Submarine anomalous shelf morphologies: insights from the CORSUB Project

Punta Licosa Promontory, located in Southern Campania (Tyrrhenian Sea, Southern Italy), lies between Castellabate Plain and Ogliastro Bay. It extends over 10 km, covering approximately 4 kmq. The emerged portion is part of the Cilento and Vallo di Diano natural park, while the submerged section falls within the Protected Area of Santa Maria di Castellabate due to its significant and environmental scenic value. On land, the promontory features the San Mauro and Pollica formations of the Flysch del Cilento unit (Aiello & Caccavale, 2024), dating from the Early Tortonian to the Langhian. Offshore, it extends into the sea, where Quaternary heterogeneous deposits overlay well-bedded arenaceous flysch rocks. Notably, the submerged portion includes several submarine terraces (Ferraro et al., 1997), at depths between 8 and 100 meters (Savini et al., 2021), interpreted as remnants of the Upper Pleistocene, or shaped by the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) regression and subsequent post-glacial sea-level rise. A 2024 survey identified previously unknown beehive-like morphological structures on one such submerged terrace. Only a few grab samples were collected at that time, leading to a preliminary hypothesis of a biogenic origin (Bracchi, unpublished thesis). However, further investigation had yet to be conducted. The CORSUB project (n. 2022RKHBMB), funded under the Italian PRIN 2022 program as part of Mission 4 of the Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza (PNRR), adopts an interdisciplinary approach - integrating geophysical, stratigraphic, sedimentological and paleontological methods - to explore these formations, origins, evolution, and ecological significance.