ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Earth Sci.
Sec. Quaternary Science, Geomorphology and Paleoenvironment
This article is part of the Research TopicCoastal Paleo Landforms And Deposits Applied to Tectonics, Eustatism, and PaleoclimateView all 4 articles
Morphosedimentary evolution of a sediment-starved coastal system in response to Late Pleistocene sea-level oscillations: structural and hydrodynamic controls (western Sardinian margin)
Provisionally accepted
- Institute for the Coastal Marine Environment of Oristano, National Research Council (CNR), Oristano, Italy
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The evolution of a submerged coastal system shaped during the Late Pleistocene has been reconstructed through the integration of high-resolution seismic profiles (Chirp and Sparker), multibeam bathymetry, backscatter data, and sediment samples. The study area is located on the sediment-starved continental shelf of western Sardinia, where coastal dynamics were influenced by the interplay between scarce fluvial input, inherited structural and morphological features, and wave-driven sediment reworking via longshore currents. A previously unrecognized fault system defines a localized Pliocene basin, later incised by an erosive surface marking the base of the Quaternary. The uppermost tilted Pliocene deposits, preserved below this surface, acted as a morphological barrier that influenced the distribution of fluvial sediments, while the longshore currents contributed to sediment reworking and lateral confinement. Seismic stratigraphy reveals a set of four backstepping depositional terraces interpreted as the preserved record of the Younger Dryas, reflecting stages of relative sea-level stabilization, and two overstepping barriers, associated with rapid sea-level rise. Despite the presence of a fluvial source, the absence of a typical deltaic deposit is attributed to the combined effects of low sediment supply, longshore currents, and inherited paleo-topography. These findings highlight the dominant role of inherited paleo-topography and hydrodynamic controls in shaping transgressive coastal systems in starved settings, offering an alternative model to classical delta-dominated coastal evolution.
Keywords: barriers, Meltwater Pulses, SEA-LEVEL RISE, sediment-starved continental shelf, submarine depositional terrace, submerged coastal system, Younger Dryas
Received: 20 Oct 2025; Accepted: 30 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Frisicchio, Conforti, Kalb, Simeone and De Falco. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Veronica Frisicchio
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