Sequence stratigraphy in the context of rapid regional uplift and high‐amplitude glacio‐eustatic changes: the Pleistocene Cutro Terrace (Calabria, southern Italy)

Abstract

The Cutro Terrace is a mixed marine to continental terrace, where deposits up to 15 m thick discontinuously crop out in an area extending for ca 360 km2 near Crotone (southern Italy). The terrace represents the oldest and highest terrace of the Crotone area, and it has been ascribed to marine isotope stage 7 (ca 200 kyr bp). Detailed facies and sequence‐stratigraphic analyses of the terrace deposits allow the recognition of a suite of depositional environments ranging from middle shelf to fluvial, and of two stacked transgressive–regressive cycles (Cutro 1 and Cutro 2) bounded by ravinement surfaces and by surfaces of sub‐aerial exposure. In particular, carbonate sedimentation, consisting of algal build‐ups and biocalcarenites, characterizes the Cutro 1 cycle in the southern sector of the terrace, and passes into shoreface and foreshore sandstones and calcarenites towards the north‐west. The Cutro 2 cycle is mostly siliciclastic and consists of shoreface, lagoon‐estuarine, fluvial channel fill, floodplain and lacustrine deposits. The Cutro 1 cycle is characterized by very thin transgressive marine strata, represented by lags and shell beds upon a ravinement surface, and thicker regressive deposits. Moreover, the cycle appears foreshortened basinwards, which suggests that the accumulation of its distal and upper part occurred during forced regressive conditions. The Cutro 2 cycle displays a marked aggradational component of transgressive to highstand paralic and continental deposits, in places strongly influenced by local physiography, whereas forced regressive sediments are absent and probably accumulated further basinwards. The maximum flooding shoreline of the second cycle is translated ca 15 km basinward with respect to that of the first cycle, and this reflects a long‐term regressive trend mostly driven by regional uplift. The stratigraphic architecture of the Cutro Terrace deposits is the result of the interplay between regional uplift and high amplitude, Late Quaternary glacio‐eustatic changes. In particular, rapid transgressions, linked to glacio‐eustatic rises that outpaced regional uplift, favoured the accumulation of thin transgressive marine strata at the base of the two cycles. In contrast, the combined effect of glacio‐eustatic falls and regional uplift led to high‐magnitude forced regressions. The superposition of the two cycles was favoured by a relatively flat topography, which allowed relatively complete preservation of stratal geometries that record large shoreline displacements during transgression and regression. The absence of a palaeo‐coastal cliff at the inner margin of the terrace supports this interpretation. The Cutro Terrace provides a case study of sequence architecture developed in uplifting settings and controlled by high‐amplitude glacio‐eustatic changes. This case study also demonstrates how the interplay of relative sea‐level change, sediment supply and physiography may determine either the superposition of cycles forming a single terrace or the formation of a staircase o...

Outcrop analysis and facies model of an Upper Permian tidally influenced fluvio-deltaic system: Northern Sydney Basin, SE Australia

“…Sequence stratigraphy is a powerful tool that aids in understanding the evolution of sedimentary basins (Cantalamessa et al 2007;Rodríguez-Tovar et al 2007;Catuneanu et al 2009Catuneanu et al , 2011Di Celma et al 2010;Zecchin et al 2011;Eriksson et al 2013;Maravelis et al 2018) and also has valuable implications for the industry (De Gasperi & Catuneanu, 2014;Zecchin & Catuneanu, 2015). The interpretation of systems tracts relies on the observation of stratal stacking patterns, the nature of the bounding surfaces and the relationship with the adjacent stratigraphic units (Catuneanu, 2017).…”

The impact of Late Quaternary glacio-eustasy and tectonics on sequence development: evidence from both uplifting and subsiding settings in Italy

“…This difference is thought to be related to local physiography. In fact, the transgression recorded at the base of the first level terrace is thought to have occurred over a relatively flat landmass, which favoured a gradual transition from proximal to distal facies (Zecchin et al. , in press).…”

“…The two cycles of the first level terrace are thought to be linked to substages of MIS 7 ( c. 190–230 ka BP) (Nalin et al. , 2007; Zecchin et al. , in press), while the two cycles of the third level terrace probably result from a temporary relative sea‐level still stand or lowering during the transgression associated with MIS 5.3 ( c. 100 ka BP) (Zecchin et al.…”

“…4B). The gradient of the land that is transgressed may determine either cycle superposition or a downstepping pattern (Zecchin et al. , in press).…”

Interplay of tectonism and eustasy during the Early Permian icehouse: Southern Sydney Basin, southeast Australia

“…Sequence stratigraphy has been employed as a methodology for enhancing facies predictability and palaeogeographic reconstructions in sedimentary basins (Catuneanu, , ; De Gasperi & Catuneanu, ; Di Celma, Cantalamessa, Landini, & Ragaini, ; Maravelis & Zelilidis, , ; Zecchin, Civile, Caffau, Sturiale, & Roda, ). Outcrop data offer insights into the physical attributes of stratigraphic surfaces and sediment packages and are important for the high‐resolution sequence stratigraphic analysis (Zecchin & Catuneanu, , ).…”