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We applied ambient noise tomography to continuous data recorded by a dense seismic array deployed on the volcanic island of Lipari in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea. Since most of Lipari's seismicity occurs offshore and is not evenly distributed, this technique allowed us to obtain the first high‐resolution images beneath the island down to ∼2.5 km depth. Results show a complex seismic structure related to the various ages and compositions of the volcanic products characteristic of the different regions of the island. High shear wave velocities are found in western Lipari, where active hydrothermal vents and N‐S faults are mapped. Low wave speeds are revealed beneath southern and northeastern Lipari, where more recent volcanic activity developed along N‐S dike‐like structures that are aligned with rhyolitic vents. We suggest these dikes likely represent the probable pathways of future volcanic eruptions. Plain Language Summary: Recordings of Earth's background seismic noise from an array of tightly spaced instruments allow us to decipher the rocks beneath Lipari, a 37‐km2 active volcanic island in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea. In 2018, for the first time, 48 compact seismic instruments were installed on the island providing continuous recordings for about 1 month that are now used to produce the first three‐dimensional model of the volcano down to ∼3 km depth. The high‐resolution images of Lipari show complex features that are related to the different types and ages of the volcanic rocks. Active CO2‐rich fumaroles and faults found at the Earth's surface are imaged down to depths between 0.5 and 3 km. Beneath southern and northeastern Lipari, conduits of the younger N‐S aligned vents are revealed in the images and they may represent the shallower feeding system of future volcanic eruptions. With the new information from seismic imaging, we are able to better understand the three‐dimensional architecture of the volcanic system and faults, which combined with surface observations will allow us to more accurately determine the potential for future activity and estimate eruptive style and minimum volumes of the eruptive products. Key Points: Dense nodal array probes the underground plumbing system of active volcanic islandsAmbient noise tomography reveals the complexity of the spatio‐temporal relationship between volcanic, structural, and hydrothermal featuresHigh and low shear wave velocities are linked to different eruptive epochs of volcanic edifices in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract We applied ambient noise tomography to continuous data recorded by a dense seismic array deployed on the volcanic island of Lipari in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea. Since most of Lipari's seismicity occurs offshore and is not evenly distributed, this technique allowed us to obtain the first high‐resolution images beneath the island down to ∼2.5 km depth. Results show a complex seismic structure related to the various ages and compositions of the volcanic products characteristic of the different regions of the island. High shear wave velocities are found in western Lipari, where active hydrothermal vents and N‐S faults are mapped. Low wave speeds are revealed beneath southern and northeastern Lipari, where more recent volcanic activity developed along N‐S dike‐like structures that are aligned with rhyolitic vents. We suggest these dikes likely represent the probable pathways of future volcanic eruptions.

The Aeolian Archipelago (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy) hosts important foraging/overwintering habitats for Mediterranean loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta), although nesting sites have never been documented. This study reports the data of two nesting events occurred in summer 2019 at Stromboli and Lipari islands. A hatchling success of 20.69 % (18 hatchlings from 87 eggs) was recorded at Stromboli, while a complete hatchling unsuccess characterised the Lipari nest, where 111 eggs were deposited. Data acquired during the monitoring of the nests suggest that combined factors, mainly temperature, beach morphology, and sand composition, could be the causes for the low success of these nesting events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides new petrochemical and paleomagnetic data from obsidian sub-sources on the island of Pantelleria, exploited since the Neolithic. Data has been obtained from 14 obsidian samples from 4 locations: Fossa della Pernice (2 sites), Salto la Vecchia and Balata dei Turchi. Here, we aim to better characterize these obsidians using a cross-disciplinary and multi-analytical approach, to further understand their archaeological significance. Major element analyses (EMP) have enabled two compositional super-groups to be distinguished: (i) Fossa della Pernice, less peralkaline and (ii) Balata dei Turchi–Salto la Vecchia, distinctly more peralkaline and having almost identical chemical patterns. Trace element analyses (LA-ICP-MS) corroborate major element groupings, with the Balata dei Turchi–Salto la Vecchia super-group being further characterized by a pronounced negative europium anomaly. Glass H2O contents (FT-IR) reveal an overlap among all the sub-sources (H2O = 0.1–0.3 wt. %). Magnetic methods have refined the petrochemical groupings, permitting further distinction between Balata dei Turchi–Salto La Vecchia and the Fossa della Pernice super-groups. The occurrence of sub-microscopic (< 1 μm) ferromagnetic minerals results in different magnetic susceptibility and Natural Remanent Magnetization values and allows the best distinction among the products from the chosen sites.

The small island of Ustica was a regular part of the obsidian distribution network in the central Mediterranean, despite its location more than 50 km north of western Sicily. More than 1000 obsidian artifacts from several different sites, ranging in age from the Neolithic through Bronze Age, were analyzed using a non-destructive, portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer. Obsidian from Lipari-Gabellotto dominates the assemblages at all sites tested, yet Pantelleria obsidian from both Balata dei Turchi and Lago di Venere are of notable quantities. Obsidian was not likely a major part of the material transported across open waters to this seemingly remote location, while our data support the hypothesis that some direct travel occurred from the Aeolian Islands to Ustica.

The Aeolian Archipelago (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy) hosts important foraging/overwintering habitats for Mediterranean loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta), although nesting sites have never been documented. This study reports the data of two nesting events occurred in summer 2019 at Stromboli and Lipari islands. A hatchling success of 20.69 % (18 hatchlings from 87 eggs) was recorded at Stromboli, while a complete hatchling unsuccess characterised the Lipari nest, where 111 eggs were deposited. Data acquired during the monitoring of the nests suggest that combined factors, mainly temperature, beach morphology, and sand composition, could be the causes for the low success of these nesting events.

This article presents the first archaeometric research carried out so far on a group of obsidian artifacts collected in the promontory of Pirozza-Spalmatore, the site of a Neolithic settlement on the small island of Ustica (Sicily, Italy). The obsidian assemblage, consisting of 28 artifacts, was subjected to optical, typological and geochemical analyses, the latter carried out by means of a portable pXRF, in order to determine their provenance. The results indicate that 89% of the fragments come from geologic obsidian outcrops on the island of Lipari, and 11% from the island of Pantelleria. It is thus ascertained that, during the Neolithic, Ustica used two different sources of obsidian, located 150–250 km away from the site. These obsidian sources were typical of some western Sicily prehistoric villages, while eastern Sicilian villages seem to have imported obsidian exclusively from Lipari. The analyses indicate that all the obsidian artifacts attributed to Lipari come from the geological deposit of Gabellotto, while those attributed to Pantelleria come from the two distinct deposits of Lago di Venere and Balata dei Turchi.

The Aeolian island of Lipari, just north of eastern Sicily, was a major geological source of high quality obsidian that was volcanically formed in the Late Mesolithic, followed by another major production in the 1st millennium AD. A much earlier volcanic event on Lipari also produced some obsidian, but not of sufficient quality for tool production. A detailed geological survey of the Lipari obsidian source areas, including assessments of quantity, quality, accessibility, and visual variation was performed, followed by elemental analyses using INAA, LA-ICP-MS, ED-XRF, and pXRF which show that many different groups may be distinguished from each other. Geochemical analyses of several thousand obsidian artifacts from sites in Sicily and southern Italy reveal that two early Holocene subsources, Gabellotto Gorge and Canneto Dentro, were used during the Neolithic and Bronze Ages.

This study provides a critical and interdisciplinary review of the archaeological record of the Aeolian Islands (Italy), from their earliest settlement in the mid-sixth millennium BC (Middle Neolithic) to the establishment of trans-Mediterranean networks at the end of the second millennium BC (Final Bronze Age). We combine archaeological, archaeometric, bioarchaeological and environmental data to explore the interplay between different prehistoric practices and their spatial settings, revisiting old evidence and presenting new data. The resulting picture reveals different levels of interaction and the critical role of these small island communities in establishing and/or facilitating networks at the local and (inter)regional scale. Ceramic networks allow us to trace connections between the islands and their neighbours, underscoring the centrality of the island of Lipari, which is further supported by the spatial analysis of the settlement data, in particular concerning the growing web of intervisibility between contemporary settlements on the Aeolian Islands, Sicily and Calabria. We also highlight significant environmental factors, such as arid phases and volcanic events, and assess their impact in light of the islanders' responses, underscoring their long-term adaptability to the challenges of insularity. The study is supported by a new and up-to-date database of 50 prehistoric sites, incorporating unpublished results of ongoing archaeological investigations by the authors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the first archaeometric research carried out so far on a group of obsidian artifacts collected in the promontory of Pirozza-Spalmatore, the site of a Neolithic settlement on the small island of Ustica (Sicily, Italy). The obsidian assemblage, consisting of 28 artifacts, was subjected to optical, typological and geochemical analyses, the latter carried out by means of a portable pXRF, in order to determine their provenance. The results indicate that 89% of the fragments come from geologic obsidian outcrops on the island of Lipari, and 11% from the island of Pantelleria. It is thus ascertained that, during the Neolithic, Ustica used two different sources of obsidian, located 150–250 km away from the site. These obsidian sources were typical of some western Sicily prehistoric villages, while eastern Sicilian villages seem to have imported obsidian exclusively from Lipari. The analyses indicate that all the obsidian artifacts attributed to Lipari come from the geological deposit of Gabellotto, while those attributed to Pantelleria come from the two distinct deposits of Lago di Venere and Balata dei Turchi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A systematic study on obsidian tools in Calabria and Sicily carried out by the authors have revealed the uniqueness in the patterns of production, exchange and consumption of Lipari obsidian. The study has concentrated on the Middle Neolithic primarily, with other Neolithic and Bronze Age contexts recognised at a later stage in the research since many contexts, especially in Sicily, have been excavated by pioneering archaeologists, some over a century ago, or were mislabelled. The chronology is Early Neolithic to Early Bronze Age, with very few materials dating Middle Bronze Age. A review of chronological contexts is in progress, which spans from the 6th millennium BC to the end of the 2nd millennium BC. The typology of obsidian tools is very homogenous, the vast majority of used tools are small blades, bladelets and sharp flakes; there is negligible variance across time; and Lipari obsidian is preferred over other sources. The patterns of the exchanges are also unique, revealing two major types of redistribution of obsidian, one particularly intriguing because it is quite organized with a single source in Lipari, prominent and reminiscent for its stability and reach of Bronze Age redistribution dynamics associated with hierarchical societies. We present here some observations on patterns substantiated by the archaeological record, and consider possible scenarios that can explain them. This work provides an update on progressing research and reveals aspects that will need further investigation, focusing on the patterns identified so far and possible explanations. More work is certainly needed to produce a working model, but the unusual patterns deserve some attention on their own, unencumbered by an overarching explanatory model. In particular, we want to assess the Neolithic redistribution pattern suggestive as typical of hierarchical polities, and contextualize it to the specific situation of Neolithic Lipari.

Different plant species were investigated from two Aeolian Islands located in close vicinity, one with fumarolic activity (Vulcano) and one without (Lipari). On Vulcano, elevated concentrations of SO2/H2S determined in ambient air indicated the need of plants to adapt to harmful sulphur concentrations by detoxification strategies. The current study was focused on evaluating the element composition of plant leaves in relation to soil mineral contents. The soil of Volcano was characterised by a significantly lower pH on all three sampling sites as well as very high amounts of sulphur and plant available sulphate due to volcanic activities, compared to Lipari. By contrast, a general difference in the composition of trace elements in the soil was not observed between the islands, apart from arsenic, which was increased at all three sampling sites on Vulcano. Element accumulation in the leaves differed between the two islands. The tested species showed a significant higher accumulation of numerous elements (Al, B, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Ni, and Zn) on Vulcano compared to Lipari, while excluding Ca and Mo. These differences in element accumulation in the leaves between the islands may be caused by the lower soil pH on Vulcano. Extreme sulphur accumulation was found for all tested species on Vulcano, but was lower in woody species with higher dry matter content compared to herbaceous species with lower dry matter content. This caused a significantly negative correlation between plant sulphur and dry matter content. From these results, it is concluded that species with higher dry matter contents possess a more effective protection against extreme sulphur accumulation. Strategies to cope with other potentially toxic elements in the soil ranged from exclusion to hyper-accumulation. Hierarchical cluster analyses of the leaf element content revealed a clear separation between two groups: First, herbaceous perennial plants as strong accumulators; and second, woody perennial plants such as shrubs or trees as less strong accumulators, with the primordial species Fumaria capreolata representing an outside group.

In questo articolo è presentata una bozza lettera di E. Pirajno di Mandralisca (1809-1864) a K. von Estorff (1811-1877). Il barone, esponente dell’antiquaria ottocentesca della Sicilia settentrionale, comunica la stesura di un’opera sulla monetazione di Lipara, momentaneamente ritardata da impedimenti tecnici. Intanto Pirajno prosegue a Lipari gli scavi presso i suoi terreni, anticamente occupati dalla necropoli, dove recupera numerosi manufatti archeologici. Anche i reperti acquistati a Tindari accrescono la sua collezione archeologica privata.

Very high resolution bathymetric map obtained through multibeam echo-sounders data are crucial to generate accurate Digital Terrain Models from which the morphological setting of active volcanic areas can be analyzed in detail. Here we show and discuss the main results from the first multibeam bathymetric survey performed in shallow-waters around the island of Lipari, the largest and the most densely populated of the Aeolian Islands (southern Italy). Data have been collected in the depth range of 0.1-150 m and complete the already existent high-resolution multibeam bathymetry realized between 100 and 1300 m water depth. The new ultra-high resolution bathymetric maps at 0.1-0.5 m provide new insights on the shallow seafloor of Lipari, allowing to detail a large spectrum of volcanic, erosive-depositional and anthropic features. Moreover, the presented data allow outlining the recent morphological evolution of the shallow coastal sector of this active volcanic island, indicating the presence of potential geo-hazard factors in shallow waters.

Spherulitic textures in the Rocche Rosse obsidian flow (Lipari, Aeolian Islands, Italy) have been characterized through petrographic, crystal size distribution (CSD) and in situ major and volatile elemental analyses to assess the mode, temperature and timescales of spherulite formation. Bulk glass chemistry and spherulite chemistry analyzed along transects across the spherulite growth front/glass boundary reveal major-oxide and volatile (HO, CO, F, Cl and S) chemical variations and heterogeneities at a ≤5 μm scale. Numerous bulk volatile data in non-vesicular glass (spatially removed from spherulitic textures) reveal homogenous distributions of volatile concentrations: HO (0.089 ± 0.012 wt%), F (950 ± 40 ppm) and Cl (4,100 ± 330 ppm), with CO and S consistently below detection limits suggesting either complete degassing of these volatiles or an originally volatile-poor melt. Volatile concentrations across the spherulite boundary and within the spherulitic textures are highly variable. These observations are consistent with diffusive expulsion of volatiles into melt, leaving a volatile-poor rim advancing ahead of anhydrous crystallite growth, which is envisaged to have had a pronounced effect on spherulite crystallization dynamics. Argon concentrations dissolved in the glass and spherulites differ by a factor of ~20, with Ar sequestered preferentially in the glass phase. Petrographic observation, CSD analysis, volatile and Ar data as well as diffusion modeling support continuous spherulite nucleation and growth starting at magmatic (emplacement) temperatures of ~790-825 °C and progressing through the glass transition temperature range ( T ~ 750-620 °C), being further modified in the solid state. We propose that nucleation and growth rate are isothermally constant, but vary between differing stages of spherulite growth with continued cooling from magmatic temperatures, such that there is an evolution from a high to a low rate of crystallization and low to high crystal nucleation. Based on the diffusion of HO across these temperature ranges (~800-300 °C), timescales of spherulite crystallization occur on a timescale of ~4 days with further modification up to ~400 years (growth is prohibitively slow <400 °C and would become diffusion reliant). Selective deformation of spherulites supports a down-temperature continuum of spherulite formation in the Rocche Rosse obsidian; indeed, petrographic evidence suggests that high-strain zones may have catalyzed progressive nucleation and growth of further generations of spherulites during syn- and post-emplacement cooling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A detailed tephrostratigraphic study supported by stable isotope (δ 18 O) analyses and AMS 14 C dating was carried out on a high sedimentation rate deep-sea core recovered in the northern Ionian Sea. Eight tephra layers were recognised, all originated from explosive eruptions of southern Italian volcanoes. These tephra layers are correlated with terrestrial proximal counterparts and with both marine and lacustrine tephra already known in the central Mediterranean area. The oldest tephra (dated at ca. 19.4ka cal BP) is tentatively correlated to the Monte Guardia eruption from Lipari Island. Two other rhyolitic tephra layers were correlated with the explosive volcanic activity of Lipari Island: Gabellotto-Fiumebianco/E-1 (8.3ka cal BP) located close to the interruption of Sapropel S1 deposit, and Monte Pilato (ca. AD 1335) in the uppermost part of the core. The Na-phonolitic composition of the other five recognised tephra layers indicates the Somma-Vesuvius as the source. The composition is quite homogeneous among the five tephra layers, and fits that of the Mercato proximal deposits. Beyond the striking chemical similarity with the Mercato eruption, these tephra layers span over ca. 2000years, preventing correlation with the single well known Plinian eruption of the Somma-Vesuvius. Therefore, at least two of these tephra layers were assigned to an interplinian activity of the Somma-Vesuvius between the eruptions of Mercato and Avellino, even though these eruptions remains poorly constrained in the proximal area. By contrast, the most prominent tephra layer (2mm white tephra visible at naked eyes) was found within the S1a Sapropel interval. Despite the possible complication for the presence of similar eruption with different ages we argue that Mercato is probably a very good marker for the onset of sapropelic condition in the Ionian Sea and can be used for land-sea correlations for this important climatic event. More in general, these data allow a significant update of the knowledge of the volcanic ash dispersal from Lipari and Somma-Vesuvius volcanoes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Fluid inclusion studies together with volcanological and petrochemical data allow reconstruction of the magma feeding system of basaltic-andesitic to andesitic activity during the oldest and intermediate stages of development of Lipari Island (223-81 ka). A major magma storage zone is active during the overall investigated time span at depths of 22 km, close to the crust-mantle Moho transition, at which mantle-derived mafic magmas tend to accumulate due to neutral buoyancy conditions. Beneath central-type volcanoes (M. Mazzacaruso, M. S.Angelo, M. Chirica-Costa d'Agosto), a shallower magma reservoir is located within the upper crust at 5.5-3.5 km, associated with a major lithological discontinuity. For fissural-type volcanoes (Timpone Ospedale, Monterosa, M. Chirica), tectonic structures are suggested to influence further magma ascent and storage at mid-crustal depths (∼14 km), with no ponding at shallower levels. Partial crustal melting processes at the roofs of the deep magma reservoirs (∼17 km) are invoked to explain the origin of cordierite-bearing lavas beneath M. S.Angelo and M. Chirica-Costa d'Agosto volcanoes, which were active during the intermediate stages of development of Lipari (105-81 ka). The generation of felsic anatectic melts in the lower crust could have created density and rheologic barriers to impede the passage of mafic melts and promote their ponding, with influence on the subsequent evolution of Lipari volcano. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A petrographic and radiometric study, along with statistical multivariate analysis of volcanic products of the island of Lipari (Aeolian islands, Italy) was carried out. The volcanological history of Lipari was reconstructed defining two stages (pre- and post-erosive stages) further on subdivided in four volcanic phases, each of which characterized by products with a particular chemical composition and separated by stratigraphic unconformities. The correlations between petrographic features, determined by X-ray fluorescence, and volcanological history of the island highlight a gradual differentiation with younger rocks showing a more acid chemical composition than the older ones. Radiometric features, and in particular the content of primordial radionuclides 238U, 232Th and 40K, have been measured through gamma-ray spectrometry with hyper-pure germanium detector. The different volcanic lithologies, such as basalts, andesites and rhyolites, have been characterized by petrographic diagrams. The calculated dose rate has also been used as an additional classification parameter. Older products show low alkali content than the younger ones. This is related with the increasing of incompatible elements, such as uranium and thorium, in the younger products. Principal components and hierarchical clustering statistical analyses have provided additional information on sample differentiation and similarities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The viscosity of latitic melts occurring as enclaves in the rhyolitic lava flow of Rocche Rosse (RR, Lipari, Aeolian Islands, Italy) has been measured in the high T range (1323–1473 K) for a dissolved water content varying from 1.23 to 4.39 wt.%. Measurements were performed by the falling sphere method in an internally heated gas pressure vessel. As expected, the viscosity of latite decreases with increasing water content and temperature. No pressure effect was detected between 200 and 500 MPa. Combining the new viscosity data for hydrous melts with data for dry latite of similar base composition [Giordano, D., Mangiacapra, A., Potuzak, M., Russell, J.K., Romano, C., Dingwell, D.B., Di Muro, A., 2006. An expanded non-Arrhenian model for silicate melt viscosity: a treatment for metaluminous, peraluminous and peralkaline liquids. Chemical Geology 229, 42–56.] we propose an empirical equation to estimate the viscosity of latitic melts as a function of temperature and water content over the range 101 to 1012 Pa s. The obtained relationship reproduces the experimental data with a 1σ standard deviation of 0.22 log units. However, the empirical model is not constrained by data for hydrous melts at high viscosity and, therefore, it can only be used at low temperatures for water-poor melts. The viscosity data were used to model mixing–mingling processes between latitic and rhyolitic magmas at conditions relevant for the Rocche Rosse (RR, Lipari, Aeolian Islands) and La Fossa Cone 1888–1890 (LFC, Vulcano, Aeolian Islands) eruptions. The results demonstrate that the ratio between mafic and silicic end-members is the main parameter governing mixing–mingling interactions between magmas. This study suggests a faster ascent of magma underneath Vulcano compared to Lipari, which may be taken into account in hazard forecasting. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The youngest (last 1500 years) volcanic eruptions of Lipari, within the Aeolian Archipelago, produced the prominent pumice cone of Monte Pilato and the obsidian lava flows of Rocche Rosse and Forgia Vecchia, concentrated in the north-eastern sector of the island as well as highly dispersed white-coloured, fine-grained tephra layers of rhyolitic composition in terrestrial and marine settings on the regional scale. Here we describe in detail the stratigraphy of pyroclastic successions and lava flows erupted by different vents - Monte Pilato, Forgia Vecchia, Lami, and Rocche Rosse - combining field observations, sedimentological characteristics of the tephra deposits, and major and trace element compositions of the volcanic glass. All the pyroclastic materials consist of aphyric pumice lapilli and ash with a largely homogeneous rhyolitic composition. The Monte Pilato and Forgia Vecchia deposits primarily consist of highly vesicular pumice fragments and subordinate obsidian clasts, whilst Rocche Rosse and Lami are characterized by moderately vesicular juvenile fragments with a more significant fraction of obsidian. The Lami tephra also contains peculiar pumice clasts with a fibrous texture and breadcrust bombs. Stratigraphic relationships, and paleomagnetic and 14C ages of the lava and pyroclastic deposits are combined with the archaeological information and historical reports, enabling us to provide an accurate chrono-stratigraphic framework for the youngest eruptions of Lipari. Following the 8th century CE eruption of Monte Pilato, which produced a pumice cone and a obsidian lava flow, activity resumed in the second half of 13th century CE with the explosive eruption of Forgia Vecchia that culminated in the emission of a bilobate obsidian lava flow. This eruption was shortly followed by the explosive eruptions of Lami and Rocche Rosse, the latter concluded with the emission of the widely renowned obsidian lava flow. By integrating stratigraphy and geochemistry of tephra deposits with a new chronological scheme, our work facilitates the refinement of proximal-to-distal correlation of Lipari's rhyolitic tephra in continental marine environments of the central Mediterranean area in the last 1500 years. A fine-grained, rhyolitic ash found on Stromboli (~40 km NE from Lipari) has an origin from the Monte Pilato and thus, constrains tephra dispersion towards the NE. Very similar ash beds dispersed southwards and interlayered within the near-source deposits of La Fossa, Vulcano island (~10 km from Lipari) exhibit features that are consistent with the younger activities of the Rocche Rosse eruption. A possible link between previously identified rhyolitic ash layers identified in marine cores of the Ionian Sea and the Forgia Vecchia eruption are postulated, although the age and textural characteristics of these distal tephra are not univocal in indicating a correlation to either Monte Pilato or Forgia Vecchia. • Stratigraphy of tephra and lavas of post-1500 yrs. activity of Lipari was studied. • Stratigraphy was combined with paleomagnetic and 14C dates and historical reports. • The rhyolitic ash found on Stromboli is attributed to Monte Pilato eruption. • The ash bed dispersed at La Fossa of Vulcano is consistent with Rocche Rosse eruption. • We suggest a likely correlation with Forgia Vecchia for an ash bed of the Ionian Sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Assessing the impact of past human activity on landscape change in the Mediterranean has always presented challenges, requiring sound chronological frameworks for observed environmental change. The current research, focused on the environs surrounding the ancient city of Butrint (southern Albania) during Late Antiquity, c. 4th–6th Century AD, establishes a tephra-based chronology for landscape change through the discovery of ash horizons from a little known eruption on the island of Lipari (Aeolian Islands). Recovered glass shards were geochemically fingerprinted to a 6th Century AD event on the island, dated through local archaeological sequences and corroborated by hagiographic evidence. The presence of this marker horizon at Butrint shows a continuation of open water, estuarine conditions throughout Late Antiquity and the Early Medieval period (during which time Butrint ceases to function as an urban centre), disproving the widely held notion of increased soil erosion/deposition as a result of post-Roman landscape degradation. The study also shows that it is following the medieval revival of the town in the 13th Century that marked environmental change takes place, as estuarine areas silt, giving rise to marsh and wetland. The study highlights the importance of using a range of dating techniques to constrain landscape change, while the presence of the 6th Century Lipari tephra in Epirus, derived from an eruptive event larger than previously suspected, provides a useful regional dating marker for future landscape studies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Over the last 42 ka, volcanic activity at Lipari Island (Aeolian Arc, Italy) produced lava domes, flows and pyroclastic deposits with rhyolitic composition, showing in many cases evidence of magma mixing such as latitic enclaves and banding. In this same period, on nearby Vulcano Island, similar rhyolitic lava domes, pyroclastic products and lava flows, ranging in composition from shoshonite to rhyolite, were erupted. As a whole, the post-42 ka products of Lipari and Vulcano show geochemical variations with time, which are well correlated between the two islands and may correspond to a modification of the primary magmas. The rhyolitic products are similar to each other in their major elements composition, but differ in their trace element abundances (e.g. La ranging from 40 to 78 ppm for SiO2 close to 75 wt%). Their isotopic composition is variable, too. The 87Sr/86Sr (0.704723–0.705992) and 143Nd/144Nd (0.512575–0.512526) ranges partially overlap those of the more mafic products (latites), having 87Sr/86Sr from 0.7044 to 0.7047 and 143Nd/144Nd from 0.512672 to 0.512615. 206Pb/204Pb is 19.390–19.450 in latites and 19.350–19.380 in rhyolites. Crystal fractionation and crustal assimilation processes of andesitic to latitic melts, showing an increasing content in incompatible elements in time, may explain the genesis of the different rhyolitic magmas. The rocks of the local crustal basement assimilated may correspond to lithotypes present in the Calabrian Arc. Mixing and mingling processes between latitic and rhyolitic magmas that are not genetically related occur during most of the eruptions. The alignment of vents related to the volcanic activity of the last 40 ka corresponds to the NNW–SSE Tindari–Letojanni strike-slip fault and to the correlated N–S extensional fault system. The mafic magmas erupted along these different directions display evidence of an evolution at different PH2O conditions. This suggests that the Tindari–Letojanni fault played a relevant role in the ascent, storage and diversification of magmas during the recent volcanic activity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]