Late Pleistocene - Holocene sedimentary processes in the Gaeta Bay continental shelf (Tyrrhenian sea)

Abstract

Five cores from boreholes drilled along two profiles in the Gaeta Bay continental shelf were examined from the sedimentological and geotechnical points of view in order to investigate the characteristics of sediments and to identify their depositional processes. The oldest deposits consist of alternating silt and sand layers, which were probably deposited during the latest Pleistocene glacial lowstand. These deposits are overlain by bioclastic silty sands and thin layers of hemipelagic clay which accumulated during the post-glacial sea-level rise. The youngest sediments, consisting of bioturbated silts, identify high-stand deposits laid down during the Holocene.