Reconstructing surface uplift rates in active orogens is critical for understanding how deep Earth processes shape topography, but such estimates require both rapid uplift and preservation of young marine deposits. The southern margin of the Central Anatolian Plateau (CAP) in Türkiye provides an exceptional example, preserving Upper Miocene and late Middle-Pleistocene marine deposits at ∼2.2 km and ∼1.1 km of elevation, respectively, indicating multiphase uplift. We investigated the TOL-1 section in the Mut Basin, which preserves late Middle-Pleistocene (Marine Isotope Stage 7) marine deposits at 1177 m above mean sea level (amsl); the highest in the world. The section records two key calcareous nannofossil bioevents: the last occurrence of Pseudoemiliania lacunosa (0.46 Ma) and the first occurrence of Emiliania huxleyi (0.26 Ma). Foraminiferal biostratigraphy, marked by the consistent presence of Globigerinella calida from the base, indicates that deposition began after ca. 0.53 Ma. Ostracod assemblages reveal a transition from upper epibathyal to littoral environments, with a shallowing-upward trend beginning at ca. 0.40 Ma. Paleomagnetic data indicate normal polarity, consistent with deposition during the current normal polarity Brunhes Chron. By integrating biostratigraphy, paleobathymetric reconstructions (∼50 m below mean sea level), and sea-level estimates at 0.23 Ma (∼−18 m), we calculated a mean uplift rate of ∼5.2 m/k.y. This exceptionally high rate may be attributed to slab break-off of the still-subducting eastern Cyprus slab combined with mantle flow from the Arabian slab window at the Eastern Anatolian collision zone. These findings provide a rare high-resolution temporal benchmark for linking stratigraphic records of marine deposition with deep-seated processes and rapid surface uplift in active convergent margins.

In this paper, we present new sedimentological, biostratigraphic and paleoecological data from the area near San Giuliano Lake (Matera-Italy), located between the Apulia Foreland and the Bradanic Trough domains of the Southern Apennines. Combining the sedimentological and paleontological information coming from a borehole (Giuli 1) and from an outcropping section (Assiolo), we build the San Giuliano Lake composite section to reconstruct the evolution of the depositional system of the argille subappennine, an informal lithostratigraphic unit. The occurrence of the following calcareous nannoplankton bioevents: Top of Helicosphaera sellii, Base common of Reticulofenestra asanoi, Top of Reticulofenestra asanoi and the presence of regionally extinct tree taxa as Tsuga, Cedrus, Pterocarya, and Zelkova constrain the age of the composite section to the Early Pleistocene, spanning from 1.256 to 0.879 Ma and corresponding to the late Calabrian (MIS 38-MIS 23). The benthic foraminifera and ostracod assemblages documented a depositional environment characterised by repeated events of relatively high organic matter and low oxygen contents of the bottom water masses. The high percentages of small Gephyrocapsa, Globigerina bulloides, G. glutinata, and Turborotalita quinqueloba indicate an environment characterised by up-welling currents and strong river input. An increase in temperatures and salinity and a strong water column stratification occur from about 1090 ka upwards. The hypothesised stratigraphic architecture points towards a tectonic subsidence signature greater than the sea level change, at the base of the succession, with a subsiding basin formation. During the deposition of the Giuli 1 borehole sediments, the sea level change and tectonic activity acted together, giving rise to a progradation of the coastline. The sediments at the top of the borehole are interpreted as the Apennine peripheral bulge deposited during the Calabrian. At the Assiolo section, which represents the upper part of the San Giuliano Lake succession, the paleo depth through the parasequence increases progressively upwards, and this part of the San Giuliano Lake succession represents a slope and a ramp flexuring toward the chain with active subsidence phenomena. The coarsening upward trend, shown by the Assiolo parasequence set, indicates that the tectonic subsidence and the sea level change interacted to give the coarsening upward stratigraphic architecture.

Understanding deep-time marine biodiversity change under the combined effects of climate and connectivity changes is fundamental for predicting the impacts of modern climate change in semi-enclosed seas. We quantify the Late Miocene-Early Pliocene [11.63 to 3.6 million years (Ma)] taxonomic diversity of the Mediterranean Sea for calcareous nannoplankton, dinocysts, foraminifera, ostracods, corals, molluscs, bryozoans, echinoids, fishes, and marine mammals. During this time, marine biota was affected by global climate cooling and the restriction of the Mediterranean's connection to the Atlantic Ocean that peaked with the Messinian salinity crisis. Although the net change in species richness from the Tortonian to the Zanclean varies by group, species turnover is greater than 30% in all cases, reflecting a high degree of reorganization of the marine ecosystem after the crisis. The results show a clear perturbation already in the pre-evaporitic Messinian (7.25 to 5.97 Ma), with patterns differing among groups and subbasins.

Massive salt accumulations, or salt giants, have formed in highly restricted marine basins throughout geological history, but their impact on biodiversity has been only patchily studied. The salt giant in the Mediterranean Sea formed as a result of the restriction of its gateway to the Atlantic during the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) 5.97 to 5.33 million years ago. Here, we quantify the biodiversity changes associated with the MSC based on a compilation of the Mediterranean fossil record. We conclude that 86 endemic species of the 2006 pre-MSC marine species survived the crisis, and that the present eastward-decreasing richness gradient in the Mediterranean was established after the MSC.

The Messinian salinity crisis and its precursor events have been the greatest environmental perturbation of the Mediterranean Sea to date, offering an opportunity to study the response of marine ecosystems to extreme hydrological change and a large-scale biological invasion. The restriction of the marine connection between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean resulted in stratification of the water column and high-amplitude variations in seawater temperature and salinity already from the early Messinian. Here, we present a unified and revised marine fossil record of the Mediterranean (10.5281/zenodo.13358435, Agiadi et al., 2024) that covers the Tortonian stage, the pre-evaporitic Messinian stage, and the Zanclean stage and encompasses 23 032 occurrences of calcareous nannoplankton, dinoflagellates, foraminifera, corals, ostracods, bryozoans, echinoids, mollusks, fishes, and marine mammals. This record adheres to the FAIR principles, is updated in terms of taxonomy, and follows the currently accepted stratigraphic framework. Based on this record, knowledge gaps are identified, which are due to spatiotemporal inconsistencies in sampling effort and the distribution of sedimentary facies, as well as the inherent differences in the preservation potential between the groups. Additionally, sampling bias in old records may have distorted the record in favor of larger, more impressive taxa within groups. This record is now ready to be used to answer both geological and biological questions about the Mediterranean Sea and beyond and is amendable when new fossil data are brought to light.

Biochronology is the most widely used method for organizing the successions of continental vertebrate faunas in geological time and for allowing the correlation of continental deposits. However, due to the fragmentary nature of the paleontological record and the diachronicity of first and last occurrences of vertebrate taxa in different areas (i.e., bioevents), it is difficult to precisely define the temporal boundaries between biochronological units. That is why it is crucial to calibrate biochronological data with independent proxies wherever possible. Here, thanks to an interdisciplinary approach that combines sedimentology and stratigraphy, vertebrate paleontology, micropaleontology (ostracods), palynology, and geochronology, we provide a chronological framework and a paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the paleontological site of Pantalla (Central Italy). The combination between biochronological/biostratigraphic and geochronological (U-series/ESR dating and paleomagnetism) data allows us to refer the site to c. 2.2 Ma, i.e., in the transition phase between the Middle and Late Villafranchian in the European biochronological scheme. We reconstruct the environment as a fluvial area with a frequently flooded wet floodplain and marked (probably seasonal) variations of the water level of the channel river. The depositional system was surrounded by a conifer-dominated forest, which is suggestive of a glacial phase.

Physical connectivity between marine basins facilitates population exchange and hence controls biodiversity. The Mediterranean Sea is a semi-restricted basin with only a small two-way connection to the global ocean, and it is a region heavily impacted by climate change and biological invasions today. The massive migration of non-indigenous species into the basin through the Suez Canal, driven and enabled by climate warming, is drastically changing Mediterranean biodiversity. Understanding therefore the origin and cause(s) of pre-existing biodiversity patterns is crucial for predicting future impacts of climate change. Mediterranean biodiversity exhibits a west-to-east decreasing gradient in terms of species richness, but the processes that resulted in this gradient have only been hypothesized. By examining the fossil record, we provide evidence that this gradient developed 5.33 million years ago at the end of the Messinian Salinity Crisis, and it was therefore caused by the re-population of the basin by marine species with a dominating western source at the Mediterranean–Atlantic gateway.

The study of fossil coastlines is one of the most widely used methods to unravel the vertical movements of the Earth's solid surface. All along the coast of the Calabrian Subduction Arc, well preserved Pleistocene marine terrace sequences document a protracted uplift history. Although Pleistocene vertical movements have been extensively explored, the Holocene history is not well understood. Numerous uplifted coastlines of the Holocene period have been studied along the Tyrrhenian side of Calabria, but the Ionian coastal sector is considerably under-studied. Our new data from the coast of the Crotone Peninsula fill this crucial data-gap. AMS 14C dating of seventeen sea level markers, elevated above the current mean sea level, show ages between 2300 and 7000 Cal. Yr BP. The elevation of the markers was corrected for the paleo sea level using the most updated GIA models ICE-6G (VM5a) and ICE-7G (VM7). We found that a coastline dated to 7 ka shows uplift rates of 0.8 mm/yr, consistent with late Pleistocene uplift rates (≈0.8 mm/yr). In contrast, a 2.3 ka coastline was uplifted by only 1 m, resulting in lower uplift rates of ≈0.5 mm/yr. However, there are clues that the abandonment of this younger coastline may have occurred with a rapid uplift pulse. Reconstructing the past vertical movements of the Crotone Peninsula reveals an unsteady uplift history. At some times fast uplift rates are required, while for other periods, lasting as long as 3–4 kyr, the uplift rate is slower or zero. An uplift history consisting of periods of accelerated uplift, or even coseismic pulses, would also explain the difference in uplift rates between short term (<5 ka) and long term (>5 ka) markers through a metric we have defined as uplift rate sensitivity. Understanding the details of this uplift history has social relevance. The co-seismic uplift hypothesis requires further investigation but if confirmed would likely affect the seismic and tsunami hazard of the Crotone Peninsula. Similarly, the unsteady uplift rate would cause a risk given the current rapid rate of global sea level rise. Periods of sustained vertical stability would increase the risk of flooding even in areas characterized by long-term uplift and thus considered safe.

Vertical movements of the solid surface reflect crustal deformation and mantle deep related phenomena. For Holocene times, coastlines displaced from the present mean sea level are often used, combined with past relative sea levels (RSL) prediction models, to clue the vertical deformational field.Along the coast from south-western Turkey until Israel and Cyprus, a certain amount of good quality data is already published, leaving only a gap where data are absent along the Central Anatolian Plateau (CAP) coast. Based on new field observations along with this sector, between Adalia and Adana (Mersin, southern Turkey), together with AMS 14C dating, the gap is filled, allowing to describe an overall frame made by vertical differential movements along the Eastern Mediterranean coast.Most recent Glacial Isostatic Adjustments (GIA) models have been used to remove the glacio-hydro isostatic component of the RSL. Different solutions from ICE-6G(VM5a) and ICE-7G(VM7) models (developed by W.R. Peltier and co-workers, Toronto University), as also a solution from the GIA model progressively developed by K. Lambeck and collaborators at the Australian National University, have been applied on 201 middle-to-late Holocene markers of RSL. Both GIA models have been implemented within the numerical Sea level Equation solver SELEN4.Tectonic velocity has been therefore calculated. Starting from southwestern Turkey, subsidence has been found within the range between -0.91 mm/yr and -2.15 mm/yr confirming values from previous works. Velocities from the new markers along the CAP coast are positive ranging between 1.01 and 1.65 mm/yr. These two first blocks are separated by a sharp velocity contact, occurring along the complex fault zone of the Isparta Angle. Such values for the CAP margin were expected as recently published papers report high vertical velocities for a Middle to Late Pleistocene uplift event. Moving to the east, velocities are also positive, within 0.3-0.6 mm/yr, along the coast between the Hatay Gulf and southern Lebanon. The spiked profile of the Lebanese sector is likely due to co-seismic deformations along the Lebanese Restraining Bend faults (LRB). To the south, the Israeli coast is instead showing stability according to some unique RSL markers named piscinae while other markers indicate slow subsidence. Hence another velocity jump of at least 0.5 mm/yr is recognizable between Israel and Lebanon: it is probably associated with already known brittle structures. In northern Cyprus, the only Holocene sea-level marker confirms the almost zero vertical velocity values already obtained for the MIS 5e marine terrace. Therefore, a vertical velocity jump occurs between stable Cyprus and the uplifting CAP southern margin, although they are placed on the same overriding plate of the subduction system. High-angle normal faults at the northern margin of the Adana-Cilicia Basin could explain these different vertical velocity fields.These results depict a complex frame of wide independently moving crustal blocks where kinematic separation occurs along well-known regional fault zones. Driving causes of the block movements could be related either to regional tectonics, as it probably is for the LRB coast, or to mantle dynamics, for the uplifting Turkish sector where deeper processes should be considered.

We present the geological map of the north-eastern margin of the Fucino Basin, which is mainly characterized by Plio-Quaternary continental deposits that show transition from deeper-water lacustrine environment, marginal lacustrine system, and fluvial facies. These deposits unconformably overlie upper Messinian Lago-Mare sediments and pre-orogenic carbonate succession. The occurrence of Caspiocypris tiberina in the Plio-Quaternary lacustrine sediments, coupled with the normal magnetic polarity of Casa Colombaia section, led to suggest the onset of the sedimentation of these continental deposits to the late Piacenzian (2.58–3.04 Ma). The upper Messinian deposits are characterized by ostracod assemblages related to the Loxocorniculina djafarovi zone, pointing to the last Lago-Mare event of the Messinian Salinity Crisis (5.40–5.33 Ma). This new stratigraphic framework may be useful to refine the long-term slip rates of the still active normal faults that affect the north-eastern margin of the Fucino Basin.

This study presents, for the first time, a detailed quantitative reconstruction of winter (January) and summer (July) palaeotemperatures from the Late Pleistocene to Holocene transition in central Italy based on ostracod assemblages in an 8.59‐m‐long sediment core retrieved in Lake Trasimeno. Of 19 ostracod species recovered, 13 were calibrated according to their living temperature ranges, enabling us to reconstruct mean January and July temperature ranges using the mutual ostracod temperature range ( MOTR ) method. The occurrences of Cytheromorpha fuscata and Limnocythere suessenbornensis from 44 000 to 25 500 cal. a BP showed mean January temperatures at least 7 °C colder and mean July temperature at least 1 °C cooler in some intervals compared to present‐day temperatures. Comparison of the MOTR ‐derived January minima curve with a Greenland oxygen isotope record ( NGRIP ) shows a remarkable correlation of warmer Greenland Interstadial and the colder Greenland Stadial events with clear peaks and troughs in the MOTR signal. These correlations were tested successfully by tuning the MOTR curve to the NGRIP record, resulting in an improved age‐depth model combining radiocarbon ages with MOTR tie points. The results demonstrate that a record of rapid climate change in the North Atlantic region is archived in lacustrine ostracod assemblages in central Italy.

Seventeen layers characterized by soft-sediment deformation structures (SSDS) were identified within the “calcari di Fiumicello”, an upper Messinian (Miocene) stratigraphic unit (30 m thick), cropping out in the northern sector of the Gargano Promontory (Apulia, southern Italy). Facies analysis was performed on the whole outcrop and detailed sedimentological investigations were carried out on the deformed beds, in order to interpret the deformation mechanism, the driving mechanism and the possible trigger agent. Deformed layers occur in some thin-bedded ooidal limestones, skeletal calcarenite, as well as in some pebble-size conglomerate, alternated with marls, deposited in a protected embayment or barrier-island-lagoon system, possibly characterized by high salinity, and tidal influx. SSDS can be classified as load- and slump/slide structures. The continuous exposures allow us to follow a single deformed layer along tens of meters, hence several types of lateral variations were observed that can be summarised as follows: (1) SSDS disappear within a few meters (with a decreasing pattern of their deformation or in an abrupt way); (2) deformed layers laterally change in thickness and morphology; and (3) a single deformed bed can laterally correspond to two deformed beds. Most of the soft sediment deformation features were identified as liquefaction and/or fluidization features related to seismic shocks (seismites). Seismites are often used as an indicator of seismic events, especially along small outcrops, trench excavation and core analysis. This study highlights the value of the sedimentological analysis for paleoseismic investigations, with the aim of improving criteria for identifying seismites in the sedimentary record, and their suitability as marker of seismic events.

The Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) was the greatest paleoenvironmental perturbation the Mediterranean has ever seen. The literature is abundant in hypotheses on the repercussions of the MSC on organisms. However, all these are based on incomplete and still uncertain scenarios about the MSC evolution, as well as on the assumption that such a paleoenvironmental perturbation must have completely reset marine biota. Having prevailed for many decades now, this assumption has leaked from paleontology and geosciences to biological sciences, with numerous studies taking this scenario for granted instead of using it as a starting hypothesis to be tested. Here, we review and revise the marine fossil record across the Mediterranean from the Tortonian until the Zanclean to follow the current rules of nomenclature, correct misidentifications, and control for stratigraphic misplacements. We examine the composition of marine faunas, both taxonomically and considering the function of each group in the marine ecosystem and the transfer of energy through the marine food web. Specifically, we investigate the following functional groups: 1) primary producers, 2) secondary producers, 3) primary consumers, 4) secondary consumers, and 5) top predators. Our study includes sea grasses, phytoplankton, corals, benthic and planktonic foraminifera, bivalves, gastropods, brachiopods, echinoids, bryozoans, fishes, ostracods, and marine mammals. We calculate biodiversity indexes to provide independent evidence quantifying to what degree the marine fauna underwent: 1. A drop of overall regional biodiversity of the Mediterranean due to environmental stress during the Messinian. 2. A taxonomic and functional change between the Tortonian, Messinian, and the Zanclean, that is before and after the MSC, as well as during the precursor events to that actual crisis taking place after the Tortonian/Messinian boundary. 3. The onset of the present-day west-to-east decreasing gradient in species richness, which has been related to the sea temperature and productivity gradients and the distance from the Gibraltar connection to the Atlantic.

During the Cenozoic, the constant northward movement of the African plate led to the division of the Tethys Ocean into two: the Palaeomediterranean and the Paratethyan branches. The latter was represented by a huge epicontinental sea and brackish to freshwater lakes that extended across central Europe and western Asia. Neogene and Quaternary ostracods from the Paratethys originated through major adaptive radiations, which gave rise to endemic brackish taxa. Unfortunately, much confusion surrounds their taxonomy, due to the quality of descriptions and images in the original literature and the incompleteness of the type material, making necessary a taxonomic revision. In this paper, we propose a systematic revision of several Paratethyan endemic candonid genera based on the analysis of the type material, new material collected from the type localities, and new fossil material from the Ponto-Caspian area. The study focuses on the description of the valve morphology and particularly on the geometric morphometric analysis of the valve outline. Thirty-three genera were taken into account of which four (Advenocypris, Candoniella, Graviacypris, Telekia) were considered to be junior synonyms of Typhlocypris, Pseudocandona or Candona. Moesiella is considered a nomen nudum. In the case of Caspiollina, Dacicandona, Liventalina and Turkmenella the scarcity of material and/or the poor descriptions reported in the literature prevented us from performing a full revision. The monospecific genus Thaminocypris possibly includes a teratological form. The remaining 23 genera were merged into nine valid, endemic, genera (Bakunella, Camptocypria, Caspiocypris, Hastacandona, Lineocypris, Pontoniella, Propontoniella, Typhlocyprella and Zalanyiella). Emended diagnoses and descriptions are proposed for these genera and a new species, Bakunella anae sp. nov., is described. This study considerably reduces the taxonomic uncertainty within the Paratethyan candonids, providing new data for the evaluation of the palaeobiodiversity of the Paratethyan domain. Finally, the palaeobiogeography of Paratethyan candonids during the Neogene and Quaternary is also discussed. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:EB9EC2D4-AFD2-428E-9958-C97F36ED7FF2

The taxonomy of some non-marine ostracod assemblages from the Dunarobba Fossil Forest area (south Tiberino Basin, Umbria, Italy) is discussed, adding to the scientific understanding of Piacenzian-Gelasian non-marine ostracods in central Italy and providing a palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the shallow coastal lacustrine environments of the Palaeolake Tiberino. The ostracod assemblages include Darwinula stevensoni, Vestalenula crylindrica, Candona (Candona) improvisa, Candona (Neglecandona) neglecta, Candona (Neglecandotza) angulata, Candona (Neglecandona) paludinica, Caspiorypris basilicii, Caspiocypris tiberina, Candonopsis kingsleii, Cydocypris ovum, Ilyocypris bradyi, Ilyocypris dedpiens, Cypris mandelstami, Zonocypris membrane quadricella, Potamocypris fulva, Cyprideis crotonensis, Cyprideis rectangularis and two new species: Hemirypris lomastroi sp. nov. and Paralinmorythere turgida sp. nov. In addition to widespread European species, the ostracod assemblages contain some rare species that were previously known from the Pliocene Paludinian Beds of Serbia. A cluster analysis applied to the ostracod frequency matrix has lead to the identification of four separate assemblages that can be attributed to several ecological niches, including emerged hydrosols, ephemeral coastal pools and a littoral lacustrine margin, which suggest a complex coastal environment.

Unraveling the evolution of supradetachment basins developed in the hanging wall of low‐angle detachment faults may be an invaluable tool in reconstructing the tectonic evolution of highly extended terrains. These basins may record major regional tectonic events related to the exhumation of metamorphic core complexes, and the reconstruction of their evolution helps to quantify the amount of extension accommodated by such processes. Here we present stratigraphic and structural field evidence and micropaleontological constraints to the Neogene‐to‐Quaternary evolution of the supradetachment Gediz Graben that developed on top of the exhuming Central Menderes Massif (SW Turkey). This basin displays three different structural styles during its evolution: (i) it initiated as a ramp basin following the activation of the Gediz Detachment in the Middle Miocene, (ii) evolved as a half graben during the late Miocene following the activation of high‐angle brittle faults at its southern margin, and (iii) reached its final symmetric graben configuration in Late Pliocene (?)‐Quaternary times following the activation of its northern margin. New micropaleontological data document a short‐lived upper Tortonian marine episode in the basin, and major along‐strike variations in exhumation are documented on its southern margin. Our reconstruction shows how sedimentary basins originally formed in the hanging wall of detachment faults may eventually end up in tectonic contact with the mylonitic footwall. Finally, we highlight the importance of magmatism in localizing the deformation in highly extended terrains and in controlling the evolution of supradetachment systems.

The endorheic nature of Lake Trasimeno in combination with its position in central Italy makes it a relevant site to better constrain spatial differences in Holocene climatic variability in the Mediterranean area. Herein, we present a high-resolution ostracod record from the Holocene section of an 8.59-m-long sedimentary core, which is compared with historical data to distinguish anthropogenic and climatic signals. The occurrence, abundance and vanishing of ostracod species are directly controlled by lake-level variations, which are in turn related to global and regional climatic changes (i.e. moisture variations). The total organic carbon content as well as observed lithological changes provide additional information about Lake Trasimeno’s hydrological and trophic conditions in the past. Most important variations have been identified at ca. 10,000 cal. yr BP, when the lacustrine basin changed from a temporary to a permanent waterbody (from Sarsicypridopsis aculeata to Candona angulata association). The highest lake level and the total absence of ostracods occur at around 9000 cal. yr BP. The recorded humid phase persisted up to ca. 4200 cal yr BP since when a lake-level decreasing trend started and continued until the present day ( Candona angulata, Cyprideis torosa and Darvinula stevensoni associations). The frequency of changes in the relative abundance of the main species shows centennial variations (i.e. C. angulata, C. torosa and Darvinula stevensoni). As historical evidences yield that human interventions to control the lake level remained unsuccessful in the past, Lake Trasimeno records an almost pristine climatic signal during most of the Holocene, which is quite unusual in the highly populated Mediterranean area.

At the southern margin of the Central Anatolian Plateau (CAP), marine deposits that overlie the Central Tauride units at up to 2 km of elevation were used to constrain the onset of uplift to the middle-late Miocene. This study demonstrates that much younger marine deposits cap the southern margin. We recognize the Last Common Occurrence of Neogloboquadrina spp. (sin) (0.61 Ma) and Pseudoemiliania lacunosa (0.467 Ma), which points to an early middle Pleistocene age. The benthic fauna indicates an epibathyal marine environment (400 to 500 m paleodepth), with an associated paleocoastline now at similar to 1,500 to 1,600 m above sea level. Our new results imply uplift rates of up to 3.21-3.42 mm/yr for the CAP southern margin since the deposition of the young marine units. In the area, the evaluation of late Pleistocene and Holocene uplift rates of similar to 1 mm/yr points to a post early middle Pleistocene short-lived period of rapid uplift of the CAP southern margin, which can correlate the short-lived surface uplift signal in numerical models of slab breakoff. Overall, this work demonstrates that the majority of the modern topography at the CAP southern margin (1,500 to 1,600 m) was only recently acquired, pointing to the absence of a significant orographic barrier along the southern plateau margin prior to 500 ka. The multiphased uplift recognized at the CAP southern margin by previous authors, as well as the fast uplift rate documented in this work, can be linked to lithosphere delamination and subsequent slab breakoff during the Arabian-Anatolian continental collision. Plain Language Summary At the southern margin of the Central Anatolian Plateau (CAP), marine deposits that overlie the Central Tauride units at up to 2 km of elevation were used to constrain the onset of uplift to the Middle-Late Miocene. This study demonstrates that much younger marine deposits cap the southern margin. We recognize some bioevents within the calcareous plankton that point to an early Middle Pleistocene age (ca. 475 Ma). The benthic fauna indicate an epibathyal marine environment (400 to 500 m palaeodepth), with an associated palaeo-coastline now at ca. 1500 to 1600 ma.s.l. Our new results imply uplift rates of ca. 3 mm/yr for the CAP southern margin since the deposition of the young marine units. Overall, this work demonstrates that the majority of the modern topography at the CAP southern margin (1500 to 1600 m) was only recently acquired, pointing to the absence of a significant orographic barrier along the southern plateau margin prior to 500 ka. Such rapid uplift of the CAP southern margin after the early Middle Pleistocene would have caused major palaeogeographic and palaeoclimate changes in the area, which likely influenced local biodiversity.

The Mediterranean Basin is a semi-enclosed basin highly sensitive to climate changes such as evaporation-precipitation processes and glacial-interglacial transitions. It is composed by two main basins, the Western Mediterranean and the Eastern Mediterranean, which are differently sensitive to the high latitude and low latitude climate interactions. Such differences could translate in different reactions to climate changes recorded in the bottom sediments, i.e. the enhanced effects of the freshwater inputs on the bottom oxygenation in the Eastern Mediterranean. In this paper we investigate the palaeoenvironment and palaeoclimate derived from the study of Early Pleistocene (Calabrian) deep marine deposits cropping out along the southern margin of the Central Anatolian Plateau at the Gulnar East section (southern Turkey). Using benthic and planktonic foraminifers the bottom oxygenation and the sea surface temperature (SST) were evaluated through the calculation of the benthic foraminifera oxygen index (BFOI) and palaeoclimate curve. The results show that the marine epibathyal palaeonvironment in this Eastern Mediterranean area reacted to the palaeoclimate changes with the water mass stratification (warm periods) and/or with enhanced primary productivity (cool/cold periods) leading to the deposition of sapropel layers with different degrees of bottom oxygenation.

A multiproxy approach in a sediment core from Lake Trasimeno has been used to reconstruct the climate history of central Italy during the Late Pleistocene to Early Holocene period (ca. 47,000–9,000calyr B.P.). Ostracod assemblages and sedimentological data (lithology and carbonate content) have been used to infer past hydrological changes in the area. Ostracods were analyzed throughout the core using diversity indexes and multivariate statistic analyses (Cluster and PCA). Three main associations linked to lake level and salinity variations were recognized: 1) the C. torosa association, indicating permanent lacustrine conditions with high lake levels and low salinities; 2) the S. aculeata association, linked to very shallow/temporary waters with higher salinity conditions; and 3) the S. aculeata-E. mareotica association pointing to temporary water conditions and the highest salinities. Furthermore, the presence of C. fuscata and L. blankenbergensis during wide parts of the Late Pleistocene indicates temperatures lower than present days. Alternations of these three ostracod associations compares well with the oxygen isotope curve from Greenland (NGRIP) and are thus interpreted as climatically driven. At the Holocene transition (Termination 1), the ostracod associations indicate a delay in the increasing warming and humidity with respect to the NGRIP temperature record.