On the relation between extensive peat bed and climate fluctuation during the last glacial in Venice

Core and seismic data from the Venice lagoon area allow a detailed investigation of the Late Pleistocene continental succession accumulated during the last glacial. These deposits consist of an aggrading alluvial plain, some tens of metres thick, which is locally incised by river channels, while both patchy and continuous peat layers complete the succession. One of these peat layers (P1), up to 1 m thick, is well recognizable in the whole lagoon area in both cores and seismic lines. 14C datings of P1 reveal an age ranging between 22 and 24 cal ka B.P., confirming its lateral continuity. All these elements suggest that P1 developed after an episode of marked moisture and large scale cut-off of terrigenous sediment, probably due to enhanced arboreal vegetation cover, leading to the establishment of generalized paludal conditions during the Laugerie interstadial. The present evidence may integrate the current knowledge to establish a correlation between cycles recorded in fully continental deposits and those recognizable in ice cores and marine successions.