Chapter 6 Regional stratigraphic correlations across the Aeolian archipelago (southern Italy)

A regional framework for stratigraphic correlations in the Aeolian archipelago is provided by widespread tephra layers and Late Quaternary marine terrace deposits combined with the available radiometric ages. Several tephra layers of Campanian and Aeolian provenance extending back to c. 110 ka are reported. The most important key-beds are the Ischia Tephra (56 ka), the Grey Porri Tuffs (70–67 ka) and Lower Pollara products (27.5 ka) from Salina, the M. Guardia pyroclastics from Lipari (27–24 ka) and the Brown Tuffs from Vulcano (c.70–8 ka). Late Quaternary marine terrace deposits are recognized along the coastal slopes of most of the Aeolian archipelago. They record distinct interglacial sea-level peaks during marine isotope stages (MIS) 5 and 7 in a context of prevalent long-term crustal uplift. Key erosional unconformities bounding the terrace deposits are the F1, UI, L3 and UII (in stratigraphic order). They are the ravinement surfaces formed at the onset of MIS 7.3 (F1), MIS 5e (UI) and MIS 5c interglacial peaks (L3), and the subaerial unconformity formed during the MIS 5a sea-level fall up to the emplacement of Brown Tuffs (UII). These unconformities are important regional-scale markers for chronostratigraphic classification and correlation between distant islands of the Aeolian archipelago.