Late Quaternary tephra-derived paleosols in central Italy's carbonate Apennine Range: Stratigraphical and paleoclimatological implications

Detailed stratigraphical, pedological, and geochronological (14C dating) research was carried out on numerous sections located in the carbonate Apennine Range of central Italy. Two paleosols, Late Pleistocene (Pedomarker A) and Holocene (Pedomarker B) in age, were recognized as having developed from air-fall pyroclastic material. Given their special properties and widespread distribution, both soils represent valuable markers in the Late Quaternary stratigraphy of central Italy. Information about the climatic conditions that have influenced their pedogenesis through time has been obtained. Pedomarker A formed under temperate-wet conditions related to the last interstadial fluctuations of the Pleniglacial; its development ceased after ca. 30 ka because of the onset of Last Glacial Maximum dry-cold conditions. Pedomarker B formed at the beginning of the Holocene under udic and perudic soil moisture regimes; its development ceased in some localities because of a change towards a drier climate after ca. 4.5 ka. Petrographic and geochemical characteristics of the parent materials are discussed, and correlations with the Campanian Ignimbrite (Pedomarker A) and Neapolitan Yellow Tuff (Pedomarker B), both related to activity in the Phlegrean Fields, are proposed. Copyright © 1996 INQUA/ Elsevier Science Ltd.