A revision of the stratigraphyfor the Middle Pleistocene continentaI deposits of Rome(CentraI Italy): palaeomagnetic data

Abstract

All improved knowledge of the stratigraphy of the Rome area has been achieved trom the interpretation and correlation of a large number of stratigraphic logs from drillings, stored in a data bank by the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica which allowed the authors to identify a succession of "unconformity-bounded strati- graphic units". The possibility of correlating these stratigraphic units with the oxygen jsotope time scale is suggested leading to a substantial revision of the Quaternary stratigraphy of the Rome area. This paper pre- sents the results of a magnetostratigraphic study on a repere layer in Rome, demonstrating that this layer can- not be correlated with the basaI members ofthe formation outcropping in the type-site (Helicella clays, "Ponte Galeria Formation" ), as recently proposed as a result of morpho-stratigraphical studies with important implica- tions concerning the interpretation of the recent sedimentary and tectonic evolution of this area.