Lake evolution and landscape history in the lower Mincio River valley, unravelling drainage changes in the central Po Plain (N-Italy) since the Bronze Age (original) (raw)
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Il quaternario, 2011
The Etruscan harbour of Forcello in lower valley of the Mincio River, N-Italy, was active between the VI to IV centuries BC. The stratigraphic investigations revealed that the settlement occupied a hill on the shore of a large lake, connected to the Mantua perifluvial lake system. The lake formed between the Late Bronze Age and the early Iron Age in the embanked floor of the Mincio Valley, and persisted till the late Middle Age. The diversion of the Po River at Guastalla during the Iron Age is considered responsible for damming the ...
The Impact of Late Holocene Flood Management on the Central Po Plain (Northern Italy)
Sustainability, 2018
Fluvial environments have always played a crucial role in human history. The necessity of fertile land and fresh water for agriculture has led populations to settle in floodplains more frequently than in other environments. Floodplains are complex human-water systems in which the mutual interaction between anthropogenic activities and environment affected the landscape development. In this paper, we analyzed the evolution of the Central Po Plain (Italy) during the Medieval period through a multi-proxy record of geomorphological, archaeological and historical data. The collapse of the Western Roman Empire (5th century AD) coincided with a progressive waterlogging of large floodplain areas. The results obtained by this research shed new light on the consequences that Post-Roman land and water management activities had on landscape evolution. In particular, the exploitation of fluvial sediments through flood management practices had the effect of reclaiming the swamps, but also altered...
Quantitative palaeodrainage analysis in the Pleistocene of the Po Plain (Italy)
2009
The Po Basin, a Pliocene marine gulf between the Alps and the Apennines, was filled progressively from west to east and finally capped by fluvial sediments during the Pleistocene. By~1.25 Ma, a meandering trunk river (paleoDora Baltea) reached westernmost Lombardia (Cilavegna); at~1 Ma, the paleoAdda, entering the plain through the Como Valley, joined the paleoTicino in the Milano area. The coastline was directed NNE/SSW, and the open sea persisted east of~10°E. Metamorphiclastic prodelta sediments of the Alpine trunk river reached central Lombardia (Pianengo) by MIS 36 and eastern Lombardia (Palosco) at MIS 31. Trunk-river delta foresets accumulated rapidly in easternmost Lombardia (Ghedi) during the Jaramillo. Fluvial sedimentation, continuous at Pianengo since MIS 28, eventually reached Ghedi at MIS 22. In this time interval, the embayment secluded between the prograding trunkriver delta and the Southalpine front was progressively filled by Southalpine fan deltas. With the onset of major Alpine glaciations in the late Matuyama, detrital supply increased markedly and fluvial deposits spread all over Lombardia. Because of outward growth of Alpine fans, the paleoDora Baltea was replaced at Cilavegna by the paleoSesia and paleoToce. Milano lay in the paleoAdda braidplain. Southalpine alluvial fans reached as far south as Pianengo. The paleoOglio glacier exited Lake Iseo at Cremignane. In the early Brunhes, accumulation rates markedly dropped in Lombardia; carbonaticlastic paleoPiave turbidites accumulated rapidly at Venezia, capped by the prograding paleoPo delta and finally by fluvial paleoBrenta-Bacchiglione deposits. Subsequently, accumulation rates decreased further, and paleosols developed during stages of prolonged exposure. The paleoTicino continued to flow southwest of Milano, where detritus from the paleoOlona is documented locally. PaleoAdda sediments were deposited at Milano and sedimentaclastic detritus at Trezzo up to a few meters from ground surface, indicating that the final shift of River Adda to the Lecco branch of Lake Como was a very recent event. The paleoOglio exited Lake Iseo in its present position. At Ghedi the paleoChiese was replaced by the paleoAdige, and finally re-established before development of a paleosol overlain by topmost Pleistocene marsh deposits (MIS 2). This study indicates new guidelines for studies of drainage evolution, and more in general of depositional architecture in foreland basins.
Medieval environmental changes and flood management in the Central Po Plain (N Italy)
Humans and environmental sustainability: Lessons from the past ecosystems of Europe and Northern Africa, 2018
The landscape development of the Central Po Plain has a long-lasting connection with human activities. After the collapse of the Roman Empire that coincides with a climate changing phase, the natural depressions on the right side of the Po River turned in vast swamp basins. This lacustrine environment characterised the landscape until the land reclamation that started in Renaissance and was completed only in 20th century AD. During the Middle Ages, humans coped with the environmental change using land and water management practices for agriculture purpose which modified the palustrine landscape. In particular, the exploitation of fluvial sediments had the effect to fill the swamps obtaining new farmland. The application of geoarchaeological tools has made possible to recognise anthropogenic landforms derived from this sustainable landscape management in the Middle Ages.
Quaternary International, 2008
The piedmont area of the River Tronto (Italy) is characterised by Pleistocene and Holocene terraces at progressive elevations a.s.l. After the formation of wide unpaired meander terraces during the Early Holocene, the river created a 20-m-deep gorge into bedrock in its inner part. In mid-valley, the thalweg progressively enlarges and the Late Pleistocene and Holocene terraces converge downstream. A wide alluvial plain was formed during braid-plain aggradation from ca. 4.3 BP, to the end of the 19th century, associated with slope erosion activated by human activities. Since the end of the 20th century, two series of artificial levees were created in order to prevent floods. Due to the reduced dimensions of the artificial river bed, floods still affect large parts of the plain after extreme events.
2021
Quaternary continental deposits record spatio-temporal changes of the landscape and offer insights for drainage network analysis and paleoenvironmental reconstructions. This paper focuses on the Turano River, a left tributary of the Velino River, which flows in the southwestern Abruzzo area at the boundary with Lazio Region. Its basin preserves lithological and morphological field evidence particularly suitable for reconstructing the long-term geomorphological evolution of the Central Apennines and the drainage network development. In detail, the Turano River was investigated through a drainage basin-scale analysis incorporating morphometric analysis, field mapping, continental deposits analysis, and integrated drainage network analysis. This approach allowed us to define a drainage network reversal process, clearly highlighted by the spatial arrangement of continental deposits, spanning from Upper Pliocene to Holocene. The results also indicated tectonic activity as the main factor...
The Upper Valdarno Basin stands out from the Neogene-Qua- ternary basins of the Northern Apennines given its outstanding fossil mammal record, good quality of natural and artificial outcrops and remarkable chronological control on the basin-fill succession. The present paper aims to summarize the stratigraphic and sedimento- logical studies focused on the Upper Valdarno Basin during the past decades, and integrate them with recent investigations. The Upper Valdarno Basin is located about 35 km SE of Florence between the Chianti Mountains and the Pratomagno Ridge. It consists of a main asymmetric tectonic depression filled with 550 m of Plio-Pleistocene fluvio-lacustrine deposits (Upper Valdarno Basin s.s.) and a minor basin known as the Palazzolo sub-basin. The Upper Valdarno Basin fill is made of three unconformity-bounded units, named Castel- nuovo dei Sabbioni (CSB), Montevarchi (VRC), Torrente Ciuffenna (UFF) synthems, whereas the Palazzolo sub-basin fill consists of the Fosso Salceto (OLC) and Torrente Ciuffenna (UFF) synthems. The Upper Valdarno Basin formed during Late Pliocene because of the tectonic damming of a northeastward flowing drainage. The early phase of basin development is recorded by the accumulation of flu- vial gravels in vallive settings, whereas the definitive of these streams damming caused the development of lacustrine conditions at about 3.1 Ma. The accumulation of deltaic sand fed from the SW margin caused the lake filling and stopped the deposition of the CSB Syn- them. Before 2.58 Ma, a tectonic phase caused uplift of the basin and partial erosion of the CSB deposits. Deposition of the lower part of the VRC Synthem occurred during a marked basin broadening and accumulation of alluvial fan successions, which were capped by aeolian-reworked alluvial sand deposited at about 2.5 Ma. At about 2.3 Ma, a new deformative phase caused further basin widen- ing, erosion along the SW margin and development of a small lake in the central areas. Deposition of the upper part of the Montevarchi Synthem started just after this tectonic phase and was characterized by development of axial fluvial drainage and marginal alluvial fans. During the Early Pleistocene (Olduvai Subchron, 1.95-1.78 Ma) a subsidence pulse promoted development of floodplain lakes and swamps in the axial part of the basin, where thick organic-rich mud were accumulated. During late Early Pleistocene the capture of the paleo-Arno River, which started to flow into the basin, caused the development of a marked unconformity. This unconformity was covered by fluvial and alluvial fan deposit in the axial part and along the margin respectively.