Source and Sediment: A Case Study of Provenance and Mass Balance at an Active Plate Margin – Calabria, Southern Italy

This is the study of how far the geology, geomorphology and climate of a source, a mountainous area, can be reconstructed from erosion products that have been released to the sea and from gravel, sand, silt and clay which have recombined to form a new cycle of rocks. The purpose of the book is to offer a quantitative picture of both source and sediment and the masses involved. The book is based on a case study in Calabria, southern Italy, a mountain range which is part of an active plate margin. High erosion rates in the past (200mm/ka), and dramatic ones at present (1500mm/ka), make the area a good source of sediment, comparable to the orogenic conditions of the geological past. This monograph on sedimentology, petrology and physical geology is intended for teachers, researchers, and students as well as practitioners in the oil industry.