Geology of the middle and upper Pleistocene marine and continental terraces of the northern Tavoliere di Puglia plain (Apulia, southern Italy)

The Tavoliere di Puglia is a large alluvial plain located in southern Italy (Foggia Province, Apulia Region). From a geological perspective view, it represents the northern part of the Bradanic trough located between the southern Apennine Chain and the Apulian Foreland. A detailed geological survey of the middle-late Pleistocene terraces has been performed in this area and a new geologic map, at 1:150,000 scale, is here described. Criteria to distinguish these units are based on the recognition of basal unconformity surfaces: seven different synthems (UBSU, Unconformity-bounded Stratigraphic Units) have been discriminated. The data are presented in a synthesis map in which the geometrical relationships between the different sedimentary units are shown. New results for this sector of the Bradanic trough are significantly different from previous literature data. Furthermore, the map allows a reliable reconstruction of the Tavoliere di Puglia paleogeography during the Late Quaternary. Moreover, a detailed map of the Pleistocene terraces is fundamental to analyze and solve environmental problems associated with soil loss and desertification processes and river flood events.