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The limits of seaward spreading and slope instability at the continental margin offshore Mt Etna, imaged by highresolution 2D seismic data, Tectonophysics (2015Tectonophysics ( ), doi: 10.1016Tectonophysics ( /j.tecto.2015 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.A C C E P T E D M A N U S C R I P T -Analysis of a combined new high-resolution 2D seismic and bathymetric data set offshore Mt Etna -Extensional domains are mapped at the shallow subsurface of the continental margin -Compressional structures are mapped at the toe of the continental margin ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT A C C E P T E D M A N U S C R I P T ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT2 -A coupled volcano edifice / continental margin instability is proposed Mt Etna. The submarine realm is characterized by different blocks, which are controlled by local-and regional tectonics. A compressional regime is found at the toe of the continental margin, which is bound to a complex basin system. Both, the clear link between on-and offshore tectonic structures as well as the compressional regime at the easternmost flank edge, indicate a continental margin gravitational collapse as well as spreading to be present at Mt Etna. Moreover, we find evidence for the offshore southern boundary of the moving flank, which is identified as a right lateral oblique fault north of Catania Canyon. Our findings suggest a coupled volcano edifice / continental margin instability at Mt Etna, demonstrating first order linkage between on-and offshore tectonic processes. A C C E P T E D M A N U S C R I P T ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT

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A succession of depositional sequences, recording middle-late Pleistocene and Holocene glacialî nterglacial cycles, documents the impact of short-term tectonic deformation on the western Adriatic margin.The western Adriatic margin is part of the Apennine foreland which was intensely, though variably, deformed during the Meso -Cenozoic evolution of the Adriatic region from a passive margin to a foreland basin.The study area extends o¡shore Gargano Promontory, an uplifted sector of the Adriatic foreland, and includes three major deformation belts located along or cross-strike to the margin: (1) the NW-SE Gallignani-Pelagosa ridge, (2) the WSW-ENE Tremiti-Pianosa high (both located north of Gargano) and (3) the W-E to NW-SE Gondola fault deformation belt (in the south Adriatic). Long-term deformation along these tectonic lineaments is documented on conventional low-frequency seismic pro¢les by regional folds and faults a¡ecting Eocene^Miocene units overlain by dominantly draping Plio -Quaternary deposits. At this scale of observation, only north of Gargano Promontory there is some evidence of Plio -Quaternary units thinning against structural highs, thus suggesting that tectonic deformation was protracted through this interval. Based on new highresolution seismic data, we show that deformation along these pre-existing tectonic structures continued during the Quaternary, a¡ecting middle-late Pleistocene and even Holocene units on the shelf and upper slope north and south of Gargano Promontory.These recent deformations consist of gentle folds and high-angle faults, locally producing topographic relief that a¡ects the stratigraphy and thickness of syn-tectonic deposits.We interpret the small-scale, shallow faults and gentle folds a¡ecting middle-late Pleistocene and Holocene deposits, north and south Gargano Promontory, as the evidence of ongoing foreland deformation along inherited regional fold and fault systems.Correspondence: Domenico Ridente, ISMAR

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[1] Borehole PRAD1-2 was drilled in $186 m water depth on the upper slope of the central Adriatic, in the frame of Profiles across Mediterranean Sedimentary Systems (PROMESS1) European Union-funded project. The borehole penetrated 71.2 m through a stratigraphic interval characterized by subparallel seismic reflections and uniform seismic units. According to an age-depth model based on several independent proxies (including foraminifera and nannoplankton stratigraphy, @ 18 O curves, and magnetostratigraphy) the cored interval records Marine Isotope Stages and Substages (MIS) from MIS1 to the top of MIS11, thus encompassing the past $370 ka. PRAD1-2 therefore represents an unprecedented continuous record through the last four glacial-interglacial cycles from a proximal continental margin setting where depositional sequences are typically composed of progradational units. These progradational units record dominantly interglacial intervals (MIS5, MIS7, and MIS9) and appear composed of thicker highstand deposits (HST) formed during interstadials and thinner forced-regression units (FSST) deposited during stadials above distinctive downward shift surfaces. The development of thicker highstand deposits with a distinctively thicker bottomset reflects enhanced shore-parallel advection any time sea level rise leads to the drowning of the Adriatic shelf, triggering the formation of dense water and vigorous cyclonic circulation. This advection mechanism persisted in each cycle throughout the early phases of the sea level fall but progressively decreased as sea level fall proceeded approaching the maximum lowstand position, when most of the shelf became exposed. Relative sea level falls punctuating interglacials within each 100-ka cycle were thus accompanied by a dearth in sediment flux on the outer shelf. The alternation of HST and FSST progradational wedges with markedly different thickness and downlap geometry of their bottomsets is the most evident stratigraphic signature, within each 100-ka depositional cycle, of the impact on the shelf of higher-frequency ($20 ka) sea level cycles and concomitant supply fluctuations.Components: 9838 words, 13 figures.