Interaction between Physical and Biological Processes in Shallow-Sea Environments: Present vs Past Case Studies

A special issue of Geosciences (ISSN 2076-3263). This special issue belongs to the section "Biogeosciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 August 2021) | Viewed by 8435

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Earth and Geoenvironmental Sciences, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, Campus Universitario, Via Orabona 4, 70124 Bari, Italy
Interests: sedimentology; sedimentary geology; sedimentology of terrigenous deposits; geobiology; environmental geology

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Guest Editor
Istituto di Geoscienze e Georisorse, CNR, via G. Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Interests: carbonate sedimentology; carbonate facies; carbon isotope stratigraphy; paleoceanography

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Issue aims to highlight the complex interplay among biological and physical dynamics which concur in controlling the development of shallow marine systems, as well as their potential flourishing or demise. Shallow-sea environments typically show variable hydrodynamic and biological factors which interact at various scales of time and space, influencing or driving the arrangement of ancient marine deposits. At present, the global warming effects and the direct human impacts are concentrated along coastal areas, causing multiple stresses (sea-level rise, increase of extreme events, potential acidification, pollution, exploitation of marine biological resources) and inducing sudden changes in the littoral biological and sedimentary systems.

Contributions by clastic and carbonate sedimentologists, ecologists, and biogeoscientists that focus on these complex dynamics are the most welcome for this Issue. Studies on ancient shallow-sea successions, present-day examples, and numerical-analogical approaches are encouraged, as are interdisciplinary contributions.

Dr. Stefania Nunzia Lisco
Dr. Irene Cornacchia
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • Shallow marine environments
  • Bioconstructions
  • Carbonate-producing biota
  • Facies mosaic
  • Carbonate platforms
  • Climate change
  • Coasts
  • Modern marine systems
  • Sea-level changes

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 2913 KiB  
Article
Sabellaria alveolata versus Sabellaria spinulosa Reefs along the Italian Coasts: A New Methodological Proposal to Compare Different Growth Models
by Stefania Nunzia Lisco, Cataldo Pierri, Tamara Lazic, Andrea Bonifazi, Maria Flavia Gravina, Adriana Giangrande, Pasquale Acquafredda and Massimo Moretti
Geosciences 2021, 11(10), 426; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences11100426 - 15 Oct 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2155
Abstract
Sabellaria species are among the most important frame-builders in temperate, shallow marine areas. These polychaetes are suspension feeders able to build bioconstructions using sand and shell fragments cemented with a sticky mucous. Such feature makes these invertebrates “unusual bioconstructors”, as they do not [...] Read more.
Sabellaria species are among the most important frame-builders in temperate, shallow marine areas. These polychaetes are suspension feeders able to build bioconstructions using sand and shell fragments cemented with a sticky mucous. Such feature makes these invertebrates “unusual bioconstructors”, as they do not produce calcium carbonate. Sabellaridae reefs are widespread in the Mediterranean and along the Atlantic coast of Europe, but their sedimentological aspects are still poorly known. Over short time intervals, these bioconstructions can rapidly alternate between phases of growth, stasis and destruction during different seasons. In this paper, we compare reefs of two Sabellaria species (S. alveolata—Ostia, Roma and Tyrrhenian Sea; S. spinulosa—Torre Mileto, Foggia and Adriatic Sea) found at two different sites along the Italian coast. We describe the morphology of worm tubes at the macro- and microscale. Similarities and differences are discussed based on eco-biological features and physical environmental conditions. This work shows a measurement and observation scheme for this type of bioconstructions that has been verified at both the macro- and microscale and which was shown to be useful for defining evolutionary trends of sabellarian bioconstructions. The monitoring parameters were identified and verified over a long period. Full article
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20 pages, 4916 KiB  
Article
Benthic Foraminiferal Response to Sedimentary Processes in a Prodeltaic Environment: The Gulf of Patti Case Study (Southeastern Tyrrhenian Sea)
by Letizia Di Bella, Martina Pierdomenico, Cristiano Bove, Daniele Casalbore and Domenico Ridente
Geosciences 2021, 11(5), 220; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences11050220 - 19 May 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2681
Abstract
Analyses of benthic foraminiferal assemblages were carried out on sediment samples collected in the Gulf of Patti (NE Sicily, Tyrrhenian Sea), where high sedimentation rates in front of the Mazzarrà River led to the growth of a prodelta. The frequency of riverine sedimentary [...] Read more.
Analyses of benthic foraminiferal assemblages were carried out on sediment samples collected in the Gulf of Patti (NE Sicily, Tyrrhenian Sea), where high sedimentation rates in front of the Mazzarrà River led to the growth of a prodelta. The frequency of riverine sedimentary fluxes is testified by the widespread occurrence of erosional and depositional bedforms indicative of high-energy processes on the prodelta slope.The frequency of riverine sedimentary fluxes suggests the widespread occurrence of erosional and depositional bedforms indicative of high-energy processes on the prodelta slope. The study aimed to assess the spatial distribution of benthic foraminiferal assemblages and sediment grain size along different sectors of this prodelta to define any relationship between the foraminiferal assemblages, the environmental gradients and the sedimentary processes. In particular, we focused on the role of the highly energetic impulsive torrential inputs that dominate the depositional environment and likely affect food supply and its control on the foraminiferal density and biodiversity. The dominance of opportunistic agglutinated taxa associated with hyaline eutrophic species is a distinctive character likely related to organic matter enrichment and physical disturbance associated with inputs from torrential rivers. Full article
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21 pages, 6318 KiB  
Article
Benthic Foraminiferal Assemblages and Rhodolith Facies Evolution in Post-LGM Sediments from the Pontine Archipelago Shelf (Central Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy)
by Virgilio Frezza, Letizia Argenti, Andrea Bonifazi, Francesco L. Chiocci, Letizia Di Bella, Michela Ingrassia and Eleonora Martorelli
Geosciences 2021, 11(4), 179; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences11040179 - 16 Apr 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2598
Abstract
The seabed of the Pontine Archipelago (Tyrrhenian Sea) insular shelf is peculiar as it is characterized by a mixed siliciclastic–carbonate sedimentation. In order to reconstruct the Late Quaternary paleoenvironmental evolution of the Pontine Archipelago, this study investigates the succession of facies recorded by [...] Read more.
The seabed of the Pontine Archipelago (Tyrrhenian Sea) insular shelf is peculiar as it is characterized by a mixed siliciclastic–carbonate sedimentation. In order to reconstruct the Late Quaternary paleoenvironmental evolution of the Pontine Archipelago, this study investigates the succession of facies recorded by two sediment cores. For this purpose, benthic foraminifera and rhodoliths assemblages were considered. The two cores (post-Last Glacial Maximum in age) were collected at 60 (CS1) and 122 m (Caro1) depth on the insular shelf off Ponza Island. The paleontological data were compared with seismo-stratigraphic and lithological evidence. The cores show a deepening succession, with a transition from a basal rhodolith-rich biodetritic coarse sand to the surface coralline-barren silty sand. This transition is more evident along core Caro1 (from the bottom to the top), collected at a deeper water depth than CS1. In support of this evidence, along Caro1 was recorded a fairly constant increase in the amount of planktonic foraminiferal and a marked change in benthic foraminiferal assemblages (from Asterigerinata mamilla and Lobatula lobatula assemblage to Cassidulina carinata assemblage). Interestingly, the dating of the Caro1 bottom allowed us to extend to more than 13,000 years BP the rhodolith record in the Pontine Archipelago, indicating the possible presence of an active carbonate factory at that time. Full article
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