Emergence of a submarine canyon, Crotone Basin, southern Italy

Abstract

Abstract The Serra Mulara canyon is a middle Pleistocene submarine canyon developed along the Ionian coast of Calabria, southern Italy, now exposed on land due to the long-term regional uplift of the area. New data have allowed recognizing three depositional sequences in the upper part of the succession, probably glacio-eustatic in origin, documenting an evolution of depositional systems that reflect the emergence of the canyon. Sequence 1 shows a rapid shift from turbidites and hemipelagites accumulated in the upper part of the canyon fill to forced regressive deltaic deposits, which reflect a marked shallowing of the area. Sequence 2 consists of estuarine transgressive and deltaic highstand deposits, whereas Sequence 3 is fully composed of fluvial deposits, testifying the emergence of the area. The upper part of the Serra Mulara succession is an useful example showing the transition from submarine canyon to continental settings, a situation that is not adequately documented in the literature, and is also relevant to better reconstruct the timing of the uplift of this part of Calabria.