazard are represented by: unstable sediment packages into canyon heads or along the upper slope; submarine canyons with regressive erosion; coastal landslides, With funding from the Spanish government through the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S)

The results of a geomorphological study carried out in the urban area of Palermo are summarized in a thematic map. Field survey, analysis of aerial photographs and topographic maps, consultation of historical documents and maps, stratigraphic and topographic reconstruction from numerous wells and subsoil data, and bibliographic search were performed, in order to display the geomorphological changes produced by man over time in a densely populated area and to define the Anthropocene of the study area. Palermo town rises along large marine terrace surfaces cut by small river valleys and bordered by wide degraded and abandoned coastal cliffs. Over the last 2700 years, this area was affected by remarkable man-made changes to topographic surface and underground, exposing large areas of the city to hydraulic, sinkhole, and landslide risks, and increasing the levels of seismic susceptibility. In light of these results, the produced map is useful for urban planning studies.

In the coastal sector of NW Sicily, the regional correlation of relevant unconformities recognised within the Quaternary sedimentary successions allowed the mapping of seven unconformity-bounded stratigraphic units (UBSUs). The regional unconformities are marine or subaerial erosional surfaces, as well as non-depositional surfaces, locally marked by paleosoils. The erosional surfaces were produced from marine abrasion, surface water overland/concentrated flow, river erosion, karst solution, mass movement, or wind erosion. The main lithofacies of the Quaternary UBSUs consist of: (a) marine and coastal bioclastic calcarenites, (b) aeolian sandstones, (c) river deposits, (d) colluvial deposits, (e) talus slope deposits, (f) landslide deposits, and (g) chemical carbonates (travertines and speleothems). Quaternary environmental changes, due to tectonics, climate, and sea-level oscillations, are the causes that favoured the development of erosion/deposition processes responsible for the genesis of unconformities and deposits. As a result, through the UBSU map of the NW Sicilian coastal belt, it is possible to: (i) recognise stratigraphic units controlled by tectonic, climatic, and environmental processes (and their interplay) and (ii) detect Quaternary sedimentary evolution.

Ambient noise Horizontal-to-Vertical Spectral Ratio (HVSR) technique is commonly used approach to obtain 1D models of the shear-wave velocity in the shallow surface of an investigated area. However, obtained models can have a wide margin of uncertainty if inversions have not been appropriately constrained by detailed stratigraphic information. An application of HVSR inversion constrained by lithostratigraphic data is presented in order to verify the effectiveness of this technique for purposes of geological and geophysical reconstruction of a sedimentary basin in a densely urbanized area. This is often the case of seismic microzonation studies, in which almost all the information derives from near surface stratigraphic drillings, since other geophysical methods are logistically difficult to carry out. In our work, we used stratigraphic constraints derived from 93 superficial bore-holes whose depth rarely exceeds 30 m. In an area called “La Bandita”, located in Palermo Plain (Sicily, Italy), a geophysical survey was performed by means of 55 microtremor recordings. Part of these was distributed randomly, while others very close to the available stratigraphic perforations. The reconstruction of the stratigraphy in the studied area has been obtained by a review of the main stratigraphic sequences and by a consequent stratigraphic three-dimensional modelling. HVSR curves have been interpreted taking care the thicknesses of the near surface successions derived by the stratigraphic 3-D model. The results, in terms of vertical profiles of the shear-wave velocity,have been interpolated to obtain a 3D seismic model. This has been used to extract basic information to identify and reconstruct the seismic bedrock and the main geological boundaries that were not directly identifiable by means of only stratigraphic logs. It results that the bedrock is affected by a fault system that generated adjacent depressions where Quaternary successions deposited.

Neogene-Quaternary wedge-top-basins arose during the Sicilian fold and thrust belt (FTB) build-up. The infilling sedimentary successions are: i) middle-upper Miocene silicoclastics succession, accommodated on top of the accreted Sicilide and Numidian flysch nappes; ii) upper Miocene-lower Pliocene deepening-upwards sediments unconformably overlying the inner Meso-Cenozoic deep-water, Imerese and Sicanian thrust units; iii) Upper Pliocene-Quaternary coastal-open shelf deposits unconformably covering (in the outer sector of the FTB) a tectonic stack (Gela thrust system). These successions are characterized by a basal unconformity on the deformed substrate believed to be the depositional interface common both to the coeval wedge-top and foredeep basins. The tectono-sedimentary evolution of the syn-tectonic basins was controlled by the progressive deepening of the structural levels, which were active during the growing of the FTB. The palinspastic restoration of a crustal geological transect in central Sicily points to: i) the occurrence of two subsequent, basal main thrusts (MT1 and MT2) active during the Neogene-middle Pleistocene tectonic evolution, as well as ii) a decrease in slip- and shortening-rate, estimated for the later MT2 as compared to earlier MT1 basal main thrust. The foreland-basin system evolution recorded during these two steps suggests: – the regional lithofacies distribution, during late Tortonian-early Pliocene, accounted for a wide depozone including the Iblean plateau and its offshore;– a crucial change was recorded by the late Pliocene-Pleistocene wedge-top depozone, when the deeper basal main thrust (MT2) involved and thickened (in the inner sector of the FTB) the crystalline basement (thin- to thick-skinned thrust tectonics); this change influenced the depozones, progressively narrowing up to the present-day setting. As regards this general evolutionary framework, thin-skinned and thick-skinned thrust tectonics can be recognized in the Sicilian FTB evolution. The late Tortonian-early Pliocene, thin-skinned thrust tectonics include two main tectonic events, a “shallow-seated” Event 1 and a “deep-seated” Event 2, with the Pliocene-Pleistocene thick-skinned thrust tectonics representing a third tectonic event (Event 3).

We present a 1:25.000 scale geological map of the Kumeta-Pizzuta ridge in north-western Sicily (Italy), achieved by integrating stratigraphic, structural and geophysical data. In this area, the tectonic edifice results from the piling-up of deep-water-, carbonate platform- and pelagic platform-derived tectonic units (Imerese and Sicilide, Panormide and Trapanese domains, respectively) resulting from deformations of the former southern Tethyan continental margin. The structural setting shows interference of tectonic events, different types of structural styles and different scales of deformational patterns. Early overthrust of the Imerese on the Trapanese units (since the late Serravallian) was followed by wedging at depth of the Trapanese units (after the Tortonian). The wedging implied re-embrication and shortening into the overlying Imerese tectonic units and so produced the main folding and compressive to transpressive structures along the Kumeta-Pizzuta Ridge. Seismic reflection profiles integrated with field data reveal that the main E-W-trending anticlines have been offset by high-angle reverse faults flattening at depth until they connect with low-angle, regionally widespread, decollement surfaces with a northward tectonic transport. This setting supports backthrusting along transpressional faults in the study area, ruling out that the Kumeta ridge is a positive flower structure related to a near-vertical deep, crustal, shear zone as formerly suggested.

In this paper we present and discuss data concerning the morphostructural evolution at Ustica Island (Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy) during Late Quaternary. New insights on the relative sea-level changes of Ustica are coming from data collected during a geomorphological field survey around the island, together with the bathymetric analysis of the surrounding seabed and 14C datings on samples of speleothems, flowstones and marine shells found inside three selected sea caves. The survey was mainly accomplished on June 2015 through the first complete snorkel investigation off the about 18 km-long volcanic coast of the island, which allowed to precisely define location, relationship and morphometric features of coastal landforms associated with modern sea level. This study highlights the occurrence, for the first time in the Mediterranean, of tidal notches in correspondence of carbonate inclusions in volcanic rocks. The elevation of the modern tidal notch suggests that no significant vertical deformations occurred in the southeastern and eastern sectors of Ustica in the last 100 years. However, the presence of pillow lavas along the coast demonstrates that Ustica was affected by a regional uplift since the Late Quaternary, as also confirmed by MIS5.5 deposits located at about 30 m a.s.l., which suggests an average uplift rate of 0.23 mm/y. Radiocarbon dating of fossil barnacles collected inside the Grotta Segreta cave indicate an age of 1823 ± 104 cal. BP. The difference in height with respect to living barnacles in the same site suggests that their present elevation could be related to stick-slip coseismic deformations caused by the four earthquake sequences (two of which with Mw = 4.63 ± 0.46) that strongly struck the island between 1906 and 1924. © 2017 Elsevier B.V.

We present a 1:10,000 scale geological map of Marettimo Island and its offshore (Egadi Archipelago, central Mediterranean Sea). The map was achieved by integrating a new geological survey with data from recent, marine, geological and geophysical surveys acquired along the adjacent continental shelf. The island is composed of a Mesozoic, mostly carbonate platform succession, which is overlain by continental to coastal marine Quaternary deposits. Extensional tectonics have affected the carbonate platform since the Late Triassic producing an initial increase of accommodation space that was filled by interbed breccias, marls and calcareous marls. During the Jurassic, a NE-SW-directed normal fault-bounded structural lows where thick beds of megabreccias accumulated followed upwards by cherty limestone and bedded cherts. During the building of the chain, the compressional tectonics generated a southeast-verging tectonic wedge, displaced by subsequent transpression. During the Quaternary, repeated sea-level changes shaped a rough erosional surface along the inner shelf and controlled the lateral facies variation of the continental and marine coastal deposits along the present day coastline.

12 pages, 12 figures, 1 table., The continental shelf and the upper slope of the Gulf of Palermo (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea) in the depth interval ranging from 50 to 1,500 m were mapped for the first time with Multi Beam echosounder and high resolution seismic. Seven submarine canyons are confined to the upper slope or indent the shelf-edge and enter the Palermo intraslope basin at a depth of around 1,300 m. The canyons evolved through concurrent top-down turbiditic processes and bottom-up retrogressive mass failures. Most of the mass failure features of the area are related to canyon-shaping processes and only few of them are not confined to the upper slope. In general, these features probably do not represent a significant tsunami hazard along the coast. The geological element that controls the evolution of the canyons and induces sediment instability corresponds to the steep slope gradient, especially in the western sector of the Gulf, where the steepest canyons are located. The structural features mapped in the Palermo offshore contributed to the regulation of mass failure processes in the area, with direct faults and antiform structures coinciding with some of the canyon heads. Furthermore, the occurrence of pockmarks and highs that probably consist of authigenic carbonates above faulted and folded strata suggests a local relationship between structural control, fluid escape processes and mass failure. This paper presents a valuable high-resolution morphologic dataset of the Gulf of Palermo, which constitutes a reliable base for evaluating the geo-hazard potential related to slope failure in the area., We gratefully acknowledge the Italian National Research Projects MaGIC (Marine Geological Hazard along the Italian Coast) funded by the Italian Civil Protection Department and CARG (Geological Maps of Italy) funded by the Italian Geological Survey. We thank the captains and the crews of the R/V ‘‘Thetis’’ and R/V ‘‘Universitatis’’ for their kind assistance during the surveys. We also acknowledge the Grup de Recerca de la Generalitat de Catalunya B-CSI (2009 SGR 146).

6th International Symposium on Submarine Mass Movements and Their Consequences (ISSMMTC), 23-25 September 2013, Kiel, Germany.-- 10 pages, 5 figures, Sediment starved passive margins, particularly those of insular slopes, display significant mass transport activity despite the absence of environmental stresses from high sedimentation rates. The “Menorca Channel” represents the up to 120 m deep shelf sector connecting the Menorca and Mallorca Islands (Balearic Islands – Western Mediterranean). South of the Menorca Channel submarine gravitational processes have been mapped and interpreted from swath-bathymetry, TOPAS parametric echosounder and deep-towed videos. The shelf-break is located at an average depth of 140 m, and sediment instability is a widespread phenomenon. The slope region south the Menorca Channel shows a number of submarine canyons disrupting the outer shelf. The north-easternmost canyon is the more active feature, with an incised axis and scars shaping the flanks up to their edges. Headwall scarps, between 140 and 700 m depth, are up to 20 m high. The shallower scarps producing slab-type failures have carved the outer edges of planar sedimentary bodies interpreted as formed in shallow environments during previous glacial stages. Results show that a variety of sediment instability processes extensively shape the southern upper slope of the Menorca Channel. Submarine canyons develop on the Emile Bodout Escarpment (EBE), a passive tectonic feature which bounds the slope region of the study area. A number of knickpoints within the canyons suggest backward erosion control on mass wasting and, at the same time, that slope failure is one of the main drivers for canyon upslope migration. Steep gradients of the upper slope, the presence of weak layers and the action of major storms during lowstand stages are additional factors likely to influence the distribution and frequency of mass wasting processes in this area, This work was supported by the FP7 2011–2013 EU Marie Curie Action “Geo-Habit” – GA29874 and by the European project INDEMARES (Life-NAT/E/000732). UNESCO and IUGS are also acknowledged for funding through project IGCP-585

Mass wasting and downslope movements are common processes that have contributed to shape the northern Sicilian continental margin (southern Tyrrhenian Sea) since the Late Quaternary. Nevertheless, processes controlling their evolution are still partially unknown and a variety of geologic factors can be responsible for their formation. In this work we present an overview of the main mass wasting features (submarine canyons, landslides, debris flows) observed and mapped in different sectors of the northern Sicilian margin. The margin is characterized by a narrow, steep continental shelf (1-2°) and a very irregular and steep (6-8°) upper slope. The main aims of this work are: (1) to outline the morphology of the submarine canyons and of the related mass failure features, (2) to describe the main geological processes that control mass failure and (3) highlight their potential implications for the geo-hazard. The study is based on Multi Beam echosounder, Side Scan Sonar data and seismic reflection profiles, for a depth range of 20-1500 m, and on sediment samples and scattered gravity cores, collected to define the textural and compositional properties of the seafloor. Our study focused on the Castellammare Gulf-San Vito Trough system, the Gulf of Palermo, the Termini-Cefalù offshore and the Ustica offshore. In the Castellammare Gulf two main channel systems converge at the San Vito Canyon. This latter develops northwards with a very sinuous pattern, crossing the San Vito through. In the western margin of the Gulf, where the upper slope is very steep (12-13°) and the continental shelf is very narrow or absent, there are a lot of short, straight, sub-parallel gullies that are only few metres deep. In this sector the gully heads are located very close to the coastline and are associated to retrogressive slides. According to the aforesaid, downward erosive flows appear to be the most common mechanism generating widespread slope failure inside the Castellammare Gulf. In the Palermo Gulf a difference in slope configuration can be observed between western and central-eastern sector. Submarine canyons are confined to the upper slope or indent the shelf-edge and enter the Palermo intraslope basin at a depth of around 1,300 m. The canyons evolved through concurrent top-down turbiditic processes and bottom-up retrogressive mass failures. Most of the mass failure features of the area are related to canyon shaping processes. The western sector of the Palermo Gulf slope displays a highly dissected substrate, showing steep to very steep gradients, that appear to favour a retrogressive evolution of the canyons. Headward erosion processes are the main controlling factor in shaping this sector. NNE trending canyons occurring in the central-eastern sector develop in connection with the Oreto and Eleuterio rivers, breaching the shelf break, and show a linear to sinuous thalweg path. A similar pattern can be recognized in the eastern sector of the Termini-Cefalù offshore. The occurrence of pockmarks and carbonate mounds also suggests the probable role that fluid seeps play in the mass wasting processes of the area. Furthermore, the occurrence of pockmarks and highs that probably consist of authigenic carbonates above faulted and folded strata suggests a local relationship between structural control, fluid escape processes and mass failure. In the Ustica offshore volcanism related features (debris avalanche, gravitational collapse of volcanic edifices) are mainly linked to neotectonic activity and volcanism that tends to build, load and steepen the submarine slopes with time. This paper presents a valuable high-resolution morphologic dataset of the northern Sicily continental margin, which constitutes a reliable base for evaluating the geo-hazard potential related to slope failures in the area, through monitoring of areas where mass movement might be forthcoming and modelling landslides consequences to develop geohazard mitigation strategies.

We present a thorough review of the knowledge on the climate and environment in Sicily over the last 20 000 years, taking into account results of several studies carried using terrestrial and marine records. We obtain a coherent framework of the most important changes succeeded in the island, even if some points need further investigation. All the reconstructions of surface temperatures of the seas and the air surrounding Sicily point out severe climatic conditions during the last glacial period. The steppe- and semisteppe-like vegetation pattern testifies, together with additional evidence from geochemical data of lacustrine evidence, markedly arid conditions. Fi-nally, significant episodes of sea level drop connected Sicily to the Italian Peninsula and favoured the dispersion of faunal elements from southern Italy. The transition between the last glacial and the Holocene was not characterized by a gradual warming but was punctuated by two abrupt suborbital climatic fluctuations: Bølling-Allerød (warm) and Younger Dryas (cold), as recognized in the sediments recovered close to the northern and southern coast of Sicily. A denser arboreal cover is possibly indicated by the occurrence of dormouse and Arvicola remains. Finally the sensitivity of Sicily to climate perturbations is demonstrated by the occurrence of repeated subtle climatic anomalies during the Holocene, including the Little Ice Age, also known from historical chronicles. Forests, woods and Mediterranean maquis developed in the early-middle Holocene. Thereafter was a general decline of arboreal vegetation, following a general aridification trend that seems to be a common feature in southern Europe and North Africa. Science Greek colonization (7th century before Christ), the landscape was intensively modelled for agriculture and breeding, leading to a significant loss of vegetation cover.

High-resolution seismic profiles were acquired in the north Sicily offshore region with an innovative, multi-tip sparker array which lacks ringing and has a base frequency around 600 Hz. The new data, combined with published data, suggest that intra-slope and extensional basins formed as a consequence of the late Miocene (?)–early Pliocene shortening and thrusting, and the middle (?)–late Pliocene continental rifting affecting the internal side of the Sicilian-Maghrebian chain. Early (?) Pleistocene to Holocene high-amplitude and high-frequency sea-level changes resulted in repeated sub-aerial exposure and flooding of the shelf, and the deposition of cyclically arranged hemipelagic and shelf sediments. An uplift of the shelf could explain the non-preservation of the transgressive and of the lowstand wedge systems tracts in the oldest sequences.