The regressive surface of marine erosion generated by tides: A case study from a Pleistocene tidal sand ridge sequence, Calabria, Southern Italy

Abstract

The regressive surface of marine erosion is a key stratigraphic discontinuity used to identify episodes of forced regression in marine strata. Typically, it marks the base of shallow‐marine (e.g. shoreface and deltaic) deposits eroding over relatively deeper‐water (e.g. shelf and prodelta) lithofacies. While well‐documented in marginal‐marine areas, its occurrence in offshore or strait settings dominated by tidal currents is less understood. This study investigates lower Pleistocene outcrops in the Plio‐Quaternary Siderno Basin, Calabria, southern Italy, where tidal sand ridges developed in a Mediterranean strait. High‐resolution drone images reveal a basinward‐dipping basal surface marking the onset of tidally dominated sedimentation. This discontinuity separates underlying shelf fines from overlying cross‐stratified, tidal bioclastic/siliciclastic arenites, indicating a prolonged period of marine regression in a strait setting. The stratal architecture of the ridges shows cross‐strata aggradation in up‐dip sections, transitioning down‐dip into balanced aggrading/prograding strata, and further basinward into markedly prograding deposits. These features are interpreted to reflect an initial phase of normal regression, evolving into forced regression. This latter stage is characterised by a progressive deepening of the basal discontinuity, causing more erosional effects on the underlying beds, with a vertical basinward fall of about 60 m over 2 km. Internal foreset geometry (two‐dimensional vs. three‐dimensional cross strata) and their vertical and lateral repetition indicate stages of equilibrium and disequilibrium for tidal bedforms, reflecting varying current speeds and water depth changes. The regressive surface of marine erosion here is formed by tidal currents, rather than waves, suggesting a new type of sequence stratigraphic discontinuity associated with tide‐dominated settings.