Seismo-stratigraphic study of the Plio-Pleistocene foredeep deposits of the Central Adriatic Sea (Italy): geometry and characteristics of deep-water channels and sediment waves

An integrated 3D Seismo-Stratigraphic study was carried out in the Central Adriatic Sea (Italy), off the coast of the Abruzzi region, aiming at a detailed description and interpretation of the Plio-Pleistocene foredeep deposits, onlapping on top of the Adriatic foreland substratum, represented, in this area, by the flexed Apula carbonate Platform and its northern margin. The Plio-Pleistocene stratigraphic succession shows a general shoaling upward trend, in which the vertical evolution from deep water deposits into deltaic and nearshore strata is related to the progressive eastward shift of the main depocentres, produced by thrust propagation towards the outer margin of the Apennine foredeep. The analysed succession has been subdivided into five informal stratigraphic units, in which the main erosional features, probably associated with sequence boundaries, have been highlighted; moreover, a comparison with the main regional stratigraphic schemes available in the literature, has also been proposed. A detailed seismic analysis has allowed the identification and interpretation, from a depositional point of view, of several deep water seismo-depositional elements organised in a complex vertical stacking pattern. In particular, possibly for the first time in this area, different types of deep water meandering channels and well developed sediment waves, probably related to bottom currents, have been recognized and described.