The soils as palaeoclimatic indicators. A few sequences of paleosols in the Fiume Santo area (Sassari, Sardinia). Preliminary observations

Abstract

A number of paleosols that formed between the Late Miocene and the Pleistocene have been observed and described near the mouth of the rio d’Astimini - Fiume Santo (north-western Sardinia). Buried under thick deposits of coarse sediments, these palesols have been preserved and have not been affected by climate conditions after the burial event, and therefore have not undergone pedogenetic evolution. Because of their properties reflect the existing environmental conditions at the time of formation, these soils represent an additional tool to reconstruct the climate and landscape of north- western Sardinia between the Late Miocene and the Pleistocene.