For the first time, we here report trace fossils of dung beetle brood balls (Coprinisphaera ichnogenus) in late Pleistocene sediments from Somalia. The sediments containing these traces represent a lagoonal sedimentary sequence, cropping out along some quarry walls in the outskirts of the Kisimayo town. The terrestrial ichnofossils are accompanied by some shells of the giant land snail Achatina, which confirms the subaerial exposure. Indeed, the rock, generally strongly weathered, shows a texture of a foraminiferal packstone-grainstone, rich in bivalve and gastropod molds, of marine origin. The related facies stack is indicative of a period of environmental changes, which took place in a sheltered shallow water coastal area of a tropical carbonate shelf. For a short time, due to a slight lowering in sea-level, this lagoonal area experienced subaerial conditions with accumulation of wave- and wind-driven marine sand in a backshore zone, so allowing the development of environmental conditions suitable for the appearance of terrestrial trace fossils and Achatina. The discovery of Coprinisphaera represents one of the rare African records of the ichnogenus; it is also a unique example for the Indian Ocean's African coast of a terrestrial episode being found within a lagoonal sequence.

Le attività svolte da parte dell'Istituto di Geologia Ambientale e Geoingegneria del CNR per il Dipartimento della Protezione Civile nelle aree delle Regioni Abruzzo, Lazio, Marche e Umbria interessate dagli eventi sismici a partire dal 24 agosto 2016, sono state definite all'interno dell'Accordo stipulato in data 17 maggio 2017 tra la Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri - Dipartimento della Protezione Civile e il Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Istituto di Geologia Ambientale e Geoingegneria (Prot. CNR IGAG 0001484 del 17/05/2017). In tale Accordo è stato stabilito che l'IGAG, in quanto Centro di Competenza (CdC) del Dipartimento, fornirà un supporto al Dipartimento della Protezione Civile nell'esecuzione delle seguenti attività: A) supporto alle attività della Direzione di Comando e Controllo (Di.Coma.C) di Rieti e della Struttura di Missione; B) acquisizioni ed elaborazioni propedeutiche alla microzonazione sismica delle aree colpite dal sisma del 24 agosto 2016. Riguardo al punto A, il personale del CNR IGAG ha svolto il coordinamento delle attività CNR, attraverso la partecipazione ai briefing quotidiani e la partecipazione alle riunioni operative in supporto alla Funzione Tecnica di Valutazione e Pianificazione. Inoltre, ha svolto attività di supporto a tale Funzione per la verifica delle condizioni geologiche e idrogeologiche di versanti e di siti di interesse per la collocazione di strutture temporanee e coordinamento delle attività richieste al Centro di Competenza CNR IGAG. Per le attività presenti al punto B, il personale del CNR IGAG ha svolto attività di acquisizione di dati geologici e geofisici nella macroarea di Amatrice e ha coordinato l'attività svolta da Enti e Università per la maggior parte afferenti al CentroMS nelle macroaree di Arquata del Tronto-Montegallo, Santa Lucia Capitignano e Norcia San Pellegrino. Per ognuna di queste macroaree sono stati acquisiti dati di tipo geologico e geofisico e prodotte cartografie tematiche. Per la gestione dei dati acquisiti e la loro condivisione tra i diversi gruppi di lavoro, è stato predisposto un sito FTP e realizzato un WebGIS di lavoro (WebEQ2016). Per lo svolgimento di quanto previsto dall'Accordo tra il DPC e il CNR IGAG, questo Istituto ha stipulato specifiche convenzioni con Enti e Università.

A classification of depositional environments of the Lamu Archipelago is proposed based on a sedimentary facies analysis of unconsolidated and hard bottoms of the study area. The genesis of the siliciclastic-carbonate depositional pattern, typical of this East African region, is closely related both to the presence of a quartz-dominate Pleistocene riverine net--flooded during the Holocene sea level rise--and to the coeval development on the shallow shelf of a coral ecosystem producing vast skeletal sediments. The present facies pattern originates from the variable contribution in time and space of three sediment types: skeletal carbonate, quartz and palimpsest debris. The facies analysis allowed to distinguish 10 depositional facies and to differentiate them into three main types of substratum: soft bottom, reefal hard bottom and non-reefal hard bottom. These three types define both the loose facies typical of the channelized coastal belt and several facies of the shallow shelf. In the first, the amounts and textures of the stored sediment are strictly related to three major geomorphic types of substratum: sheltered mangal flat, shallow channel and deep channel. In the second and the third, a wide range of textures is related to coastal flats, benches, islets and emerging rocks. This modern facies pattern is implemented through a series of evolutionary phases: i--during the Last Interglacial Period, since isotope substage 5b, the shallow shelf--above -20 m--is permanently exposed for about 80 ka, with erosion, karstification and cuts of river channels through the shelf; ii--after the Last Glacial Maximum, when the sea level fell to about 110-115 m b.p.s.l. (below present sea level) at 18-17 ka BP, the sea level rose at -20 m for about 9 ka, flooding the shallow shelf area and gradually drowning the riverine net; iii--the maximum flooding of the coastal belt was reached at about 4.5 ka BP, when a gradual moisture reduction caused a decrease of siliciclastic sediment supply; iv--a fairly rapid fall of sea levels since about 4.5 ka BP was probably accompanied by a decline in drought, producing relatively high siliciclastic loose sediment remobilization that carved the morphological steps of the coastal flat, leading to the regression of the coral reef community, and the formation of rhodolith beds. The investigated depositional system is then correlated with the model of a distally steepened ramp with mixed carbonate-siliciclastic sedimentation, suitable for the present setting of the Kenyan coast.

The tectono-sedimentary evolution of the western Pre-Apulian zone of the Hellenides is investigated through comparison of the microfacies of clasts from breccia beds within gravity-flow successions of Zakynthos with those of the carbonate ramp of the westernmost part of Cephalonia. After the demise of a Late Cretaceous rimmed platform, the Paleogene successions of the Ionian Islands represent different facies patterns of a carbonate ramp. In western Cephalonia (Lixouri peninsula), different successions suggest the existence of five juxtaposed tectono-sedimentary sectors, remnants of a larger carbonate ramp. In Zakynthos, six distinct sectors with different toe of slope-proximal basin stratigraphic successions were recognized, all affected by a Paleocene-Lower Eocene hiatus, which can be grouped into two tectono-sedimentary units. Through the analysis of successions of the Lixouri peninsula and breccia clasts from Zakynthos, 24 age-constrained and spatially related Upper Cretaceous-Oligocene microfacies types were recognized, illustrating a variety of sedimentary environments. These microfacies were allocated to five different stages in the evolution of a tectono-sedimentary model from down-faulting, through backstepping, uplift and dismantling, to faultcontrolled subsidence and finally complete drowning. Various microfacies of the clasts can be correlated to the stratigraphic record of the Lixouri peninsula, whereas others are absent there. Thus an inferred adjacent source terrain, now tectonically obliterated, was likely located west of the present-day Ionian Islands.

La Carta delle microzone omogenee in prospettiva sismica, in scala 1:10.000, rappresenta il principale prodotto della microzonazione sismica di livello 1 del territorio del Municipio Roma Centro Storico, realizzata dal CNR IGAG per conto della Regione Lazio e Roma Capitale - Municipio Roma Centro Storico, in attuazione dell'articolo 11, Legge n. 77 del 24/06/2009. Tale carta è allegata alla "Microzonazione Sismica di Livello 1 del Municipio Roma Centro Storico. Relazione illustrativa"

Questo documento costituisce la Relazione illustrativa dello studio di Microzonazione Sismica di Livello I del Municipio Roma Centro Storico, redatta secondo le specifiche stabilite nella determinazione regionale Regione Lazio n. A07997 del 02/08/2012. Con tale determinazione il Municipio Roma Centro Storico è stato inserito nel "Programma delle Indagini di Microzonazione Sismica ai sensi dell'OPCM n. 4007 del 29 febbraio 2012", che impone standard di realizzazione degli studi di microzonazione sismica più stringenti di quelli definiti nel Disciplinare di Incarico originale. Nel giugno 2012 CNR-IGAG e il Municipio Roma Centro Storico hanno stipulato un Disciplinare di Incarico (protocollo IGAG n. 1368 del 15/06/2012) per la microzonazione sismica di livello 1 del Municipio stesso. Il livello 1 di MS, in particolare, è un livello di base che consiste nella lettura ed elaborazione dei dati geologici, geofisici e geotecnici preesistenti (oppure acquisiti appositamente, ove non fossero disponibili dati pregressi adeguati per numero e qualità), al fine di suddividere qualitativamente (senza analisi numeriche) il territorio in "microzone omogenee in prospettiva sismica" rispetto alle tre zone indicate in precedenza: zone stabili, zone stabili suscettibili di amplificazione, zone suscettibili di instabilità. La D.G.R. Lazio n. 545 del 26 Novembre 2010 stabilisce che il Livello 1 di MS è obbligatorio e propedeutico per tutte le Unità Amministrative Sismiche (UAS) che predispongono i nuovi strumenti urbanistici generali e/o loro Varianti Generali in data successiva a quella di entrata in vigore delle Linee Guida. Il presente rapporto è composto da una Relazione Finale e da Tavole allegate, ovvero Carte tematiche in scala 1:10.000: Carta Geologica del Substrato; Carta delle Indagini; Carta Geologico-Tecnica; Carta delle Frequenze Fondamentali; Carta delle Microzone Omogenee in Prospettiva Sismica.

A total of 256 recent benthic foraminiferal species belonging to 111 genera is identified from 73 carbonate-siliciclastic sediment samples collected along the coast of southern Somalia (Burgao channel) and eastern Kenya (Lamu Archipelago). This represents the first survey of recent foraminifers in this region of East Africa. The sediment samples are representative of different environments (e.g., mangrove flats, tidal channels, restricted shelf, and open shelf), water depths (0-60 m), and salinities (strongly brackish to normal marine conditions). Q-mode Hierarchical Cluster Analysis reveals that nine assemblages can be distinguished; for each assemblage, faunal composition and distribution, diversity indices and dominance are assessed. As predicted by ecological models, there is an overall trend of increasing species diversity from the backwater zone within channels to open marine conditions, and from intertidal to subtidal settings. Salinity, suspended sediment, nutrient levels, and tidal exposure are the most influential factors in determining benthic foraminiferal distribution patterns. An interesting feature is the nearshore contraction of the depth gradient determining the shallower distribution of several larger foraminiferal species, as evidenced by the depth ranges of five species of Amphistegina.

Paleogene heterometric and polymictic conglomerate deposits were investigated in Zakynthos Island (Ionian Islands, Greece) from different outcrops, along the eastern flank of the anticline crossing the island in a NNW-SSE direction. This structure is formed by the Meso-Cenozoic sedimentary succession of the Pre-Apulian zone. The Paleogene facies sequence of Zakynthos consists of toe of slope accumulations of mainly resedimented material produced by gravity flows during repeated falls of relative sea-level below the shelf edge, with subsequent erosion of the exposed Cretaceous-Paleogene sequences. The lithoclasts are scattered within different sedimentary wedges of coarse detrital material; their study provided information on the stratigraphy and depositional environments of the eroded Cretaceous-Paleogene succession. The fossil assemblage content of the conglomerate clasts is interpreted in the frame of a carbonate ramp model. The lack, elsewhere in the island, of in situ sequences corresponding in age and facies to the sampled lithoclasts and the occurrence of different sedimentary facies sequences suggest a differential tectono-sedimentary evolution of the depositional substratum during Late Cretaceous and Paleogene. Considering the eastward transition to the Ionian basin, an eastern source of the clasts can be excluded, whereas in Cephalonia Island in the Lixouri peninsula a stratigraphic record with characters similar to those of the Zakynthos conglomerate clasts has been documented. The systematic investigation of the well-preserved Paleogene larger foraminiferal assemblages led to the recognition of 42 different taxa (34 of specific rank). Several taxa are rare in coeval deposits from the Mediterranean Tethys and some are as yet undescribed. A comparison with coeval assemblages from the Mediterranean Tethys is attempted, in order to outline stratigraphic and biogeographic relationships.

The Eocene Karangsambung Olistostrome (or mélange) contains numerous blocks of different sedimentary, volcanic and metamorphic rocks, up to several hundreds meters in diameter; among these olistoliths, we investigate the fossil content, sedimentology, facies interpretation and age assignment of the huge Jatibungkus limestone olistolith, which has been subject to contrasting interpretations. Basing on larger foraminifers (Ranikothalia, Miscellanea, rotaliids, and orthophragmines), scleractinians (11 species belonging to 9 genera) and calcareous algae, the Jatibungkus limestone can be broadly considered as Thanetian in age (SBZ3/SBZ4). On the base of thin sections, the taxonomy of the larger foraminifers is discussed in detail, attempting to constrain and extend to this area the Shallow Benthics Zonation. Basing on sedimentological data, the occurrence and growth forms of Distichoplax biserialis, the scleractinian and larger foraminiferal assemblages allow us to identify three main depositional environments.

The Kenyan coast is characterized by a raised fossil reef complex cut by a series of morphological terraces. Shallow subtidal coralgal facies containing Tridacna gigas shells are found at different heights along the coast. Alpha-spectrometric U-series methods were applied to 18 T. gigas samples from different locations along this reef complex with an elevation range from 0 to 15 m above present sea level to obtain chronological information. Apparent U–Th ages, based on the assumption of closed system behaviour, correspond to early marine isotope stage (MIS) 5 (n = 17) and MIS 7 (n = 1). However, initial 234U/238U activity ratios exhibit a wide range, in many cases much greater than present seawater, which is likely to be associated with diagenetic alteration and migration of U-series isotopes. For this reason, we attempted a form of open system isochron dating after separating the Tridacna samples into three different groups on the basis of current elevation and distribution along the coast. An ‘isochron’ age of 120 ± 4 ka (1 sigma) was obtained for the higher elevation group, placed in the terraced central coastal area; another age, statistically undistinguishable from the previous one, of 118 ± 7 ka (1 sigma) was obtained for the group confined along the northern coast. These two groups correspond to a transgressive–regressive cycle connected to the maximum sea level highstand during the MIS 5e. A third ‘isochron’ age of 100 ± 4 ka (1 sigma) was obtained for the group confined along the southern coast, encompassing part of the isotopic substages MIS 5c and d. Based on these data, and on the ecology of T. gigas whose optimal present-day depth range can be considered of 3–10 m below sea level, a maximum tectonic coastal uplift rate of between, respectively, 0.12 and 0.18 mm a-1 was calculated for the period since formation of these shells, and then the paleobathymetry of Tridacna facies has been inferred.

We present a synthesis on ongoing research of the depositional sequences and the biostratigraphy of a carbonate ramp developed in Paleocene-Eocene times in the Ionian Islands, focusing on outcrop data and reworked clasts from Cephalonia and Zakynthos. An interpretation of the facies in terms of paleoecology and proximality-distality changes is presented, along with a discussion of regional hiatuses and depositional models. Two main patterns of facies distribution have been identified, corresponding to different depositional models. The transition from one to the other occurred in the late Thanetian, and corresponds to a conspicuous change in the biota and depositional profile of the ramp. During the Paleocene a low angle homoclinal ramp was characterized by a wide inner-middle ramp belt with flourishing red algae, coral and foraminiferal assemblages. A selection of facies and assemblages is presented for the lower Thanetian. In early Ypresian times, a sharp areal contraction of ramp environments occurs, with the demise of restricted inner ramp sedimentation and the development of thriving larger foraminiferal assemblages (Alveolina and Nummulites packstone-grainstone), close to emerged areas.

A Middle Cenomanian ammonite assemblage, with Turrilites costatus Lamarck, Sciponoceras roto Cieslinsky and Desmoceras latidorsatum (Michelin) is described for the first time in the Prenestini Mts., along the western margin of the Latium-Abruzzi carbonate platform. The specimens are exceptionally associated with shallow water benthic organisms such as rudists and other bivalves, gastropods, rare brachiopods, corals and benthic foraminifers. This assemblage is found into a sequence of skeletal grainstone and rudstone, typical of shelf edge to slope environment, and is similar to other already described in previous works on this area. This new finding gives further evidence of the Cenomanian transgression which characterised the Latium carbonate platform and testifies of the vicinity and interaction of the open sea. This event is similar and very close in age to that recently studied in the Matese carbonate platform.

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Somalia has the longest national coastline (3025 km) in Africa with an estimated shelf area (depth 0-200 m) of 32500 km2. The country is divided into the northern coastal plain of Guban, which has a semi-arid terrain; the northern highlands with rugged mountain ranges containing the country's highest peak (2407 m); and the Ogaden region which descends to the south from the highlands and which consists of shallow plateau valleys, wadis and broken mountains. The latter region continues to the Mudug plain in central Somalia. From Ras Caseyr to the Kenya border, the coast runs north-east to south-west, coinciding with the displacement caused by the Mesozoic marginal subsidence. This general structure is complicated by sedimentary troughs crossing the Horn of Africa, and by large sedimentary basins, cutting the coastline and extending inland into Southern Somalia and Northern Kenya (Juba-Lamu embayment, Mogadishu basin). Offshore, the western Somali Basin extends from Socotra to the Comores. The open shelf environments developed along the Somali coast are a consequence of an extensive marine transgression, connected to coastal subsidence or inland uplift. The rocks along the southern coastal belt are Pliocene-Pleistocene, and are characterized by a sequence of both marine and continental deposits of skeletal sands, coral build-ups, eolian sands and paleosols. As well as eolian and biogenic sedimentary processes, sea-level fluctuations, Holocene climatic changes and neotectonic movements have combined to produce the modern coastline. A notable feature is an ancient dune ridge complex, known as the Merka red dune, which rims the coast extending beyond the Kenyan border and which separates the narrow coastal belt from the Uebi Shebeli alluvial plain. Two features of note are the Bajuni Archipelago, which consists of islands, islets and skerries, forming a barrier island separated from the coast by a narrow marine sound, and a braided, channelized coastal area, which originated from the drowning of a paleofluvial net. The southern Somali coast, with that of Kenya and Tanzania, forms part of the Somali Current Large Marine Ecosystem, encompassing 700000 km2, and extending 800 km between Dar es Salaam and Ras Hafun. Abundant biomass develops here due to upwelling. The shelf area has a wide variety of coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass meadows, beaches and estuaries. In shallow water areas the abraded flats are colonized by scattered coral communities with variable cover. A true fringing reef is achieved in places only in the Bajuni archipelago. All along the southern Somali coastal shelf there are spreading meadows of Thalassodendron seagrass, and benthic communities typical of mobile sandy substrates are limited to beach ridges and shoals developed along the coastline. Around the Bajuni barrier island and the channelized area there is more diversity. Mangroves grow on the tidal belts of the channels, and there are expanses of salt flats. Large-scale alteration produced by man on the Somali coast is relatively recent, but has accelerated in the last few decades, especially around major cities. This alteration affects especially backshore areas where the Pleistocene coral reefs are quarried. At present, the continental shelf is not adequately monitored or protected, so coastal habitats are being degraded, living marine resources are overexploited, and pollution levels are increasing, all of which affect natural resources and biodiversity. Somalia is one of the world's poorest and least developed countries, with few resources and devastated by civil war, but since 1993 it has been part of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). This will affect fisheries and aquaculture in terms of the investment, production, trade and fish consumption of the member states. There are currently no marine protected areas and no legislation concerning their establishment and management, although the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) Protected Areas Database lists Busc Busc Game Reserve as an MPA. In 1992, The WCMC also listed the following coastal sites as proposed protected areas: Zeila (important sea bird colonies on offshore islets), Jowhar-Warshek, Awdhegle-Gandershe. The area from Kisimayo to Ras Chiambone is probably of highest priority, as it is important for coral reefs, marine turtles, and mangrove resources, although it is still poorly known. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd.