Uplift rates defined by U-series and 14 C ages of serpulid-encrusted speleothems from submerged caves near Siracusa, Sicily (Italy)

Abstract

We have established a plausible rate of uplift near Siracusa in southeastern Sicily (Italy) over the last glacial-interglacial cycle using U-series ages of submerged speleothem calcite and 14C ages of calcite serpulid layers that encrust the speleothems during cave submergence. The precisely determined ages of these sea level benchmarks were compared with expected relative sea level position based on glacio-hydro-isostatic modeling to assess the rate of uplift in this region. When combined with the age of various late Holocene archaeological sites that have been recently described and characterized in terms of their functional position relative to sea level these data collectively define a rate of uplift ≤0.4 mm a-1 along this portion of the Sicilian coastline. These results are consistent with an age assignment of marine isotope stage (MIS) 5.3 or 5.5 for the Akradina terrace, which in turn places temporal constraints on paleoshorelines above and below this level.