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Pronounced warming negatively impacts ecosystem resilience in modern oceans. To offer a long‐term geological perspective of the calcareous plankton response to global warming, we present an integrated record, from two Tethyan sections (northeastern Italy), of the planktic foraminiferal and calcareous nannofossil response to the Eocene Thermal Maximum 2 hyperthermal (ETM2, ∼54 Ma). Our study reveals pronounced changes in assemblage composition and a striking dwarfing of planktic foraminiferal tests of up to 40% during the event, impacting both surface and deeper dwellers. The increased abundance of small placoliths among calcareous nannofossils is interpreted as community size reduction. Literature and our foraminiferal size data from Sites 1263 and 1209 (Atlantic and Pacific Oceans) highlights that the pronounced dwarfism is restricted to the Tethyan area. The ETM2 is characterized by warm sea surface temperatures as indicated by our δ18O data, but this warming is of global extent and cannot explain the unique dwarfism. Excluding evolutionary modifications, other potential drivers of dwarfism (eutrophication, deoxygenation, metabolic adaptation) cannot explain the exceptional dwarfism by themselves. The smallest sizes are in close temporal association with peaks in volcanic derived Hg/Th‐Hg/Rb recorded just before and at the ETM2 which could not have been brought into our sections through weathering. In contrast, size reductions are absent below and above the ETM2 at Hg peaks where δ18O data do not show warm conditions. We speculate that the local input of toxic metals from submarine volcanic emissions could have acted synergistically to warming, causing the unique dwarfism. Key Points: Calcareous plankton size in the Tethys during the Eocene Thermal Maximum 2 (ETM2) reveals marked dwarfismPronounced dwarfism was restricted to the Tethyan area, highlighting the importance of local signals in interpreting hyperthermalsCalcareous plankton were highly unstable across the ETM2 but ultimately resilient [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Norian magmatic rocks of Jabuka, Brusnik and Vis Islands (Croatia) and their bearing on the evolution of Triassic magmatism in the Northern Mediterranean. The magmatic rocks from Jabuka, Brusnik, Vis Islands and the submerged Brusnik plateau have been investigated to define their age and genetic affinity, identifying their role in the geodynamics of the Adria Plate. The plutonic and lava flow samples have been characterized for their petrography, mineral chemistry, whole rock major and trace elements, and Sr and Nd isotopic compositions. The two samples with the freshest plagioclase crystals have been selected for 40Ar/39Ar analysis, which gave ages of 221.5 ± 2.5 Ma (Brusnik) and 227 ± 5 Ma (Jabuka), similar to those of the Triassic magmatism from the northern part of the Adria Plate and neighbouring territories. Geochemical and isotopic data suggest that the magmatism dominantly sourced from spinel peridotites variously metasomatized during pre-Mesozoic subduction events. Furthermore, the investigated rocks evidence interactions of the magmas with Mid-Late Triassic evaporites. The comparison with other coeval magmatic occurrences from the Adria Plate and its edges shows that the subduction signature of the Triassic within-plate magmatism is mainly related to the evolution of the upper mantle of the Adria Plate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main causes of soil organic matter (SOM) loss are land use (e.g., conventional agriculture) and land-use change (e.g., conversion of wetlands into croplands). Before World War II and until 1960s, the Ferrara province in the Emilia-Romagna region (Northeast Italy) enlarged its agricultural production area through drainage of wetlands. After that, the newly drained area was put into intensive agricultural production with practices that proved to be unsustainable, and whose negative effects (depletion of soil organic carbon [SOC] and emissions of greenhouse gases [GHGs], e.g., CO 2 ) have never been quantified. In this work, we estimated the changes in SOC 85 years after the drainage of the palustrine environment, by comparing 1937 SOC measurements with those made in 2022. Comparison of SOC maps from 1937 and 2022 indicates that most of the area suffered a significant SOC loss (∆OC 85 years from 0.05 to 18.57 wt%), except for northern areas in which the peat nature of the soil has been preserved. We also measured the 13 C/ 12 C on the 2022 soil samples and generated a present-day map of the SOC isotopic ratios, which could be used in future as a benchmark to evaluate changes in soil carbon stocks and fluxes., (© 2024 The Authors. Journal of Environmental Quality published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America.)

Isotope ratio mass spectrometry is a well-known technique used to trace the origin of agri-food products from different countries. Here this method was tested to trace the exact orchard of provenance of Italian apples harvested at sites close to each other. We measured the δ 13 C, δ 15 N, and δ 34 S values of apple subfractions (peel, petiole, pulp, seed) from two orchards in Ferrara and one orchard in Trento. Sulfur represents the best marker for tracing the regions of provenance of samples because it is linked to the presence of sulfate (Ferrara1: +9.0 ‰; Ferrara 2: +7.3 ‰) and sulfide (Trento: -1.3 ‰) minerals in soils. However, the δ 13 C of apple subfractions combined with the δ 34 S of seed in a linear discrimination analysis better discriminated the three orchards. The isotopic fingerprint of apples is thus significantly affected by the relative terroir, and it can be used as "isotopic identity card" to certify "protected designations of origin"., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2022 The Authors.)

In Italy, the production of manila clams ( Ruditapes philippinarum , Adams and Reeve, 1850) is mainly localized in northern Adriatic lagoons in the Po River delta, where shellfish farming provides important socio-economic revenue. However, in our globalized world, the seafood market is threated by fraudulent activities, in which agri-food products whose provenance is not certified are sold, posing a risk to consumer health. Multi-isotope ratio analysis is commonly used to trace the provenance of goods produced in different countries with different climatic and environmental conditions. Here, we investigated the reliability of this approach in terms of tracing the exact provenance of manila clams harvested in three Adriatic northern lagoons that are close to each other. We also verified the origin of samples bought at a local supermarket with a certificate of provenance. We carried out elemental analyses of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and sulfur (S) and the respective isotopic ratios ( 13 C/ 12 C; 15 N/ 14 N; 34 S/ 32 S) on manila clam tissues, plus isotopic analyses of carbon ( 13 C/ 12 C), oxygen ( 18 O/ 16 O), and strontium ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) on manila clam shells. Each isotopic parameter can be used to identify the marine and continental contributions of water and/or nutrient supplies occurring in the lagoons. Therefore, the combination of isotopic parameters in a linear discriminant analysis (LDA) allowed for the identification of the lagoons in which the manila clams were produced.

The effects of peat burning on organic-rich agricultural soils of the Mezzano Lowland (NE Italy) were evaluated on soil profiles variously affected by smoldering. Profiles were investigated for pH, electrical conductivity, bulk density, elemental and isotopic composition of distinct carbon (and nitrogen) fractions. The results suggest that the horizons affected by carbon loss lie at depths 10-70 cm, where the highest temperatures are developed. We suggest that the exothermal oxidation of methane (mediated by biological activity) plays a significant role in the triggering mechanism. In the interested soils we estimated a potential loss of Soil Organic Carbon of approximately 110 kg m - 2 within the first meter, corresponding to 580 kg CO 2 m - 3 . The released greenhouse gas is coupled with a loss of soil structure and nutrients. Moreover, the process plausibly triggers mobility of metals bound in organometallic complexes. All these consequences negatively affect the environment, the agricultural activities and possibly also health of the local people., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest relevant to this study., (© 2021. The Authors. GeoHealth published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Geophysical Union.)

In the Adriatic lagoons of northern Italy, manila clam ( Ruditapes philippinarum ) farming provides important socio-economic returns and local clams should be registered with the Protected Designations of Origin scheme. Therefore, there is a need for the development of rapid, cost-effective tests to guarantee the origin of the product and to prevent potential fraud. In this work, an elemental analysis (EA) coupled with isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) was employed to identify the isotopic fingerprints of clams directly collected onsite in three Adriatic lagoons and bought at a local supermarket, where they exhibited certification. In particular, a multivariate analysis of C/N, δ 13 C and δ 15 N in manila clam tissues as well as δ 13 C in shells and Δ 13 C (calculated as δ 13 C shell -δ 13 C tissues ) seems a promising approach for tracking the geographical origin of manila clams at the regional scale.