Mapping and chronological classification of marine terraces along the southern side of the Sibari Plain (northern Calabria, Italy) by means of digital and analogue tools

Abstract

We study the marine terraces of the southern side of the Sibari Plain in Northern Calabria (Italy) through the use of traditional and quantitative analyses of the Digital Terrain Model (DTM). The main aim of the present work consists in the extensive use of GIS tools that were never used before in the area, and in checking the applicability of this procedure. The terraced surfaces identified using photo interpretation and those recognized semi-automatically through the GIS tools were compared to finally produce a consensus map. In the final map, we identified 272 terraced surfaces and 62 morphological features associated with inner margins (i.e. paleoshorelines). The main map shows a well-developed flight of seven orders of marine terraces with elevation ranging from 45 to 360 m asl and age ranging from Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5a to 11.