Angela Baldanza
University of Perugia, Dipartimento diFisica e Geologia, Faculty Member
Early Pleistocene marine deposits in southwestern Umbria (Orvieto–Allerona area, Italy) recently revealed the presence of more than forty carbonate conduits distributed over 2 km along the Paglia riverbed. In order to investigate their... more
Early Pleistocene marine deposits in southwestern Umbria (Orvieto–Allerona area, Italy) recently revealed the presence of more than forty carbonate conduits distributed over 2 km along the Paglia riverbed. In order to investigate their origins, analyses of their mineralogy, δ18O and δ13C stable isotopes, and organic geochemistry were conducted. All the carbonate conduits are made of euhedral microcrystals of dolomite with subordinate quartz, plagioclases, and micas. The stable carbon and oxygen isotope values of the bulk concretionary carbonates range from −0.57 to +4.79‰ (δ13C) and from +1.58 to +4.07‰ (δ18O), respectively. The lack of organic geochemical biomarkers of anaerobic methane oxidation (AOM) and the very low values of extractable organic matter suggest a non-biological origin for the dolomite precipitation. The latter is probably related to the rise of volcanic carbon dioxide due to the incipient Vulsini magmatism recorded in Early Pleistocene marine deposits all around ...
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The reduced Jurassic sedimentary sequences deposited on a structural high in the Umbria-Marche Apennines, as well their relationships with adjacent expanded basinal sequences, have been reconstructed through detailed, interdisciplinary... more
The reduced Jurassic sedimentary sequences deposited on a structural high in the Umbria-Marche Apennines, as well their relationships with adjacent expanded basinal sequences, have been reconstructed through detailed, interdisciplinary study of the Sasso di Pale and Monte Serrone areas near Foligno, Italy. The physiographic features of the basin originated in the Early Jurassic (latest early Pliensbachian), when extensional tectonic activity broke up a shallow water platform where the Calcare Massiccio had been deposited, and the area evolved from an edge-stepped structural high to a distally steepened ramp. The biostratigraphic framework of this paper is mainly based on calcareous nannofossils, which are a useful tool for dating condensed Jurassic successions. Although the sections studied have limited thickness and much lateral facies variation, the sedimentary evolution can be traced and interpreted within a wider Jurassic environmental perspective. In the upper Pliensbachian–low...
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Research Interests: Archaeology, Art, Late Antique Archaeology, Medieval Archaeology, Late Antiquity, and 13 moreArchaeometry, Archaeology of Buildings, Late roman villas, Late Roman Architecture, Mortars, Mosaic, Roman Mosaics and Wall Paintings, Oratorio, Roman Age, Arno River, Vettius Agorius Praetextatus, Late Roman Tuscany, and Late roman Arno valley
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The application of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) prospecting to the search of fossil structures, particularly using advanced techniques like Finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) modelling and GPR attribute analysis, is currently poorly... more
The application of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) prospecting to the search of fossil structures, particularly using advanced techniques like Finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) modelling and GPR attribute analysis, is currently poorly exploited in paleontology. Here, we promote the use of such a GPR workflow at Bargiano (Umbria, central Italy), a unique paleontological site known for the discovery of cetacean skeletons, dolomitized sperm-whale cololites (Ambergrisichnu salleronae), and layered fossil assemblages. The study site is characterized by a very uneven topography shaping highly conductive clayey deposits, representing not exactly ideal conditions for GPR surveying. After generating models encompassing a real topography and variable electrical properties of media, we simulated buried fossil structures at variable depth with different size and geometry, using different operative frequencies. After obtaining information on the characteristics of reflections, investigation de...
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Although drillholes in modern and ancient ostracods are known, the record is relatively scarce when compared to other taxa, and mainly exist with reference to the marine environment. Moreover, less is known about perforated ostracods, and... more
Although drillholes in modern and ancient ostracods are known, the record is relatively scarce when compared to other taxa, and mainly exist with reference to the marine environment. Moreover, less is known about perforated ostracods, and more generally, about bioerosion in freshwater environments. Traces of predation on freshwater ostracods are reported for the first time in deep-lake deposits belonging to the early Pleistocene Fosso Bianco Unit, and outcropping in the Cava Nuova section (Umbria, central Italy). Deposits are mainly clay to silty clay and sand; the fossil record is sparse, and is mainly comprised of very rare gastropods and bivalves, ostracods and plant remains (leaves, seeds and wood’s fragments). The association of ostracods consists of Candona (Neglecandona) neglecta, Caspiocypris basilicii, Caspiocypris tiberina, Caspiocypris perusia, Caspiocypris tuderis, Caspiocypris posteroacuta, and Cyprideis torosa. The Caspiocypris group, considered to be endemic to the gr...
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Through time, the wide area between southeastern Tuscany, northeastern Latium, and western Umbria has been revealed as a crucial area for understanding the evolution of Neogene basins in northern Apennine. In this study, the results of... more
Through time, the wide area between southeastern Tuscany, northeastern Latium, and western Umbria has been revealed as a crucial area for understanding the evolution of Neogene basins in northern Apennine. In this study, the results of twenty years of research on the marine early Pleistocene deposits are summarized, and the biological and physical events are presented and discussed in order to propose an integrated stratigraphic scheme. The proposed reconstruction is also included in a wider context, taking into account both the local and regional geological evolution.
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Bizzarri R. et al., Early Pleistocene distal pyroclastic-fallout material in continental and marine deposits of western Umbria (Italy): chemical composition, provenance and correlation potential. (IT ISSN 0394-3356, 2010). Distal... more
Bizzarri R. et al., Early Pleistocene distal pyroclastic-fallout material in continental and marine deposits of western Umbria (Italy): chemical composition, provenance and correlation potential. (IT ISSN 0394-3356, 2010). Distal pyroclastic fallout material has been recently documented in the Orvieto area (Umbria, central Italy), within Early Pleistocene continental and marine deposits. Due to the age constrains, the association with Middle Pleistocene "Paleobolsena" Volcanic events can be excluded. In order to individuate a possible provenance, the Laser Ablation – Inductively Coupled Plasma – Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) analytical procedure has been carried out. The procedure has been tested on pumice lapilli (2-5 mm) and glass inclusions contained in idiomorphic clinopyroxene crystals, both coming from the Early Pleistocene conglomerate of the Il Caio section. The study is still in progress: some preliminary results are here proposed. Data on melt inclusions seem to ...
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ABSTRACT A new specimen of Ranina propinqua Ristori, 1891 from the Early Pleistocene (Gelasian–Calabrian) of Orzalume-Cottano section (Orvieto, Umbria, central Italy) is reported. The study of this complete specimen results in a detailed... more
ABSTRACT A new specimen of Ranina propinqua Ristori, 1891 from the Early Pleistocene (Gelasian–Calabrian) of Orzalume-Cottano section (Orvieto, Umbria, central Italy) is reported. The study of this complete specimen results in a detailed diagnosis for the species not reported in the original description by Ristori. Although the ecology and behaviour of Raninidae display a broad spectrum of bathymetric and sedimentological ranges, the sedimentological and palaeoecological data for the study specimens suggest that R. propinqua could be associated to relatively shallow, coastal marine environments, at least during the last 2 Ma.
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Research Interests: Geology, Paleontology, Sedimentology, Climate Change, Crustacea, and 14 moreBiology, Palynology, Systematics, Pleistocene, Crustacea Decapoda, Invertebrate Paleontology, Quaternary Sedimentology and Geomorphology, Quaternary geochronology, Pliocene, Holocene, Decapoda taxonomy, Miocene, Tuscany, and Vegetation
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ABSTRACT A decapod crustacean fauna from the Gelasian-Calabrian sands of San Lazzaro quarry, Fabro Scalo, (Terni, Umbria, central Italy) is reported. The studied specimens have been assigned to Calliaxina cf. C. punica (de Saint Laurent... more
ABSTRACT A decapod crustacean fauna from the Gelasian-Calabrian sands of San Lazzaro quarry, Fabro Scalo, (Terni, Umbria, central Italy) is reported. The studied specimens have been assigned to Calliaxina cf. C. punica (de Saint Laurent & Manning, 1982) (Callianassidae dana, 1852), Pagurus sp. (Paguridae LatreiLLe, 1802), Petrochirus sanctilazzari n. sp. (Diogenidae OrtMann, 1892) and Ranina propinqua riStOri, 1891 (Raninidae de Haan, 1839). Ranina propinqua, previously described from the “Pliocene” of Città della Pieve (Perugia, Umbria), is re-described and compared with the other Italian Ranina species. Calliaxina cf. C. punica, already known from the early Pliocene of Tuscany, is reported for the first time from the early Pleistocene record of Umbria. Petrochirus sanctilazzari n. sp. is the youngest species of this genus in the fossil record from the Mediterranean area. The discovery of decapod crustaceans from Fabro Scalo enlarges the very scarce knowledge on fossil decapod communities and their distribution in the palaeo-Mediterranean from the Pleistocene of central Italy. The available sedimentological and biostratigraphical data allow an updating of the original specimen described by riStOri to the early Pleistocene. As the Città della Pieve and Fabro Scalo areas belong to the same geological and palaeoenvironmental scenery, palaeoecological and sedimentological inferences about the documented decapod fauna are proposed. Key words: Crustacea, Decapoda, Axiidea, Anomura, Brachyura, early Pleistocene, Umbria, central Italy.
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Research Interests: Geology and Sedimentology
The study area is located in the northern portion of the Calabrian Arc, a fault-bounded terrain sited between Southern Apennine and Sicily (a “wedge” of Europe into Adria promontory). The migration of the Calabrian Arc was contemporaneous... more
The study area is located in the northern portion of the Calabrian Arc, a fault-bounded terrain sited between Southern Apennine and Sicily (a “wedge” of Europe into Adria promontory). The migration of the Calabrian Arc was contemporaneous to the spreading of the Tyrrhenian back-arc basin, which started between Langhian and Tortonian times (MATTEI et al., 2002). This process generated by a passive subduction of the Ionian lithosphere along a steeply inclined Benioff Plane (MALINVERNO & RYAN, 1986) led to a segmentation of the arc, with ...
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In the framework of the archeological investigations of an outstanding Roman Villas in Tuscany (Villa dell‟Oratorio, in the territory of Capraia e Limite, Florence), archaeometric studies have been perfomed with the aim to characterize... more
In the framework of the archeological investigations of an outstanding Roman Villas in Tuscany (Villa dell‟Oratorio, in the territory of Capraia e Limite, Florence), archaeometric studies have been perfomed with the aim to characterize building and decorative materials and retrace construction phases and manufacture technology. The Villas, built in the middle of the 4th century, includes a hexagonal structure, about 30 meters in diameter, decorated with painted wall plasters and beautiful figurative floor mosaics. The structure is equipped with apsed rooms (at least 5), exhibiting similarity with some monumental triclinia of
Constantinople and Rome. Archaeometric analyses have been carried out on mortars, stones and vitreous tesserae, with the aim to identify the raw materials and support the archaeological investigation about cultural models and economic status of the aristocratic owner in the Late Roman Tuscany. Mortars samples from different building units of the Villas have been studied through minero petrographic and thermogravimetric methods. Stone tesserae have been analyzed by minero-petrographic and sedimentologic methods, to obtain information on the provenance of the raw materials used. Finally, Raman spectroscopy and SEM-EDS analyses have been performed on vitreous tesserae, to obtain information on colouring and opaquening agents. The studies carried out on the building elements suggested that, in spite of iconographic
and architectural models proper of the great Mediterranean villae, local and spolia raw materials were used in this great construction work.
Constantinople and Rome. Archaeometric analyses have been carried out on mortars, stones and vitreous tesserae, with the aim to identify the raw materials and support the archaeological investigation about cultural models and economic status of the aristocratic owner in the Late Roman Tuscany. Mortars samples from different building units of the Villas have been studied through minero petrographic and thermogravimetric methods. Stone tesserae have been analyzed by minero-petrographic and sedimentologic methods, to obtain information on the provenance of the raw materials used. Finally, Raman spectroscopy and SEM-EDS analyses have been performed on vitreous tesserae, to obtain information on colouring and opaquening agents. The studies carried out on the building elements suggested that, in spite of iconographic
and architectural models proper of the great Mediterranean villae, local and spolia raw materials were used in this great construction work.
Research Interests: Archaeology, Late Antique Archaeology, Medieval Archaeology, Building Materials (Archaeology), Late Antiquity, and 11 moreArchaeometry, Archaeology of Buildings, Archeometria, Archeometry, Archéologie, Mortars, Characterisation and provenance of ancient mortars, Archeometry, Archeologie, Archeologia, Archeometria Beni Culturali, Archeometria, Pavimenti Musivi, Petrografia Restauro Monumentale E Archeologico, and Historical Mortars
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ABSTRACT A rich decapod fauna from the clay sediments of the Podere dell’Infrascato landslide, near Volterra (Pisa, Tuscany, central Italy) is here reported. Integrated biostratigraphical, sedimentological and palaeoecological analyses... more
ABSTRACT A rich decapod fauna from the clay sediments of the Podere dell’Infrascato landslide, near Volterra (Pisa, Tuscany, central Italy) is here reported. Integrated biostratigraphical, sedimentological and palaeoecological analyses have been carried out, and some palaeoenvironmental inferences are also proposed. The studied decapod community, dated to the early Pleistocene, is herein referred to the upper bathyal zone; several palaeoenvironmental factors (cool water conditions at the sea floor, clay soft bottom, nutrients, very low environmental energy and sedimentation rate) influenced and promoted the crustacean settlement. Key words: Crustacea, Decapoda, Axiidea, Brachyura, early Pleistocene, Italy.
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aBStract - petrological and geochemical data of volcanic rocks from several sites of the caltanissetta Basin (central-southern Sicily) are discussed to provide information about volcanism in the northern portion of the african plate.... more
aBStract - petrological and geochemical data of volcanic rocks from several sites of the caltanissetta Basin (central-southern Sicily) are discussed to provide information about volcanism in the northern portion of the african plate. Volcanics occur as large isolated blocks, mainly as pillows and subordinate lava flows, enclosing sedimentary levels of marly limestones. they are packed in several paleogene and neogene clayey lithologies, which are correlated to the sedimentation into the Miocenic Foredeep. the age of volcanism is referable to early oligocene (rupelian), as revealed relative dating of the interpillow calcareous sediments. the studied samples are transitional and poorly evolved alkali basalts. petrographic study highlights a discrete uniformity for the most samples, with porphyritic texture characterized by olivine, clinopyroxene and plagioclase phenocrysts in a microcrystalline groundmass, composed of the same phases plus opaque minerals. Major and trace element data ...
The study area is located in the northern portion of the Calabrian Arc, a fault-bounded terrain sited between Southern Apennine and Sicily (a “wedge” of Europe into Adria promontory). The migration of the Calabrian Arc was contemporaneous... more
The study area is located in the northern portion of the Calabrian Arc, a fault-bounded terrain sited between Southern Apennine and Sicily (a “wedge” of Europe into Adria promontory). The migration of the Calabrian Arc was contemporaneous to the spreading of the Tyrrhenian back-arc basin, which started between Langhian and Tortonian times (MATTEI et al., 2002). This process generated by a passive subduction of the Ionian lithosphere along a steeply inclined Benioff Plane (MALINVERNO & RYAN, 1986) led to a segmentation of the arc, with ...
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Bizzarri R., Baldanza A. & Argenti P., Plio-Quaternary paleoenvironmental evolution across Western Umbria and Tuscany. (IT ISSN 0394-3356, 2011) The area across western Umbria and Tuscany records a complex evolution, from Early Pliocene... more
Bizzarri R., Baldanza A. & Argenti P., Plio-Quaternary paleoenvironmental evolution across Western Umbria and Tuscany. (IT ISSN 0394-3356, 2011) The area across western Umbria and Tuscany records a complex evolution, from Early Pliocene to Late Pleistocene, due to the interaction among coastal marine and continental environments, and among tectonics and sedimentation. Throughout Pliocene, the extensional Valdichiana Basin underwent marine conditions, but marine deposits encompass different ages across the area. From Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene, a continental, river-dominated environment developed; the Gelasian-Santernian Città della Pieve deltaic deposits belong to the “Chiani-Tevere” cycle and are related to this continental evolution. The Trasimeno Basin development and the NE tilt of both Città della Pieve deltaic deposits and Valdichiana continental deposits are due to Early - Middle Pleistocene regional tectonics.
Bizzarri R., Albianelli A., Argenti P., Baldanza A., Colacicchi R. & Napoleone G., The latest continental filling of Valle Umbra (Tiber Basin, central Italy) dated to one million years ago by magnetostratigraphy. Paleogeography of central... more
Bizzarri R., Albianelli A., Argenti P., Baldanza A., Colacicchi R. & Napoleone G., The latest continental filling of Valle Umbra (Tiber Basin, central Italy) dated to one million years ago by magnetostratigraphy. Paleogeography of central Italy during Pliocene and Pleistocene is characterized by the on-setting of continental basins, oriented almost parallel to the uplifting Apennine mountain chain and marked by the valleys of main rivers Arno, Chiana, Tevere, together with minor intermountain basins (e.g.: Colfiorito). The internal range, with its complex of intermountain basins, was bounded by coastal marine deposits of the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic seas. Due to a decidedly established palaeoenvironmental and magnetostatigraphic scenery for Valdarno, Valtiberina and Colfiorito Basins, the short section at Arquata in the Valle Umbra Basin, here presented, may be constrained much more closely to the evolutionary pattern of the former ones by means of a similar magnetostratigraphic char...
A rich decapod fauna from the Early Pleistocene (late Gelasian-early Calabrian) of Poggio i Sodi quarries (Siena, Tuscany, central Italy) is here reported. Integrated biostratigraphical, sedimentological and paleoecological analyses have... more
A rich decapod fauna from the Early Pleistocene (late Gelasian-early Calabrian) of Poggio i Sodi quarries (Siena, Tuscany, central Italy) is here reported. Integrated biostratigraphical, sedimentological and paleoecological analyses have been carried out, and some paleoenvironmental inferences are also proposed. The studied decapod community is herein assigned to the upper bathyal; several paleoenvironmental factors (cool water conditions at the sea floor, clay soft bottom, nutrients, very low environmental energy and sedimentation rate) influenced and promoted the crustacean settlement.
The historical town of Camerano (Ancona, central Italy), built on a hill just west of the Mt. Conero promontory, is laced with a broad underground system of remarkable man-made caves. Thanks to the caves, we can view and describe a... more
The historical town of Camerano (Ancona, central Italy), built on a hill just west of the Mt. Conero promontory, is laced with a broad underground system of remarkable man-made caves. Thanks to the caves, we can view and describe a composite sedimentological and stratigraphic section of Early Pleistocene (Calabrian) marine deposits, which lack subaerial outcrops. This study is aimed at a better definition of the sedimentological and palaeoenvironmental context of the Camerano area, and at improving the knowledge of the Camerano caves. Sediments are mainly couplets of massive- to- laminated, yellow-brown, bioclastic calcareous sand and massive, grey-green clay, of variable thickness. Each couplet shows an erosive basal surface and normal gradation, from sand to clay. Plane-parallel lamination, marked by recurring variations in grain size, is attributed to traction carpets and the sand horizons to resedimentation by sediment-gravity flows, with an eastern source (Mt. Conero). Converse...