Gulf Of Salerno Research Articles

Climatic variability and anthropogenic signatures in the Gulf of Salerno (southern-eastern Tyrrhenian Sea) during the last half millennium

The high-resolution study of sediment core C90-1 m collected at the continental shelf of the Gulf of Salerno (southern Tyrrhenian Sea) provides an excellent opportunity to show paleoenvironmental changes during the last 500 years induced by natural variability and human impact. Based on 210Pb and 137Cs measurements, the sedimentation rate results 0.20 cm/year for the last 100 years. The high sampling resolution (1 cm sample spacing) of core C90-1 m, 105 cm long, provides a time resolution of approximately 5 years/cm. Quantitative changes in the planktonic and benthonic foraminiferal assemblages combined with δ18O G.ruber variations allow to identify regional climatic and oceanographic signals. A significant turnover between herbivorous and opportunistic species and carnivorous planktonic foraminifera after the Maunder event suggests changes in river runoff and/or an increase in coastal flooding events in the studied area. Variations in the microfauna since 1940 yAD document environmental changes induced by the construction of a dam in the Sele River.

Soft‐bottom macrofaunal assemblages in the Gulf of Salerno, Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy, an area affected by the invasion of the seaweed Caulerpa racemosa var. cylindracea

AbstractThe spread of the introduced chlorophyte alga Caulerpa racemosa (with its variety cylindracea) in the Mediterranean Sea has been dramatic in the past decade due to its ability to cover substantial bottom areas and modify invaded habitats. From its first appearance in the mid‐1990s, C. racemosa var. cylindracea has proliferated along the soft bottom of the Gulf of Salerno (Tyrrhenian Sea), which in its central part was largely unvegetated. A long‐term assessment of the macrofaunal assemblages from this area was conducted based on a comparison between a historical dataset of macrofaunal species and abundances obtained in 1981, before the introduction of the alga, and datasets derived from sampling performed in 2006 and 2007 at the same stations. The aim of the comparison was to explore whether a detectable change occurred in the degree of diversity and in the composition of macrofaunal assemblages and, if this occurred, whether such change could be attributed, at least in part, to the C. racemosa colonization in the area. Although overall local diversity did not change in the study area, the composition of the macrofaunal assemblages in 2006–2007 differed from that in 1981. The most conspicuous changes were a decline in infaunal bivalve molluscs and an increase of mobile epibenthic forms (notably the mollusc Nassarius pygmaeus); these may be linked to the influence of C. racemosa on sediment properties. The dominance of some species (mainly polychaetes) may be associated with other environmental factors such as the intensity of riverine inputs. The impact of the invasive alga appears to vary according to the habitat invaded.

Surface–bottom relationships in the Gulf of Salerno (Tyrrhenian Sea) over the last 34 kyr: Compositional data analysis of palaeontological proxies and geochemical evidence

The palaeontological, geochemical and mineralogical records of core GNS84-C106 were analysed in order to reconstruct palaeohydrological changes and palaeoproductivity patterns in the Gulf of Salerno for the last 34 kyr. This approach, including compositional analysis of planktonic and benthic assemblages, gave an insight into the relationships between continental, sea surface and bottom environmental changes. The main source of variability of planktonic and benthic assemblages is related respectively to sea surface temperature and palaeobathymetry. Interrelated changes in surface salinity, nutrients, density gradient in the water column and organic fluxes at the bottom act as a secondary factor controlling the composition of both planktonic and benthic assemblages. The highest palaeoproductivity rates were reached during an interval spanning from late glacial to Middle Holocene, in conditions of enhanced continental run-off. During the Early and Middle Holocene, reduced surface salinity and density stratification were also coupled with the development of a deep chlorophyll maximum and enhanced flux or organic matter at the bottom. From about 6.5 kyr B.P. onward, a sharp reduction in palaeoproductivity took place, coupled with an increase in surface salinities.

“COLATURA DI ALICI “ CETARESE: EVALUATION OF AMINIC PROFILE

“Colatura d’alici”is a speciality made in Cetara, a clear ,amber-coloured liquid that has sharp taste, prepared with the juice coming from the anchovy salting process. The anchovies are caught in the Gulf of Salerno between the mounths of March and July. The colatura is ready at the beginning of December. Histamine poisoning, a food-borne chemical intoxication caused by the consumption of food containing toxic levels of histamine, is a syndrome commonly associated with the consumption of seafood beloging to the Engraulidae and some fish families. Histamine and biogenic amine levels were determined in “colatura di alici di Cetara”. The amine was separated in a HPLC/FL system. Histamine level were lower than the law limits only in one of the examinated products. A reduction of the histamine and amine levels in colatura cetarese can be obtained using a determinate salt concentrations and changing way of seasoning.

Coupled atmospheric and marine palaeoclimatic reconstruction for the last 35 ka in the Sele Plain–Gulf of Salerno area (southern Italy)

Planktonic foraminifera and pollen data from core GNS84-C106 (Gulf of Salerno, Tyrrhenian Sea) were analysed through the Modern Analogue Technique, Constrained Cluster Analysis and relative variation biplots. A long period of mild climate, centred around 25 ka BP, is evident in both marine and continental reconstructions. The cooling phase from 17 to 14.7 ka BP, correlated to the H1 Heinrich event, is indicated by a sea surface temperature (SST) decrease, which roughly coincides with the cold-arid phase identified by annual and January temperatures. A rapid increase in atmospheric temperatures and precipitation, culminating at 13.8 ka BP, marks the BA cronozone. The corresponding increase in summer and winter SSTs, of 11 and 6.5 °C, respectively, occurred over 600 years. The beginning of the YD, centred around 12.5 ka BP, is marked by a decrease in summer and winter SSTs of, respectively, 4.5 and 3.5 °C in one century. The atmospheric evidence of the YD is primarily reflected in low January temperatures, reaching −6 °C, the lowest values ever experienced in the analysed time interval. The Late Glacial–Holocene transition is clearly recorded in both the continental and marine realms. From 11.5 to 9 ka BP, atmospheric temperatures record a period of substantial stability followed by a drop at 8.9 ka BP, which chronologically fall within the first RCC event (9–8 ka BP) of Mayewski et al. [2004. Holocene climate variability. Quaternary Research 62, 243–255], in correspondence with a phase of relatively high seasonality, indicated by foraminifera.

Revision of Chone Krøyer, 1856 (Polychaeta: Sabellidae) from the eastern central Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea with descriptions of two new species

A neotype specimen is designated for Chone acustica (Claparede, 1870) with a full description. The original descriptions of Chone arenicola Langerhans, 1880 and Chone collaris Langerhans, 1880, both from Madeira, did not include some details and incomplete or misleading information was provided, so both species are redescribed. Amendments to the description of Chone longiseta Giangrande, 1992 are also given together with the methyl green staining pattern of Chone usticensis Giangrande et al. 2006. Two new species are described: Chone gambiae sp. nov., from the Gulf of Naples and Chone dunerificta sp. nov., from the Gulf of Salerno. This study shows the distribution of Chone duneri Kroyer, 1856, and Chone filicaudata Southern, 1914, to be restricted to the Arctic seas and North Atlantic Ocean, respectively. Records from the Mediterranean Sea are found to be erroneous.

Inertial oscillations and particle flux interactions in a marine protected area in Gulf of Naples

The area between the island of Capri and Punta Campanella was investigated from June to November 2003. Punta Campanella separates the Gulf of Naples from the Gulf of Salerno and has been declared a marine protected area in 1997. The study area has a particular interesting topography, due to the presence of a sill situated at a depth of 80 m. Samples were collected by instruments carried on a mooring array (sediment trap, current meters, and temperature sensors) and by CTD cast (along transects perpendicular to the coast). We observed most important fluctuations in the temperature spectra (corresponding to the inertial oscillations period), in August. The total mass flux was 585.67 mg m−2 d−1 in the summer, while in early autumn the flux exhibited values one order of magnitude higher than in summer (1539.97 mg m−2 d−1). The main focus of this study was to understand the influence of the internal waves on the particle flux. During the autumn, in the particle flux collected, there is a strong resuspension component, and the observation that the enhanced inertial oscillations and increased sedimentation occur at the same time allows us to presume that the inertial oscillations could be one of the reasons for the resuspension process during the sampling period.

Evidence for a variable paleomagnetic lock‐in depth in the Holocene sequence from the Salerno Gulf (Italy): Implications for “high‐resolution” paleomagnetic dating

We report on a paleomagnetic and rock magnetic study of two adjacent marine gravity cores from the Salerno Gulf (Italy), with measurements carried out on u‐channel samples at 1‐cm spacing. The cores recover a sedimentary sequence spanning, in the overlapping part, the last ∼6000 years and include a thick (∼1 m) pumice layer produced during the Somma‐Vesuvius eruption of 79 A.D. Rock magnetic and lithostratigraphic data provide several tie‐points for a detailed correlation between the two cores. Paleomagnetic data allow the determination of a well‐defined characteristic remanent magnetization, with very similar stratigraphic trends and distinct features that can also be unambiguously correlated between the cores. However, the comparison of the various data sets points out that the paleomagnetic lock‐in depth in the two adjacent cores varies through the stratigraphic succession. We discuss the implication of such results for assessing the potential of high‐resolution paleomagnetic studies in dating sedimentary sequences on the basis of paleosecular variation of the geomagnetic field. In the studied case, the relative difference in the lock‐in depth in the two cores causes “spreading” of the assigned paleomagnetic ages at a century scale.

Mineralogy and geochemistry of a marine sequence, Gulf of Salerno, Italy

Within the context of a multidisciplinary study aiming at the paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic reconstruction in the last 28,000 yr of the southern Tyrrhenian Sea (west Mediterranean area), geochemical and mineralogical investigations were performed on sea sediments of a 6.17 m long core, collected in the Gulf of Salerno, southern Italy (14°42′24″ E; 40°28′92″ N), at 292 m bsl. The mineralogy of the sedimentary sequence was controlled by climatic changes, fluvial discharge processes and hydrodynamic conditions that occurred in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea during the last glacial–post-glacial transition. Notable was the occurrence of detrital mineral phases (quartz, calcite, dolomite, clay minerals, volcanic glass, pumice, sanidine, clinopyroxene, biotite and leucite,) in response to terrigenous input through intensive periods of precipitation/runoff and Sele river discharge. Changes in the clay mineral assemblage during the Holocene (from 9500 to 6000 yr BP) indicate increasing precipitation in the source area. Pyrite and barite crystallization, related to biogeochemical cycles, were found to affect chemical conditions of the sedimentary environment. Irregular crystals of analcime were produced by alteration of the AD 79 Vesuvius eruption pumice. The distribution of major and trace elements between stratigraphic layers was influenced by mineralogy. Concentrations of redox sensitive elements (Fe, Mn, Zn, Ni, Cu) largely depended on organic matter and sulphur, whereas for most of the others a key role was played by clay minerals. Enhanced Ba content was found at the 320 and 160 cm levels. Increased Pb content was observed at the surface. BCR sequential extraction showed that Cu and Pb in the sediments were prevalently associated with oxidizable components, primarily sulphides. Zn, Ni and Mn were strongly bound to residual mineral phases, likely of volcanic origin. Fe was found mainly associated with easily reducible oxide phases, and as pyrite.

High-resolution petrophysical and palaeomagnetic study of late-Holocene shelf sediments, Salerno Gulf, Tyrrhenian Sea

Records of geomagnetic secular variation have been obtained from three cores recovered from the Salerno Gulf (southern Italy). High-resolution petrophysical and palaeomagnetic measurements enabled the reconstruction of a composite curve of geomagnetic palaeosecular variation (PSV), which is compared with the reconstructed PSV curve from Britain and with the French archaeomagnetic data of the last 2.1ka. The good agreement of the Salerno Gulf record with the above data conforms that our PSV record reaches back for some 9.0ka. In addition to a thick pumice layer originated during the Somma-Vesuvius eruption at 79, two other tephra layers were recognized, at about 1.3 and 3.0ka BP, that are probably also of Vesuvian origin. The comparison provides an initial chronological framework for assessing the increasing trend of sedimentation rate and its significant changes at about 2.7ka and 7.0ka BP. This variation in the deposition rate suggests a link with climatic changes recognized in the Mediterranean region.

Screening a coastal population in Southern Italy: iodine deficiency and prevalence of goitre, nutritional aspects and cardiovascular risk factors

To evaluate the prevalence of goitre by means of urinary iodine excretion, palpatory and ultrasonographic thyroid examinations in a heterogeneous population living by the sea. We used a special self-administered questionnaire to evaluate thyroid size, iodine intake, eating habits and cardiovascular risk factors in 600 subjects with a mean age of 45 +/- 17 years: 253 men (42.3%) and 347 women (57.7%). Urinary iodine excretion was low (72.1 +/- 15.7 microg/L; median 71.2) and associated with ultrasonographic evidence of an enlarged thyroid (16%) or structural thyroid abnormalities (30%), thus allowing us to define the Salerno Gulf as a mild-moderate area of endemic goitre. All of the subjects ate a Mediterranean diet, with a mean of two portions of fish/week. The cardiovascular risk factors considered were obesity, cigarette smoking, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia and diabetes, the prevalences of which were in line with those reported in other studies of similar age-matched populations. The moderate intake of fish and the consumption of a Mediterranean diet did not prevent goitre. Iodine deficiency and subsequent goitre endemia are also present at sea level, probably because of a diet based on local products grown on soil with a low iodine content or possible seawater, soil and air environmental pollution that may interfere with the availability of iodine. The assessment of iodine deficiency should therefore involve the entire population and not only subjects living far from the sea.

Insights into Late Quaternary calcareous nannoplankton assemblages under the theory of statistical analysis for compositional data

The investigation of changes in abundance of calcareous nannofossil associations is fundamental for palaeoclimatic and palaeoceanographic reconstructions. In general, since the number of recognised species is high, the numerical and graphical treatments of the data play an important role to validate hypotheses about the influence of physico–chemical factors on the quality of past environments, as reflected by changes in abundance. Moreover, the application of multivariate procedures may be useful for improving interpretation of the overall data structure. Calcareous nannofossil associations analysed in this work are related to core GNS84-C106 collected in the Gulf of Salerno (Campania, southern Italy) under a national interdisciplinary research programme aimed at recognising the impact of natural events on biological communities during the last 20 kyr. Biplot analysis of compositional data was applied to indicate the presence of subcompositions or, in other words, to identify strong relationships among a limited number of species that can be interpreted from a palaeoenvironmental point of view. This investigation was followed by the application of simplicial principal component analysis with the aim of determining, from a numerical point of view, the laws for describing and modelling the behaviour of the species involved in these subcompositions. In this work, all statistical methods were applied by taking rigorously into account the sample space of compositional data (i.e. data matrices whose rows sum to 100%). From a general point of view, the results obtained, related to the detection of new parameters to be used for monitoring the quality of the past environment, have encouraged us to promote the application of statistical methodologies that take into account the correct sample space for compositional data. In this context, inferential applications and modelling can be developed under a correct theoretical framework.

Reconstruction of Late Pleistocene–Holocene palaeobathymetries from Ostracoda on the Tyrrhenian continental shelf

Quantitative analyses of ostracod assemblages from three cores recovered on the Tyrrhenian shelf (Gaeta and Salerno Gulfs) have been applied to construct palaeobathymetric curves. Palaeoclimatic curves obtained from planktonic foraminifera, calcareous nanoplankton, pteropods and pollen are available for the same cores, in addition to sedimentological, mineralogical, geochemical (δ 18O, 14C, C/N, CaCO 3) and volcanological data with regard to the two cores from the Salerno Gulf. The palaeobathymetric curves reflect the climatic events through the Late Pleistocene–Holocene interval. The climatic events of the Last Glacial (and within it, the Last Glacial Maximum), the Late Glacial (with Oldest Dryas, Bølling-Allerød, Younger Dryas events) and Postglacial have been recognised. The palaeobathymetric curves are also in agreement with palaeoclimatic curves of planktonic assemblages and pollen.

A high resolution record of the last deglaciation in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea: environmental and climatic evolution

A multidisciplinary study was carried out on core C106 collected in the Salerno Gulf (southern Tyrrhenian Sea). Two tephra layers recovered in the core, δ 18O record of Globigerinoides ruber and Globigerina bulloides and seven 14C calibrated ages provided the stratigraphic framework. The core sediments cover the last 28 kyr BP. Seismo-stratigraphic analysis of a high resolution acoustic profile, integrated by the dated core samples, allowed us to reconstruct the architecture and age of sedimentary bodies on the continental shelf. An integrated study based on different taxonomic groups (nannofossils, pteropods, foraminifera, and palynomorphs) provided palaeoclimatic trends, in agreement with changes in the isotopic composition of oxygen. The upper part of the Last Glacial period, the deglaciation phase and the Holocene were identified. Correlation between marine and continental records of palaeoenvironmental changes confirms a similar reconstruction of the last deglaciation as in the central and southern Mediterranean Sea. The Late Pleistocene–Holocene boundary was recognised at about 11.7 kyr BP. Between about 9.5 and 6 kyr BP and at 3.3 kyr BP some warmer episodes were recorded. The measured lower isotopic values, together with some features of the fossil assemblages recorded from 9.5 to 6 kyr BP, may be related to the oceanographic setting that led to the deposition of Sapropel S1 in the Mediterranean basin.

Centennial Changes in the Near‐Shore Mysid Fauna of the Gulf of Naples (Mediterranean Sea), with Description of Heteromysis riedli sp. n. (Crustacea, Mysidacea)

Abstract. The marine mysid fauna of the Gulf of Naples is the best known in the Mediterranean, dating back to faunal lists and revisions given by founder authors in 1877 – 1929. Up to 1930, a total of 21 (currently valid) benthopelagic and benthic coastal species were recorded. The new census in 1975 – 2000 yielded no species in brackish and freshwaters (salinity range 0 – 30), only one species in mixoeuhaline waters (30 – 39), and 39 species in fully marine near‐shore waters (36 – 38). Most species were restricted to islands and submarine banks as hotspots of biodiversity, while only four species were also found along the more intensively urbanized continental coasts of the gulf. Compared with the situation in the 19th century, two marine species, Acanthomysis longicornis and Mysidopsis angusta, have disappeared from the Gulf of Naples, while still present in the less urbanized and largely oligotrophic Gulf of Salerno. The numbers of known euthalassobiontic species decreased in the ‘continental’ Gulf of Naples, but increased in the ‘insular’ gulf.Local population extinctions are related mainly to human impact on freshwater input into shallow coastal waters. Urbanization processes favoured the disappearance of brackish and freshwaters from the surface (through drainage and canalization) and the deterioration (through urban and industrial pollution) of the remaining ones, resulting in eutrophication of coastal waters and in impoverishment of the benthos, such as the visible regression of seagrasses. Increased species numbers in the ‘insular’ gulf reflect the lower degree of urbanization in the less polluted peripheral zones and the increased use of more specific sampling methods in combination with improved knowledge of mysid biology.With the use of epibenthic nets during the day and at night, Heteromysis (Heteromysis) riedli sp. n. was sampled from Posidonia oceanica meadows on the Island of ­Ischia. The males of the new species are exceptional in having a pair of modified, backwards‐oriented, flagellate setae terminally on the antennular trunc, while the females show only the usual forwards‐oriented, smooth setae in this position.

Voltammetric and Spectroscopic Determination of Toxic Metals in Sediments and Sea Water of Salerno Gulf

In this present work the distribution of heavy metals in sea water and sediments of the Salerno Gulf is measured. The elements determined were Cu, Pb, Cd, Zn and Hg, employing, as instrumental techniques, either differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV) or graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy (GFAAS). A comparison of the results of the two analytical techniques is also made. Mercury determination was carried out employing the cold vapour atomic absorption spectroscopy (CVAAS) technique, with SnCl2 as the reducing agent. The sample digestion was performed by a new procedure using concentrated suprapure H2SO4–K2Cr2O7 mixture. The accuracy and precision of the analytical procedure were evaluated employing Sea Water BCR-CRM 403 and Estuarine Sediment BCR-CRM 277 as reference materials. Accuracy, expressed as relative error e and precision, expressed as relative standard deviation sr, were in order of 2 to 5%. For both matrices, the detection limits, for all the elements, were in the range μg g-1 to ng g-1.

Structural settings of the carbonatic "basament" and its relationship with magma uprising in the gulf of Naples (Southern Italy)

The carbonatic "basement" of the Gulf of Naples, a peri-tyrrhenian basin located on the western side of the Southern Apenninic chain, was studied in detail by means of seismic reflection profiles both on the mainland and in the sea. The carbonatic "basement" dips toward the north-west with an angle of 100 and is affected by brittle extensional tectonics. This structural setting is related to the extension of the Tyrrhenian Sea, which caused the development of horst and graben-like structure along the western margin of the Apennines. Some normal faults with a regional relevance were recognised: 1 ) a N 110° trending fault responsible for the sinking of the carbonic "basement" below Mount Somma-Vesuvius; 2) a N 1O° trending fault, along which five sub- marine volcanoes are aligned; 3) a N70° fault, which separates the Gulf of Naples from the Gulf of Salerno. The first two faults, arranged radially with respect to the shallow magmatic chamber of Phlegraean Fields, are interpreted as the main uprising route for magma in this area. The carbonatic "basement"cannot be recognized in seismic profiles in the Phlegraean area; a tectonic feature responsible for this is hypothesised.

Responses of meiobenthic communities along a gradient of sewage pollution

The composition of meiofauna along an organic pollution gradient in the Gulf of Salerno (Italy) was studied. Sediment samples for meiofauna and physicochemical parameters (Redox potential, particulate organic carbon, chlorophyll a, and phaeopigments) were collected quarterly at various distances from a sewage outfall. Results of the environmental analyses show the increasingly stressed conditions towards the outfall. Meiofaunal data show that nematodes increase in abundance along a gradient of increasing organic enrichment until the environmental conditions excessively deteriorate in the immediate vicinity of the sewage outfall, where this taxon is absent. Interstitial (mesobenthic) and epi-endobenthic copepods show a differential response: mesobenthic forms, totally absent within 50 m from the outfall, gradually enhance their numbers moving away from the pollution source; while the epi-endobenthic copepods increase in abundance along a gradient of increasing organic enrichment, reaching the highest densities in proximity of the sewage outfall.