Ciro Cerrone

In this work, we present a standardized database of Last Interglacial (LIG, ∼132–80 ka) sea-level proxies across the South Asian and Indian Ocean region, including the coasts of Iran, Oman, India, the Maldives, and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. The database stems from a systematic review of the data included in 17 peer-reviewed studies, structured according to the World Atlas of Last Interglacial Shorelines (WALIS), and is available as Ali et al. (2026, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18512769). Within this framework, a total of 54 sea-level index points were re-evaluated to recalculate paleo-RSL elevation and associated uncertainties. This was achieved through updated determinations of their indicative meaning (i.e., reference water level and indicative range), considering the original stratigraphic context, elevation measurement techniques, depositional environments, and chronological constraints. The chronological framework relies on U-Th, luminescence, electron spin resonance, and cosmogenic nuclide dating. These data are characterized by regional differences in the elevation of past relative sea-level proxies that are driven primarily by tectonics, dynamic topography, and glacio-hydro-isostatic forcings. On the active margins of southern Iran and northern Oman, marine terraces dated to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e (∼125 ka), 5c (∼100 ka), and 5a (∼80 ka) are preserved at 20–60 m a.s.l., reflecting uplift linked to the Zagros foreland and Makran subduction system at least since the Last Interglacial. On the coasts of western and southern India, MIS 5e relative sea-level proxies are found at 1–4 m a.s.l., more in line with near-zero vertical land motion. On Indian Ocean islands, such as the Maldives and Cocos (Keeling) Islands, MIS 5e reefs are now submerged at depths of 10–17 m b.s.l., indicating subsidence since the LIG.

Landscape geomorphological evolution depends on the spatial and chronological distribution of climate and tectonic forcing, which in turn control the sedimentary supply to lowlands. In shaping landforms under different morphoclimatic and morphotectonic conditions, the interplay between these processes results in the production of sediments and their transport and accumulation within different, continental to marine, depositional environments (e.g. river valleys, lakes, deltas, coastal belts). The Special Issue presented here is a compilation of multidisciplinary studies that investigate how Quaternary marine and continental stratigraphy can be used in reconstructing past geomorphic processes. The papers span diverse morphoclimatic and morphotectonic settings, from South America to the central Mediterranean and northeast European Russia and integrate geomorphological and morphostratigraphic analyses with geochronology, sedimentology and high‐resolution geophysics. These studies offer insights into quaternary landscape dynamics and sediment fluxes forced by climate and tectonic drivers, highlighting how their local expression is highly variable and context dependent. Unravelling landscape evolution is crucial for deciphering the spatial and temporal distribution of past geomorphological processes, which in turn may contribute to predicting future environmental changes, hazard assessment and managing coastal and continental resources.

In this work, we present a standardized database of Last Interglacial (132–80 ka) sea-level proxies across the South Asian and Indian Ocean region, including the coasts of Iran, Oman, India, the Maldives, and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. The database stems from a critical revision of the data included in 17 peer-reviewed studies, which were standardized using the World Atlas of Last Interglacial Shorelines (WALIS), and is available as Ali et al. (2026, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18512770). A total of 54 sea-level index points were reassessed by evaluating stratigraphic context, elevation measurement techniques, depositional environments, and chronological constraints obtained from U-series, luminescence, electron spin resonance, and cosmogenic nuclide dating. The data is characterized by regional differences in the elevation of past relative sea-level proxies that are driven primarily by tectonic, dynamic topography, and glacio-hydro-isostatic forcings. On the active margins of southern Iran and northern Oman, terraces dated to Marine Isotopic Stage (MIS) 5e (125 ka), 5c (100 ka), and 5a (80 ka) were preserved at 20–60 m a.s.l., reflecting long-term uplift linked to the Zagros foreland and Makran subduction system. On the coasts of western and southern India MIS 5e relative sea-level proxies are found at 1–4 m a.s.l., more in line with low tectonic uplift. On Indian Ocean islands, such as the Maldives and Cocos (Keeling) Islands, MIS 5e reefs are now submerged at depths of 10–17 m b.s.l., indicating subsidence throughout the late Quaternary.

Decision-making in coastal and urban environments increasingly depends on the ability to navigate complex and interacting climate risks. Yet, relevant knowledge is often scattered across disciplines, institutions, data repositories, and policy documents, making it difficult to access and use in practice. The amphibious city of Venice (Italy) is an exemplary case: its unique environmental setting, long history of climate exposure, and dense legacy of scientific research and monitoring coexist with highly complex governance and decision-making processes.Here we present the International Centre for Climate Change Research and Studies (CSRCC) and its recently launched activities, highlighting the advanced applications being developed to foster the systematization of interdisciplinary knowledge.The CSRCC brings together several interconnected activities with the aim of serving as a bridge between science and decision‑making in the Venetian context. These include the development of an advanced meta-database, designed to organize and explore not only climate and environmental data, but also research outputs, monitoring programmes, regulations, plans, and policy documents relevant to climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience. These multi-disciplinary connections/relations enable us to build artificial intelligence applications to improve queries, allowing users to extract inter-connected knowledge which is critical to understand and support decision-making in complex environments.In parallel, the CSRCC is preparing an IPCC-like local Climate Assessment Report, aimed at synthesizing existing knowledge in a transparent and decision-relevant way. Ongoing activities also include research on long-term sea-level rise and lagoon evolution, providing historical and geological context for current and future risks, as well as the integration of the Centre’s work within broader European research and coordination initiatives.Using Venice as a testbed, we discuss how assessment-oriented and metadata-driven approaches can help translate fragmented climate knowledge into usable information for successful mitigation and adaptation strategies, and how this experience may inform similar efforts in other coastal and urban settings.

This study investigates the coastal dune deposits of "Barrier III" along the southern Brazilian coast, and in particular along the coastal area close to Osório and Paranaguá. While traditionally attributed to the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e highstand, emerging evidence suggests this barrier is a complex system incorporating younger deposits from MIS 5a or even MIS 3. The analyzed sequences consist of aeolianites outcropping up to a few meters above present sea level. To ensure high-resolution spatial accuracy, proxy elevations were measured using a GNSS RTK station and referenced to the local geoid model (MAPGEO2015), maintaining a vertical error margin of a few centimeters.Through geomorphological, granulometric, and morphoscopic analyses, this research re-evaluates the geochronological framework of these deposits by presenting 19 new Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) ages. The findings address a critical scientific debate: while a broad consensus has long placed sea levels during MIS 5a and 5c several meters below present, recent studies increasingly suggest that sea level at that time may have been closer to, or even above, modern levels in certain regions. This study examines the extent to which eustatic oscillations during these substages, and potentially MIS 3, drove sedimentary dynamics capable of shaping dune systems in positions proximate to the modern shoreline.

Sea-level reconstructions are essential for evaluating models of ice-sheet stability and climate change, but their interpretation is often confounded by sea-level signals produced by multiple processes, including the Earth’s deformation in response to sediment loading. Here we show that accounting for sediment isostasy resolves long-standing inconsistencies among Marine Isotopic Stage (MIS) 5a and 5e sea-level records from the Río de la Plata estuary, reducing mismatches by up to an order of magnitude. This result demonstrates that regional sedimentary histories can bias relative sea-level estimates by several meters compared with conventional approaches based only on glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA). We also show that sediment loading has affected relative sea level across the Holocene and may continue to influence present-day tide-gauge observations in the region. Together, these findings emphasize the need for regionally detailed sedimentation histories rather than reliance on global compilations alone, and they motivate expanded shelf coring and seismic surveying.

In this study, we analyse the occurrence of fast landslides developed in detrital limestone-dolomitic deposits and colluvium deposits on steep dolomitic slopes in Southern Italy. In the past few decades, the literature research on this type of landslide has mainly focussed on events developed in pyroclastic soils. However, the results of this study show that, even in weathered calcareous debris and with moderate deposit thickness (0.5–2 m), these phenomena can evolve into dangerous events. In the investigated area, the debris slides were mapped, providing a complete dataset of events that occurred in the 2022–2023 period. Successively, field and drone surveys enabled defining the stratigraphy of the involved deposits, the estimation of the mobilised volumes, and sampling for a preliminary lab-based geotechnical characterisation. Moreover, the rainfall data were acquired to identify their relationship with the landslide events. The results showed that the debris slides in the area involve cover deposits of moderate thickness (0.5–2 m) on slopes dipping from 27° to 45°. Most of the events developed a sliding surface at the interface between an ancient paleosoil and the detrital and colluvial deposits, mobilising downstream with significant runout and increasing volumes. Critical rainfall events, exceeding 100 mm daily, combined with antecedent periods of intense rainfalls, acted as key triggers for these landslides. This work provides valuable insights for land-use planning and risk mitigation strategies, particularly in the context of increasing rainfall due to global warming.

The morphology of a coral reef terrace (CRT) is a key parameter in the interpretation and quantification of past sea‐level changes, but it is directly influenced by local morphodynamic and hydrodynamic conditions. Spatial differences in terrace morphology may therefore result in over‐ or underestimation of paleorelative sea levels and their associated uncertainties. To investigate this, we integrate high‐precision field surveys from the island of Aruba (Leeward Antilles, Caribbean Sea) with a stratigraphic forward model (DionisosFlow®) to quantify the intra‐island variability of the Quaternary coral reef sequence. We establish that a possible slight North‐South tectonic tilt of the island may drive differences in the elevation of CRTs and the number of emerged fossil coral reefs imprinted on the coastal landscape. However, terrace geometry is primarily defined by the basement slope and wave exposure. All together, our results show that even small‐scale environmental and hydrodynamic variability can introduce meter‐scale errors in sea‐level reconstructions derived from CRTs.