Millennial variability of rates of sea-level rise in the ancient harbour of Naples (Italy, western Mediterranean Sea)

Matteo Vacchi; Elda Russo Ermolli; Christophe Morhange; Maria R. Ruello; Valentino Di Donato; Mauro A. Di Vito; Daniela Giampaola; Vittoria Carsana; Viviana Liuzza; Aldo Cinque; Giulia Boetto; Pierre Poveda; Giuliana Boenzi; Nick Marriner

doi:10.1017/qua.2019.60

Millennial variability of rates of sea-level rise in the ancient harbour of Naples (Italy, western Mediterranean Sea)

Matteo Vacchi, Elda Russo Ermolli, Christophe Morhange, Maria R. Ruello, Valentino Di Donato, Mauro A. Di Vito, Daniela Giampaola, Vittoria Carsana, Viviana Liuzza, Aldo Cinque, Giulia Boetto, Pierre Poveda, Giuliana Boenzi, Nick Marriner

Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

We reconstructed the late Holocene relative sea-level (RSL) evolution of the ancient harbour of Naples, one of the largest coastal conurbations in the Mediterranean. We carried out multiproxy investigations, coupling archaeological evidence with biological indicators. Our data robustly constrain 2000 yr of non-monotonic changes in sea level, chiefly controlled by the complex volcano-tectonic processes that characterize the area. Between ∼200 BC and AD ∼0, a subsidence rate of more than ∼1.5 mm/yr enhanced the postglacial RSL rise, while negligible or moderate land uplift < ∼0.5 mm/yr triggered a RSL stabilization during the Roman period (first five centuries AD). This stabilization was followed by a post-Roman enhancement of the sea-level rise when ground motion was negative, attested by a subsidence rate of ∼0.5 to ∼1 mm/yr. Our analysis seems to indicate very minor impacts of this nonmonotonic RSL evolution on the activities of the ancient harbour of Naples, which peaked from the third century BC to the second century AD. After this period, the progressive silting of the harbour basin made it impossible to safely navigate within the basin, leading to the progressive decline of the harbour.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	284-298
Number of pages	15
Journal	Quaternary Research
Volume	93
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2019.60
State	Published - 1 Jan 2020

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This article is dedicated to the memory of our friend and colleague Paola Romano who significantly investigated the coastal evolution of Naples in recent years. MV is funded by the Rita Levi Montalcini programme of the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MIUR). CM and MV thank the Labex OT-Med (ANR- 11-LABX-0061) and the A*MIDEX project (ANR-11-IDEX-0001-02). Our study is a contribution to the MOPP-Medflood (INQUA CMP 1603P) and HOLSEA (INQUA CMP 1601P) projects. We also extend our gratitude to the PALSEA 2 (PAGES/INQUA/WUN working group) and IGCP Project 639 communities for fruitful discussions during the workshops. We warmly thank Carlo Nike Bianchi and Carla Morri (DISTAV, University of Genova, Italy) who helped us with the identification of the fossil benthic species. Finally, we thank two anonymous reviewers and the associate editor Barbara Mauz who greatly improved the early version of the manuscript.

Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright University of Washington. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2019.

Keywords

Ancient harbours
Geo-archeology
Mediterranean Sea
Naples
Parthenope-Neapolis
Sea-level changes
Volcano-tectonics

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
Earth-Surface Processes
Earth and Planetary Sciences (all)

Access to Document

10.1017/qua.2019.60

Cite this

Vacchi, M., Russo Ermolli, E., Morhange, C., Ruello, M. R., Di Donato, V., Di Vito, M. A., Giampaola, D., Carsana, V., Liuzza, V., Cinque, A., Boetto, G., Poveda, P., Boenzi, G., & Marriner, N. (2020). Millennial variability of rates of sea-level rise in the ancient harbour of Naples (Italy, western Mediterranean Sea). Quaternary Research, 93(1), 284-298. https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2019.60

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title = "Millennial variability of rates of sea-level rise in the ancient harbour of Naples (Italy, western Mediterranean Sea)",

abstract = "We reconstructed the late Holocene relative sea-level (RSL) evolution of the ancient harbour of Naples, one of the largest coastal conurbations in the Mediterranean. We carried out multiproxy investigations, coupling archaeological evidence with biological indicators. Our data robustly constrain 2000 yr of non-monotonic changes in sea level, chiefly controlled by the complex volcano-tectonic processes that characterize the area. Between ∼200 BC and AD ∼0, a subsidence rate of more than ∼1.5 mm/yr enhanced the postglacial RSL rise, while negligible or moderate land uplift < ∼0.5 mm/yr triggered a RSL stabilization during the Roman period (first five centuries AD). This stabilization was followed by a post-Roman enhancement of the sea-level rise when ground motion was negative, attested by a subsidence rate of ∼0.5 to ∼1 mm/yr. Our analysis seems to indicate very minor impacts of this nonmonotonic RSL evolution on the activities of the ancient harbour of Naples, which peaked from the third century BC to the second century AD. After this period, the progressive silting of the harbour basin made it impossible to safely navigate within the basin, leading to the progressive decline of the harbour.",

keywords = "Ancient harbours, Geo-archeology, Mediterranean Sea, Naples, Parthenope-Neapolis, Sea-level changes, Volcano-tectonics",

author = "Matteo Vacchi and {Russo Ermolli}, Elda and Christophe Morhange and Ruello, {Maria R.} and {Di Donato}, Valentino and {Di Vito}, {Mauro A.} and Daniela Giampaola and Vittoria Carsana and Viviana Liuzza and Aldo Cinque and Giulia Boetto and Pierre Poveda and Giuliana Boenzi and Nick Marriner",

note = "Funding Information: This article is dedicated to the memory of our friend and colleague Paola Romano who significantly investigated the coastal evolution of Naples in recent years. MV is funded by the Rita Levi Montalcini programme of the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MIUR). CM and MV thank the Labex OT-Med (ANR- 11-LABX-0061) and the A*MIDEX project (ANR-11-IDEX-0001-02). Our study is a contribution to the MOPP-Medflood (INQUA CMP 1603P) and HOLSEA (INQUA CMP 1601P) projects. We also extend our gratitude to the PALSEA 2 (PAGES/INQUA/WUN working group) and IGCP Project 639 communities for fruitful discussions during the workshops. We warmly thank Carlo Nike Bianchi and Carla Morri (DISTAV, University of Genova, Italy) who helped us with the identification of the fossil benthic species. Finally, we thank two anonymous reviewers and the associate editor Barbara Mauz who greatly improved the early version of the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} Copyright University of Washington. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2019.",

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Vacchi, M, Russo Ermolli, E, Morhange, C, Ruello, MR, Di Donato, V, Di Vito, MA, Giampaola, D, Carsana, V, Liuzza, V, Cinque, A, Boetto, G, Poveda, P, Boenzi, G & Marriner, N 2020, 'Millennial variability of rates of sea-level rise in the ancient harbour of Naples (Italy, western Mediterranean Sea)', Quaternary Research, vol. 93, no. 1, pp. 284-298. https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2019.60

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T1 - Millennial variability of rates of sea-level rise in the ancient harbour of Naples (Italy, western Mediterranean Sea)

AU - Vacchi, Matteo

AU - Russo Ermolli, Elda

AU - Morhange, Christophe

AU - Ruello, Maria R.

AU - Di Donato, Valentino

AU - Di Vito, Mauro A.

AU - Giampaola, Daniela

AU - Carsana, Vittoria

AU - Liuzza, Viviana

AU - Cinque, Aldo

AU - Boetto, Giulia

AU - Poveda, Pierre

AU - Boenzi, Giuliana

AU - Marriner, Nick

N1 - Funding Information: This article is dedicated to the memory of our friend and colleague Paola Romano who significantly investigated the coastal evolution of Naples in recent years. MV is funded by the Rita Levi Montalcini programme of the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MIUR). CM and MV thank the Labex OT-Med (ANR- 11-LABX-0061) and the A*MIDEX project (ANR-11-IDEX-0001-02). Our study is a contribution to the MOPP-Medflood (INQUA CMP 1603P) and HOLSEA (INQUA CMP 1601P) projects. We also extend our gratitude to the PALSEA 2 (PAGES/INQUA/WUN working group) and IGCP Project 639 communities for fruitful discussions during the workshops. We warmly thank Carlo Nike Bianchi and Carla Morri (DISTAV, University of Genova, Italy) who helped us with the identification of the fossil benthic species. Finally, we thank two anonymous reviewers and the associate editor Barbara Mauz who greatly improved the early version of the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: © Copyright University of Washington. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2019.

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N2 - We reconstructed the late Holocene relative sea-level (RSL) evolution of the ancient harbour of Naples, one of the largest coastal conurbations in the Mediterranean. We carried out multiproxy investigations, coupling archaeological evidence with biological indicators. Our data robustly constrain 2000 yr of non-monotonic changes in sea level, chiefly controlled by the complex volcano-tectonic processes that characterize the area. Between ∼200 BC and AD ∼0, a subsidence rate of more than ∼1.5 mm/yr enhanced the postglacial RSL rise, while negligible or moderate land uplift < ∼0.5 mm/yr triggered a RSL stabilization during the Roman period (first five centuries AD). This stabilization was followed by a post-Roman enhancement of the sea-level rise when ground motion was negative, attested by a subsidence rate of ∼0.5 to ∼1 mm/yr. Our analysis seems to indicate very minor impacts of this nonmonotonic RSL evolution on the activities of the ancient harbour of Naples, which peaked from the third century BC to the second century AD. After this period, the progressive silting of the harbour basin made it impossible to safely navigate within the basin, leading to the progressive decline of the harbour.

AB - We reconstructed the late Holocene relative sea-level (RSL) evolution of the ancient harbour of Naples, one of the largest coastal conurbations in the Mediterranean. We carried out multiproxy investigations, coupling archaeological evidence with biological indicators. Our data robustly constrain 2000 yr of non-monotonic changes in sea level, chiefly controlled by the complex volcano-tectonic processes that characterize the area. Between ∼200 BC and AD ∼0, a subsidence rate of more than ∼1.5 mm/yr enhanced the postglacial RSL rise, while negligible or moderate land uplift < ∼0.5 mm/yr triggered a RSL stabilization during the Roman period (first five centuries AD). This stabilization was followed by a post-Roman enhancement of the sea-level rise when ground motion was negative, attested by a subsidence rate of ∼0.5 to ∼1 mm/yr. Our analysis seems to indicate very minor impacts of this nonmonotonic RSL evolution on the activities of the ancient harbour of Naples, which peaked from the third century BC to the second century AD. After this period, the progressive silting of the harbour basin made it impossible to safely navigate within the basin, leading to the progressive decline of the harbour.

KW - Ancient harbours

KW - Geo-archeology

KW - Mediterranean Sea

KW - Naples

KW - Parthenope-Neapolis

KW - Sea-level changes

KW - Volcano-tectonics

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Millennial variability of rates of sea-level rise in the ancient harbour of Naples (Italy, western Mediterranean Sea)

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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